Welcome to Sponsored Projects at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing (JHSON).
The purpose of the teams working on Sponsored Projects for JHSON is to provide exceptional support for the JHSON research community in proposal development, submission and award management. Our goal is to be a critical resource for faculty in all stages of the Grant/Contract Process.
JHSON Mission
To improve the health of individuals and diverse communities locally and globally through leadership and excellence in nursing education, research, practice and service.
Conflict of Interest and Commitment: Faculty Handbook
University policies require that faculty report external activities, including those activities that potentially pose a conflict of interest or a conflict of commitment.
The Research Administration team provides faculty and students with proposal submission support including preparation of budgets, subawards, and adherence to proposal and regulatory requirements. Each faculty member is assigned to a Sr. GCA. Only the Research Administration team submits proposals into COEUS (JHU’s system of record for tracking agreements) for JHURA’s final review. We are also responsible for post award activities including, account reconciliations, effort reporting and contract management. We steward your proposal through submission, account set up and award administration.
SPG responsibilities:
Pre-Award:
Assistance with developing your proposal budget and budget justification
Determining allowable vs. unallowable costs during budget preparation
Ensuring that proposal is fully compliant with sponsor and regulatory requirements
Submission into COEUS which routes proposal to JHURA for final review
Preparing documents on subawards, if included in proposal
Submission of contracts into JHURA’s contract system, JAWS
Post-Award
Monthly and quarterly account reconciliations, projections
Precertifying effort for faculty in the ERS system
Entering Cost transfers when needed
Interfacing with SPSS (Sponsored Projects Shared Services), AP (Accounts Payable) and Purchasing
Submitting Subaward requests into JHURA’s sub system
Monitoring and paying Subaward invoices
Faculty research is enhanced by providing important resources, informational and training programs to support proposal submissions and also a weekly newsletter regarding upcoming training events and funding opportunities. Other services include
Intent to Submit (ITS) processing which starts the sponsored projects life cycle. Found on the OSI website.
All proposal projects must begin with an ITS. PIs should not submit proposals on their own. The ITS alerts us about the proposal and allows us to plan resources to assist.
The detailed response email which includes critical timelines, available resources and checklists tailored to the specific funder. See attached, exhibit ___, as example.
Coordination across other teams within the SON where needed:
REDCap
Additional biostatistics support
Data management plans
Instructional design
Marketing and Communications
Development and Alumni Relations
Editorial support
IT assistance
Coordination for internal proposal reviews
Assistance with biosketch development and formatting
Setting up workshops/training on topics relevant to proposal submissions
Assistance, if necessary, with grant writing
Dissemination of funding opportunities
Liaising faculty with the Institutional Review Board (IRB)
JHURA is the central research administration office for all divisions at JHU except Krieger School of Arts and Sciences. (JHURA does not cover the School of Medicine or Johns Hopkins Hospital.) For most federal proposals, JHURA submits to the agency on behalf of JHSON. JHURA negotiates grant agreements and contracts and is the authorized signatory on agreements.
JHURA’s responsibilities:
Draft and negotiate agreements
Provide the authorized signature on agreements
Submits proposals to the government
Workflows fully executed awards to SPSS for account set up
Identifies and manages export control issues
Manage and maintain COEUS
Draft and negotiate subawards and obtain required signatures
JHU 2021 Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy
Proposal Submission Workflow
Resources
Pre-Award
The pre-award phase represents the beginning of the grant life-cycle by creating and submitting grant applications.
Post-Award
Account set-up and reconciliation, necessary modifications, financial compliance monitoring, effort reporting, and project close-out.
Online resources
Online resources assist faculty in both pre-award and post-award phases.
JHM IRB SOP – Research with Private Organizations
JHM is willing to consider reliance agreements with private organizations that are collaborating with a JHM investigator on non-exempt research studies. A Reliance Request Survey must be completed as a first step to assess the organization’s level of engagement. If the organization is determined to be engaged in non-exempt research, the organization must meet the minimum requirements to execute a reliance agreement with JHUSOM.
Step 1: The organization must have an active FederalWide Assurance [FWA] or apply for a new FWA. Click here for guidance.
Step 2: A Reliance Agreement must be executed between the single IRB [Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine] and the organization. It is the preference of JHM IRB to use the SMART IRB reliance agreement as the basis of reliance. The SMART IRB master reliance agreement was created to harmonize and streamline the IRB review process for multisite studies. It enables reliance on a study-by-study basis, clearly defines roles and responsibilities of relying institutions and reviewing IRBs, and eliminates the need to sign reliance agreements for each study [e.g., a non-SMART IRB agreement].
To get the process started, visit: https://smartirb.org/join/. There are SMART IRB regional ambassadors available to help with the process: https://smartirb.org/ambassadors/.
In addition, if using the SMART IRB agreement, the organization must sign the JHM Letter of Indemnification [LOI] as indemnity is not covered in the terms of the SMART IRB agreement. JHM IRB requires a broad LOI to be kept on file and applied to all future studies where the organization agrees to rely on JHM IRB using the SMART IRB agreement. The LOI will be provided via email and must be signed by the organization’s signatory.
Once the organization signs the SMART IRB joinder agreement and the LOI, the JHM Reliance Team will issue a Letter of Acknowledgment (“Cede Letter”) confirming mutual agreement to use SMART IRB as the basis of our reliance relationship. The organization will have met the requirements for IRB approval.
Step 3: The organization will complete a local context review and subsequently be onboarded as a participating site. Instructions for completing this step will be provided in a separate SOP.
Other Considerations: In some cases, a private organization may be a ‘referral site’ rather than a participating site. For example, an investigator is conducting a retrospective chart review and wishes to obtain de-identified data from patient records at a private practice. The practice will need to access chart records to share de-identified data with Hopkins without participant authorization. In this case, the site could obtain permission from the participant to allow the Hopkins investigator to contact the participant, documented in the patient’s medical record. The Hopkins investigator could then create a consent form to consent remotely via e-consent or mailing the consent form. The private practice would only serve as a recruitment/referral source.
Resource Links
Sponsored Research Handbook
This sponsored research handbook provides specific information and guidance. Should you have any additional questions, please contact us at [email protected].
Contact Information
Questions? Our dedicated team is here to help. Email us at [email protected].