Frequently Asked Questions

A Research Contract is: 

• A formal agreement between the University of Ottawa and a sponsor to provide support for a specific activity under defined terms and conditions.
• A document which generally contains provisions related to the work to be conducted, the time periods over which the work will be performed, confidentiality, ownership rights, commercial exploitation and licensing rights, etc.
• An agreement where one is legally bound to produce results (deliverables).

A Research Grant is:

• An award where the funding is provided with the intent of encouraging a professor's research efforts or other studies done at the University of Ottawa.
• An award where the funding is to be utilized exclusively for the purposes described in the grant application.
• Grants are generally funding distributed by federal grant councils and other non-profit, philanthropical agencies. Funding is granted to a researcher by a sponsor, with an expectation – but not the requirement - that the task can be accomplished.

Research Management Services

RMS oversees post award management, including grant competition management, internal funding opportunities, external funding opportunities, opening of accounts, compliance with agencies guidelines, and research statistics/reports.

Innovation Support Services

ISS oversees contract pre and post award management including negotiation, intellectual property, and research partnerships with the public and private sectors.

Office of Strategic Development Initiatives

SDI oversees major infrastructure programs offered by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI).

Questions related to a contract?

• Contact Innovation Support Services (ISS)
• Phone: 613-562-5399; Email: iss@uOttawa.ca

Questions related to a grant (whether from an internal or external agency)?

• Contact Research Management Services (RMS)
• Phone: 613-562-5841; Email: info-sgr-rms@uottawa.ca

1. Questions related to a Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) fund?

• Contact the Office of Strategic Development Initiatives (SDI)
• Phone: 613-562-5270

• Overhead are used to cover the indirect costs incurred by the University for the conduct of research (e.g., heating, electricity, administrative support, etc.).
• Overhead costs are applicable to research contracts and are negotiated on an individual basis by Innovation Support Services (ISS).
• Generally, overheard costs are not applicable to grants.

The following documents must be received by the approriate research office before an account may be opened:

• A copy of the full proposal and any other supporting documentation (contract = ISS, grants = RMS, CFI = SDI) with the signed RE form.
• A copy of the Notice of Decision (NOD) from the sponsoring agency.
• A copy of any required certificates for the project (animal care, biohazard and/or ethics).

Once this information has been obtained, the research office responsible for your file will review and analyse it, then open your account with Financial resources.

• You will receive an email confirmation together with an official ‘Notification of decision’ (NOD) from Research Management Services (RMS) informing you that your account has been created and providing you with your account number. Typically, the account is set up within 24 – 48 hours of RMS receiving a NOD from the agency unless some information is missing or you need to fulfill some obligations prior to your account being created (e.g., ethical submission/approval). Even if your account is not set up, RMS will send you an email to inform you that your account can only be created once obligations have been met.

• Once you have obtained your account number, contact your faculty/department administration officer to begin accessing your funding. He/she may not have received the information (account number, budget and Notice of Decision from the agency). You may consequently be asked to provide these documents to him/her.
• Please note that all information concerning your research portfolio on grants/contracts is available through eAwards.

You will need to provide to the appropriate research office (RMS, ISS or SDI) all relevant correspondence/documentation related to the award, including:

• A copy of a signed RE form
• A copy of the Notice of Decision (NOD) from the sponsoring agency or any other documentation confirming the award
• All relevant documentation describing the project, terms and conditions related to the award
• A copy of any required certificates for the project (animal care, biohazard and/or ethics)

Once this information has been obtained, the research office responsible for your file will review and analyse it, determine the type of award (contract or grants) and proceed to open the appropriate type of account for your award.

• As per the Tri-Council Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), you are required to obtain the appropriate ethical approval within six months of the award date in which case the agency may consider that the condition of award has not been fulfilled and may reallocate the funding.

• You must inform the research office responsible for your file (RMS, ISS or SDI) and the appropriate committee (Animal care of Biosafety) in writing that work with animals and/or biohazardous material will not begin until a later date. 
• Please note that animals and/or biohazardous materials may be acquired and work initiated only after the project proposal has been approved by the University of Ottawa Animal Care Committee (ACC) and/or the Biosafety Committee.

