Manage Awards & Agreements

Sponsored Research at the University of Pittsburgh

Research is the foundation of a successful learning environment for faculty and students.  Through research, the University fulfills its responsibility to advance the state of knowledge, creative endeavors, and the practice of professions that serve a diverse society.  The conduct of research and the transfer of the resulting knowledge via publication are essential components to our University's mission.

Following execution of the relevant research agreements and in accordance with the University's Rights, Roles, and Responsibilities of Sponsored Research Investigators policy, investigators should:

  • conduct the research in accordance with the fully executed agreement
  • ensure continuing compliance approvals for the research project
  • submit reports as outlined in agreement
  • submit invention disclosure reports to the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute, as necessary
  • maintain academic and research integrity

The Federal Contract Services team, similar to the other two processing teams of the Office of Sponsored Programs (OR), allocates new requests for award reviews on a constituency basis.  Each department is assigned a Federal Contracts Officer (FCO), who is responsible for the review/award acceptance, negotiation, and maintenance (within OR responsibilities) of Federal Contract awards for that department.  This approach allows each FCO to become familiar with the departments he/she is responsible for and the specific types of research these departments conduct.  Likewise, this distribution of assignments builds rapport between the faculty and department administrators and our FCOs.