Principal Investigators (PIs) may wish to share a portion of their research funding to a 'co-investigator' for collaboration on a funded project. Co-investigators are other PIs who will participate in scientific direction and activities of the project with the PI.
The sponsor must permit this kind of funding transfer.
Transferring funds to a co-investigator at another institution is commonly known as establishing a sub-award, but this arrangement can also be known as a sub-grant or an inter-institutional agreement (IIA).
Regardless of the terminology, transferring funds to co-applicants must happen through a formal sub-award agreement between the University of Toronto (U of T) and the institution where the co-investigator is located. The sub-award agreement process is facilitated by your contact within the Research Services Office (RSO) or Innovations and Partnerships Office (IPO). Sub-awards can only be issued by RSO or IPO on an existing research fund set up in a University of Toronto Research Account (UTRAC).
For more details on U of T’s policies regarding the negotiation and execution of research funding agreements and awards, please see Who Can Negotiate Research & Innovation Agreements and Who Can Sign Research and Innovation Agreements.
The PI completes and submits the outgoing sub-awards request form in My Research. For detailed instructions on using the request form, refer to the page help guide.
- Log in to the My Research portal and select “My Research” from the top navigation bar
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Select “Research Funds” from the sub navigation bar
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Select the “My Outgoing Sub-Awards” tile
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Select “Create Sub-Award”
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Start by selecting the UTRAC number for which you would like to request a sub-award. For help on completing the request form, select the “?” button.
Once you have completed the request form, select “Submit” to route it to the VPRI Research Officer designated on the UTRAC. After receiving the sub-awards request form, the Research Officer or their delegate will review and approve the request, draft the agreement, and interact with counterparts at the co-investigator’s institution.
Once the agreement is fully executed, the co-investigator can begin to incur expenses for their share of the funding in a fund established by their institution.
If the sub-award is issued from a research award that is governed by an agreement between U of T and the sponsor, that agreement is referred to as the 'Primary Agreement' for the purposes of the sub-award agreement.
Most sponsors require that co-investigator(s) be identified at the application stage or when the ‘Primary Agreement’ is finalized. To add or make changes to co-investigators covered by the funding, refer to the UTRAC for details on the required steps, or reach out to the Research Officer listed in the header section of the UTRAC for guidance.
Note that sub-award agreements should not be used for the following types of arrangements.
- Transferring funds to an individual and/or organization that is not eligible to receive funding under the research award’s terms and conditions
- Transferring funds to a researcher within U of T (not including affiliated hospitals)
- Establishing a contractor, procurement, or vendor agreement for the purchase of goods and/or services
Please review the following key details about sub-award agreements.
- In some cases, the PI is free to transfer as much of the funding to a co-investigator as needed. In other cases, the amount intended for the co-investigator(s) is defined in the Primary Agreement, and any changes to those amounts require the sponsor’s approval first. Be sure to understand the rules that affect changes to transfer amounts
- Sub-award agreements normally include the same terms and conditions for the co-investigator and their institution as does the Primary Agreement or the award between the sponsor and U of T. This ensures U of T can meet the sponsor’s expectations
- There may be disagreement about some terms and conditions in the sub-award agreement drafted for your co-investigator. Your RSO or IPO contact will negotiate a solution where possible, keeping the PI in the loop and seeking input where required as the negotiation process unfolds
- The way the co-investigator’s institution receives the funds will vary depending on the Primary Agreement or the award between U of T and the sponsor. The payment details are described in the UTRAC – Sub-awards page for the award.
- In some cases, the co-investigator’s institution will prepare invoices covering specified periods of time for the actual costs incurred. The PI will receive the invoice, seek clarification if need be, and once satisfied, approve it for payment by the Business Officer.
- In other cases, the sponsor will permit U of T to send funds in advance of spending. Your RSO or IPO contact for the award can arrange for a funds transfer to occur once the sub-award agreement or amendment has been signed by both institutions
- Discuss the timing of progress reports or any other forms or documents needed from the co-investigator with your RSO or IPO contact. Due dates can be put into the sub-award, which will enable the PI and U of T to meet our reporting requirements to the sponsor on time. Beyond progress reports, the University is normally obligated to file regular financial reports with the sponsor concerning the fund, and the reports must consolidate the financial activity at sub-awardee sites. Information on financial and progress reporting can be found in the UTRAC – Sub-awards page for the award.
When applying for research funding, the PI must submit their proposal through the institution where the majority of the research activity ('location of research') is taking place. If it is at a hospital, then the PI should apply through and receive the research funding at the hospital. If the research activity will take place at U of T, then the PI should apply through and receive the research funding at U of T.
In some cases, sponsors do not permit applications for funding from hospitals (e.g. Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada). Under these circumstances, the PI may apply through U of T even when the work will be occurring at the hospital. RSO or IPO staff can then arrange to transfer the funds to the hospital through a sub-award agreement. However, this practice is only permitted when the sponsor has limitations on applications from hospitals or health care institutions. Typically, the need to establish a sub-award agreement with the hospital in such cases is known at the application stage and thus submission of an outgoing sub-awards request from is not necessary.
- Review and approve outgoing sub-award request forms
- Facilitate, finalize and execute all sub-award agreements
- Formally authorize research funding agreements or award letters
Find the appropriate VPRI staff member to assist you by looking up the Research Officer listed in the header section of your UTRAC or 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