•  The University of Ottawa’s Research Ethics Board (REB) can provide a temporary authorization to enable the release of sufficient funding to enable necessary preparatory work with the understanding that full REB approval will be sought and obtained prior to the researcher commencing any work with human subjects. To request such an authorization, you need to fill in, sign and submit a “Request for Preliminary Authorization to Enable the Release of Research Funds” form (1B Form), with accompanying materials, to the Office of Research Ethics and Integrity.

• Whenever you receive new funding, you must always confirm with the committee who granted the approval (ethics, animal care or biosafety) to confirm the relevance or eligibility of your current certificate in relation to your newly funded project.

• You need to contact the research office that is responsible for your project (Research Management Services – RMS, Innovation Support Services – ISS or the Office of Strategic Development Initiatives – SDI).

• The research office responsible for your file will draft a transfer agreement between the University of Ottawa and your collaborator’s university/hospital. This agreement will need to be signed by all parties before any funding is transferred.
• Please consult our website for more information on inter-institutional transfers.

• It is important to note that the principal investigator must initiate the transfer process with the research managers at his/her institution.
• In order for you to receive funding from a principal investigator from another university, you must provide the following documents to the research office responsible for your file:
  • Completed RE form with all required signatures
  • Copy of the application made by the Principal Investigator at the other university along with an updated budget
  • Copy of the notification of decision from the funding agency
  • Any certifications required for the project
• Once each of these documents has been provided the research office responsible for your file will proceed to sign an agreement with the responsible service from the other university. After the agreement is signed, they can open a project account.

• First, you must inform the agency and/or sponsor that you intend on transferring funding to the University of Ottawa.
• You must provide the following documents to the research office responsible for your file:
  • Completed RE form with all required signatures
  • Copy of the application made by the principal investigator at the other university along with an updated budget
  • Copy of the Notice of Decision (NOD) from the funding agency
  • Any certifications required for the project
  • Copy of the most recent financial report that was submitted to the agency
  • List of outstanding commitments at your previous institution (if you had funding from a Tri-Council agency, you will need to complete the F303 form.
• The research office responsible for your file will coordinate the transfer of funding with the agency and the other institution.

• You must inform RMS of your departure and the agency and/or sponsor that you intend on transferring funding from the University of Ottawa to another institution.

• RMS will review your accounts and provide all necessary instructions.

• At a minimum, you will be asked to provide a list of any outstanding commitments at the University of Ottawa. If you had funding from a Tri-Council agency, you will need to complete the F303 form.

• Via RMS, the University of Ottawa will produce and submit a financial statement to the agency and the other institution.

• You will need to provide information and/or documentation to the other institution. Please consult your new institution’s research office for specific details. 

• ‘Where’ the money is going depends on the type of account you have:
  • Cost reimbursable contract: There should not be any funding left in a cost reimbursable contract.
  • Firm price contract: Once all verifications have been completed by Research Management Services, i.e., deliverables have been met by the researcher, the University has received all payments, an account analysis was done to ensure all invoices have been processed, etc., residual funding will be transferred to the researcher’s general research account by RMS and Financial Services.
  • Tri-Council grants: For most programs, residual funding is transferred to the University of Ottawa general research fund to be reinvested into internal funding programs.

You can consult the Grant Management Procedures section of RMS’ website to view detailed instructions regarding account closure at the University of Ottawa.

• You cannot put all your research funding into one account for the following reasons:
  • Funding from an agency (public funds) is allocated to a specific project, for a specific purpose and as per submitted budget projections. Each project requires its own account.
  • You cannot mix funding from an internal source with funding from an external source (public funds).
  • Different agencies have different rules and regulations.
  • Agencies require separate financial reporting.

• All requests for extensions (internally and/or externally) must be requested at least 6 months prior to the project end date.
• CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC
  • In some cases a one-year automatic extension is allowed for CIHR grants and some NSERC and SSHRC grant programs. Please consult the list of grants that are awarded with a one-year automatic extension and a list of grants where the researcher must make a request prior to the end date of the award.
• Other external grants
  • You must request an approval from the funders.
  • Once obtained, you are required to submit a written approval from the agency to Research Management Services (RMS) in order to extend the end date of an account.

• An additional extension will be considered only in the case of extended leaves of absence during the grant period or due to uncontrollable delays to project activities. Please consult the list of grants for additional Tri-Council grant extension information.
• If the Tri-Council agency rules do not allow for an additional extension, under exceptional circumstances Research Management Services may grant an additional ‘special’ one (1) year extension.