Procedures

Grant Travel Procedures

(to be used in conjunction with Business Services Travel Procedures)

When traveling using grant funds:

I. TRAVEL SUMMARY / QUICK REFERENCE

• 1. For foreign travel, submit the following forms to your grant accountant for pre-approval before purchasing tickets:
• Completed Request and Authorization to Travel (RAT)
• Completed Foreign Air Travel Certification
• Itinerary
  
• 2. Upon approval by your grant accountant, you may purchase your tickets. Grant accountant will forward forms to Business Services.
  
• 3. Submit ALL Travel Expense Reports (TERs) to your grant accountant for approval. Grant accountant will forward approved forms to Business Services.

II. OUT-OF-COUNTRY TRAVEL

Before purchase of airline ticket(s), PRE-APPROVAL by your grant accountant is required for all foreign travel (all travel outside of the United States).

**Please note** When working with a travel agent for foreign travel, let your travel agent know upfront that you need to use U.S. flag air carriers for your entire flight. If any given leg of flight does not use a U.S. flag air carrier, your travel agent should be able to verify that no U.S flag air carrier is available for that leg of flight. Remember to document this information for your files.

**Please note** Not all airline affiliates are certified U.S. flag air carriers. It is your responsibility to show proof that you are using a certified U.S. air carrier.

**Please note** Some specific grants may require funding agency approval prior to foreign travel, such as certain NASA grants, etc.

A. Complete the Request and Authorization to Travel (RAT) form.

B. Complete the Sponsored Programs – Foreign Air Travel Certification form (instructions are on the form). This form is required by federal regulations. (Fly America Act)

• Reference: Federal Travel Regulations, Chapter 301 Subchapter B, U.S. Flag Air Carriers (section 301-10.131 through 301-10.143)
• For LIST of certified air carriers:
  Reference: U.S. Air Carrier International Route Authority, Carrier Report 11/1/05 (see carrier list on page 6)

C. Submit both of above forms with required documentation (per the instructions on the Foreign Air Travel Certification form) to your grant accountant for approval prior to purchasing your airline ticket(s).

• Within the ORSP office, each grant accountant has a blue folder attached to his/her cubicle wall designated and labeled for Travel Forms Only. This location will be monitored daily due to the time-sensitive nature of this approval process. If a grant accountant is out of the office any given day, another grant accountant will monitor the Travel Forms Only folder for the absent grant accountant.

D. Your grant accountant will notify you within 24 hours of approval status. If approved, you may now purchase your airline ticket(s). Approval status is dependent on the following:

1. Current budget available for foreign travel

2. Compliance with the Fly America Act

E. Upon approval, the grant accountant will sign and forward the two completed forms with attached documentation to Business Services within the original 24 hours. Your grant accountant will keep a copy of the approved form, certification and itinerary in the ORSP grant file.

• These approved forms will be hand delivered by a grant accountant on a daily basis to Business Services (Bus Svcs).

F. In the event the grant accountant needs more information in order to approve the RAT, he/she will contact the traveler/preparer and document the date/time and reason why.

III. TRAVEL EXPENSE REPORTS (TERs)

ALL Travel Expense Reports must be submitted to your grant accountant for approval before they go to Business Services.

The same internal procedures will be followed as outlined in Section I, item C above for submitting forms to the Grants Office.

A. Approval by grant accountant is dependent on the following:

• 1. There is current budget available for the travel expense(s).
• 2. Verification that the specific travel expense(s) are allowed per the grant’s agreement (i.e., are there any travel restrictions on this grant?).
• 3. Compliance with Fly America Act (if foreign travel):
• Foreign Air Travel Certification was submitted with required documentation and approved prior to travel.
• Actual flight documentation for foreign air travel matches the itinerary previously submitted and approved by grant accountant

B. Upon approval, the grant accountant will sign and forward the Travel Expense Report with attached documentation to Business Services within 2 business days.

These approved forms will be hand delivered by a grant accountant on a daily basis to Business Services.

C. In the event the grant accountant needs more information in order to approve the TER:

• 1. Grant accountant will contact the traveler/preparer and document the date/time and reason why.
• 2. If questions are still outstanding after the 2 business days, grant accountant must notify the traveler by email (with copies to travel desk and Kay Lamphiear) that they have a maximum of 3 additional business days (5 business days total from original rec’d date in ORSP) to return answers to questions before their SPABA account is charged and the TER is routed on to Bus Svcs.

IV. THIRD PARTY TRAVEL

(Guest speakers, etc.)

A. Foreign Travel for third parties must be pre-approved by your grant accountant.

• The same procedures will be followed as outlined in Section I (Out-of-Country Travel), except you will not be filling out the RAT form.

B. After travel is complete, Guest Speaker Forms that include travel expenses must be submitted to your grant accountant for approval before they go to Business Services.

• The same procedures will be followed as outlined in Section II (Travel Expense Reports), except the form of reference is the Guest Speaker Form instead of the TER.