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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

• Blue Pages and the Research Website Index
• Purchasing Services Payment Guide
• Department Manager and Alternate Department Manager FAQ
• Purchasing Services and SPRL Finalize Service Level Agreement (SLA)

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.

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.

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.

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.