Research expenditures (REs) are sponsored research funds spent to conduct research. 

Colleges and departments use REs to measure research-related productivity and activity as well as inform institutional re-investments. Centers/Institutes that support investigators with resources, such as physical space or project management, claim REs to reflect activity they support. PIs may share REs with co-PIs through roll-up indices, thereby aligning REs with faculty home organizations/colleges and research activities.

Yes. When MSU receives an award from a sponsor, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) creates an index number (roll up) for each investigator. As an investigator spends money, accounting staff will expense REs to the index associated with the PI's/Co-PI's home organization, which may be a department or center/institute. 

To share REs, PIs may build multi-PI budgets that identify the organizational code for each investigator. The multi-PI budget template is available on OSP’s website (https://www.montana.edu/research/osp/proposal-preparation/MSU_Multi-PI_BudgetTemplate.xlsm). 

A screenshot of an Excel spreadsheet shows a separate tab for each PI or Co-PI's budget

screenshot of multi-PI budget template

In the electronic proposal clearance form (ePCF), select "Yes" in the "Shared Distribution of Expenditures" option on the Budget tab.

Screenshot of the Budget tab in the ePCF. The user must choose Yes or No under the heading "Shared Distribution of Expenditures"

Yes. PIs may work with their home organization's OSP Fiscal Manager throughout the grant set-up process to share REs accordingly. REs cannot be shared retroactively.

It is possible to do this but more complex with the Banner structure once the initial OSP index numbers are established and assigned to a specific department/org number.

Whereas REs follow individual PI's/Co-PIs' home organizations via index numbers, parallel credit is a way researcher teams can acknowledge centers/institutes that contribute to their research efforts. For example, a center/institute might provide a PI with laboratory space, pre-award support, or post-award budgetary administrative services.

College deans and center/institute directors submit annual F&A reinvestment requests (partly informed by REs and parallel credit) to the VP RED that justify investment needs. This allows for a more global, equitable and thoughtful investment of resources across campus.

REs are recorded as they occur, and PIs can access Banner reports that detail them at any time.

In addition, OSP generates quarterly Research Expenditures Reports and the VP-RED distributes them bi-annually to the appropriate college dean and center/institute directors.

Deans and directors can distribute the reports as they see fit.

OSP has a process that allows all roll-up index numbers associated with the original award to generate reports for sponsors that include all expenditures.

Financial management depends on your department or college’s financial support structure. Fiscal Shared Services (FSS), a departmental accountant, or a center/institute program manager may provide financial management.

Importantly, the University Business Services Banner IT Team must provide a center/institute program manager specific Banner access should they have a different home organization than the PI.

If a PI moves to a different organization, it is possible to close the existing index number in Banner and open a new index number with the new department/org number. PIs should ask the Fiscal Manager responsible for their original organization’s grant to transfer the grant to the new organization.

Parallel Credit
  
F&A Reinvestment