SI means specific instructional or training grant activity (excluding “Research Training Grants”) funded by an external sponsor such as the federal, state, or local government or a commercial or non-profit agency. (All research training activity, including that sponsored by a grant, should be coded as OR.)

OSA means programs and projects funded by federal and non-federal agencies and organizations for activities other than research or training (which are included in OR or SI, respectively). Included in this category are travel grants, conferences, public service projects, health service programs, exhibits, or similar projects.

Examples of OSA include:

• CCRMA – Computer Music
• Center for Biomedical Ethics
• California Arts Council

Facilities within academic buildings used for food preparation and service that are not operated by an outside entity are usually coded to Departmental Administration. These facilities exist to provide service to the various people engaged in or supporting the academic functions carried on in and around the buildings which house the food facilities.

By contrast, if a food facility is located within a department area that is exclusively research, and the food facility is accessed primarily by people in that department as an extension meeting area, then it should also be coded to research. The facility is function-specific in this case, rather than broadly supportive of multiple activities or functions.

Examples of food facilities in academic buildings that are operated by outside entities (coded to AHN), or run by Dining Services (coded to R&DE) follow:

• Arrillaga Alumni Center (The Café)
• Beckman (Beckman Bistro)
• Cantor Museum (Cool Café)
• CCSR (Luttiken’s Deli)
• Clark Center (Nexus, Peet’s Coffee)
• Crown Quadrangle (Law Café)
• Cubberley (Cubberley Café)
• Huang Engineering (Ike’s Place)
• Jordan Hall (Thai Cafe)
• Knight Management Center (Arbuckle Dining Pavilion, Coupa Cafe)
• Packard Electrical Engineering (Bytes Café)
• Psychiatry Building (Garden Cafe)
• Student Union (Axe & Palm)
• Terman Engineering (Ciao Café)
• Tressider Memorial (Union Square, Coho, Treehouse, Subway, Jamba)
• Wallenberg (Olives)
• Y2E2 (Coupa Café)

In all cases, these food facilities exclude any student lounge area, see below.

Lounge areas usually will be coded to Departmental Administration because they are managed by an academic department and benefit the department’s multiple functions as a whole.  The use of lounge areas is not solely linked to the availability of food; lounges are often used late into the night, long after the food services close. These areas may provide food services (e.g., vending machines), but they also provide places frequented for study and for meetings related to instructional or research assignments. For example, the GSB lounge area was specifically designed to accommodate large groups of students engaged in group projects.

If the lounge area is function-specific, for example, surrounded by space coded to Organized Research and is used primarily by people engaged in that sponsored research, then the lounge area itself should also be coded to Organized Research. This is especially true when there are restrictions on consumption of food in the labs.

These library spaces are used and maintained by the department only. The room is neither part of the Main University Library System nor one of the Coordinate Libraries. Departmental Libraries are most often coded as Departmental Administration.

Proposal writing is Departmental Administration if it is to acquire a grant or contract; proposal writing is Other Institutional Activities if it is to obtain a gift.

If the space was Inactive or Temporarily Unassignable for any portion of the year, DA may not be the appropriate functional code. For more information, review detailed instructions on coding Inactive or Temporarily Unassignable space.

Sponsored Research comprises research activities performed in accordance with a grant, contract or cooperative agreement from an external organization, i.e. federal/state agencies, corporations, foundations or other agencies. These external awards to Stanford are for the faculty to support their research activities and are separately budgeted and accounted for in the Oracle system.

Sponsored research also includes activities involving the training of individuals in research techniques (commonly called research training) where such activities utilize the same facilities as other research and development activities. These activities may be on a formal “Research Training Grant” or a part of the lab efforts.

Other types of Sponsored Projects include:

• A cooperative agreement is called a Research Participation Agreement (RPA). An RPA is a form of sponsored project in which services of University personnel, academic facilities, and/or laboratory equipment are employed on behalf of parties not otherwise affiliated with the University as faculty, staff or students. An RPA is different from other forms of sponsored research projects in that a significant portion of the responsibility for the intellectual direction, interpretation and/or outcome of the work rests with the outside user.
• Industry sponsored clinical trials involving human subjects where the objective is testing new drugs, devices or treatments, or data collection to enhance safety and efficacy of drugs or treatments.

OR does not include Sponsored Instruction (SI) or Other Sponsored Activities (OSA).

University Research is research activity supported by one of the following:

Committed cost sharing expenditures borne by Stanford that directly support externally sponsored research and development awards,

Funding that is derived from institutional funds (e.g., gifts, endowment income, interest income, technology licensing income, operating budget) that is awarded through a competitive application and award process, and the research activity has two or more characteristics similar to an externally sponsored research award such as:

1. A defined statement of work.
2. Detailed financial accountability with a line item budget detailing expenditures by activity, function, and project period.
3. A specific commitment regarding deliverables and the level of personnel effort.
4.  A formal report or response that summarized results or conclusions.

University funding used to cover cost overdrafts of externally sponsored research and development projects at the end of the project performance period.

It is important to note the distinction for space used in conducting Organized Research; it is the activities occurring in the room that determine whether the space should be coded to Organized Research, not just the source of the funding.

The source of funding for the research project helps determine the coding, but may need additional clarification. External funds are always Organized Research; but internal funding (including gifts) may be Organized Research or Departmental Research based on additional criteria.

