Policy for the Request for Principal Investigator (PI Status)

Policy for the Request for Principal Investigator (PI Status)

The role of the Principal Investigator (PI) on a sponsored program comes with a large amount of responsibility relating to the proper management and execution of an award. While some individuals, based on their rank, appointment, or title, automatically have PI status, some require approval from the Department Chair, Dean/Associate Dean, and the Vice President & Associate Provost for Research. When approving an individual to be a PI, each administrative level must recognize the administrative, financial, research, and compliance responsibilities that a PI may hold from either the sponsor or the University.

The purpose of this policy is only to cover PI status for sponsored programs. Acting as a PI on a compliance protocol, such IRB, IACUC, IBC, RSC, Laser Safety, or Lab-Safety may require a separate approval process. Further questions can be discussed with a representative of the appropriate Compliance office.

This policy applies to any individual who wishes to be a PI, but does not have automatic PI privileges based on their appointment. This policy also applies to individuals authorized to approve PI status requests from the department, school/college, and Office of the Provost.

Principal Investigator (PI)

Full responsibility for the oversight of a sponsored project, including the design, development and implementation of the technical plan; as well as all administrative aspects, and financial and non-financial compliance aspects of the project. The PI is fully responsible for the academic quality of the project and for ensuring compliance with the terms, conditions, and policies of the sponsor and the University.

Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)

Relevant as a designation on a grant application whenever allowed by the sponsor. The Co-PI is a member of the research team who plays a major role in one or more aspects of the project (e.g. conceptual design of the technical aspects of the project, management of the technical implementation, and administration of the project). Moreover, subject to approval by the funding agency, a Co-PI may have to step in and assume the full responsibility of the project. The designation of Co-PI, therefore, requires the same approval and consideration if the Co-PI’s appointment does not allow for automatic PI status.

The determination of PI status begins with the following distinctions:

·  Faculty

·  Staff

·  Postdoctoral Scholars

·  Graduate Students

Faculty with the following primary academic appointment have automatic PI status:

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Faculty without an automatically approved title will need to apply for PI status using the PI Status Request form.

Graduate students or postdocs who are applying to a fellowship where the sponsor considers the fellow the PI are granted automatic PI status for that project and do not have to fill out the PI Status Request form.

All other individuals will have to request PI status through the PI Status Request form.

Type of award and key considerations for PI status:

·  Research

o  Education – PhD in a relevant field is preferred.

o  Experience – prior research grants, publications, appointments, etc.

o  Nature of award – budget, length of award, etc.

·  Fellowship/Training (individual)

o  Sponsor requirements – Fellow or trainee must be PI on the project (see above).

o  Faculty mentor with PI status identified.

o  Staff will not be eligible PIs for this type of award.

·  Fellowship/Training (institution)

o  Only tenure-track faculty are eligible due to the BU requirement for graduate student mentors.

·  Equipment/Infrastructure

o  Staff are eligible for an equipment or infrastructure grant provided it is relevant to their primary job function. For example: service centers applying for instrumentation.

·  Conference

o  Nature of conference including budget, location, and additional terms of the conference.

o  Faculty mentor approval if request originates from a postdoctoral scholar

These considerations should be mentioned in the justification portion of the PI Status Request form. Additional documentation such as CVs, solicitations, or draft budgets are encouraged and may be mandatory based on the request.

Salary Distribution

Individuals requesting PI status must have at least 5% of their salary paid from non-sponsored program funds at the time of PI status request. This requirement ensures the PI is not using effort supported by sponsored funds to write additional proposals. The exception to this requirement comes only when the sponsored support specifically allows for career development or proposal writing (most commonly found with Postdoctoral Scholars).

Incoming Appointments

Faculty that are incoming to Boston University with a title that is on the automatic PI status list, but have not yet reached their active appointment date, do NOT need to apply for PI status provided they can provide a signed offer letter to Sponsored Programs at the time of proposal submission.

Postdoctoral Term Limits

Postdocs are subject to a 5 year term limit. If PI status is granted which will extend beyond the term limit, the department must be prepared to grant promotion to postdoc until completion of the project.

The PI Status Request form will ask for the following information:

·  Name

·  BUID

·  Department/Center

·  School/College

·  Title

·  One-time and type of award (see above) OR

·  Blanket PI status and term length

·  Date of current appointment

Each form requires the signature of the Department Chair or Institute/Center Director, appropriate Dean or Dean’s designee, and Vice President and Associate Provost for Research.

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