Put simply: Office of Research Administration supports/represents the applicant/university, (to a sponsor) or acts as the recipient of funding. The KAUST Research Funding is one of the sponsors we apply to and receive funding from. The Research Funding does not apply for, or receive funding; it is KAUST's internal funding unit.

The Office of Research Administration team is tasked with providing administrative, financial and contractual support to faculty in acquiring and administering external funding. Office of Research Administration assists in obtaining or participating and managing externally and internally sponsored research projects. Every university has an institutional and central office such as the Research Administration unit which supports faculty in applying for funding, developing and negotiating agreements (NDAs, MTAs) and contracts, grant management and ensuring post-award compliance with sponsor terms (e.g. reporting).

​Please email ora.preaward@kaust.edu.sa and we will send the relevant forms to you.

Yes. Unfunded collaboration is still research activity and effort which should be recorded. In most cases internal approval will still be required. Please email ora.preaward@kaust.edu.sa as soon as you know you may take part and we will check and ensure we are eligible to apply and support you.

Also, although unfunded, your contribution/s (cash or in-kind) should be captured; your effort (% time), and any cash contribution you will make. It is very common that sponsors will want (even require) this information so it needs to be calculated properly.

Information about sponsors, specific sponsor application process and procedure as well as KAUST internal processes and procedures. The Pre-Award team can advise, support and help you in proposal development such as reviewing the non-technical elements of a proposal and ensuring all required components are included and page limits adhered to. We are the point of contact for you for budgeting and will help you develop your budget to ensure compliance with sponsor and internal terms and conditions. The Pre-Award team will undertake the necessary internal approval before any application is submitted. If you are considering applying but are unsure where to start, what documents you need, contact us and we will help you, (e.g., we can provide you with a draft budget as a starting point).

Yes. It is very important that any (pre-proposal or an estimation of in-kind contribution), and all budgetary information is accurately calculated to avoid common mistakes such as

(i)  not including all costs: if you under-cost a sponsor may not allow a change in your final/full budget,

(ii) not including indirect costs, and

(iii) using incorrect rates.

​Every submission requires the following Research Administration documents for internal approval, (1) proposal approval form (“PAF”), (2) budget form, and (3) your proposal. Forms 1& 2 are internal forms and must not be sent externally.

​The pre-award team manages the Current and Pending Support form (“CPS”). The form captures and summarizes all research activity (funded or unfunded) and is updated after each application.

It is the Principal Investigators responsibility to:

(i) undertake a similarity software check. The University’s license for iThenticate® is administered by the Office of Academic Writing Services and the system is available for use by faculty members and administrators, (for iThenticate® registration/account set-up, please email Academic Writing).

(ii) ensure that the Institutional Biosafety and BioEthics Committee (IBEC) has reviewed the proposal (if required).

​Generally, applications are reviewed in the order they are received. However, sometimes proposals may be reviewed according to a sponsor deadline.

Office of Research Administration requests that the proposal together with the approval form (“PAF”) (completed and Principal Investigator signed) and final budget form are sent at least 10 working days before the sponsor deadline. In case documents are received at a later stage, Research Administration cannot guarantee the completion of the approval process.

​(i) External sponsors: KAUST Faculty (assistant, associate and full professor). Research Scientists* (R5 and R6 only) may apply where their salary can be fully funded.  For internal (Competitive Research Funding) applications: only KAUST faculty can submit proposals. (*unless a sponsor-specific criteria states otherwise).

The Pre-Award team will check the budget against sponsor terms and conditions to ensure all costs are eligible. If an eligible cost, the Pre-Award team will include indirect costs in the budget.

Your Pre-Award contact will develop the budget using the Office of Research Administration budget form and then will transfer the information into the sponsor template for you. It is very common that sponsors have their own template and have different headings for budget items.

​Please fill out the Outgoing Material Transfer Agreement Form. If you require IBEC approval, please contact ibec@kaust.edu.sa. The form will require the Principal Investigator’s signature, the Dean’s signature and IBEC approval (if required). The form is not the agreement. Once the Awards and Contracts team receives the completed form with the necessary approvals, a contracts administrator will draft/negotiate an agreement between KAUST and the other party to send the materials. Upon finalizing the agreement with the other party, we will then send a copy of the fully executed agreement to the Export Logistics team so that they may facilitate the shipment to the party receiving the materials from KAUST.

​Please contact your Post-Award Administrator to check on what approval is required by the sponsor. In some cases, this requires a contract amendment; in others the sponsor authorizes the recipient institution – i.e. the Office of Research Administration unit - to manage budget changes.

