Administration Function Questions
VMRF's offices are located on the grounds of the VA San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS) 3350 La Jolla Village Dr. San Diego, CA 92161. The VMRF core offices are located on the first floor of building 13 on the east side of the main VA building, which is at the end of the VA handicapped parking lot.
Only Qualified VMRF Principal Investigators at the VASDHS can apply for funding and establish project funds with VMRF.
A recharge core typically provides specialized research support functions on a fee-for-service basis. For a complete list of VMRF’s recharge cores please visit our Research Websites.
VMRF has agreed with the NIH and UCSD that the intent and structure of the "K" and "T" awards is academic. Therefore, "K" and "T" applications should be submitted through the UCSD. Please contact your department on campus for additional information.
VA Policy on Grant Submission states that if the proposed research is to be conducted in VA space at 50% time or more, the application must be submitted through VMRF.
A qualified investigator is a researcher who holds an academic appointment at a VMRF Board-approved institution and has an active VA appointment. Please view the Qualified VMRF Principal Investigator policy for additional information.
Accounting and Purchasing Questions
Q1. When do I use a purchase order or a check request?
Generally speaking, VMRF uses Purchase Order as its primary mechanism to purchase goods and services in a timely and cost effective manner, complying fully with funding agency requirements as well as good business practice. The purchase order is the preferred method used for all research needs. For additional information refer to the Purchasing Procedures.
A Check Request is used on an exception basis in a situation requiring that a VMRF employee make purchases from personal funds for material or supplies for the benefit and immediate use to support VMRF administered research. Requests for personal reimbursements are restricted to specific expenditure categories. Reimbursements for allowable and allocable expense are to be submitted to VMRF Accounting with all of the proper substantiation within 90 days of the date the expense was incurred. Any reimbursements submitted after 90 days may not be reimbursed. VMRF tries to limit the number of processed check requests and much prefers the use of purchase orders over check requests because purchase orders provide a much better documentation trail for the use of the funds with which VMRF has been entrusted by its funders.
Q2. Do I need to use specific vendors to buy products?
VMRF does participate in the NAVREF Preferred Vendor Program. This allows us to purchase items at a substantially reduced price. Should you want to use different vendors, Purchasing will try to accommodate your request.
Q3. Why is it important that VMRF receive the product packing slip?
This process is necessary for auditing purposes as well as documentation to verify discrepancies between items ordered and items received. Should the packing slip be lost or misplaced, VMRF will require a Packing Slip Replacement Form to be filled out and forwarded to the Accounting Office before the vendor invoice can be processed.
Q4. Where do I send VMRF forms?
All forms are mailed to VA mail code 151A. Inter-office mail is distributed twice daily. There are also two areas where forms may be dropped off at: VMRF mailbox on the 6th Floor, room 6014 or VMRF reception desk, 1st floor VMRF Building.
Q5. When and where can I pick up my check?
VMRF Accounts Payable follows a weekly schedule of check disbursement. Checks are available every Friday at the C&G and Accounting reception desk for pick-up if indicated on the check request form. Otherwise, all checks are processed through the mail.
Q6. Can VA and/or VMRF employees participate in VMRF administered research projects as research subjects?
We do not wish to support a potential appearance of coercion of employees into a study. In light of the above, VMRF discourages VA and VMRF employees’ enrollment into VMRF administered studies.
As an exception, VMRF will allow the employee to receive reimbursement for out of pocket expenses which are written into the compensations section of the IRB protocol and which must be available for all study participants. In other words, VA and VMRF employees who wish to volunteer for participation in a clinical study can only be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses such as transportation, meals, etc which cannot include "compensation for time or inconvenience".
VMRF patient compensation forms include a checkbox to verify that no employee may receive compensation. Please be advised that VMRF will not tolerate coercion of employees into participation in clinical studies. Violations thereof must be immediately reported to the VMRF Human Resources department and the UCSD/VA/VMRF IRB.
Q7. How is a study subject paid for participating in an industry sponsored project?
The preferred method of payment is by check through accounts payable. Subjects can also be paid via cash by exception and will need to receive written approval from the VMRF CEO. Social security numbers must be obtained from study participants or applicable income taxes will be withheld and submitted to the taxing agencies.
Q8. Why is equipment purchased through VMRF tagged?
For audit purposes VMRF must tag and track the location of all equipment. When the location of a piece of equipment needs to be changed then the PI is to contact Accounting prior to the move for instructions. In addition, please complete an Equipment Form and forward to Accounting. If a piece of equipment is no longer in working condition or is no longer needed by the PI, the PI is to notify Accounting for instructions. In addition, please complete an Equipment Form and forward to Accounting. The VMRF CEO must approve all changes in regards to equipment.
Q9. What is the procedure for computer purchases?
