California Sea Grant

Sea Grant Institutional Awards - NOAA and State Resources Agency

Policies and Guidelines

 

1. Sea Grant Conditions of Award (revised September 2009)

2. List of Unallowable Expenses: Purchases in categories listed as unallowable will be denied.  If the purchases are necessary to the successful completion of the project, the principal investigator will need to seek prior approval from California Sea Grant by emailing sgfiscal@ucsd.edu.

3. Travel

  • Reimbursement for travel expenses shall not be higher than the University of California approved travel rates. These travel rates are published at: http://www.ucop.edu/ucophome/policies/bfb/g28.html.
  • If a foreign trip is not itemized (location, date of trip, estimated cost broken down by airfare, per diem) in the originally approved budget, the Sea Grant Director requires a written request with justification at least 60 days PRIOR to the trip in order to notify the National Sea Grant office. This justification should include all items under 4 below.

4. Foreign Travel Checklist: All travel must be in compliance with the Fly America Act (contact your campus Contract and Grant or Foundation office if you need further information). Domestic travel includes travel to all U.S. possessions or trusts, such as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Trust Territories, Guam, and Samoa. If a foreign trip is not itemized in the originally approved budget, the Sea Grant Director requires a written request with justification. Sixty (60) days PRIOR approval is required. Requests for prior approval of this nature should include the following:
   a) Traveler’s name;
   b) Dates traveled;
   c) Origin and destination of the travel;
   d) Detailed itinerary of the travel, name of the air carrier, and flight number for each leg of
the trip; and
   e) Completed Fly America Act Waiver Checklist if a foreign carrier is used on any portion of a trip even when no U.S. carriers are available.

Please allow at least 45 days for a decision to be made.

5. Sea Grant Research Traineeships:

These forms are fillable, but require a recent version of Adobe Acrobat (7 or higher) or the latest version of Adobe Reader (8.1.2) to save any changes. Visit Adobe to download the latest version of Acrobat Reader. Please email or fax (858-534-2231) the signed appointment form to Sea Grant for final approval. (Instructions on filling out fillable pdfs.)

6. Sea Grant Publications Guidelines

Sample Invoices

 

1. Sample invoice for Non-UC campuses (Main Research Invoices) (Traineeship Invoices). Any format will be accepted providing the invoice includes all the fields listed in the sample invoices. No back-up is required to receive payment. Additionally, to be in compliance, campuses must submit invoices at least quarterly. In order to have an overview of the project's progress, California Sea Grant will retain the right to randomly request ledgers.

2. Sample invoice/IRR for UC campuses. We will accept IRRs from UC campuses as outlined in the UCOP Operating Guidance No. 02-02 (page 7 of document, http://www.ucop.edu/raohome/cgmemos/02-02.htm). Any format will be accepted providing the IRR includes all the fields listed in the UCOP Operating Guidance. No back-up is required to receive payment. Additionally, to be in compliance, UC campuses must submit invoices at least quarterly. In order to have an overview of the project's progress, California Sea Grant will retain the right to randomly request ledgers.

Reports Due

 

1. Annual Cost Share Report: Report is due within 45 days following the end of each award year.  Time extensions do not change the due date of the cost share reports.  Additionally, all cost share must be from a non-federal source.  In reporting equipment cost share, the principal investigator must claim the fair market value or depreciated value of the equipment.

The agency expects the non-federal share to be expended at the same general rate as the federal funds.  Therefore, the principal investigator's institution is responsible for keeping an accounting of matching information throughout the year.  The principal investigator's institution will be the office of record for the cost share and therefore must keep the back-up documentation in their files.  The cost share amount reported to California Sea Grant is then reported to the agency.  In addition to submitting the cost share report to Sea Grant, the principal investigator should also report their cost share amount as indicated by their institution's policy.

2. Final Expense Report - Main Research: Report is due within 45 days following the termination of the project funds. The principal investigator or administrative contact should submit the report through their institution’s grants management or extramural funds office.
           
3. Final Expense Report - Traineeship: Report is due within 45 days following the end of each award year.  This report is only required if the award has a traineeship.  The principal investigator or administrative contact should submit the report through their institution’s grants management or extramural funds office.

4. Equipment Inventory Report: If the principal investigator has purchased equipment with Sea Grant funds, the California Sea Grant office requires that an Equipment Inventory Report be submitted within 45 days following the end of each award year.

5. Patent Report: All potentially patentable ideas, inventions, discoveries or improvements made during the grant term must be disclosed promptly.

6. Progress Reporting

  • Annual Progress Reports: At the end of every fiscal period, a call is issued for a report on the results from the preceding grant year. Each project leader is required to complete an
    annual progress report. This report is due 30 days after each award year, regardless of extensions. For terminating projects, a final progress report is due 45 days after the termination of the project.
  • CALFED fellows should submit the CALFED Progress Report.
HELP

For Computer help: webhelp@seamail.ucsd.edu
For financial questions: sgfiscal@ucsd.edu