Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
Drawing down budget, filing an annual progress report, and processing a no-cost extension on an active federal grant are all award-phase activities.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
Negotiating indirect-cost rates and finalising a budget justification before an award is issued are pre-award activities, not award phase, even though they determine what award phase will later manage.
Editorial commentary
Award phase is the stage of the research-project lifecycle that begins once a funder has issued a formal award (a grant agreement, notice of award, or contract) and ends at project close-out — covering budget execution, reporting, personnel and effort management, and any amendments, as distinct from the pre-award phase of proposal development and negotiation that precedes it.
Award phase versus pre-award and close-out
Research-administration systems typically model the grant lifecycle in at least three stages: pre-award (proposal development, budgeting, submission, negotiation), award phase (active project execution and financial/programmatic management), and close-out (final reporting, financial reconciliation, and record retention). Confusing award-phase activities with pre-award ones is a common source of role and system-permission errors in a CRIS or grants-management system, since the two phases typically involve different staff, different approval workflows, and different compliance obligations.
What happens during award phase
Typical award-phase activity includes drawing down or reconciling budget against the approved project lifecycle plan, interim and annual progress reporting to the funder, effort certification for personnel charged to the award, and processing amendments such as a no-cost extension when the original project period needs to be extended without additional funds. Award-phase obligations are typically defined in the notice of award itself and, for federal US awards, in the terms of 2 CFR 200 (Uniform Guidance).
Where this connects
See project metadata for the record-keeping fields (award ID, period of performance, funder, budget) that track a project’s status across all three lifecycle phases, not award phase specifically.
References
- 2 CFR Part 200 (Uniform Guidance), Subpart D. Institutional research-administration lifecycle guidance (e.g. NCURA, SRAI).
Also known as
Award negotiation phase · Pre-start phase · Onboarding phase (project)
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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