Grants and Sponsored Projects Policy

Custodian of Policy: Dr. Arrick Jackson, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs

Relevant Minnesota State System Policy: Policy 5.14 Contracts, Procurements, and Supplier Diversity
Policy 7.7 Gift and Grants Acceptance

Relevant Procedures: 

Effective Date: Spring 2023

Last Review: Spring 2023

Next Review: Spring 2030

Policy

Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) encourages faculty and staff members to seek grants and external funding to further its educational mission, vision, and strategic directions, enrich its scholarly endeavors, cultivate student success, and enhance services to the community and region.

The Grants and Sponsored Projects Office supports MSUM’s efforts to obtain grants and external funding and coordinates the administrative activities associated with awards, award agreements, award compliance, and sponsored projects in collaboration with MSUM’s Finance and Administration offices.

It is the legal and fiscal responsibility of MSUM to ensure grant activity and sponsored projects are compliant with the laws, regulations, and sponsors' guidelines. This policy provides reference to the procedures created to ensure MSUM’s compliance with federal and state laws and regulations and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities policy.

Definitions

External funding refers to grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to support research, scholarship, creative activity, educationally related program development, and special projects. External funding does not include funding from Minnesota State Colleges and Universities or from MSUM’s general fund.

A grant is a financial award to a recipient to conduct an approved project or activity that follows the conditions and criteria established in the sponsor's guidelines, which anticipate no programmatic involvement of the sponsor during the performance of the project or activity, but the sponsor typically requests an accounting of funds used and project results.

Grant activities include research, creative activity, public service, professional development, and other educationally related activities—described in project proposals and awarded funds from federal or state agencies, a public or private corporation, or a private foundation.

Sponsored project refers to the work performed under grants or contracts funded by an entity other than Minnesota State Colleges and Universities or MSUM.

Procedure

Grants and Sponsored Project Funding Procedures are under development and will be a separate document.