Opening Research Accounts & Transfers

Congratulations on your successful proposal!

Before you can start spending, a research account (i.e. "research project") is required. Details on how to open a new research project and how to transfer funds to your colleagues at other institutions can be found below:

How to open a new research project

• New research projects are requested through the Office of Research Services (ORS) who forwards your Notice of Award and approved Data Summary and Signature (DSS) form to Research Accounting.

• Provide ORS Research Facilitator with a copy of your Notice of Award and the breakdown of your awarded budget into the categories of Personnel, Grad stipend, Supplies, Equipment, Travel, or Other. They will update your DSS to reflect the new budget line item category amounts in addition to changing the funding status and grant period, and ensuring that certification requirements have been met. The Facilitator also will obtain the signature of the Associate Director of Research Services.

• Notify the Research Facilitator when certifications have been received. The Research Facilitator will verify approval with the certification coordinator (or verify approval in the certification software platform in the case of research ethics approval, i.e., ROMEO) and update the DSS with the certification number(s). Note that documentation cannot be sent to Research Accounting if there are any pending certification requirements, for example, animal care, ethics, and/or biohazards.

• You will know that Financial Services has opened your new research project when you receive a Signing Authorization Card requesting you to sign it and return it to them. Your new project number will be indicated on this card. Research Accounting will also provide you with the appropriate fund number and department code, which you will require in order to submit expenditures against your research project.

How to transfer funds to a co-investigator at another institution

• The transfer of funds from one institution to another is coordinated through ORS.

• Provide the ORS Research Facilitator with the following information:

1. Names of the co-investigator and Director of the other institution's research office
2. Full mailing address of the institution's research office
3. Amount and budget of the funds to be transferred
4. One fully completed cheque requisition

• ORS will confirm there is available budget with Research Accounting, prior to preparing a Transfer of Funds letter.

• The ORS Research Facilitator will prepare a Transfer of Funds letter and request your signature prior to forwarding it electronically to the other institution to be counter-signed.

• When ORS receives the fully executed Transfer of Funds letter, the Facilitator will send your cheque requisition and the fully signed letter to Research Accounting.

• Research Accounting will process and forward the cheque to the co-investigator's research office.