Pre-Award Research Administration

This track is designed for professionals involved in Pre-Award research administration, including:

• Pre-Award Research Administrators 
• Departmental Research Administrators 
• Sponsored Programs Officers 
• Research Development staff 
• Faculty support and grants management staff 
• Compliance professionals engaged in proposal review

Participants completing this track will gain practical insight into:

• The Pre-Award lifecycle and institutional risk points 
• Interpreting funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) 
• Developing compliant, defensible proposal budgets 
• Aligning budgets and justifications with sponsor expectations 
• Coordinating pre-submission compliance requirements 
• Clarifying roles and responsibilities across faculty, departments, and central offices 
• Strengthening proposal practices to support post-award success

Each module is designed to support 1.0 documented CPE/contact hour.

1. The Pre-Award Lifecycle & Risk Landscape
   Understanding where compliance and audit risks originate during proposal development. 
2. Proposal Development & Compliance Alignment
   Interpreting sponsor requirements and aligning proposals with regulatory expectations. 
3. Budget Development & Justification Best Practices
   Building compliant, realistic budgets and defensible justifications. 
4. Pre-Submission Compliance Checks & Readiness
   Coordinating human subjects, animal use, COI, export controls, and other requirements. 
5. Roles, Responsibilities & Handoffs in Pre-Award
   Clarifying responsibilities across faculty, departments, and central offices. 
6. Building Audit-Resilient Proposals
   Connecting Pre-Award decisions to downstream compliance and audit outcomes.
    

Instructional Credit 

• Each module is designed to support 1.0 CPE/contact hour, based on documented instructional time and learner engagement. 
• Modules may be completed individually or as part of a full instructional track. 

Track Completion 

• Completion of the full track supports a total of 6.0 CPE/contact hours. 
• Learners may complete modules at their own pace within the self-paced learning environment. 

Documentation & Verification 

• Certificates of Completion are issued by Purple Sheep Consulting for each completed module and for full-track completion. 
• Certificates include: 
  • Participant name 
  • Module or track title 
  • Number of CPE/contact hours earned 
  • Date of completion 
  • Provider name (Purple Sheep Consulting) 

Learner Responsibility 

• Learners are responsible for retaining certificates and reporting earned contact hours in accordance with their certifying body’s recertification requirements.

The Pre-Award Research Administration track is part of a broader professional education portfolio designed to support the full sponsored programs lifecycle:

• Post-Award Research Administration 
• Audit, Compliance & Institutional Readiness
   

Tracks may be completed independently or combined to support lifecycle-wide training and institutional readiness initiatives.