EXPRESS LANE SET UP

EXPRESS LANE
Division of Research

In April, 2008, the Division of Research began a new process, “Express Lane,” in an effort to expedite the award setup within PeopleSoft.  This process establishes the cost center for a new grant or contract in the fastest possible turnaround time so that the Principal Investigator receives a cost center number with funds for direct costs established for immediate use for payroll, purchasing and travel. 

Express Lane cannot bypass standard compliance research overview–prior approvals are still required if the research includes human subjects, animals, radioactive and biohazardous materials, etc.  However, Express Lane streamlines even these necessary steps with the fastest and most consistent handling.  When compliance issues exist, Principal Investigators are contacted by Express Lane staff regarding required compliance issues that must be cleared up before the new award is entered into the system.  Once these compliance issues are resolved, Principal Investigators, as well as department business managers, receive an immediate email notification for the new award, including the new cost center/speedtype information.

Below are a few FAQs:

Q:  How does the process work?
Once UH receives a new award document or completely signed contract, the award is moved immediately to Express Lane unless there is a compliance issue or other reason for delay.  Essentially all NSF and NIH awards are processed this way, as they are typically straightforward and the standard terms/conditions have been reviewed and negotiated such that there is absolute clarity and acceptance by both parties.  There are other agencies that automatically qualify, but NSF and NIH are the most well known and account for the majority of the awards.

Once the new award is delivered to Express Lane, it is reviewed for compliance issues.  If compliance issues exist the process requires that appropriate approvals are checked – i.e., for Human Subjects, Animal Care and/or Biohazards.  The required Conflict of Interest form also must be on file and current.  If all of these requirements are satisfied, the new cost center is established in PeopleSoft – all of the direct cost budget is put into the “materials and supplies” budget line item – and an email award notice is sent to the normal distribution (i.e., the PI, the Department Chair, the Department Business Administrator, as well as several relevant employees within the Division of Research).

The file is then forwarded to the appropriate operations team for that particular department/college and remaining matters (e.g., regulatory, reporting, etc.) are resolved so that the final Notice of Award can be issued.   An email award notice is sent to the normal distribution (i.e., the PI, the Department Chair, the Department Business Administrator, as well as several relevant employees within the Division of Research). 

Q:  Why are only the direct costs loaded into the budget?
The emphasis of Express Lane is to provide a cost center to the PI as quickly as possible.  Frequently, the new project includes complicating budgetary issues – like subawards, equipment, participant support costs, etc. – that impact the budgeting and charging of F&A (indirect costs).  Rather than slow down the Express Lane process for the calculation and confirmation of these factors, the direct cost budget is established only within the “materials and supplies” line item.  Between the period when the cost center is initially created and when the formal Notice of Award is issued, F&A is not budgeted and is not charged.  For this reason, until the formal Notice of Award is issued, the total budget reflected in PeopleSoft will be different than the amount awarded by the sponsor – it will be less by the same amount as the awarded F&A.

Please note the following two additional clarifications:

• Payroll and travel transactions will post within PeopleSoft even if no funds are specifically budgeted for those line items – as long as the cost center has an overall positive balance available.
• In those cases where an award has funds budgeted for Equipment/Capital Outlay, we will also specifically budget those line items during the Express Lane set up (i.e., rather than putting those funds into the “materials/supplies” line item).  This is necessary because financial transactions (i.e., requisitions, purchase orders, vouchers, etc.) will not “budget check” and the purchase request will not move forward in PeopleSoft.

Q: Exactly how fast is Express Lane?
A: If there are no outstanding compliance issues and if there is an acceptable and complete award document or completely signed contract, most cost centers can be setup within the same business day as it is received from the sponsor.  Once the cost center is established in PeopleSoft, a notification will be sent to the faculty member.  The cost center and the speed type are provided so that the PI and the department can set up payroll assignments and process any other required expenditures.

Q:  How does this compare to the previous traditional setup process?
A: Previously, a Senior Research Administrator would setup the complete award from beginning to end – check with compliance committees and/or get the Department Business Administrator to help with answers from committees -- then notate all reporting requirements and type in all the instructions for all postaward administration requirements.  The Senior Research Administrator was required to resolve every issue and potential issue before the cost center was established and because several awards for a college might arrive during the same week, it may have taken days to complete each award setup (and before a cost center could be issued).  Now, the process has been streamlined into two phases:

• Express Lane to setup the budget with the basic essentials to the PI (effective dates, budgeted funds and PeopleSoft payroll);
• To the responsible operations team lead for finalization of the Notice of Award.

At the Express Lane phase, the PIs department can begin processing expenditure documents once the email with the cost center number and speedtype is received.

Q: Is every new award eligible for the “Express Lane” process?
A: Unfortunately not, but as many awards as possible are processed through this mechanism.  Although it took some time to establish the Express Lane procedure in the beginning, the overwhelming majority of new awards are now processed in this manner.

Q: What kinds of projects are not eligible for Express Lane handling?
A:  There are two primary sources (i.e., funding scenarios) that are not established via the Express Lane process:

• Amendments to existing awards (because they must be reviewed more closely for nuances such as the requirement for separable funding, carryforward limitations, etc); and
• Contracts and/or purchase orders with complicated and/or unacceptable terms and conditions; such funding instruments must be reviewed very carefully and frequently terms must be stringently negotiated before any funds should be expended.

Q: How will the faculty member know when the cost center has been established and that the PeopleSoft system has issued a speedtype for payroll?
A:  Notifications are consistent and immediate - an email is sent as soon as the award notice arrives electronically to our office and a second email is sent out as soon as the cost center is assigned.  Finally, a final email is sent out when the fully completed Notice of Award packet -- with all the reporting and financial details – is processed.  Everything is communicated and delivered electronically – with copies to the PI, their department business administrators, DOR operations teams and the invoicing analysts who work with PIs at the end of the research with reporting close-outs.