As discussed in Section 6.1, the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP) normally receives the award notice on behalf of the university; reviews the terms and conditions of the award; forwards the award notice and attendant materials to the Principal Investigator/Project Director (PI/PD) for review and acceptance of the award and its obligations; negotiates with the sponsor regarding any terms or conditions that are problematic to the university; and ultimately accepts the award on behalf of the institution.

The award notice document provided by the sponsor is used to establish a separate university account for the intended purpose of the award. For the establishment of the account in the amount of the award, the ORSP furnishes the necessary grant/contract information, including a budget, to the Accounting Office. The Accounting Office notifies the PI/PD of the assigned account number and provides information regarding expending the award.