Funding of Organized Research is primarily through the award for a sponsored project or the internal University research funding (including any committed cost sharing by Stanford to an external award). However, faculty members may use their other non-sponsored funds (seed money, gifts, department budget, etc.) to cover costs incurred on behalf of externally or University sponsored research above the project commitment. This faculty donated effort or other direct costs above that agreed to as part of the award constitutes non-binding additional time or materials and is called ‘Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing’.

As a simple example, if a professor performs research that is funded by the NIH and has a research assistant that is paid partially by the grant and partially by the department operating budget or fellowship, but the activities in the lab are all performed in support of the sponsored project, the space related to that project would be coded to Organized Research.

What about Proposal writing?

Proposal writing is Departmental Administration if it is to acquire a grant or contract; proposal writing is OIA if it is to obtain a gift.

How do I code Visiting Scholars?

If a visiting scholar is working (full- or part-time) on a Stanford research project or teaching, then the space occupied should be assigned the appropriate percentage to all applicable function codes (OR, DR, or I).  However, if a visiting scholar has come to the University with his/her own funding and has been provided space as a courtesy, then the room occupied should be coded the appropriate percentage to Function Code “C” (OIA).

How do I code Emeritus Faculty?

If an emeritus faculty is working (full- or part-time) on a Stanford research project or teaching, then the space occupied should be assigned the appropriate percentage to all applicable function codes (OR, DR, or I).  However, if an emeritus faculty has been provided space as a courtesy, then the room occupied should be coded the appropriate percentage to Function Code “C” (OIA).

Non-office space, when used for administrative activities is coded to Organized Research as follows.

Research participant’s administrative time expended in support of Organized Research responsibilities, such as completing a quarterly report for a federal grant, constitutes time spent on Organized Research and the corresponding space should be coded to OR.

Other administrative activities may be performed in support of research (for example: the accounting for grants and contracts, filling research positions and ordering materials).  These activities may support one or more sponsored project(s); if you can identify the benefiting sponsored project(s), the corresponding space should be coded to Organized Research.

Separate or distinct organizations established to perform administrative services for contracts and grants are in Sponsored Projects Administration.

It may be helpful to note, the Oracle Financial System distinguishes Organized Research s by the Award field: Awards in the range Pxxxx to Vxxxx are sponsored projects. Awards Wxxxx are University research.

In addition, you can use the Service Type Attribute field to sort out Sponsored/University research expenditures.

If space is occupied by a person (including faculty) who solicits donations and/or arranges fundraising campaigns at the department, school or University level, then the room should be coded the appropriate percentage to Function Code “C” (OIA). Proposal writing is OIA if it is to obtain a donation.

Fundraising, whether located in the central Office of Development or located in a school (i.e., fundraising through department personnel who are specifically assigned fundraising activities) is unallowable per Circular A-21. Any non-office space occupied by individuals within an academic department whose function is to perform fundraising activities should be coded to OIA.

A distinction must be made as to what constitutes fundraising. Fundraising should not be confused with contract and grant development activities such as writing proposals (Departmental Administration), although both result in funds being awarded to the University. Fundraising means "organized" fundraising activities resulting in "gifts" and donations to the University. Fundraising includes financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar activities performed solely to raise capital or obtain contributions. These activities are performed primarily by personnel in the Office of Development and by selected individuals in certain schools (e.g., the School of Law, the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Business, and the School of Engineering).

If a visiting scholar has come to the University with his/her own funding and has been provided any space as a courtesy, then the room occupied should be coded with the appropriate use percentage to Function Code “C” (OIA). However, if a visiting scholar is working (full- or part-time) on a Stanford project or teaching, then the room occupied should be assigned the appropriate percentage to all applicable function codes (DA, DR, OR, Instruction, OIA).

If an emeritus faculty has been provided any space as a courtesy, then the room occupied should be coded with the appropriate use percentage to Function Code “C” (OIA).  However, if an emeritus faculty is working (full- or part-time) on a Stanford project or teaching, then the room occupied should be assigned the appropriate percentage to all applicable function codes (DA, DR, OR, Instruction, OIA).

If non-office space is occupied by a person who solicits donations and arranges fundraising campaigns at the department, school or University level, then the room should be coded the appropriate percentage to OIA. Proposal writing is considered Departmental Administration if it is to acquire a grant or contract; proposal writing is OIA if it is to obtain a gift.

Space where administrative activities occur in support of Patient Care responsibilities should be coded to Patient Care. Examples of administrative activities include: reviewing charts or dictating patient letters; patient scheduling and billing; and preparation and review of clinic budgets. (If the administrator also performed administrative activities for the academic mission (e.g. instruction and research) , these should be coded to Departmental Administration).
 

Space used for all activities related to patient treatment by a person in a residency program, e.g., interviews, reviewing charts, dictating patient letters, should also be coded as Patient Care. This does not include the faculty oversight and administration activities of the residency program.

Please note that apparent care of patients (both inside and outside the School of Medicine) may be associated with an sponsored project or a department-funded research project.  Non-billable care related to research with human subjects should be coded OR (Function Code “R”) or DR (Function Code “L”) respectively, not Function Code “P” (Patient Care).

Space used for clinical trials should be coded based on the funding of the clinical trial. In most cases this funding, when provided by a pharmaceutical company, is a sponsored project and should be coded OR (Function Code “R”).

Vaden Student Infirmary patient care activities are coded as “Student Administration and Services” (Function Code “S”).