Federal Research Updates: Please see Federal Research Updates 2025 for the latest updates on executive orders and policies impacting federally funded research.
Personnel
Please note - process overviews have been developed as guidance only and can be changed at any time. Please contact your Sponsored Projects Administration team with any questions.
Definition: Effort is the amount of time devoted to a Sponsored Project. In determining effort for Effort Certification purposes, only University compensated effort is considered. University compensated effort includes research, teaching, administration, clinical activity and any other activity for which an individual receives compensation of salary, wages, supplementary salaries and overloads (but not bonuses) from the University. Any effort for sources outside the University such as for consulting is excluded from total compensation for effort reporting purposes.
Process Owner: Grants and Contracts Accounting Services (GCAS)
Process Overview:
At GW, Effort Reporting is done retroactively for the periods January to June and July to December for all Monthly and Bi-Weekly employees involved in sponsored research. Labor redistributions are submitted at any point in the research program when there is a substantial change in a person’s time and effort on a sponsored program, such as when a grant begins or ends, or when it is discovered that time is being charged in error.
Principal Investigators should review labor reports every month to identify discrepancies between what an award is being charged for a person’s time and actual practice. Twice a year, Effort Certifications are distributed for each School. These Certifications reflect the charges in the Banner Payroll system for anyone charging sponsored research programs. These effort certifications are organized by Principal Investigator (Oracle Award Manager) for monthly-pay employees who have had salary allocated to at least one sponsored program during the previous six-month reporting period. The Certifications are distributed to the individuals on sponsored programs. Each form requires two signatures. In cases where the employee is the Principal Investigator of the program, GW asks her or him to review and sign, not only her or his form, but also the signed form of anyone who is working under their direction, such as a research technician or lab assistant. Similarly, the Dean or Chair co-signs the Principal Investigator’s Effort Certification form. If the Principal Investigator is the Chair, then the Dean co-signs.
Financial Directors and Chairs are responsible for completing the Effort Certification Report.
Associated Forms/Resource Links:
Definition: A Personnel Action is used to properly distribute effort on sponsored projects for the current and future pay periods (to correct distributions in previous pay periods, see Labor Redistributions). There are two forms for Personnel Actions:
- Personnel Action Form (PAF) – This is a paper form that is used to adjust an individual's personnel record. For sponsored research, this form is most often used to adjust an individual's overall FTE (depending on appointment type).
- Electronic Personnel Action Form (ePAF) – This is an online form that is used to adjust an individual's effort distribution if the person's overall effort (FTE) is not changing. In most circumstances, an ePAF is used for adjusting future effort.
The effort requested in these forms becomes the official effort posted for the employee.
Process Owner: Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS)
Process Overview:
The department administration requests the change through the use of the appropriate form. The form is approved by those with oversight on the funds affected, including the school and OVPR.
Associated Forms/Resource Links:
- University Human Resources Forms
- Personnel Action Form Guide
- ePAF Login
- Please also see Skillport Training for EPAF courses
Definition:The process of opening a position, recruiting for the position, and filling a position within University administrative requirements
Process Owner: University Human Resources
Process Overview:
Department administration coordinates the paperwork, including the hiring form and job description and submits to the SPM/A team for review and to confirm allowability within the budget.
The SPM/A team will then either return approved paperwork to the departmental administrator for submission to Human Resources or will submit this hiring package directly to HR on behalf of the PI.
Associated Forms/Resource Links:
- Recruiting and Hiring Employees
- Graduate Student Assistantships and Fellowships
- Student Support: Stipends, Tuition, Graduate Student Support
- Skillport (Course: Hiring as School Research Admin.)
Definition: Re-distribution of effort for employees for periods where payroll has already posted.
Process Owner: Payroll Services
Process Overview:
Electronic Labor Re-distributions are completed through the GWeb system. Department administration logs into the system and enters the appropriate re-distribution of effort for approval. The GWeb system has the routing queue pre-loaded and when a re-distribution is submitted, the re-distribution goes to the SPM/A team member assigned as RSC on the award (within the Enterprise Accounting System) for review and approval prior to routing to the appropriate Finance Director.
Associated Forms/Resource Links:
- Skillport has several trainings for courses in labor re-distributions
For more information, please contact your SPM Team.