UF Office of Research Updates Commitment Entry Guidelines

Please note that the UF Commitment Entry Guidelines located on the Office of Research Effort Reporting & Management website and the Cost Analysis Effort Certification website have been updated.

While the changes are not substantial, the Office of Research would like to emphasize a few important points.

1.  If the Principal Investigator (PI) and/or Key Person effort on an award is reduced by more than 25% of the effort commitment in the funded proposal, prior approval must be obtained from the federal sponsor (see 2 CFR 200 – 200.308 c.1.iii).

• No changes are made in UFIRST unless sponsor approved. In the case of a sponsor-approved change, a UFIRST Award Modification, using the type Personnel, is the correct tool to use to modify and reflect the new baseline commitment. This Modification should be started and used as a mechanism for DSP to communicate the requested change to the sponsor. All requests to the sponsor should include an effective date of the change.
• Exception: NIH awards. Prior sponsor approval is only required for a change in effort for the Program Director/PI or other senior/key personnel specifically named in the NOA. Other personnel if not named in the NOA do not need prior sponsor approval, which puts the requirement on UF to manage the information. At time of next Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), all applicable changes should be reported to the sponsor.

2.  During a No Cost Extension, the original commitments of the PI and all key personnel are expected, unless otherwise stated.

• If the commitment was proposed in months: months are a finite amount and no additional months of commitment are expected…the time to meet the commitment is extended.
• If the commitment was proposed in a percentage: the commitment will continue at the proposed percentage level unless a reduction is approved by the sponsor.

Please reach out to the UF Division of Sponsored Programs with any questions or concerns.