All computers should be purchased through VMRF Purchasing to ensure they are tagged with a VMRF equipment tag and the appropriate paperwork is to be completed before the computer is to be put into operation. In addition all laptop computers are to have encryption software installed and the appropriate paperwork is to be completed before they are put into operation.
Q10. I would like to have services done through a VMRF Research Core Facility. What do I need to do in order to get services started?
Contact the VMRF Research Core Facility directly. The Facility Director, Lab Manager, or Research Associate will walk you through the process. The contact information for each facility can be found on our website. A purchase order will need to be submitted to VMRF to ensure money is encumbered to cover these costs. The purchase order number should be given to the Research Core Facility.
Q11. What are the steps necessary for the hiring of an Independent Contractor/Consultant?
Forms for an independent contractor/consultant are located on the VMRF website forms section and are to be completed and submitted to VMRF prior to an independent contractor/consultant beginning work. VMRF will review the forms and address any issues that may arise during the approval process.
Q.12 How does VMRF process travel requests?
VMRF has an extensive policy on travel. Please refer to the Travel Regulations/Policy. Within the travel policy, the forms required to be submitted for travel reimbursement are also listed; travel expense voucher, travel prepayment and travel advances, travel per diem and private automobile mileage.
Contracts and Grants Questions
Q1. How do I determine if my project should be administered by VMRF?
Over 50% of the project must be conducted in VASDHS space by a VMRF qualified investigator.
Q2. Where do I denote my research space?
The research space to be used by the Principal Investigator to conduct the research must be submitted to your Contracts and Grants Administrator. If the research is being conducted outside of the VA, an address and space arrangements must be identified. Additional VA documentation rules apply.
Q3. How do I know if I am a qualified to submit a project through VMRF?
Please refer to the Qualified Principal Investigator section of our website.
Q4. What types of projects does VMRF administer?
VMRF provides pre and post award grants and CRADA administration (please refer to our Administrative Functions section for more information), as well as recharge, donation and education funds.
Q5. What is a PI Exception and why would I need one?
A PI Exception is necessary when a Principal Investigator does not have an academic appointment at a VMRF Board-approved institution as a Qualified Investigator, but wishes to be the principal investigator for a proposal or funded project. An investigator who is not yet PI qualified must receive a PI exception for each project they wish to be submitted through VMRF. VMRF does not process or approve PI exceptions. The PI exception process is entirely driven by the academic institution, such as the UCSD.
Q6. Where can I get a copy of the PI Exception form?
A PI Exception form may be obtained from your appropriate UCSD department.
Q7. If I do not hold an academic appointment yet, do I have to complete a PI Exception for every application I send through VMRF?
Yes. A PI Exception is required for each VMRF submission and resubmission until an academic appointment is made that makes the investigator PI qualified.
Q8. What are the benefit rates VMRF uses for personnel costs on proposal budgets?
For budgeting purposes, VMRF uses a 19% benefits rate for academics who are paid as UCSD employees and 27% for VMRF employees in their 1st year, then 37% after that. Please be advised that the actual benefit rate depends on the specific benefits package applicable to the individual employee.
Q9. What are the current IDC rates for VMRF?
Current DHHS-approved rate - grants and basic rsearch CRADAs and non-VA/VMRF/UCSD use of recharge cores
24% - industry-sponsored clinical trials and contracts
4% - donations
Q10. Who do I contact to initiate an industry sponsored trial?
Please contact the VA Research Service Intake desk at x1157 first. Your VMRF Contracts & Grants Administrator will support investigators and their staff for both investigator-initiated studies and for studies for which a pharmaceutical company may contact the investigator. It is important to initiate contract negotiations as soon as possible to avoid potential delays in starting your study.
Q11. What are the most common delays in obtaining approval of a CRADA?
The obstacles to completing a CRADA process are varied, but a few of the delays can be attributed to: Negotiation of language between Industry Sponsored and VMRF/VA regarding IP clauses; and sequential rather than parallel processing of all necessary compliance requirements.
Q12. Can VMRF help me invoice the Sponsor of my clinical trial and if so, whom should I contact?
Yes. It is VMRF’s preference to manage the billing process for your studies. The Principal Investigator and/or their staff can submit amounts to be invoiced in accordance with the schedule identified within the CRADA. This should be submitted to the VMRF Contracts Coordinator in writing (e-mail) with details the invoice should contain. The Contracts Coordinator will coordinate with the VMRF Accounting department to ensure that an invoice is issued to the Sponsor in an expeditious manner.
Q13. How should I notify VMRF of clinical study completion?
