Penn State College of Engineering Penn State Mark College of Engineering

 


Office of Engineering Research Administration

101 Hammond Building

University Park, PA 16802

814-865-1804

The Office of Engineering Research Administration (OERA) serves the research administration needs of faculty and graduate students in the College of Engineering. OERA’s research administration team is responsible for direct support and assistance to faculty in proposal development, preparation and processing; grant and contract administration; and coordination of activities with University and sponsor offices.

What We Do

  • Seek, obtain, disseminate, and file information on funding opportunities, sponsor guidelines, formats, forms, and procedures. Communicate with faculty and OERA staff on changes to sponsor proposal and award guidance.
  • Contact technical representatives and grant and contract specialists at agencies for follow-up information and report to faculty and research administrator as appropriate.
  • Advise faculty in proposal writing and preparation through discussions on sponsor guidelines, college procedures, and University policies and procedures, especially when human subjects, animal care, and complex patent and copyrights are involved. Prepare proposal subsections through completing cover forms, representations and certification, assurances, and other “boilerplate” sections. Prepare major sections of cost, management, and contractual proposals. Prepare sections on budget justification, detailed explanations of cost calculations, equipment descriptions, facilities descriptions, personnel compensation plans, and management plans. The successful accomplishment of the above requires interpretation of sponsor guidelines and policies, particularly when RFPs are involved, and University guidelines and policies.
  • Create electronic forms/software applications for office staff to facilitate workflow. Assist with software problems as required. Download forms and information for faculty and staff as requested.
  • Work with faculty and staff to develop their ability to use electronic resources and procedures for funding opportunities, proposal development, and other applications in research administration.
  • Prepare requests for associate dean’s approval in accordance with University matching policy. Submit to vice president for research for approval. Maintain lists of approved matching funds; update as necessary and notify vice president’s office if status changes.
  • Review proposals submitted by faculty for University signature and submission to various federal, state, and local agencies and private companies and foundations. The review is accomplished through analyzing the proposal for compliance with sponsor requests, college procedures, and University policy. Any problems are resolved through discussion and persuasion with faculty and administrators. Prepare electronic Proposal Internal Approval Forms (e-PIAF) and Award Internal Approval Forms (AIAF), budgets, and other required agency forms for proposal submission to agencies. Sign proposals on behalf of the Office of Sponsored Programs.
  • Process outgoing electronic proposals for completeness and transaction set compatibility. Submit proposals and receive awards. Check for errors in transmission and correct as necessary.
  • Monitor funding trends and report on internal and external activities. Act as COE coordinator for NSF Fastlane and future electronic interaction sites. Make administrative changes such as assigning pin numbers and processing no-cost extension; check for proposal status and continuation requirements for continued funding. Check for complete transmission and follow-up with faculty and agencies as required.
  • Efficiently and effectively contribute to agreements and master agreements, and other special arrangements through advising faculty of award terms and conditions as they relate to the proposal, sponsor policies and University policies. Identify procedures and responses for expediting the award process and pre-award cost applicability. Interact with faculty and University negotiators to obtain or author required background material, additional support material, revising cost proposals, and interpretation of award terms in relation to administration of the award within the University procedures and policies.
  • Enhance the conduction of agreements and master agreements, and other special arrangements through advising faculty on award terms and conditions, patent and copyright policies, sponsor financial policies, University financial policies, and University research administration policies. Identify purchasing, personnel, and space procedures. Monitor and comply with sponsor reporting and deliverable deadlines. Examine and interpret project expenditures and advise on allowable costs, and procedures for changing award conditions to meet project needs.
  • Work with federal agencies, faculty, and staff to develop electronic solutions to research administration.
  • Maintain pending proposals file including animal care and human subjects approvals. Generate management reports of current and pending support using COE database and OSP database via the web. Analyze and interpret research and/or financial data.
  • Organize special events and publicity efforts to recognize fellowship and grant recipients. Develop and prepare materials, brochures that promote outside funding opportunities. Offer education programs on all aspects of grantsmanship.
  • Review and process awards/contracts; initiate actions, interpret terms, check for compliance with proposal. Assist with negotiations, review for policy and procedures agreement. Prepare and process and/or verify revisions to research proposals; provide information to faculty; prepare initial and revised budgets and obtain necessary approvals. Assist with screening of research proposals for compliance with sponsor and University policies; make needed corrections to language and format. Prepare e-PIAFs and AIAFs, internal budgets, internal cost-sharing requests and other required forms for award processing. Prepare and process OERA comments and approvals to OSP.
  • Prepare AURAs, BARAs, and other IBIS financial, University, and agency forms to establish accounts, expend project funds, and report expenditures to sponsor. Set up accounts for funds transferred from other colleges/IRPs. Assist investigators with administration of various grants and contracts; monitor deadlines; resolve problems. Assist in the submission of invoices, other than the standard University invoice submitted by Research Accounting.