FAQs
Effort Certifications will be completed semi-annually for the time period January-June and then again for July-December. Effort Reports are always completed after-the-fact and will be issued in Workday by the Effort Certification Managers (SPAC) every February and August.
An Effort Certification Reviewer is assigned through Workday at the Supervisory Organization level. This means that an Effort Certification Reviewer is assigned to the entire organizational unit as it is seen in Workday, not on a one-to-one basis for each employee. If you have any questions on the Effort Certification Reviewer assignment, please submit a ticket to SPAC Compliance in Service Now for clarification and follow-up.
Anyone who works on any sponsored project, whether federal or non-federal, must certify their effort or have it certified by the Principal Investigator. This includes faculty, staff, students, and postdocs. The Principal Investigator will certify Effort Reports on behalf of undergraduate student workers.
Payroll Costing Allocations in Workday are the distribution of an individual’s salary while Effort Reports confirm the allocation of an individual’s activity to sponsored projects. If your Payroll Costing Allocation reflects the actual effort on each sponsored project, then it is appropriate to certify your effort with the same payroll percentages. If you have questions about your effort as it relates to your salary, please discuss it with your Department Research Administrator.
It is the Principal Investigator’s responsibility to obtain prior approval from the sponsoring agency for a reduction of effort greater than 25% (check sponsor specific terms and conditions and sponsor policy manuals). Salary charged to an award that is greater than the effort devoted is unallowable and must be adjusted accordingly.
The OMB guidance on Effort Certification provided for an unspecified degree of tolerance in the preciseness of certifying effort. The University defines its acceptable preciseness tolerance at +/- 4%. This means that the certifier of an Effort Report may certify a level of effort for an award or activity that is within four percentage points of their best estimate of the actual effort expended during the effort cycle.
Contact your Effort Certification Reviewer (or Director of Administrative Services).
It is the department’s responsibility to contact SPAC by submitting a ticket in Service Now to inform us that an Effort Report will need to be initiated or rerun. The Effort Certification Manager will verify that an Effort Report is required and would generate the appropriate Effort Report for Administrative Review and Certification.
Overload payments are never allowed where federal funds are involved without specific sponsor approval. See the University guidance related to overload payments here: https://ora.umd.edu/um-resources/guidelines/overload-guidelines.
Activities that CAN be allocated to a sponsored project include:
- Directing or participating in any aspect of the research related to the specific project
- Providing research patient care
- Writing a progress report for the project, sometimes called a continuation proposal
- Holding a meeting with lab staff to discuss the specific research project
- Conducting activities intimately related to work under the agreement, including:
- Participating in appropriate seminars
- Consulting with colleagues about specific aspects of the project
- Consulting with colleagues about specific aspects of the project
- Delivering special lectures about specific aspects of the ongoing activity
- Attending a scientific conference held by an outside professional society to present research results
- Reading scientific journals to keep up to date with the latest developments in one’s field
- Mentoring graduate students on the specific research project
Activities that CANNOT be allocated to sponsored projects include:
- Proposal-writing, except for non-competing continuations (progress reports). This includes:
- Developing necessary data to support the proposal
- Writing, editing, and submitting proposals (except as required by the sponsored scope of work)
- Performing administration duties, including service as a Department Chair or Dean
- Conducting instruction activities such as office hours, counseling for students, and mentoring graduate students on something other than a specific research project
- Conducting clinical activity, except patient care for an IRB-approved sponsored research activity
- Performing service on an Institutional Review Board (IRB), Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), selection committee, or another similar group/committee
- Developing course or curriculum not specific to the faculty member’s research project
- Writing textbook chapters
- Investigations and audits
- Conducting fundraising activities
- Lobbying