When an investigator leaves Emory and wishes to transfer a previously approved grant or contract award to a new location, there are many factors to consider. First and foremost, most sponsoring agencies have a process by which this transfer must occur. An agency may have forms and/or approvals from both institutions (the current institution and the new institution) that must be received prior to consideration of any grant transfer. In many cases, the transfer request will receive administrative review from the sponsoring agency to determine if a transfer is appropriate and to determine the level of funding to be obligated to the new institution. The decision to authorize transfer of the grant is often based upon criteria that differ by sponsor, i.e. NSF (National Science Foundation), NIH (National Institute of Health), or NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It is important to remember awards are granted to the Institution and not in an individual capacity to the PI. Therefore, a PI will also need the support of the institution to the transfer the award. This may include approval from a PI’s department and school indicating they concur with the relinquishment of the award. Due to the complexity of the process (including reconciling award expenses at Emory to determine an anticipated amount of a transfer to submission of a transfer application by the new institution), award transfers can take weeks, or even months, to complete. Therefore, it’s important to start early by notifying OSP and OGCA as soon as possible when a grant transfer is desired. The specific steps required of faculty and staff at Emory will vary based on the specific details of each grant and/or sponsor. The attached document was developed to assist with navigating those steps. Use the link below to access this document.
