Conduct Your Research

You've been notified that your grant is successful, and you are ready to get started. Congratulations! All funds that are designated for the purpose of research must be administered through the Office of Research, Scholarship and Community Engagement (ORSCE). We are here to help you to navigate all of ethical and administrative processes that come with performing a research project.

The Office of Research, Scholarship, and Community Engagement is responsible for:

• Administering research funds and grants
• Research-related contracts
• Financial reporting
• Revenue collection
• Providing support in managing account activity and balances
• Ensuring compliance with funding agency policies

Researchers are responsible for:

• Submitting all required documents in a timely manner
• Complying with all Mount Royal University policies and procedures
• Attending an initial meeting with our Research Finance Analyst

Governing Principle

All Mount Royal University researchers are responsible for the overall financial management of their research projects. These responsibilities are detailed in the MRU Fiscal Responsibility in the Use of Research Funds policy.

Getting Started

Before you begin spending, please ensure that you have done the following:

Opening a Research Account and Identifying FOAP for Research

A research account and a FOAP needs to be set up for each individual project.

1. Open an account upon receiving a Notice of Award, agreement, or a contract from a funding agency. You will need the following:
   
   • Notice of Award from the funding source, applicable to grants
   • Research agreement duly signed by an ORSCE authorized personnel, if applicable, and other related correspondence
   • Sponsor's written terms and conditions
   • Any required certificates (E.g., for human or animal subjects)
   • Declaration of conflict of interest
2. FOAP represents four data elements as referred from the Charts of Accounts from the Banner Financial System for MRU. It will distinguish each project with regard to the funder (unique identifier). The external and internal fund will be identified by the FUND or ORG.
   
   • A notification regarding a new research account account is sent to an assigned researcher via ROMEO once the compliance is checked by the ORSCE Manager. This includes the project beginning and end date.
3. Once your research account is set, you will be able to access the funding and start your research. Afterwards, most research administration activities will involve financial and progress reporting.

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If you have any questions or require more information, please contact our Research Finance Analyst, Suman Panta, at 403.440.8639 or spanta@mtroyal.ca.