The Office of Research assists University of Montana faculty, staff and graduate students in their research and creative endeavors by providing the following services:

Research & Sponsored Programs (OSP)

Proposal Development, Project Coordination, and Submission

• Provides a wide variety of information regarding funding sources, procedures and guidelines, budget concerns, and recent UM awards;
• Reviews and disseminates information, often electronically, from the Federal Register and other publications;
• Facilitates the customization of searches for grant opportunities
• Coordinates and consults in the design of institution-wide, multi-disciplinary, and inter-unit projects;
• Facilitates on- and intra-campus collaboration;
• Assists with the interpretation of sponsor guidelines and regulations;
• Assists with budget preparation prior to proposal submission and has final review and signatory responsibility.

Award Negotiation

• Performs pre- and post-award budget negotiations with agency technical and fiscal officers;
• Provides the institutional approval and signature for all applications for external funding;
• Negotiates terms of grants and contracts with sponsors;
• Signs award documents for the University;
• Negotiates subcontracts with collaborating institutions.

Grant Administration

• Establishes grant accounts and monitors expenditures against them to ensure compliance with University, state, federal and sponsor regulations;
• Advises project directors concerning University and sponsor policies;
• Prepares sponsor-required financial reports and invoices;
• Processes all grant-related cash transactions;
• Facilitates requests for budget revisions and time extensions;
• Processes grant-related cost transfers and budget modifications.

Federal Relations

Liaison to the Federal Congressional Delegation 

• Coordinates all University-related communication with the federal delegation;
• Communicates the University’s research agenda and serves as the Washington advocate.

Compliance

Campus Clearances and Compliance Review (Contact: Zach Scott)

• Assists in submitting proposals for compliance review and other institutional approvals.

Financial Conflict of Interest (Contact: Jason Sloat)

• Evaluates potential financial conflicts of interest & assists in developing conflict management plans.

Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC, Contact: Brent Ryckman)

• Reviews, approves and maintains a record of all research and teaching activities that involve hazardous biological agents, toxins, human cell lines, and recombinant or synthetic DNA molecules.

Use of Human Subjects (Contact: Michaela Shifley)

• Oversees & Monitors studies involving human subjects.

Use of Animals (Contact: Kathy Heivilin)

• Provides oversight for all animal care & use activity at the University.

Use of radioactive or hazardous materials (Contact: Dan Corti, RSO)

• Oversees & handles use of radioactive/hazardous materials, generating hazardous wase, infectious agents or biohazardous materials.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Technology Transfer (Contact: Zach Scott)

• Assists in filing patent disclosures and processing material transfer and licensing agreements.

Research and Development

Workshops, Seminars, and Conferences (Contact: Nicole Thompson)

• Coordinates and sponsors special workshops that feature federal, state, and industry program officers and/or past successful applicants;
• Offers seminars on sources of funding, project design, proposal preparation, and award management.