Principal Investigator (PI) Eligibility

This guidance informs applicants of the faculty and staff titles that are eligible to serve as a PI or co-PI for sponsored proposals/projects, and also includes a waiver process.

About PI Eligibility

The principal investigator (PI), (also called project director (PD) by some sponsors) is responsible for the intellectual leadership of a project. The University delegates to the contact PI/PD overall responsibility for directing an awarded project, for overseeing its financial management, as well as for complying with all sponsor terms and conditions of the award and with all relevant University policies.

To ensure project quality and to protect the University’s reputation, academic, research or professor-of-practice faculty or faculty at the assistant, associate, or full professor level are given authority to direct research and scholarly activities as the PI/PD or co-PI on a sponsored program. Administrative staff at the director or higher level may also serve as a PI/PD or co-PI.

Individuals in other titles or who are not full time salaried academics are ineligible to serve as PI/PD or co-PI/PD unless a waiver of this policy is obtained from the Vice President for Research.

Individuals who consistently fail to demonstrate adequate management of sponsored projects, including compliance with application and award negotiation procedures, may be subject to University sanctions by the Vice President for Research including loss of privileges to apply for external support.

Multiple PIs, Co-PIs

When an application or award has multiple PIs or a PI and Co-PIs, all PIs and co-PIs are equally responsible for leading and directing the project and adhering to award and SU’s policies and procedures. The contact PI is responsible for communications with the sponsor, other PIs, OSP and other offices.

Prior to proposal submission, all PIs should discuss and document a management/ leadership plan that describes the roles, the responsibilities, and the working relationship of the identified PIs, and includes plans for how decisions will be made pertaining to project activities, use of funds, and how any conflicts that might emerge will be resolved. This ‘best practice’ is a requirement for NIH proposals.

Confirming PI Eligibility

When OSP becomes aware that an individual who has not previously served as a PI/PD or co-PI is proposed to serve in this role, OSP confirms the individual’s eligibility to serve as PI by reviewing the official title presented in the SU People Directory in MySlice and comparing it with eligible title categories. Since in rare instances the SU directory may not present the most current title, OSP may contact the individual, their chair / supervisor or Academic Affairs or Human Resources for resolution of any questions.

The following are some of the titles requiring waiver of PI eligibility policy by the Vice President for Research:

Adjunct Professor
Associate Director
Instructor
Manager
Professor Emeritus
Research Associate
Research Project Director
Research Project Coordinator

Not Joined Syracuse University yet?

On occasion, an individual who has not yet officially started at SU may want to apply through OSP in anticipation of their appointment, or to transfer a proposal submitted by another institution to SU. In such instances, OSP will require from the individual’s chair or supervisor:

confirmation of anticipated appointment and start date; and
anticipated salary.

For non-faculty appointments, OSP may seek the advice of Human Resources to confirm the reasonableness of the proposed salary.

New Investigators will also need to complete the following items so OSP can submit the proposal:

the Disclosure of Financial Interest Form which is available via MySlice for all university employees actively engaged in sponsored research. Investigators who have yet yet arrived at Syracuse University but will be submitting a proposal will need to complete a Paper FCOI Disclosure Form and submit it to the Office of Research at vpr@syr.edu .
The Proposal Approval Form (PAF), the internal document that summarizes your proposal - period of performance, key personnel effort, budget, cost share, and certifications - and routes it for required approvals. The PAF must be approved by all required signers by your submission deadline, so begin it early; and
any other application-specific items that may be needed.

The following information/resources may also be helpful to PI’s new to SU:

Additional instructions for NSF or NIH applications

NSF

When the individual has a FASTLANE account.

The future faculty member should change their existing FASTLANE PI profile to reflect their syr.edu email address and Syracuse University affiliation shortly before the application’s submission.
These fields can be changed back to the current institution after proposal submission to allow ongoing NSF grant business.
- If an syr.edu account isn’t available, a personal email account may be used and changed to the syr.edu email when created.

When the individual does not have a FASTLANE account.

OSP would create one and will need:

The faculty member’s highest degree and year conferred.
The syr.edu email account.
- If an syr.edu account isn’t available, a personal email account may be used and changed to the syr.edu email when created.

NIH

When the individual has an NIH’s eRA Commons account.

OSP will affiliate that individual with SU.

The faculty member will need to update his or her Personal Profile in the eRA Commons including the syr.edu email account.
PIs with multiple institution affiliations can easily change the institution by clicking the hyperlinked institution in the login information section.

When the individual does not have an NIH’s eRA Commons account.

OSP would create one; needed are:

The faculty member’s syr.edu email
- If an syr.edu account isn’t available, a personal email account may be used and changed to the syr.edu email when created.

Waivers to PI Eligibility Policy

Other members of the University community may be granted permission to serve as a PI/PD or co-PI/PD if requested by their department or unit and authorized by the Vice President for Research. Such approval is granted on a project-by-project basis.

Procedure to obtain exception to PI eligibility policy

Any individual seeking an exception to the University’s PI eligibility policy should:

Complete and sign the Request to Waive PI Eligibility Form.
Have the form signed by:

The individual’s department chair or supervisor
The dean of the school or college or unit head for non-academic units.

After obtaining the dean’s or unit head’s approval, the request should be forwarded to the Director of Office of Sponsored Programs for processing and consideration by the Vice President for Research.

Applications for research awards or traineeships for graduate students or postdoctoral associates

Proposals submitted on behalf of students or postdoctoral fellows are to have a faculty member named as PI of record on the Internal Routing and Review of Sponsored Programs form. Even though a sponsor may name the graduate student or postdoctoral fellow as PI, the University designates the faculty member as the individual responsible for ensuring that the project is conducted in accordance with the sponsor’s requirements and University policies and practices, including submission of any required progress reports and responsible financial management.