Pre-establishment of Account

NOTE: Must use netid@umass.edu to log in to form. Extended email suffixes not supported (i.e. netid@research.umass.edu)

The Pre-establishment/Pre-award Request Form allows for account set up in advance of fully processing an award under certain circumstances.    In order to approve a pre-estab or pre-award account set up, the Office of Post-Award Management (OPAM) must be able to confirm in writing both the funding amount of the pending award and the firm start date and an estimate of when the award will be made formally.  The request from the PI should provide a justification as to why it is necessary to set up the account in advance of the actual award being processed.

In some situations, OPAM will "auto pre-award" continuation funding from Federal sponsors when investigators have submitted their annual progress reports on time to the sponsor.  For more information about this automatic preliminary funding mechanism, see sponsor specific guidance.

The process for requesting the Pre set up of account is:

  • Complete the Pre-Estab/Pre-award  form
  • Obtain relevant signatures (PI, Dept Head,  Dean)
  • Provide Award commitment notice from the sponsor or if PI has been contacted verbally by the sponsor, provide contact information on the form.
  • OPAM reviews request, confirms information with sponsor, approves request, and submits documentation to the controller’s office for account setup.
  • If it is determined that the award a high-risk situation OPAM may allow pre-establishment if the department and college assume financial responsibility. The form will be re-routed for a second signature.
  • Controller’s office notifies PI of account activation