Manage My Grant - Penn Global

For those receiving support from the Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant Program, this page provides important information to help awardees get started and to effectively manage their grant.

Awardee Responsibilities

As a condition of receiving a Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant, awardees are required to:

Submit required reports and respond to questions and inquiries from Penn Global staff in a timely manner, and be available for meetings as needed to discuss Project progress and performance. 
Follow all applicable University, School/Center, and Penn Global policies pertaining to research ethics and safety, foreign travel, international collaboration, and financial management;
Submit semi-annual financial reports and annual narrative reports, conduct semi-annual check-in calls with Penn Global’s Grant Program management team prior to report submissions, and submit final narrative and financial reports upon completion of the project;
If requested by Penn Global, present their work to at least one University-wide symposium organized by Penn Global. Additional presentations to other audiences are strongly encouraged.

Getting Started

If your project is selected for funding, congratulations! You will receive an award letter with detailed instructions to help you get started.

In most cases, you will first log in to our grant management portal, powered by Survey Monkey Apply, to complete the following tasks. Be sure to complete these tasks by the date indicated in your award letter: 

Carefully review and accept the Terms and Conditions associated with your award.
Review and update your project abstract, which should be written for the educated non-specialist.
Complete the Budget Form, providing Penn Global with your correct Chart of Accounts information.
If the award amount differs from your original request, submit a revised budget reflecting the award amount.

Grant Terms

Funding Release Procedures & Conditions

Once Awardees share their designated CNAC-ORG-CREF segments and funding distributions are confirmed, the Provost-provided funding will be processed via resource transfer journal entry. The transfer will pertain to the fiscal year need, as determined by the approved budget. At this time, the matching funds applicable to that fiscal year should also be provided.

YEAR 1

If your project is awarded funding, you will be asked to complete a few follow-up tasks in Survey Monkey Apply. In addition, you will be asked to confirm and transfer, if applicable, your matching funds to the 14Fund. Only when these criteria are satisfied will Penn Global’s Business Office transfer Year 1 funding.

YEAR 2+

For multi-years Projects, continued funding is dependent on a number of factors including the satisfactory completion of all requirements associated with the award. It is expected that all programs submit their semi-annual narrative and financial reports on time and are confirmed to be in good standing prior to receiving the Provost Office’s funds for the fiscal year. That includes having received the Awardee’s matching funds for the year, or having confirmed with Penn Global’s Business Office an explicitly defined timeline of when the match will be received.

Failure to Comply

Project leadership who fail to meet their documentation and reporting obligations as outlined in the Award Terms and Conditions may jeopardize existing as well as future Grant Program funding opportunities.

Reporting Procedures & Deadlines

By accepting a grant, Awardees agree to submit the following reports throughout the project’s period of performance:

Semi-annual Financial Reports (due every 6 months)

Reports will be due on the following dates, unless otherwise notified:

JANUARY 31: covering the period July 1 – December 31 of each fiscal year
JULY 31: covering the period January 1 – June 30 of each fiscal year

Annual Narrative Report (due every 12 months)

Reports must be submitted every 12 months on either of the following dates, at the discretion of the PI.

JANUARY 31: covering the period January 1 – December 31
JULY 31: covering the period July 1 – June 30

Zoom Check-ins (due every 6 months)

Awardees also agree to schedule and hold semi-annual check-in meetings with a member of Penn Global’s Grant Program management team prior to each semi-annual report submission.

Report Submissions

All narrative and expenditure reports must be submitted via our grant management portal using forms or templates provided by Penn Global. Please note:

If no activity or spending has occurred within the most recent reporting period, please indicate this on the appropriate form, using “N/A” or similar for narrative reports and “0” for financial reports. 
Extensions on semi-annual report submissions must be approved in advance by Penn Global.

Failure to Comply

Incomplete or recurring tardy semi-annual report submissions will jeopardize the Awardee’s likelihood for continued funding.

Regulatory and Compliance Issues

Penn Global fund guidelines do not supersede any policies or protocols established by the Awardee’s School, Center or Department. The Awardee is responsible for ensuring that the Project meets the same departmental internal processes and review as it would for any educational, research, or other activity conducted within their School, Center or Department.

General Guidance for International Activities

The University of Pennsylvania places a high value on engagement with international partners. Please see the Office of the Vice Provost for Research for general guidance and important considerations when traveling or conducting research abroad or hosting foreign visitors in or at University facilities.

Disclosure of International Activities

Recipients of funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Department of Defense may be required to disclose foreign research collaborations, including those supported by Penn Global funds, even if such collaborations are not directly supported by U.S. federal grants. Please consult the Office of Research Services for agency-specific disclosure guidance.

