SPARCS Year-End Reminders

December 2, 2024 mltowery

Please see the email below, shared by Kevin Schroeder, Interim Director of NC State’s Sponsored Programs and Research Compliance Services (SPARCS), to the Research Support Council listserv:

Hi everyone,

With the end of the calendar year fast approaching, I’m sending out a few reminders to ensure that SPARCS is best able to manage any required actions ahead of end-of-year deadlines. See below:

Monday, December 23 is the last working day of the year. SPARCS (and campus in general) can likely expect reduced staffing that day, so please plan accordingly and begin working now to move projects ahead that require completion before the end of the year.

PROPOSALS: For any requests for input on proposals, please follow our Timely Proposal Submission Policy (https://research.ncsu.edu/administration/policies-and-guidance/timely-proposal-submission-policy/). Please note that with reduced staffing, rush proposal requests may be more difficult to accommodate than usual, so please plan ahead, and submit requests for proposal assistance as early as possible.

AWARDS: For awards/agreements with end of year deadlines, please inform SPARCS of any such awards at your earliest opportunity so we can plan ahead. As in prior years, please do the following:
- (1) Ensure the relevant PINS record is completed and approved
- (2) Email sps@ncsu.edu, with me (kgschroe@ncsu.edu) copied with the subject line “EOY Award Deadline [Date], [PINS#], [Sponsor Name], [PI Name]”, and include the following information in the email:
  - Type of work to be funded (e.g. sponsored project, TSA, etc.)
  - Type of agreement expected (e.g. NC State template, sponsor template, task order under an existing master agreement, etc.)
  - Preferred sponsor contact information
  - Reason for the deadline (e.g. sponsor funding restrictions, etc.)

To limit the number of EOY Rush Award requests, please make sure that the deadline is an actual deadline and not just a sponsor or researcher preference. We expect to have a high volume of requests, and need to be able to prioritize appropriately.

Also, please consider whether a pre-award account may be an appropriate alternative to agreement execution prior to the end of the year, and if so, route a request for a pre-award account in lieu of requesting rush negotiations/award.

Please remember that for all urgent requests, SPARCS can flag the project and prioritize resources to make reasonable efforts to meet a deadline, but that does not mean that SPARCS will or can handle a request immediately, nor does it guarantee that SPARCS can actually accommodate the request prior to the deadline. Please make every effort to route projects to SPARCS early to improve the chances of the request being successfully managed on time.

Thank you, and please reach out to me with any questions, kgschroe@ncsu.edu.