Whether you are a relatively new or an experienced researcher, you know that your primary responsibility as a PI is to conduct research.  However, once projects have been funded, the funding agencies and the university expect that you assume additional management roles:

• Budget Manager—In this role, you ensure that funds are spent according to the grant budget and other funding agency requirements and that all expenses are directly related to the grant.  You can accomplish this by regularly checking the accuracy of the monthly expenditure reports from the university’s accounting system.
• Personnel Manager—As appropriate, you create and fill positions and supervise a staff that may include graduate and undergraduate students as well as other university personnel.  In doing so, you must follow various university policies and procedures, including those relating to grant-related effort reporting.
• Project Manager—In this role, you oversee the project’s overall progress according to responsible research practices, keep the funding agency updated through progress, interim, and/or final reports, request modifications to the grant contract if and when necessary, and ensure that all aspects of the project are completed appropriately and on time.

The remainder of this manual provides information to assist you in performing each of these three roles.