An advance project number establishes an account to which expenses may be charged on behalf of an anticipated program prior to receipt of a funded sponsored agreement. These expenditures are guaranteed by the department. An advance project number should ONLY be requested when there is strong evidence a proposed sponsor intends to fund the project and will recognize that funds expended in advance of the final agreement start date are allowable when the agreement is finalized. Once issued, the Project Number will stay with the project throughout its life and will not change. Requests for an advance project number are submitted to the Office of Sponsored Programs on a Request for Advance Project Number Form. Upon receipt of the completed request for advance project number, these actions take place:
The OSP Contracting Officer will obtain confirmation that the sponsor intends to authorize the work, negotiate contract terms and conditions in good faith, and that the agreement effective date has been established such that any advance project charges will be allowable and recoverable from the sponsor.
OSP will distribute copies of the approved Request for Advance Project Number Form, which includes the following information:
- the project number assigned
- the amount of advance funding authorized
- the approved advance project time period