Andy Cote, Theresa Girardi and Nancy Stewart, post-award administrators in the office of Grant and Contract Administration (OGCA), help faculty navigate the terms and conditions of their research awards. This team is responsible for taking care of important details and ensuring that faculty awards are handled with thoroughness and competency and that their research is protected. Because many policy and legal obligations apply to campus research, post-award processing can take time. The post-award team wants faculty to know they are working hard to make that process as efficient as possible.

Andy, Theresa and Nancy are the institutionally appointed contacts for implementing sponsored research agreements on campus. They manage many aspects of award activity to ensure all needs are being met. This includes helping Principal Investigators (PIs) navigate the terms of the awards and their responsibilities under them and working with various offices such as the Controller’s, CVIP, Legal Counsel and Compliance to ensure the terms and conditions of the award meet PI and sponsor needs as well as adhere to university and sponsor policies. Theresa says, "It's our job to ensure that the terms are compatible and acceptable with university policies. One of our roles is to help faculty understand those terms so that they are clear about their responsibilities under any given award."

Because UMass Amherst is a public institution, the team must consider state, federal and university terms and conditions and policies. They also manage the process of subcontracts for research performed at other institutions. Each team member is responsible for different sponsor groups, a list of which can be found on the OGCA award sponsor webpage.

In order to best represent PIs' needs, the team must treat each award separately and pay attention to the details of each project. Nancy says, "No two awards are the exactly the same. In particular, contract negotiations are absolutely conducted on a case-by-case basis. But even grants from the same agency may be different depending on source of funds and the PI’s particular project." Andy adds, "Different faculty have different needs. We have to recognize what those needs are and try to accommodate them."

Theresa emphasizes that being flexible is key to dealing with post-award nuances that arise. She says, "Being able to think outside the box and offer creative ways to meet the challenges that come along is also important." Andy stresses the importance of being informed about the needs of all parties. "In our role as conduits, we have to be really familiar with what various departments do and what the obligations of the university are. It is important and beneficial for us to be able to direct a PI to the appropriate office on campus for resolution of a question or problem."

Nancy, Theresa and Andy have developed their know-how over many years of service in grants and contracts. Theresa has been with OGCA for over 15 years. Her prior experience includes working in accounting for the town of Amherst and as a social worker for the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. Nancy has been with OGCA for 14 years in the same position. Previously, she worked in the Computer Science Department as a Grants Administrator. Prior to that, Nancy’s experience included working for a patent law firm. Andy has been at UMass Amherst as a grants and contracts administrator for 10 years, but has been in the field for over 25. He worked in contracts in various industries prior to coming to campus. Most notably, he worked for Hamilton Standard, concentrating on subcontracts for NASA projects.

With their many years of experience, the team has witnessed changes in the grants and contracts field over the years. Most recently, they have seen post-9/11 increased security measures affect the awards process. Andy explains, "Since September 11th the federal government is scrutinizing information exchange more closely now and passing down restrictions that could affect our ability to fully and freely publish research results." The increased restrictions have been challenging for the team. Theresa says, "Information exchange is becoming an issue and we are just beginning to become familiar with the regulations that have been implemented to control that. We're in a learning process."

Despite the diversity and challenges that characterize their jobs, the three team members enjoy the various aspects of being grants and contracts administrators. They want PIs to know that they are here to help them and are working in their best interests.

The post-award grants and contracts team wants to help researchers understand their awards and contracts. Please contact Andy Cote (577-1592), Theresa Girardi (545-0698) or Nancy Stewart (545-0759) with any questions.