Carryover Requests SOP

This standard operating procedure (SOP) includes the following sections: PurposeProcedureContacts, and Links.

Some links will work for NIAID staff only.

Purpose

To enable grantees that do not have automatic carryover to use unexpended prior year grant funds in a current budget period.

Procedure

Unless automatic carryover of authority is indicated on the Notice of Award, grantees must request prior approval in writing from NIAID to carry over funds from a prior budget period for the following mechanisms:

  • Research center grants (P30, P50, P60).
  • Cooperative agreements.
  • SBIR and STTR grants have automatic carryover authority within competing segments, but not from one competing segment to the next.
  • Training grants with a last competing year of 2005 or later.
  • Fellowships.

For more information on activities that require NIAID approval, see the Prior Approvals for Post-Award Grant Actions SOP.

Grantee Institutions

  • Submit Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) on time. A carryover request will not be reviewed and acted upon if financial information is incomplete.
  • Submit a carryover request electronically or by emailing the appropriate grants management specialist and program officer.
    • To submit an electronic request:
      • Open the Prior Approval module in eRA Commons.
        • On the Prior Approval Request page, complete each section:
          • Request Detail
          • Explanation of Unobligated Balance
          • Detailed Budget
          • Scientific Justification
        • Find complete instructions in Section 12.22.1 Initiate Carryover Request in the eRA Commons User Guide.
    • To submit a carryover request by email:
      • Sign and email PDF version of carryover requests to the appropriate grants management specialist and program officer. Include the following information:
        • Grant number and name of PI.
        • Reason for the unobligated balance.
        • The amount of funds to be carried over: direct, facilities and administrative (F&A), and total costs.
        • Detailed budget, including personnel names and calendar month effort. NIAID will generally not consider "to be named" personnel.
        • Facilities and administrative costs for the grantee and subawardees, using the F&A rates approved for the current year, at the time the competing award was issued. For example, if requesting carryover from year 1 to year 3, the F&A rate used to calculate F&A for carryover is the rate used to initially calculate year 3 funds. Report actual expenditures based on the F&A rate applicable when costs are incurred. 
          • Checklist page reflecting the requested F&A rate and F&A costs.
        • Budgetary and scientific justifications.
          • For recurring expenses such as supplies and personnel, describe how you will pay for these items in the future.
          • Give reasons why the work cannot be accomplished through rebudgeting of current budget period funds.
        • Contact information for the PI and authorized business official.
        • If new personnel are added, include appropriate required personnel information, e.g., human subjects education certification, biosketch, other support.
    • Limit carryover requests to your actual needs for the current budget period. Subsequent needs will be considered in future budget periods.

Principal Investigators

  • Email carryover requests to the business official at your institution.
    • Explain why funds remain.
    • Include your categorical budget and justification.
    • Provide the scientific rationale for your request.

Grants Management Staff

  • Review the carryover request within 30 days from the time you receive all of the required documents.
  • Verify that the available unobligated balance on the Federal Financial Report is equal to or greater than the carryover request.
  • Review the grant file for any previous requests/approvals that are not fully spent. If there is a pattern of not spending money or requesting but not spending carryover funds, it may indicate that the grant is overfunded, the carryover is not necessary, and consider reducing future year commitments .
  • Review a grantee's request for reasonability, and send a copy to the program officer for review.
    • If both Grants and Program approve, approve the request and issue a revised Notice of Award to reflect the carryover.
    • If either the program officer or you do not approveemail the grantee indicating the reason, and upload the e-mail to the file.

For more details, GMP staff can see the GMP Carryover and Offset of Unobligated Funds SOP .

Program Officers

  • If you receive a carryover request from a PI, keep a copy and immediately forward the original to the grants management specialist.
  • Review requests and approve only if reasonable, within the original scope of the project, and justified based on scientific need and project budget.
  • Email your determination (approved or disapproved) to the grants management specialist, sign and date, then forward to GMP. If disapproval is recommended, state the reason.

Contacts

Grantees with questions should contact the program officer or grants management specialist listed in the eRA Commons . For more information, see Contacting Program Officers and Grants Management Specialists.

Use the contacts listed above for questions about your specific situation. If you have a general question or a suggestion to improve this page, email the Office of Knowledge and Educational Resources at deaweb@niaid.nih.gov.

Links

eRA Commons

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