When a clinical study is complete, the Principal Investigator and/or staff who has signing authority on the study in question, should contact the Contracts Coordinator via e-mail, noting the closeout date and any additional expenses that may need to be invoiced in addition to final payment. The appropriate Contracts & Grants Administrator should be copied on this e-mail. The e-mail must state that the study is 100% complete and request that any remaining funds be transferred into the investigator’s unrestricted account (transfer fund). The VMRF closing process is different from the VA R&D study closure process. You can close a project with VMRF without closing the project with the VA, but not the other way around. In other words, VMRF requires that you carry and maintain an active VA R&D approval for all study projects under your name.
Q14. What do I need to do to submit a grant?
Please see our Grant Application And Submission Deadlines Policy or contact a Contracts and Grants Administrator for current information.
Q15. Where do I obtain the forms to submit a grant?
For NIH grants use Downloadable Forms Electronic Templates Revised 9/04 PHS forms may be obtained at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm. PHS forms can also be found under “forms” on our website. All other funding agencies please contact the VMRF Contracts & Grants Department.
Q16. What information does VMRF require to begin the grant application process?
- Granting Institution
- Targeted deadline for submission
- Type and title of grant
- Proposed budget and project period
- Funding request amount (for each budget period, as well as for the total project period)
- Names and effort of key personnel
Q17. How should I list my institutional affiliations on VMRF project proposals?
Most VMRF Investigators and their key personnel are affiliated with VMRF, VA, and UCSD [or other accredited educational institution(s)]; the appropriate format is VMRF/VASDHS/UCSD.
Q18. May I submit a grant electronically?
Yes. The procedure for electronic submissions can be found on our Electronic Grants Submission Policy
Q19. Where do I obtain human subject approval?
VMRF uses the UCSD IRB committee for review of VMRF research that includes the participation of volunteers. The UCSD IRB Committee must approve all VMRF human subject protocols. Please refer to http://medicine.ucsd.edu/humsub/ for instruction and forms. Before submitting a protocol, you must contact the VA Intake desk to receive a VA tracking number and to initiate the VA R&D compliance process. Additional VMRF information can be found at: VMRF Human Subjects.
Q20. How do I hire staff on an awarded VMRF fund?
All new hires must begin with the completion of a Personnel Requisition form by the Principal Investigator. Please contact VMRF HR at x2862 for additional information.
Q21. What is a personnel agreement and how do I qualify for one?
A personnel agreement is a mechanism by which a UCSD employee who works on a VMRF project, ensures their vested UCSD benefits by having VMRF reimburse UCSD for a certain percentage of their salary. For more information, please refer to our Personnel Agreement Policy.
Q22. What signatures are required on the VMRF Checklist prior to VMRF submission?
PI signature & the VA Service Chief signatures are the only signatures necessary prior to submission. If there is a specific service indicated as being needed on the project (e.g. laboratory, radiology, etc.), the signature of the appropriate VA Service Chief must be obtained prior to submission of the form to VMRF. The VMRF C&G Office will obtain the remaining signatures, which are required before a project becomes VMRF approved. Please remember to contact the VA R&D intake desk to initiate VA presubmission approval.
Q23. Does VMRF administer Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs)?
All Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) are submitted through and signed by the VASDHS ACOS R&D. However, VMRF may be involved with the negotiation of MTAs. For more information please visit MTAs Lookup Table PDF.
Q24. Who is my Contracts & Grants Administrator at VMRF?
Please refer to list of C & G Administrators.
Q25. Can I compensate VA or VMRF employees who refer or enroll as patients to participate in my study?
VMRF will not compensate for referral of study participants. We do not wish to support a potential appearance of coercion of employees into a study. In light of the above, VMRF discourages VA and VMRF employees’ enrollment into VMRF administered studies.
As an exception, VMRF will allow the employee to receive reimbursement for out of pocket expenses which are written into the compensations section of the IRB protocol and which must be available for all study participants. In other words, VA and VMRF employees who wish to volunteer for participation in a clinical study can only be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses such as transportation, meals, etc which cannot include "compensation for time or inconvenience".
VMRF patient compensation forms include a checkbox to verify that no employee may receive compensation. Please be advised that VMRF will not tolerate coercion of employees into participation in clinical studies. Violations thereof must be immediately reported to the VMRF Human Resources department and the UCSD/VA/VMRF IRB.
Q26. What is VMRF permitted under "Expanded Authority"?
Under Expanded Authorities, VMRF can do the following:
- Approve pre-award spending 90 days before NGA is issued if indication has been given that the grant will be funded.
- Allow carryover of un-obligated balances from one budget period to the next.
- Allow a no cost extension of final budget period up to a year without additional NIH funds.
- Transfer performance of substantive programmatic work to a third party (by consortium agreement).
VMRF must exercise proper stewardship, as the NIH may disallow the costs if it determines through audit or otherwise, that the costs do not meet the parameters of allowability, allocability, reasonableness, necessity and consistency.
Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process; Annual progress report;
Under SNAP, the NIH Grants Management Officer negotiates the direct costs for the entire project period, eliminates the need for annual budget submissions and any negotiations, and reduces the information NIH requires to review and approve non-competing continuation awards and to monitor these awards.
SNAP provides PIs with a mechanism of support that facilitates science while simplifying administration during the project period while keeping NIH updated on progress.
As part of the progress report, the PI must address the following questions:
A) Has there been a change in the other support of key personnel since the last reporting period?
If yes, Other Support pages are required for those key personnel.
B) Will there be, in the next budget period, a significant change in the level of effort for key personnel from what was approved?
If yes, reasons must be stated and Other Support pages must be included.
C) Is it anticipated that an estimated unobligated balance (including prior year carryover) will be greater than 25 percent of the current year’s total budget?
If yes, justifiable reasons are required, along with how this will be avoided in the future.
Q28. How long do I have to keep grant files?
NIH Requirement:
Grantees generally must retain financial and programmatic records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records that are required by the terms of a grant for 3 years from the date the annual FSR is submitted.
VMRF Procedure:
Internally, once the grant is closed, records are kept on-site for 18 months. After this time, records are transported to storage for a minimum period of 7 years.
Q29. What is the balance in my account?
Balance reports are forwarded for each fund to the Investigator on a monthly basis. Current account balances may be requested from your contracts and grants administrator.
Q30. Can I put all of my projects into one account?
Individual contractual rules or agency regulations govern all projects and grants. Therefore, all external projects must remain in separate accounts until completion. Once a project is done, you may request to have any residual funds transferred into an unrestricted account, unless the remaining balance must be returned to the funder. PIs can associate more than one VA approved project to unrestricted donation and/or transfer funds.
Once an industry sponsored project is complete and the PI informs VMRF and the sponsor that all reporting requirements and contractual obligations have been met the account is then closed. Any residual funding is then transferred into an unrestricted account assigned to the PI for additional research activities. All rules for allowability of cost apply to transfer funds just as they apply to all other VMRF funds. The transfer funds are more flexible, though, in that the expense charged to the transfer accounts does not have to follow rules of allocability, as long as the requested expenses are associated with a VA R&D research or education project.
Q32. Can a fellowship application be submitted through VMRF?
Fellowship awards are intended to support a candidate’s career development. These awards are provided with the understanding that a fellow will receive appropriate and career-furthering training while under the supervision of a mentor. VMRF’s Principal Investigators provide this mentorship for their lab personnel and will be supported in their goals to do so. While most fellowships awards provide support for the candidate under the term “stipend”, this will not preclude VMRF from accepting and administering these grants.
In an effort to properly evaluate whether a fellowship application should be submitted by VMRF, the following must be considered:
1) Application guidelines and institutional requirements by sponsor.
a. If there is a preponderance of academic sign-offs or required academic reference points, the application and award should be submitted and administered by UCSD.b. As a non-profit research organization, VMRF qualifies as a host institution for the majority of sponsors. There are sponsors, however, that require the non-profit organization to also be an ACADEMIC INSTITUTION. In those situations, the fellowship should be submitted by UCSD.c. There may also be instances where the fellow is required to teach as part of their training program. These situations also require that the application be submitted by UCSD.2) Candidate’s appointment at UCSD. In these cases, applications should be submitted through UCSD.a. A candidate may be part of an accredited training program through the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). This program can be within or outside of the University. These accredited programs are intended to provide candidates with training that will enable them to prepare for careers in patient care, research, and teaching. UCSD’s training program is named the Graduate Medical Education (GME) program that falls within the School of Medicine and Medical Center. Further information on this program can be found at: http://www.acgme.org or at http://meded.ucsd.edu/gme.Prior to working with a candidate on an application, CGAs should consult with the Pre-Award Manager and discuss the appropriateness of this application being submitted through VMRF. VMRF will only administer a proposal or funded project if items 1 and/or 2 do not apply.
Human Resources Questions
Q1. How do I apply for an open position?
All applicants need to fill out an application and an applicant release form. These documents can be found in the How to Apply Section.
Once completed, the application may be submitted by email, faxed, or mailed to VMRF. For more information please visit the How to Apply section of our site.
VMRF views its benefits package as part of creating the VMRF work environment which brings out the best in all of us. For a comprehensive overview please view our Benefits Available document.
Please visit our map and detailed driving directions.
For a roster of VMRF HR staff and a brief description of their area of expertise please visit the Human Resources or Employee Directory.
Q5. What positions are open at VMRF?
VMRF strives to provide our employees with a work environment which motivates pride in our profession and research mission.
For a complete listing of our currently open positions, please visit our Jobs at VMRF.