Project Administration Issues and Progress to Date
SPIT's current achievements toward improving project administration
resources that are available to help sponsored research administration
staff perform their work are listed below. Changes and enhancements
that are being planned follow the achievements list. The links provide
detailed information, which is further down on this page.
Issues
- Purchase order payments of less than $5,000 have fewer review
steps automatically built into their processing than subcontracts
or larger purchase order payments.
- Cost sharing funding is not consistently handled by units, and
it is not consistently reflected on the PBR.
- Poorly understood cost sharing procedures and inconsistent processes
can lead to the failure to fund cost sharing obligations in a
timely manner.
- The lack of quick corrections to p/g’s for tuition waivers
and fellowship payments causes additional tracking for research
administrators, can negatively impact timely close-out of projects,
and can affect a student’s personal account.
- Accounts Payable may not take advantage of special discount
terms if they are not expressly pointed out to them.
- Payroll: Timeliness of Corrections - holding for further review--system
too new to evaluate.
Progress to Date
Previous Project Administration
Progress Reports
Coming Soon to the U-M Research Community
- Understanding Cash Terms Guide
- Understanding Freight Terms Guide
Progress to Date Details
Blue Pages and the Research Website
Index (December 2002):
The Blue
Pages is a Web directory that lists administrative contacts
for units that submit research proposals. It is independent of the
UM Online Directory and the M-Pathways Financial Systems. You can
search the Blue Pages for administrative contacts using Dept ID,
department name, or alphabetical index.
Each Dept ID included in the index provides the names of the following
administrative contacts: Department Chair, Chair's Designate, Dean,
Dean's Designate. DRDA uses the Designates' names from the Blue
Pages to print the PAN (Project Award Notice) and PAC (Project Award
Change) mailers (cover sheets).
Use the Blue Pages to determine if your Dept ID contact information
is correct. To request a correction, click the Blue Pages Update
hot link. The Blue Pages can also help you identify the contact
in another department to arrange faculty collaboration.
RC-TIPS Web Page Launched (December
2002):
Purchasing Services' new RC-TIPS
Page informs the research community about procurement process
improvements and useful procurement tools. Purchasing Services'
resource documents, including guides, FAQs, job aids, and tip sheets,
will be posted on the RC-Tips Page. New resources available on this
page include University Purchasing Confidential Customer Service
Survey, Payment Guide, and Small Business Sub-Contracting Plan Overview.
Future resources will include Understanding Cash Terms and Understanding
Freight Terms. The RC-TIPS Page is linked to the Purchasing
Services Web site.
University Purchasing Confidential
Customer Service Survey (December 2002):
Purchasing Services has created the Purchasing
Services Web Based Feedback Form to solicit feedback about its
operations. You can use this form to send Purchasing Services senior
management an anonymous idea or information about how your project
was handled. From time to time, users who are randomly selected
from a list of projects or purchase orders will receive an e-mail
request from Purchasing Services asking them to complete the feedback
form. Trends will be tracked and the metrics will be reported on
a quarterly basis to Purchasing Services.
Purchasing Services Payment
Guide (December 2002):
Feedback from the research community indicated that the
various vendor payment processes are confusing, especially when
an expedited payment is needed. Purchasing Services has created
a quick reference guide that explains how and when to use the several
payment processes. The Payment Guide will be available soon under
the RC-TIPS
Page on the Purchasing
Services Web site.
Department Manager and Alternate Department
Manager FAQ (December 2002):
During research on an issue related to the process for stoppong
payment to a vendor through M-Pathways, SPIT members in MAIS and
Purchasing Services learned that the University community was unaware
that a department can establish an Alternate Department Manager
to approve payments in the absence of the Department Manager. A
new FAQ sheet explains the roles of the Department Manager and the
Alternate Department Manager. It also describes how to obtain M-Pathways
access for both roles and includes information about voucher approval
notification and available resources for approving vouchers over
$10,000. The Department Manager and Alternate Department Manager
FAQ sheet will be available soon under the RC-TIPS
Page on the Purchasing
Services Web site.
Purchasing Services and SPRL Finalize
Service Level Agreement (SLA) (December 2002):
A SPIT task team felt that a closer working relationship
between Purchasing Services and research units would provide better
support and more timely processing for complex or specialized purchase
orders. To explore this further, Purchasing conducted a pilot project
with the Space Physics Research Lab (SPRL). The outcome of the pilot
project indicated that if a unit becomes involved earlier in the
procurement process, it can offer a high level of assistance. As
a result, departments that want a more active role in the procurement
process can enter into a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Purchasing
Services. An SLA also creates the opportunity to streamline departmental
business processes and develop procurement tools with the assistance
of the users. The program's advantages are outlined in the SPIT
December 2002 quarterly report, which provides information about
how you can discuss establishing a SLA between your department and
Purchasing Services. A sample SLA will be available soon under the
RC-TIPS
Page on the Purchasing
Services Web site.
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