Award Processing

The roles & responsibilities of the Award Services team:

Award Acceptance/Receipt for Setup

ORED Award Services is solely responsible for negotiating, signing, and corresponding on all administrative matters with the prime sponsor.

Award notices are typically received directly by ORED from the sponsor. If a department or faculty member receives an award notice, it must be promptly forwarded to ORED Award Services (doraward@fiu.edu) to initiate review. ORED will assign an Award Services team member to review and negotiate terms, address unacceptable provisions, and communicate with the PI. At the same time, the assigned Post‑Award representative will work with the PI on budget setup and financial matters.

Pre-Award Requests

A Principal Investigator may request a Pre‑Award Release of Funds, when allowable, to charge eligible expenses incurred up to 90 days prior to the project start date. These costs are at risk—if the award is not finalized, the department is fully responsible.
The request requires a completed and signed Pre‑Award Release form, including a Guarantee ID. The Guarantee ID must be an unrestricted account and will cover any costs if the request is denied or the award is not received.

Compliance Requirements Overview

Before an award can be set up, the Office of Research & Economic Development (ORED) conducts a compliance review to confirm that all required approvals, disclosures, and trainings have been completed.

Federal Sponsor Reporting Requirements

The United States Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to promoting and protecting U.S. research and innovation from the risk of misappropriation, undue influence and theft by foreign governments.

Certain mandatory disclosures and reports are both an institutional and an investigator responsibility. In addition to federal sponsor requirements, both NSPM33 and the Chips and Science Act require investigator disclosures. Please click here for detailed information on the requirements.

For each award, the project file must include the items listed below.

General Compliance

For each award, the project file must include the items listed below.

1. HR Outside Activity Disclosure

All individuals working on the project must complete an Outside Activities and Financial Interests Disclosure form through the HR electronic disclosure portal, in accordance with FIU’s Conflict of Interest in Research Policy #2370.005.

 Disclosures must be completed annually (by fiscal year) and within 30 days of acquiring a new outside activity or financial interest, including any Significant Financial Interests.

 Because project personnel are participating in research activities, Question #1 must be selected and completed on the disclosure form.

2. Award Action Report – Conflict of Interest (DocuSign)

An Award Action Report of Conflict of Interest for Employees Engaged in Sponsored Activities must be completed via DocuSign.

The Project ID is required to complete this form.
Access the form here:
https://powerforms.docusign.net/bc9532f1-ecd2-4e3a-a243-4faf566e56a9

3. CITI Conflict of Interest (COI) Training

All applicable personnel must complete a valid CITI Conflict of Interest Training.

Training details and instructions are available here:
https://research.fiu.edu/coi/training/

4. Research Security Training (Federal Requirement)

As part of federal research security requirements, ORED must collect Research Security Training certificates for all individuals designated as “Covered Individuals” on the project.

Covered Individual definitions vary by sponsoring agency and are summarized below:

Agency	Covered Individuals	Policy or Notice Link
DOE	PI, PD, Co-PI, Co-PD, project manager, any individual functionally performing as a PI, PD, Co-PI, Co-PD, or project manager. DOE may expand this list as specified in NOFO and/or terms and conditions of the Federal financial assistance award.	DOE Training Requirement FAL 2025-02
NSF	Senior/Key Personnel	Important Notice 149
USDA	Each individual employed by the recipient to work on the award	USDA General Terms & Conditions
NIH	Senior/Key Personnel	NOT-OD-26-017
NASA	• Any Principal Investigator (PI), regardless of level of effort • Any Co-PI, regardless of level of effort • Any Co-investigator (Co-I) proposing to spend ten percent or more of their time in any given year on a NASA-funded award	GIC 26-02

CITI Research Security Training Options (FIU)

FIU partners with the CITI Program to provide training that satisfies federal research security requirements.

Available Courses:

Research Security Training (Combined Course)
- A one‑hour, single‑module course based on the NSF SECURE Center Consolidated Training Module (CTM v1).
- This course meets the requirements of Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act.
- Recognized as compliant by multiple federal agencies.
Research Security Advanced Refresher
- Required by NSF 12 months after completion of the initial Research Security Training.

How to Access the CITI Research Security Course

Go to: http://www.citiprogram.org

New Users:

Register for an account.
Select “Florida International University” as your organization.

Existing Users:

Course Enrollment:

Click My Courses.
Under Learner Tools for Florida International University, click Add a Course.
Under CITI Course Enrollment Questions, select Research Security.
Click Next.
Choose Research Security Training (Combined Course).

The course will appear under My Courses.

Project Specific Compliance

Depending on the project’s scope of work, ORED also reviews the following compliance areas:

1. Environmental Health & Safety (EHS)

Required safety review forms must be completed when applicable.
Access the form here.

2. Human Subjects, Animal Welfare, Biosafety, and Dual Use Research

Includes IRB, IACUC, IBC, and IRE reviews, as applicable.
Guidance and approvals are managed through the Office of Research Integrity:
https://research.fiu.edu/compliance/

3. Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR)

Required training or approvals when applicable.
See: https://research.fiu.edu/compliance/

4. Export Controls

ORED reviews award documents for:
- Foreign national participation restrictions
- Clauses requiring a Technology Control Plan
https://research.fiu.edu/compliance/

5. E Verify Requirements

ORED reviews awards for E‑Verify clauses.
E‑Verify is a federal system used to confirm employment eligibility under the Employment Verification Act of 2009.

6. NIST SP 800 171 (Controlled Unclassified Information)

If NIST clauses are included in the award, ORED ensures appropriate compliance steps are taken.

7. Nepotism in Research

All faculty must disclose any familial or close personal relationships that could pose a conflict of interest.
This requirement applies to FIU awards and subawards received or issued.

8. Jessica Lunsford Act Certification

Required for FIU employees who:
- Access Florida public school grounds when students are present,
- Have direct contact with Florida public school students, or
- Have access to or control of Florida public school funds.
Each applicable employee must complete the certification form.

Award Setup

Once the award is fully executed and all compliance requirements are satisfied, ORED forwards the award to Post‑Award for AWD and Project ID activation and setup.

Need Assistance?

FIU’s Office of Research and Economic Development (ORED) Award Services is solely responsible for negotiating, signing, and corresponding on all administrative matters with the prime sponsor.

Questions? Please contact ORED Award Services Team at doraward@fiu.edu or 305-348-2494.