Important: University of Toronto (U of T) faculty compensation is based on a 12-month calendar year.
In some cases, sponsors of research projects administered by the University permit a Principal Investigator (PI) or co-investigator to be compensated for services performed as part of a research project.
Compensation payable to a PI or co-investigator under a sponsored research project may occur only in the following forms.
- Payment of a portion of the PI or co-investigator’s normal 100% salary
- A one-time-only payment to the PI or co-investigator over and above his or her 100% salary from the University
In both instances, such requests for compensation must be disclosed as part of the project's My Research Applications (MRA), approved by the faculty member's academic unit and division heads and paid as T4 income.
Proposed compensation arrangements involving faculty must be brought forward for approval at the application stage or early in the negotiation with the research sponsor.
In order to obtain approval for a project where remuneration to a U of T faculty member is proposed, the U of T PI must complete the Faculty Member Remuneration from Sponsored Research form and submit it for approval by the faculty member's academic unit and division head. A completed Faculty Member Remuneration from Sponsored Research form, must be appended to the MRA record before a research fund can be established
Before providing institutional endorsement of the sponsored research application, the Research Service Office (RSO) or Innovations and Partnerships Office (IPO) review the sponsor's guidelines to confirm if the faculty member salary may be requested as part of the budget. If awarded, they will determine which form of faculty remuneration is allowable (i.e. above and beyond or recovery by the department). As part of this, RSO or IPO will make the sponsor aware that faculty members at U of T are paid on a 12-month schedule.
When a sponsored research application with a faculty remuneration component is successful, RSO or IPO will establish a separate budget line item within the research fund for faculty remuneration.
- Review Faculty Member Remuneration from Sponsored Research form
- Communicate with the sponsor regarding faculty member remuneration
- Ensure compensation method adheres to the Sponsor’s guidelines
Find the appropriate VPRI staff member to assist you by checking our staff directory. You may search by discipline area (e.g. Social Sciences, Health & Life Sciences, Natural Sciences or Engineering, etc.) or funding agency name.
