Pre-award Administration

Investigators in the process of preparing grant applications or initiating contracts may find the following information helpful.

Grant Applications

Due to the unique nature of studies involving human subjects, all clinical research projects at Seattle Children’s Research Institute require protocol review by the Office of Sponsored Research's (OSR) clinical research budget analysts (CRBAs). The CRBAs work with investigators and their staff to identify research-related vs. standard-of-care service pricing, identify resource availability, prepare study budgets and ensure clinical research billing compliance.

Steps to Prepare Grant Applications

1. Notify your designated grants manager (PDF) of an upcoming submission no later than 10 business days before the proposal due date. If submitting a new NIH grant or competing renewal, please notify your grants manager six to eight weeks in advance of the submission deadline. This will provide adequate time to coordinate with subcontract sites, route internal documents and ensure a timely submission.
2. Send a copy of the protocol or research plan to your grants manager and include the clinical research budget analysts (CRBA) in your e-mail.
3. After CRBA review, the budget is forwarded to your grants manager for review, entry into sponsor format and further budget development as needed.
4. Your grants manager initiates any outgoing subcontracts and prepares all required grant application forms and research institute sign-off, policies and form OSR-10.
5. OSR reviews application forms and OSR-10 form to ensure compliance with sponsor guidelines and research institute policies prior to approval.
6. Once approved, the grant is submitted, and confirmation of submission is sent to the principal investigator (PI).

Subcontracts

Seattle Children’s investigators are often invited by colleagues to participate in ongoing or proposed research projects. If you plan to engage in a research project with a collaborating institution, please contact your grants manager (PDF) to initiate a subcontract application.

Required Subcontract Components

• Budget
• Budget Justification
• Scope of Work
• Checklist
• Updated NIH Biosketch
• Resource Page
• Letter of Intent

Industry Contracts

An industry agreement defines the contractual relationship between an industry entity and Seattle Children’s Research Institute for the performance or financial support of a clinical study. Industry agreements specify each party's rights and responsibilities and include financial terms, including the budget and payment schedule by which the industry entity will pay the research institute for conducting the study.

The Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) is the authorized agent for negotiating industry agreements on behalf of the research institute. OSR acts as a liaison between industry and principal investigators to ensure such agreements are consistent with research institute policies. Clinical studies conducted under an industry agreement may be either industry-initiated or investigator-initiated and may be negotiated either directly with industry or with a Contract Research Organization (CRO) representing a sponsor. Principal investigators may be asked to countersign an agreement indicating that they have read and understood its terms, but are not authorized to independently negotiate agreements on behalf of the research institute.

Steps to Initiating a Contract

1. PI notifies grants manager (PDF) of pending contract(s), concurrently informing OSR Research Contracts and CRBAs and including a project protocol for pricing of clinical billable events and a Clinical Trial Request Form (DOC).
2. CRBAs work with the study team to complete a financial responsibility analysis and develop a budget based on the project protocol. PI approval of the budget is required prior to contract negotiation by OSR.
3. As negotiations near completion, OSR requests an OSR-10 form from the grants manager indicating institutional approvals for the project 
4. OSR negotiates the budget and contract terms, confirms institutional approvals and obtains the required signatures for contract execution. 
5. OSR processes an activity set-up request to be submitted to the Office of Research Finance for entry into Lawson. 
6. Upon full execution of the contract, OSR forwards a copy of the signed agreement, final budget, OSR-10 form and Activity Set-up Request form to the grants manager. 

Facilities and Administration Costs (Indirect Costs)

Facilities and Administration (F and A) costs, also known as indirect costs, are basic expenses associated with maintaining research infrastructure. F and A rates are based on Seattle Children’s Research Institute's actual operating costs and are calculated based on federal guidelines on a regular basis. The research institute's rates are reviewed by and negotiated with the Department of Health and Human Services

For questions you might have about F and A costs, see F and A Costs Frequently Asked Questions.