Research Accounting is dedicated to helping researchers manage the financial aspects of their research funding. This includes post-award financial administration for both externally sponsored funds and internal university research grants.
The Principal Investigator (PI) is responsible for overseeing the research award throughout the project. This includes preparing and submitting narrative reports, reviewing financial reports, ensuring expenses are eligible, tracking their spending against the funder-approved budget, and requesting amendments or subgrants when necessary. Research Accounting supports these tasks by authorizing account openings, preparing and submitting financial reports in line with granting agency guidelines, checking expenses for compliance with funder regulations and institutional policies, processing transfers of funds from Brock to other institutions or partners and vice versa, and—in coordination with Accounts Payable—handling invoices, payment requests, and reimbursements.
For any financial inquiries related to your research grants, please contact your Research Accountant. If you are unsure who to contact, please reach out to [email protected] or [email protected] to have your request routed appropriately.
Once funding is confirmed, ORS staff members need to have all the necessary documentation to open a new research account. This includes a notice of award, funding agreement, and ethics or animal care certificates, as applicable.
Staff will contact the funding recipient to share important information about their research grant or agreement and will communicate with them the details of the new research account. Before spending on a research account can begin, the Principal Investigator will also be required to sign a Research Account Holder’s Accountabilities form.
Please contact [email protected] to have your request routed appropriately.
To transfer funds (to another Brock researcher, or another institution), please reach out to the Research Officer responsible for the funding opportunity or contact [email protected] to have your request routed appropriately.
If your project involves human participants or animal subjects, it will need to be cleared by the Research Ethics Board or the Animal Care Committee, respectively. You will not be able to access your awarded funds until a clearance or certificate has been obtained.
- For projects involving human participants, please refer to the Office of Research Ethics page.
- For projects involving animals, please refer to the Animal Care Services page.
While you are waiting for your certificate or clearance to be approved, you may be eligible to receive a partial release of funds for activities that do not require pre-approval. To request an early release of funds, complete the Early Release of Funds Request form, available in the Forms section at the bottom of the Information for Researchers page on SharePoint, and submit it to the Research Officer responsible for the funding opportunity. If the request is approved, you will receive notification that the limited funds have been transferred and are available for use.
If your SSHRC or NSERC grants are coming to an end, but you still have funds available, you may be eligible to either receive an extension or have your funds moved to a General Research Fund (GRF) Account.
If your CIHR grant is coming to an end, but you still have funds available, you may be eligible to receive an extension through CIHR. However, any funds remaining at the end of the grant must be returned to CIHR if an extension is not approved as there is no GRF equivalent available for CIHR grants.
To discuss your options please reach out to the Research Officer responsible for the funding opportunity or contact [email protected] to have your request routed appropriately.
Please note that Brock University’s Institutional FCOI Procedure defines the compliance requirements for conducting research with funding from United States Public Health Services agencies.