To establish the role and responsibilities of a Principal Investigator of an Externally-Sponsored Activity; the categories of appointments for those individuals who are eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator; and an approval procedure to allow those individuals who are not included in the default categories to serve as Principal Investigators.
This policy applies to all campus community members (including but not limited to university faculty (tenure system, specialized, adjunct, visiting), staff, students, Postdoctoral Appointees, visiting scholars, and visiting scientists) who are engaged in Externally-Sponsored Activities conducted in campus facilities or at off-campus locations.
Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation
The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for the design, scientific and technical conduct, administrative oversight, fiscal accountability, regulatory compliance, and reporting for an Externally-Sponsored Activity. Furthermore, to fulfill their responsibilities as a Principal Investigator, the PI must have access to all data collected as part of an Externally -Sponsored Activity. If the sponsor allows, an activity may have Co-Principal Investigators who share the above authority and responsibility. If there are Co-Principal Investigators, each shall have the authority and be responsible for the proper conduct of the activity.
An individual with an appointment in one of the following categories, whether in regular or emeritus status, with a Significant Physical Presence on campus as defined below, may serve as a Principal Investigator without the need to seek approval under this policy:
All other individuals not listed above must seek approval to serve as a PI of an Externally-Sponsored Activity in accordance with this policy.
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation delegates the authority to provide and revoke approval to serve as a PI to academic deans, institute directors, and campus administrative officers.
Upon approval by the applicable academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer, an individual with a Significant Physical Presence on campus as defined below and who holds an appointment in one of the following categories may serve as a principal investigator:
An individual with an appointment in one of the following categories may not serve as a Principal Investigator of an Externally-Sponsored Activity:
Eligibility to serve as a Principal Investigator of a compliance protocol (e.g., IRB or IACUC) that is not externally funded is the subject of a separate policy (see RP-18).
A unit executive officer shall first decide whether or not to request approval for an employee to serve as a Principal Investigator of an externally-sponsored activity. If not, then the process stops here. If so, then the unit executive officer shall submit to the applicable academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer a request for approval of an individual to serve as a Principal Investigator, which should include the following information:
The academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer should review all requests for approval taking into consideration the qualifications of the individual, the scope of work, the sponsor, and the level of mentorship available, if applicable. Depending upon the circumstances, the academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer may limit the approval to a specific sponsored project or subject to specific conditions. The academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer will document all approvals and make them available upon request to relevant units, including Sponsored Programs Administration, University Legal Counsel, University Audits, and other compliance units.
The academic dean, institute director, or campus administrative officer may revoke approval for an individual to serve as a PI for repeated and substantiated non-compliance.
For more information, refer to Office of the Provost, Communication 19: Sabbatical Leaves of Absence, Communication 25: Employment Guidelines for Specialized Faculty Holding Non-Tenure Systems Positions, and Communication 26: Promotion to Teaching, Research or Clinical Associate or Full Professor Titles.
For Frequently Asked Questions related to this policy, please see Business Policies & Guidelines.
The Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation may approve exceptions to this policy.