The topic of Advance Spending versus Pre-Award has come up recently, so we wanted to provide some information to distinguish the two.
Occasionally circumstances arise where you may determine it’s necessary to begin work on your project before the official start date of an award. There are two mechanisms for allowing costs to be incurred prior to the award start date:
Advance Spending
In cases where an award has not yet been issued by the sponsor, it may be appropriate to request the creation of an Advance Spending award. This should be done in order to allow work on the project to begin while the award is being negotiated, and in order to mitigate the need for cost transfers. Advance Spending can also be used for awards that include restricted carry-forward that receive a new PO from the sponsor each year.
To request an Advance Spending award be created, please work with SPARC to process a Pre-Award/Early Setup Request through Cayuse. When an advanced spending fund is requested, the PI is asked to identify the specific amount of direct and F&A costs needed as well as a rationale for the request. If the award is ultimately not made, is made for a lower amount, or the start date is beyond the 90-day pre-award period for federal pre-award, the responsible Dean’s office will work with the PI’s department and the PI to identify a fund to pay for any unallowable charges.
Pre-Award
In cases where an award has already been issued by the sponsor, it may be appropriate to request Pre-Award spending. Most federal sponsors allow recipients of grants and cooperative agreements issued under Uniform Guidance to incur project costs up to 90 calendar days before the official start date of the award without prior approval. If your federal award has been received by SPARC and you determine you have allowable and allocable costs incurred within this 90-day period that should be charged to your new award, you may request Pre-Award spending. For non-federal sponsors, you will need to provide approval for Pre-Award in writing from the sponsor.
To request a change in the award start date to allow Pre-Award expenses, please work with SPARC to process a Pre-Award/Early Setup Request through Cayuse.