Export Compliance

All Penn activities, whether conducted on campus or overseas, must comply with applicable regulatory requirements, including U.S. export control laws which restrict or require licensing for the export of items and technologies to certain countries, individuals, and entities, including some academic institutions in some countries. Penn’s Office of Export Compliance can assist with any questions regarding licensing requirements for specific activities.

Awardees will be notified if any potential export compliance issues are identified within their proposal.

working with human subjects

Awardees are expected to comply with University research policies with respect to human subjects and other required training and certification and may be required to undergo training on research ethics, human subjects review, and other subjects as needed and appropriate prior to beginning a Penn Global Research and Engagement Fund-supported Project.

Foreign Agreements and Research Collaborations

Awardees whose Projects require formal or written agreements of any kind, including Memoranda of Understanding, with foreign partners, institutions, or organizations should contact Global Support Services (GSS) before concluding any formal documentation. GSS can provide assistance at any stage of the development of new international Memoranda of Understanding and academic agreements.

Research collaboration agreements should be routed through Penn’s Research Inventory System (RIS) for review and signature.

Overseas Hiring and Tax Issues

The recommended option for hiring individuals such as research assistants abroad is to have a local partner institution hire, contract with, and pay the individual, and then have that institution invoice your School/Center directly. If you are not able to determine a partner institution to hire the individual, please contact Global Support Services: globalsupport@pobox.upenn.edu. 

Vendor Payments

Honoraria: Please be sure honoraria payments are given as a token of appreciation for participation in an activity or event, and not as a contractual obligation to pay services rendered. Payments should be initiated at the Penn Marketplace & comply with Financial Policy 2319 regarding eligibility & process. If you need additional assistance regarding foreign payments for honoraria please contact the Tax Office at doftaxoper@pobox.upenn.edu.  

Vendor Payment Procedures:  The preferred method is that all Award expenses be recorded on Penn’s books (i.e., Penn receives the funds from the external funder and then pays for the cost of the goods/services).  Direct pay by external funding source(s) should be employed ONLY in cases in which Penn Global Support Services (GSS) deems this method is necessary for specific reasons. Cash payments should be avoided unless absolutely necessary and require advance approval. For additional information contact GSS at globalsupport@pobox.upenn.edu

Individual or Corporate Funding: Any individual or corporate funding should be collected by the University of Pennsylvania. Please contact Penn Global Support Services (GSS) at globalsupport@pobox.upenn.edu if you have questions as to what types of revenue/payments are allowable. 

Office and Space Rental: Please contact Penn Global Support Services (GSS) at globalsupport@pobox.upenn.edu if your Project requires office or long-term space rental in a foreign country of 30 days or longer, as there are potential tax consequences and regulatory requirements.

Changes to Scope, Budget, or Period of Performance

REQUESTING A CHANGE IN SCOPE AND/OR BUDGET

Requests to shift funds in excess of 20% of the approved Project budget must be approved in advance by Penn Global. This includes when shifting funds associated with tasks across fiscal years. The total amount shifted from one task to another generally may not exceed 20% of the approved Project budget.

Please note that the Provost’s Office is not able to provide additional funds for any unbudgeted or excess costs not included in the approved Project budget, and that any expenditures outside the approved Project budget must be agreed in advance and confirmed in writing with Penn Global.  

REQUESTING A NO-COST EXTENSION

At least 30 days prior to the completion of the Project, the Awardee may submit a written request to Penn Global to extend the duration of the Period of Performance. This is subject to Penn Global approval. An extension of the Period of Performance will not result in an increase in funding.

Generally, and assuming there is clearly demonstrated need in the written request, Projects may be approved for a no-cost extension in duration equal to the original project’s Period of Performance. 

For example, a Project originally approved for 6 months may be granted up to 6 months’ extension; a 1-year project may be granted up to a 1 year extension; etc.
Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis, though the written request must demonstrate exceptional need and are subject to additional review prior to potential approval.

Important Note: Awardees are expected to notify Penn Global as soon as possible in the event they are unable to perform the work and activities of this Project, expend the Award funds for the purposes of the Project or within the Period of Performance, or are otherwise unable to meet the terms and conditions of the Award.

SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST

For requests to modify the scope of your award or re-allocate funding to an activity not included in the approved project budget or to request a no-cost extension of the approved project period of completion, you will need to complete a form on Survey Monkey Apply.

To get started, please contact Penn Global at global@upenn.edu with your request.

