UCLA Policy 900:	Principal Investigator Eligibility
Issuing Officer:	Vice Chancellor - Research	Printable View
Responsible Dept:	Office of Research Administration
Effective Date:	October 25, 2001
Supersedes:	UCLA Policy 900, dated 7/1/1998

Principal Investigator: An employee of UCLA (normally with an academic appointment - see Member of the Academic Senate) who is or becomes eligible under this policy to submit a proposal for extramural support for a research, training, or public service project, who personally participates in the project to a significant degree, and who has primary responsibility for the scientific, technical, and administrative conduct and reporting of the project. A Principal Investigator who is the head of a training or public service project may be known as a Project Director or Project Administrator. For the purposes of this policy, the terms shall be considered equivalent.

Co-Principal Investigator: One of two or more Principal Investigators who share responsibility for the scientific, technical, and administrative conduct and reporting of a project. Each person shall be considered to be a Co-Principal Investigator.

Member of the Academic Senate: An individual whose appointment falls within one of the titles as listed in Appendix III, Membership of the Academic Senate, of the UCLA Faculty Handbook and Resource Guide, whether the individual is in regular or emeriti status. (The current Appendix III listing of titles appears as Attachment A.)

A. Eligibility

Eligibility to serve as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator is contingent upon continuation of the employment or other status under which eligibility was initially determined; and compliance with all applicable policies of the University and the funding agency. In the event of an apparent conflict between policies of the University and the funding agency, the more restrictive policy shall be followed.

Many extramural funding agencies recognize only one Principal Investigator. In those instances where several names are listed in the proposal, the agency assumes that the first name listed is primus inter pares (first between equals). Whenever the funding agency recognizes only one Principal Investigator, the University will follow suit and direct all administrative correspondence to the first person listed, and that individual shall be identified as Principal Investigator.

B. Eligible UCLA Employees

Following are types of UCLA employees who may be eligible to serve as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator as specified:

1. A Member of the Academic Senate may serve as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on any extramurally funded project.
   
   
2. A full-time UCLA appointee in the Adjunct Professor series at the Associate or Full level, may serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on any extramurally funded project conducted under the purview of the College of Letters and Science, or the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
   
   
3. A full-time UCLA appointee in the Professional Research series at the Associate or Full level, may serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on any extramurally funded project conducted under the purview of the College of Letters and Science, or the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science.
   
   
4. Incumbents holding the following positions may serve as Principal Investigator on extramurally funded projects conducted under the purview of their respective organizational units:

Director, Biomedical Library Executive Director, Child Care Services Director, Cultural and Recreational Affairs Curator, Film and Television Archives Director, Film and Television Archives Head of Programming, Film and Television Archives Director, Fowler Museum of Cultural History Director, Grunwald Center for the Graphic Arts Director, Hammer Museum

Director, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Office Program Director, Marina Aquatic Center Director, Ocean Discovery Center Director, Office of Instructional Development Director, Performing Arts Chief of Police Director, Social Sciences Computing Director, Transportation Services Associate Director, University Affiliated Programs

5. A full-time UCLA employee who is a member of the University Extension Specialist series may serve as Principal Investigator (or Project Director or Project Administrator) on a training or public service project conducted under the purview of University Extension.
   
   
6. Other academic appointees, but in rare instances also non-academic personnel, may serve as a Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigator on an exception basis with the written approval of the appropriate campus official, as noted in III.C.1. below.
   
   
7. Postdoctoral trainees and fellows may not normally serve as Principal Investigator or Co-Principal Investigators, although exceptions may be made for postdoctoral trainees who are applying for small, extramurally-funded research grants that are part of their approved training programs. In no case should the duration of such a proposed grant exceed the period of the traineeship. Faculty advisors or mentors will typically be designated as Principal Investigators for graduate student fellowships awarded as grants.
   

C. Exceptions

Exceptions to the Principal Investigator eligibility requirements for submitting a contract or grant proposal may be granted by campus officials to whom such authority has been delegated by the Chancellor (see UCLA DA 201.02) and in accordance with the UC Contract and Grant Manual.

1. Authority to Approve Exceptions

The following campus officials with administrative responsibility for the unit which will administer the award may approve, by exception, the submission of a contract or grant proposal by appointees in positions other than those noted above in section III.B:

• Executive Vice Chancellor/Provost
  
  
• Vice Chancellors
  
  
• Executive Dean, College of Letters & Science
  
  
• Deans and Vice Provosts, International Institute; Undergraduate Education
  
  
• Deans of the Professional Schools & College Divisions
  
  
• Dean of Continuing Education & Extension
  
  
• Associate Deans for Research in the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Public Health
  
  
• University Librarian
  
  
• Director, Neuropsychiatric Institute & Hospital
  

2. Requests for Exception

Exceptions to the general eligibility requirements will be considered upon submission of a written request to the appropriate campus official noted in C.1. above. The written request must justify the exception in terms of the following criteria:

• That such action is clearly in the best interests of the University;
  
  
• That space and facilities can be arranged without detriment to the regular instructional research responsibilities of UCLA; and
  

• That the applicant is a UCLA employee, appointed at more than 50 percent time, who is able to carry out the responsibilities incumbent upon Principal Investigators.

The request must be signed by the appropriate Department Chair, Organized Research Unit Director, or other department head and should contain information sufficient for the assessment of the justification outlined above. Upon approval, a copy of the exception explanation signed by the appropriate campus official with authority to approve the exception, as identified above, shall accompany the application for funding when the proposal materials are forwarded to the Office of Contract and Grant Administration.

IV. ATTACHMENTS

A. Membership of the Academic Senate (from Appendix III of the 1998-99 UCLA Faculty Handbook and Resource Guide).