Again, it depends on the terms and conditions of the grant or contract. Sometimes changes to the scientific work plan are considered part of the annual reports, in other cases they would require a contract amendment if the changes are substantial. A Principal Investigator transferring to another institution requires a contract amendment in most cases if the Principal Investigator takes the award with him, or a change of Principal Investigator at KAUST needs approving.

You cannot charge any expenditure to the project that was incurred before the project start date. You should never start working on a project before the contract is signed by the sponsor.

No, all contractual paperwork for externally sponsored research should be signed by an authorized University signatory, as a legal representative of KAUST. The Divisions, Departments and Centers cannot legally bind the University, and all contracts should state KAUST as the contracting party, not the Department or the Principal Investigator. Principal Investigators are especially discouraged from signing contracts to avoid personal liability. A signature from anyone other than authorized representatives of KAUST may make a contract invalid. All contractual paperwork should be sent to the Awards & Contracts Team.

​The time it takes to negotiate contracts varies considerably. It depends on a number of factors, including the nature of the project, number of collaborators and the availability of the sponsor and their other commitments. It will also take some time to get internal approval from General Counsel and Technology Management, depending on their availability. Office of Research Administration will work very closely with you throughout the negotiations and will inform you of the progress of the discussions and any potential delays.

Generally, a subcontractor is a service provider. In the context of research projects, it is not normally someone who carries out research but someone who covers a small, ring-fenced part of the project that the KAUST Principal Investigator is unable to do. Subcontractors can carry out work such as analyses of samples, studies, or provide materials for research but they would not be considered for carrying out major research work within a project. In the contractual context, subcontractors do not normally own any intellectual property they generate; that is owned by the main contractor.

​Since your Contracts Specialist will be negotiating and approving the contract, it is a good idea to involve them at an early stage so that you and the sponsor are aware of the terms that KAUST would usually expect in a research contract, and that they understand your project and issues. This will speed up the negotiation process. Also, remember to request a Non-Disclosure Agreement from Technology Management if you are discussing any confidential topics with the potential sponsor; you don’t want to give your ideas away for free.

​We need certain information before starting the negotiating process to help us negotiate a contract for a specific project efficiently:

• Completed project proposal with summary, detailing all costs to be incurred in the project as well as all funding/income;
• Details of the industrial sponsor, including contact details of the main contact for negotiations;
• Details of any collaborators (external and internal);
• A list of all background intellectual property (IP) owned by KAUST or the sponsor that you envisage using for the project;
• An idea of project results / intellectual property, if any, that you envisage arising from the project;
• Any information regarding the sponsor's expectations about ownership or licensing intellectual property;
• Details of any separate projects that you have done, are currently conducting, or wish to conduct with different collaborators/sponsors that may impact on IP ownership in this project.

Please send the award letter or email notification with all accompanying documents to the Pre-Award team so the budget and start date can be checked. Any contracts or terms and conditions must also be reviewed by the Awards & Contracts team.

Each contract is different. The reporting requirements will be listed in the project factsheet that the post-award team will send you after the project account has been set up (pocket ID in SAP). If in doubt, contact your post-award administrator.

In the majority of cases invoices submitted for reimbursement will be based on actual expenditure posted to the project’s pocket ID unless sponsor specific guidelines prescribe a different frequency or format for the billing of the contract, grant or agreement. The post-award team is responsible for generating invoices and invoicing sponsors through the SAP GM billing system.

Sponsors remit payment via wire transfer or check deposit upon receipt of the invoice. If a check is sent directly to a Principal Investigator/research center/division, the recipient should immediately identify the fund to which the payment is to be applied to; note this information on the check stub and send it to the Office of Research Administration.

In the case of some public funders, installments are payable upon receipt of cost statements, which are usually lump sum payments based on forecasted expenditure. In case of any underspend, such advance payments will be reduced to avoid overpayment.

Contact Procurement for the latest information. If it is to import scientific materials as opposed to ordinary consumables, please fill in the Material Transfer Agreement request available from the Awards & Contracts team and submit it to mta@kaust.edu.sa 

​Contact your Business/Center Manager to arrange for staff to be charged to a specific research grant.

It depends on the sponsor’s guidelines. For most internal grants awarded through Research Funding 25% re-budgeting within any budget category is allowed based on the total amount approved for that category over the project period of performance. The re-budgeting should not result in a change in the amount of the overall approved budget. Rebudgeting for external grants depend on sponsor’s terms and conditions. Please work with your Post-Award administrator on such requests.

Yes. As an award recipient final expenditure report and a final progress report is required usually within 90 days of the period of performance end date or as stated in the reporting requirement section of the fully executed contract. This information is also provided on the project factsheet.

Due dates are specified in the project factsheet and in the fully-executed contract reporting section.