Attribution & Publicity

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SUPPORT

We request Awardees to identify Penn Global and the relevant Research and Engagement Fund (Global Engagement Fund, China Research and Engagement Fund, India Research and Engagement Fund, or Holman Africa Research and Engagement Fund) as a funding source on acknowledgement or publicity associated with the Project.

Penn Global’s logo and its Research and Engagement Fund logos can be provided to the Awardee upon request.

MEDIA & PUBLICITY

Unless otherwise requested by the Awardee, Penn Global may include information regarding this award, including its purpose, photographs, or other information or materials about your Project and its activities, in Penn Global’s reports, presentations, and publications or on Penn Global’s website and social media platforms without further notification.

Partnering with UPIASI

If you are engaging India, you are encouraged to consider partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Institute for the Advanced Study of India (UPIASI). Following is important information to know about working with UPIASI. 

Types of Services Offered

UPIASI can provide support in the areas of: 

Virtual or hybrid event planning and implementation
Project and related event publicity
Administrative support in connecting with project collaborators based in India

For a complete list of services, please contact UPIASI at info@upiasi.org.

Overhead Fee

Yes, UPIASI charges a 15% overhead fee for activities on which they substantially engage, so applicants must include this as part of their line-item budget proposal as they plan their UPIASI-facing project activities and support.

Contact UPIASI

As you plan your UPIASI engagement, please contact info@upiasi.org. In your outreach, please note that you are a recipient and/or applicant of the Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant Program. 

Managing Your Budget

Awardees are expected to abide by all University financial management policies and in general to demonstrate diligence and care in the use of Provost Office funds.

In addition, if federal funds are used as part of matching funds, care should be taken to ensure that the funds are properly segregated, tracked, and identified per applicable federal policies and regulations.

It is important that all revenues and expenditures related to a Penn Global Grant-supported project, including matching funds, be properly credited using the full 26-digit account string as confirmed during Project establishment. The 26-digit budget string will be unique to the Project funded and is not to be commingled with other Project revenues or expenses and will take the following form: CNAC-ORG-2-000014-xxxx-PROG-CREF. Budget segments are defined below.

Budget Segment	Explanation
CNAC & ORG	Will be award recipients’ home CNAC & ORG
CREF	At recipient discretion, but must be used for all Project revenues & expenses
BC & PROG	For IREF only: BC will always be 2, Fund will always be 000014 & PROG must always be IN00 For CREF (China Research and Engagement Fund) only: BC will always be 2, Fund will always be 000014 & PROG must always be IN00 For HAREF only: TBD For GEF only: Transfers are made to recipients directed budget codes & to be managed at home department

Deadlines & Reporting Matching Funds

As noted in the previous section, by accepting a grant, Awardees agree to submit financial reports semi-annually – or every 6 months – on the following dates, unless otherwise notified:

JANUARY 31: covering the period July 1 – December 31 of each fiscal year
JULY 31: covering the period January 1 – June 30 of each fiscal year

Reporting Revenues and Expenses from Matching Funds

Revenues and expenses associated with external matching funds are also reported semi-annually to Penn Global.

If you realize you have not used the correct account string during the reporting period, you should submit an adjusting entry to move the individual transactions to the correct budget string prior to the end of the reporting period.  If you do not, the Penn Global Business Office may request that you process adjusting journal entries to correct the affected transactions.

Please contact the Penn Global Business Office (PGBusinessOffice@lists.upenn.edu) if you need assistance in identifying or processing these corrections or if you have any general Financial Management Questions.

Additional Guidance For IREF AWARDEES

Due to fund restrictions – such as external grant funding (5xxxxx funds) or Indian government funds/CSR funds (IREF only) – some matching revenues may not be able to be moved to Penn’s 000014 fund. 

To count towards the funding match, you must document the funding amount, source and rationale for why it cannot be moved into the Provost funds. This documentation should occur during the Awardee Follow-up stage between receipt of formal award letter and award journaling.

With Penn Global concurrence, they will still count towards the Project but it is expected you will report on the spending of those funds in the separate external funds section of the Financial Reporting documents.

Allowable & Unallowable Costs

In general, Awardees may use funds to support direct costs associated with performing research or educational activities, such as data collection or analysis, field or archival work, or instructional activities.  All applicants are expected to exercise prudence, proposing reasonable costs for expenses associated with the Project.

Following is a list of the types of activities that can be supported by Provost Office funds:

Allowable Costs

Personnel Support

Support for incremental, non-faculty or permanent staff salaries and stipends (such as temporary positions), student workers and post-docs.
Fringe benefits for student workers and post-docs are automatically assessed with the salaries and calculated at 9.0% (rate subject to change annually).
Funds may not be used for faculty or staff salaries.

