Modifications

Modifications can be made to grants under certain circumstances.

• Budget Revisions
• No-Cost Time Extensions

Budget Revisions

Compliance

The federal government stipulates the conditions under which an institution may revise a budget without seeking agency approval (§200.308).

In general, institutions may shift up to 10% of the total budget to other categories without seeking agency approval. However, some funding agencies have more restrictive guidelines for budget revisions which are usually outlined in the award document.

Please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration & Research Compliance for assistance in revising budgets. The grant document and SPARC can assist in making a determination when permission to transfer funds between budget line items is to be pre-approved by the funding agency. Correspondence for all changes for budget revisions to the grant agency must go through SPARC.

Note: The awarding agency must be notified if: (§200.308(c)(1)) 

• There is a change of scope or the objective of the project (even if there is no associated budget change);
• There is a change in key personnel specified in the application or award document;
• The Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Director will be absent for more than 3 months, or their time devoted to the project is reduced by 25% or more;
• There is a transfer of budget dollars from F&A (indirect costs) to direct costs, or vice versa (if approval is required by the federal awarding agency);
• Certain items are to be purchased that require prior approval; such as capital expenditures for equipment with a unit cost of $5,000 or more.
• There is a transfer of funds allotted for training stipends (direct payments to trainees) to other categories of expense.

No-Cost Time Extension

A no-cost time extension is an extension of the grant ending date with no additional funding.

Carry-forward of funding in a continuation grant is the approved transfer of unobligated grant funds or cost match funds forward to subsequent funding periods.

Criteria

Federal regulations provide a set of criteria for approving a one-time extension of the expiration date of a federal award for up to twelve months (§200.308(e)(2)).

The extension may be issued unless one or more of the following conditions apply:

• The terms and conditions of the award prohibit the extension
• The extension requires additional federal funds
• The extension involves any change in the approved objectives or scope of the project

Note: This one-time extension may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using unobligated balances.

Procedure

Letter of Request

The Principal Investigator (PI) must prepare a letter describing the need for an additional period of time to complete the project objectives. The letter must address programmatic issues and may describe justifiable delays, such as the loss of a skilled technician. The fact that there may be money remaining in the project's account is not sufficient reason for an extension. If the sponsor's approval must be sought, the letter should be addressed to the grants officer, but sent first to SPARC for an authorizing signature. Be sure to provide signature lines for the Project Director and SPARC Director.

Timing of Request

If sponsor approval must be sought, and if the sponsor is a federal agency, requests to extend a project period must be received by the agency at least 10 days before the expiration date of the grant, unless otherwise specified.

Contact Info