In response to the highly collaborative, multidisciplinary nature of research and other sponsored projects, The University of Iowa will be upgrading its Proposal Routing Form to implement a mechanism known as Shared Credit. Shared Credit is a means for defining individual contributions to the prudent management and successful completion of a given sponsored project, enabling the University to recognize, record, and report such contributions. In this early, pilot stage we continue to work closely with key stakeholders, seeking input to ensure a feasible, functional system. Shared Credit comprises two elements – Fiscal Management assumed by the Principal Investigator(s) who will oversee project spending, and Academic Credit assumed by the Principal Investigator(s) and other Investigators who will contribute to the project’s creative/scientific/scholarly progress.
Definitions
Fiscal Management credit is allocated to the Principal Investigator(s) who, if funded, would oversee all or a portion of the funds. Fiscal Management is commonly shared in projects involving team or multidisciplinary approaches, where multiple Principal Investigators have been identified. Note that, to be eligible to assume fiscal-management responsibilities, the individual must qualify as a Principal Investigator (PI) as defined by the University and external sponsor alike, rendering postdoctoral research assistants and graduate students less likely to be eligible for this type of project credit. For each sponsored project, the Fiscal Management responsibility, as distributed among the eligible PIs, must total 100%, confirming the project funding is fully managed.
Example: Two PIs are identified in a sponsored project application. PI-1 will oversee 60% of the project funding in relation to the particular set of activities under his/her direction, so is therefore assigned Fiscal Management credit of 60%. PI-2 will oversee the remaining project funding to support the particular set of activities under his or her direction, so is therefore assigned Fiscal Management credit of 40%. Between the two investigators, Fiscal Management credit totals 100%, confirming the project spending is fully managed.
Academic Credit is allocated to the Principal Investigator(s) and other project Investigators who, if funded, would advance the project’s creative/scientific/scholarly aspects through intellectual contributions – e.g., generating ideas, conducting research or scholarly activities, preparing manuscripts/reports/articles, preparing funding applications, mentoring students, etc. Note that, to be eligible to receive this type of intellectual credit, the individual must be considered an eligible Investigator as defined by the University and external sponsor alike, rendering postdoctoral research assistants and graduate students less likely to be eligible for this type of intellectual credit. For each sponsored project, the Academic Credit, as distributed among all contributing Investigators, must total 100%, confirming the project aims are fully covered.
Example: There are three investigators with roles in the project’s conduct: the two PIs listed in the Fiscal Management example above, and an assistant research scientist. Each investigator is assigned a set of tasks that will contribute to the project’s intellectual progress, which is allocated according to the following project breakdown: PI-1 = 40%, PI-2 = 40%, and Assistant Research Scientist = 20%. Between the three investigators, the Academic Credit totals 100%, confirming the project aims are fully covered.
Note that, for any given project, an individual may be deserving of one or both types of Shared Credit, assuming responsibility for Fiscal Management and/or Academic Credit.
Implementation Plan: eRouting Form
For each sponsored project, the participating Principal Investigator(s) will determine the distribution of Shared Credit at the proposal stage, naming the project participants and noting their respective contributions within the new Credit section of the eRouting Form. Departmental and collegiate leadership will be given the opportunity to review and approve the Shared Credit distribution as the eRouting Form travels through the Workflow path defined by each named investigator’s primary department. If changes are made along the Workflow path, those who have already approved will be notified and given the chance to review the revisions. Learn more about eRouting.
Data Usage Plan
At this point we have implemented the eRouting Form upgrades and, with them, the ability to gather Shared Credit data. Over time we will be moving towards an automated system for channeling the data for use in these ways:
- We anticipate that Fiscal Management data will at some point – i.e., within the final, fully functioning system – translate directly to the distribution of funding in cases where awards are received, indicating the correct distribution of funding to the responsible PI(s) and corresponding department(s) and college(s). These financial data will then be apparent in the University’s periodic reporting of external funding awarded to a department, college, and/or administrative unit.
- We intend Academic Credit data solely for departmental and collegiate use, to be employed however deemed appropriate by the particular department/college. Some departments/colleges, for instance, may give little weight to these data, while others may draw upon them when assessing productivity and considering promotion and tenure.