Policy date: July 16, 2003
The Principal Investigator (PI)
is the person ultimately responsible for the scope, fiscal affairs,
and administration of a sponsored project. The PI is
responsible for meeting the terms and conditions of the award
and for representing the project to the sponsor. All proposals
and sponsored projects must designate one person as the PI.
In order to be designated as the PI on
a proposal or sponsored project, an individual must first have PI status.
There are three different types of PI status
on the Lawrence campus: regular, special, and project-specific.
Because of the serious responsibility that serving as a PI entails, PI status
is restricted to certain individuals. The Lawrence campus does
not grant any type of PI status
to students.
Other researchers who participate in carrying out the scope
of a sponsored project and share in the credit are usually identified
as a Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI)
or a Co-Investigator (Co-I). The PI may
delegate to a Co-PI or
Co-I responsibilities for fiscal, administrative, or other aspects
of the project. Although some tasks may be delegated in this
way, the PI alone
continues to bear the overall responsibility for the project.
In order to serve as a Co-PI or
Co-I, an individual must first be granted PI Status;
there is no separate approval process for Co-PI or
Co-I status.
When two or more individuals decide to share the PI responsibility
for a sponsored project, each individual will be designated as
Co-PI. However,
one of the individuals must still be designated as the official PI and
bear ultimate responsibility for the project in the eyes of KU
and, in most cases, in the eyes of the sponsor.
Some sponsors use specific terminology to identify the investigators
besides the PI,
while others do not. For example, NIH uses
Co-I but NSF uses
Co-PI. Terminology
used in a proposal to describe project roles should correspond
with that used by the sponsor.
1. Regular PI Status
Faculty and academic staff on the Lawrence campus who have one
or more of the official job titles listed below automatically
attain PI status,
effective with their written acceptance of appointment.
- Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor
- Librarian III, Librarian II, Librarian I
- Senior Scientist, Associate Scientist, Assistant Scientist,
Junior Scientist
- Senior Curator, Associate Curator, Assistant Curator, Junior
Curator
- Senior Specialist, Associate Specialist, Assistant Specialist,
Junior Specialist
- Research Professor, Associate Research Professor,Assistant
Research Professor
The KU Lawrence campus honors regular PI status
granted to individuals at other KU campuses once the other campus
confirms that status to the Office of the Vice Provost for Research.
When a tenure-track faculty member is denied tenure, he or she
automatically loses the privilege of submitting sponsored research
proposals, effective on the date of notification of their denial
of tenure. All other rights and responsibilities associated with PI status
continue until the effective date of that faculty member's termination.
2. Special PI Status
The University may grant special PI status
to certain directors, research associates, and courtesy or adjunct
appointees. These individuals must possess credentials similar
to those persons described in the regular PI status
category.
To obtain special PI status,
the individual's supervisor must submit to the Office of the
Vice Provost for Research:
- a letter of recommendation based on the nominee's expertise,
- a copy of the nominee's curriculum vita, and
- a statement that the supervisor's unit agrees to support
and house any project awarded under the nominee's direction.
If there is a change in the appointment of a person who has
Special PI status,
that person must be renominated for PI status.
3. Project-Specific PI Status
The University may grant project-specific PI status
to unclassified or classified employees of the University who
do not qualify for regular or special PI status.
This status is granted only on a project-by-project basis and
must be requested for each new proposed project.
To obtain project-specific PI status,
the individual's supervisor must submit to the Office of the
Vice Provost for Research: 1) a letter of recommendation based
on the nominee's expertise that addresses the relevance of the
project to the nominee's regular employment responsibilities,
2) the project's title, 3) a copy of the nominee's curriculum
vita, and 4) a statement that the supervisor's unit agrees to
support and house the specific project.
Questions? Please contact:
Barbara Earl
785-864-7781 |bearl@ku.edu
Manager | Proposal Services
Email
page
Print
page