Equipment, Materials & Supplies

Support for equipment, materials and supplies necessary to perform the activities associated with the Project.
If the faculty members propose to purchase equipment with award funds for use outside the U.S., s/he must work with Global Support Services to ensure regulatory compliance. 
Certain types of equipment may not be allowed. please see Unallowable Costs below for details.

Conference & Event Support.  Support is offered for direct costs associated with organizing convenings (e.g., conferences, symposia, workshops), which may include:

Catering or meals
Personnel (e.g., research assistants to help coordinate logistics)
Travel and accommodations for speakers

Travel. Support for international and in-country airfare, as long as they adhere to the following parameters:

Airfare is limited up to the equivalent of five (5) economy class round-trip tickets/annum.
In-country airfare is permissible for partners or collaborators.
Follow all University health and safety restrictions related to any travel restrictions that may be in place.

Services. Support is offered for the following:

Hiring of overseas-based temporary employees essential to the Project. Please note that paying individuals outside the United States involves specific compliance considerations.  Awardees must review the Penn Global Award Payments and Travel FAQ document and consult with GSS as necessary before beginning individual engagements overseas.
Professional consultation and collaboration with key partners.

Other. Support is offered for the following:

Various costs associated with Penn faculty doing extended research in locations abroad (e.g., incentive payments)
Outreach activities (e.g., public relations) and publication or printing costs associated with the awarded Project

Unallowable Costs

Provost Office funds cannot support any expenses not included in the approved Project budget without prior written approval from Penn Global (see Changes to Project Scope, Focus, and Timeline below). In addition, Provost Office funds cannot support any of the following expenditure types:

Faculty & full-time operational support staff:

Faculty Salaries as defined by 501X-503X Object Codes
Staff as defined by 510X Object Codes (Professional Staff)
Staff as defined by 511X Object Codes (Support Staff functions)
Special Payments to Full-Time Faculty as defined by 505x Object Codes
With the exception of object code 5057

Note: Post-Docs, Research Staff and other direct Project staff is allowable but must be explicitly approved in the proposal phase.

Certain Kinds of Hardware, including:

New desktop computers and laptop computers
iPads and similar tablet devices
Smartphones

Research-specific hardware such as Zoom adapters for interview recordings may be allowed on a case-by-case basis, though these should be strongly justified in the application as essential to the proposed project.

Indirect Costs, including payments to partner institutions for indirect/facilities costs 

Student Travel for Coursework: Student travel for coursework* is generally considered an Unallowable Cost for Penn Global funds. However, student travel specifically for research tasks supporting a project’s tangible goals may be allowed on a case-by-case basis.

*Applicants seeking financial support for international student travel related to coursework are encouraged to contact our colleagues at Penn Abroad (goabroad@upenn.edu) to inquire about Penn Abroad’s Penn Global Seminars program.

Travel

More than five (5) economy class round-trip airfare tickets per Project per fiscal year. PIs are welcome to use matching funds to support additional economy class round-trip airfare tickets.
First or business-class travel: Only economy travel is reimbursable, or eligible for counting towards your matching commitment. PIs may use other sources of funding to upgrade economy-class tickets, but these upgrades cannot count towards match commitment.

Shifting & Unspent Funds

Shifting Funds

Funds may be shifted between tasks or approved program elements, in accordance with the following parameters: the total amount shifted from one task to another may not exceed 20% of the original estimated cost of the task. Requests to shift funds in excess of 20% must be submitted in advance to Penn Global for approval (see Changes to the Budget section on this page). 

Unspent Funds

For multi-year Projects unspent amounts will remain in the fund and carry forward to the next fiscal year for ongoing Project needs. Fund balances will carry-forward to the next fiscal year, with no action necessary during fiscal year close.

Any unspent Provost Office funds at the time of Project close will be reclaimed, not including matching funds. The disposition of any unspent matching funds will be the responsibility of the Awardee.

Awardees may also request a no-cost extension if there are remaining Project activities or Project expenses. Requests for a no-cost extension must be initiated at least 30 days prior to the completion of the project. No-cost extensions are subject to Penn Global approval. See Changes to Budget, Scope, or Period of Performance section above for additional details. 

Changes to the Budget

Requests to shift funds in excess of 20% of the approved Project budget must be approved in advance by Penn Global. This includes when shifting funds associated with tasks across fiscal years. The total amount shifted from one task to another generally may not exceed 20% of the approved Project budget.

For requests to modify your budget or re-allocate funding to an activity not included in the approved project budget, you will need to complete a form on Survey Monkey Apply. To get started, please contact Penn Global at global@upenn.edu with your request.