Disposition of Awards
Disposition of Lab Assets
What Else Needs Review?
As soon as you are notified that an investigator is leaving UF:
Other than certain fellowships, most awards are made to the University of Florida, not to individual faculty or staff. Therefore, when a faculty member leaves UF, a joint decision should be made between the Department Chair/Center Director, Research Dean, Sponsor, and faculty member as to the disposition plan for each award.
To facilitate a conversation about which awards will remain at UF and which will be transferred to a new institution, faculty should notify their department grants support and DSP as soon as they decide to leave UF. Non-faculty positions who are listed as key personnel or have effort commitments on awards, or are listed on protocols, should also notify their department grants support and DSP as soon as they decide to leave UF.
When a Principal Investigator leaves UF, they are responsible for closing out the sponsored project just as if the award had run to its natural end. This includes approval of effort reports and submission of final progress, invention, and property reports.
Options for what may happen to an investigator’s awards:
If the University of Florida is transferring or relinquishing an award, the grants team will need to work to “closeout” the award in a timely fashion just as if the grant were fully ending. Failure to take any of these steps could result in the unit being responsible for many transactions that can no longer be paid from the sponsored project.
Assets in the lab were provided to the University of Florida and not to individual investigators. As with awards, the decision to keep, transfer, or return assets to the sponsor is a joint decision. The assets in the lab need to be inventoried in coordination with the department’s Property Custodian and Asset Management before the departing faculty member leaves the institution. The appropriate disposition of the assets of the lab is necessary to ensure that the University of Florida can meet its legal obligations to the sponsor by making sure items entrusted to the University are handled appropriately.
Equipment purchased on sponsored awards that are still active and will be transferred to the faculty’s new institution may be transferred without reimbursement for the cost of the equipment. The PI may be charged for ancillary costs such as dismantling or shipping and handling costs which should be paid for by the new institution. If the equipment was purchased using funds from multiple awards, the determination will be made on a case-by-case basis.
Equipment purchased on sponsored awards that are expired or on any other funds will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis with the PI, Chair, Center Director, Dean and Asset Management.
Review the information under “Donating to Another University” and submit the Disposal Request with the required information.
Sometimes, the departing faculty member has access to certain specialized items including data sets, tissue samples, or proprietary items from sponsors, etc. These items need to be reviewed to determine whether they should transfer with the departing faculty member, be retained by the University of Florida, or be returned to the sponsor. There also may be restrictions on how the items are transferred to ensure the privacy of the material and items is properly maintained.
The departing faculty member’s research should be reviewed for any special chemicals or materials. Environmental Health and Safety and Animal Care Services need to be notified that the lab is moving to make sure that any special chemicals are either transferred or disposed of properly and that any animal colonies are transferred or cared for appropriately.
Last updated 12/2/24