Page 131 - eBOOK VERSION 8 BOOK 2 of 2 JUL 2022

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE Research Administration SOP No: A014
SOP Title: Effort Justification and Attestation
1. PURPOSE
The purpose of this standard operating procedure (SOP) is to describe the process for completing the Effort Justification and Attestation document and to define the Research Administration study staff who need to complete this document.
2. INTRODUCTION
The Effort Justification and Attestation (EJA) was developed to provide a consistent method of tracking coordinator time for studies covered under the Labor Service Order Agreement (LSOA), Scope of Work (SOW) or a combination. This document is to be completed by each coordinator who provides work effort under the aforementioned contracts. For non-Labor SOA-funded studies, the Coordinator/Associate will enter Coordinator Time in EPIC.
The monthly completion of the EJA supports our alignment between Research Administration and Research Finance regarding study billing and the specific mechanism under which studies are funded. Furthermore, the EJA enables the study team to understand the maximum hours that are allowed for each funding mechanism and manage contract compliance.
3. SCOPE
This SOP is relevant to all research support staff in the Medical, Surgical, and Heart Centers who provide work effort for studies covered under the LSOA, SOW, or a combination.
4. RESPONSIBILITIES
Starting January 1, 2021, the Research Coordinator/Associate is responsible for completing the EJA at the end of each month, obtaining the Principle Investigator’s (PI) signature (if possible), and submitting to the Team Lead no later than the 1st of the next month.
The PI is responsible for verifying the work entries, signing the EJA, and returning to the research support staff no later than the 5th day of the month after the work was performed. If the PI fails to sign, the department, including the support staff, Team Leads, Research Finance, and Research Administration will assume accuracy and PI agreement.
The Team Lead is responsible for providing training to the staff, as well as helping construct their EJ&A templates with the correct information for their contracted or agreed amount. Further, TLs are responsible for verifying the attestation and emailing a signed or unsigned copy to the Research Finance Team (cc: Director) by the 1st of each month. If an unsigned copy of the EJA is emailed to the Research Finance Team, a signed attestation must be emailed by the 5th of each month, assuming acquisition of the PI’s signature was possible. If not possible, the department will assume accuracy and PI agreement.
Page 2 of 3