Policy & Procedure updates - July 26, 2023

The following draft documents, which have completed the committee stages of their formal review, are now available for community review and comment and are posted on the Policies & Procedures Drafts page. The documents will be posted on the drafts site for 2 weeks. Please discuss the documents with the appropriate people in your department and send any applicable feedback to controllers.office@yale.edu.

Documents for review:

• Policy 1304 Distinguishing Between Gifts and Sponsored Awards (Grants and Contracts) – New
• Procedure 1304 PR.02 Distinguishing Between Gifts and Sponsored Awards – Revised

This newly developed policy and substantially revised procedure are proposed by the Gift and Sponsored Award Action Committee (the policy sponsor). This new committee, consisting of representation from the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP), Development, the Office of General Counsel (OGC), Yale Ventures, and the Controller’s Office (including Sponsored Projects Financial Administration (SPFA) and Gift Administration), is designed as a nimble team of staff experts that can quickly convene to help faculty and staff interpret awards and requests for proposals (RFPs). It is a term-limited committee that will serve as the first point of contact for Yale staff and faculty seeking input on award categorization.

The two documents presented for review are the culmination of many months of work by a cross-functional working group to enhance the guidance around and processes associated with distinguishing between gifts and sponsored awards. The policy creates a high-level overview of the necessity for the University to identify the funding type of awards and the roles that various individuals and offices serve in that exercise.

The procedure, significantly enhanced from its currently existing version, offers a robust decision-making rubric to assist Yale individuals and units in determining the appropriate office to which to route the funding/agreement. The intention is that this decision-making rubric will allow units and individuals to generally classify funding sources based on attributes that are specific to the terms and conditions that accompany each funding mechanism.

To review the draft documents, please visit the Policies & Procedures Drafts page.

Always check the Policies & Procedures Web page for the latest revisions of all documents. This will ensure you that are utilizing the most up-to-date version.

If you have any questions, please contact Policy & Compliance Services at controllers.office@yale.edu.