The University provides Principal Investigators with the opportunity to receive temporary funding for sponsored projects that have not yet been awarded. The purpose of this program is to enable new time-sensitive projects to begin and existing projects to continue by extending the expiration date while award documents are being processed by the sponsor. Sponsored Program Administration is committed to supporting faculty research and has established the provisional funding process to ensure that faculty members have access to the resources necessary to perform research on sponsored projects in a timely manner.

What is provisional funding?

Provisional funding is temporary funding provided by the university to mitigate delays in the receipt of sponsor funds. A provisional-funded award provides the Principal Investigator (PI) with short-term funding in the same cost center that will be used when the official award is received.

How do I request provisional funding?

Submit a written request for provisional funding to Sponsored Program Administration. To do this, use the Provisional Funding Request Form (PFR). The request must include supporting documents from the sponsor showing the grant will be awarded and the detailed project budget. The Department or College must guarantee that any charges posted to the provisional-funded account will be reallocated to a non-sponsored project research account (e.g. indirect cost return account) if the award does not materialize.

Additionally, if an award is received and there are charges on the provisional funded cost center that pre-date the actual start date, these costs must also be reallocated unless they are covered by pre-award costs.

Are there exceptions to provisional funding?

Provisional Funding accounts are established for four-month periods and a pro-rated four-month budget will be allocated. This provisional status can continue every four months or until the award is formally established.

Projects that involve human subjects may not be provisionally funded until approval has been issued by the Institutional Review Board.

How do I use a Provisional Fund?

Once the request is approved, Sponsored Program Administration will set up the appropriate Banner fund and issue a notice of the provisional funding. The notice will specify the fund and index values so that expenditures to support the research being performed may be charged. Indirect cost will be neither budgeted nor charged. The sponsor will not be billed for charges incurred until we have received an official award, and the notice of award has been done. Once the award agreement is finalized, the interim funding is reversed and the award budget is established in the Banner fund, ensuring a smooth transition in cost accounting as the research project moves forward.