Faculty & Staff

Primary Investigator Responsibilities

When the University assigns responsibilities to a subrecipient through a subaward, the University remains responsible to the funding agency for managing funds and meeting performance goals. As such, the principal investigator (PI) is required to exercise proper oversight over the technical (programmatic), financial, and administrative activities of each subaward.

Although the PI may delegate responsibility for day-to-day subaward management to others, most notably to a Country Director or Project Director in the field location, the PI must exercise appropriate oversight to ensure that all University and funding agency requirements are met.

The PI’s responsibilities include:

• Identify and assess potential subrecipients
• Advise subrecipients of applicable USG laws and regulations, and appropriate flow-down provisions from the prime award
• Provide technical support to subrecipients in program administration, financial monitoring, and contractual management as needed
• Conduct financial and programmatic monitoring, including receipt and timely review of reports and, where appropriate, site visits
• Ensure subrecipient compliance with all Columbia University and subaward policies and regulations
• Take appropriate action in cases of recurrent non-compliance with subaward terms and conditions

These responsibilities and more are covered in the checklist on essential elements of subaward management in Essential Check-List.

Responsibilities in New York

Subaward responsibilities in New York are defined in the University’s Policy on the Sponsored Project Subawards. The policy stipulates that:

• The preparation and negotiation of subawards other than clinical trials conducted at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) are the responsibilities of the Office of Research Administration
• The preparation and negotiation of subawards for clinical trials are the responsibilities of the Clinical Trials Office (CTO)
• The Office of Research Administration (RA) is responsible for the final approval and execution of all subaward agreements/contracts and for initiating all procurement actions needed to encumber the University financial systems