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PI Transfer IN

When a Principal Investigator (PI) of an award transfers to the University of Houston from another institution, the University of Houston Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) will work with him/her and their Department Business Administrator (DBA) or College Pre-Award Research Administrator (RA) to transfer any existing awards from the former institution to the University of Houston (UH), when approved by the sponsor. The transfer process may begin before the PI’s official appointment date at UH. The PI must complete all of the necessary paperwork to initiate the transfer at the former institution, and OCG can assist in this process.

The chart below outlines the steps, the responsible office or person, and the approximate timeline for completing a PI award transfer from another institution to UH.

Steps Responsible Office or Person Timing
Obtain permission from the former institution and contact the Sponsor Program Officer/Manager for information on their procedure to transfer Principal Investigator As soon as possible
Notify the sponsor of the PIs pending transfer and provide the sponsor with the relinquishment paperwork Original Institution At least 90 days before the transfer date
Send a list of current and pending awards for transfer and provide UH with a copy of the original Notice of Award, proposal and a detailed budget of remaining funds Principal Investigator 90 days before the award start date at UH
Prepare the necessary transfer documents required by the former university and the sponsor. This requirement may vary depending on the sponsor Principal Investigator 90 days before the award start date at UH
Obtain a copy of the relinquishment statement or letter. Prepare the transfer application for submission to the sponsor and initiate the UH internal transmittal for routing and approval UH College RA or OCG RA 90 days before the award start date at UH
Provide guidance and advice on the necessary compliance applications and approvals (i.e. IRB, IACUC) as well as any Conflict of Interest (COI) training and submissions Research Integrity and Oversight (RIO) 30 days before employment start date
Setup the award at UH when the Notice of Award transfer is received from the sponsoring agency Office of Grants and Contracts Within 5-7 days of receiving the Notice of Award

Other Considerations

Transfer of Private Contracts

The PI should contact the private sponsor to inform the company of the pending transfer. The contract will need to be terminated at the former institution, and a new contract initiated with the University of Houston.

Process for Specific Sponsors

  • Agency and institutional affiliations—Depending on the agency, the PI’s institutional affiliation on the sponsor’s online systems is required to be changed from the former institution to UH prior to the transfer of the award.
  • Relinquishing statements—Depending on the agency, the project may be required to be formally relinquished by the former institution before it can be transferred. This process is completed by the relinquishing institution and cannot be completed by UH.
  • Terms and conditions—The terms of the grant may also detail any specific requirements needed to transfer an award.

Transferring Other Elements of the Award

When transferring an award, PIs should consider how they will handle items related to the award such as cost sharing requirements, equipment transfers, sub recipient, material and data transfer, IRB and IACUC protocols and co-PIs from the former institution.