| Responsible Office | Office of Research and Sponsored Programs |
|---|---|
| Originally Issued | 4-Jan-2017 |
| Last Revised | |
| Author |
Policy Statement
The Principal Investigator (PI) is directly responsible and accountable for meeting some of the university’s obligations to a project sponsor. By submission of an application to a sponsor the university affirms the readiness of the PI to serve in the role, and upon acceptance of an award, both the university and the PI commit to fulfillment of the PI’s role.
For research projects, PI responsibilities include planning, conduct and dissemination of research and fiscal management of project resources and both specific expertise and accountability up the academic line, i.e., ultimately to the Provost, is required. Similarly, submission of applications and acceptance of awards for other kinds of sponsored projects are contingent upon the readiness and formal accountability of the PI.
A co-Principal Investigator (co-PI) is a person who shares with the PI a substantial degree of responsibility for directing and managing a sponsored project and may carry the preponderance of responsibility for directing and managing a specific portion of the project. The PI remains accountable to the sponsor for the entirety of the project.
This policy describes who may serve as PI and, as applicable, any specific conditions that apply to proposal for, or assumption of, the role.
Policy
Only employees of the university may serve as Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator for the Lehigh component of a sponsored project, except as necessary to meet the specific requirements of a sponsor’s funding program. The following table describes who may serve as PI and any specific conditions that must be met. When not specified as pertaining to the employee’s status during the performance period of the sponsored project, these conditions apply at the time of submission of the application and during the performance period.
Responsibilities
| Position | Can Serve as PI | Can Serve as Co-PI |
|---|---|---|
| Tenure track and tenured members of the faculty | Yes | |
| Emeritus faculty | Yes, contingent upon assumption of an appropriate staff position, typically on the Research Scientists/Scholars/Engineers track, throughout the performance period of the sponsored project. The staff position may be part-time, coincident with the effort allocated to the project. | |
| Professors of Practice | Yes, with department chair’s and dean’s approval, whether in the appointment letter or separately. | |
| Adjunct faculty | No | |
| Staff on the Research Scientists/Scholars/Engineers track | Yes, for RE/S-3 and higher levels. The PI must be employed at least 75% of full time, i.e., 9-month equivalent, during the performance period of the project. | |
| Post-doctoral Research Associates | Yes, with department chair’s and dean’s approvals for the specific project. | |
| Visiting faculty | Yes, with department chair’s and dean’s approvals, whether in the appointment letter or separately. If it is reasonably likely that the project period will extend beyond the term of the appointment including any available renewals, either (a) the dean must express the college’s clear intent to retain the employee in a suitable PIeligible position for the remainder of the employee’s time as PI, or (b) plans acceptable to the sponsor must be in place for a listed co-investigator to assume the PI role. | |
| Other Visiting positions | No | |
| University Research Fellows | No | |
| Instructors/Lecturers | On non-research projects only, e.g., on grants for educational projects, with department chair’s and dean’s approvals. | |
| Graduate Students | On projects specifically designated for graduate students only, with written commitment of a department chair or dean to the goals of the project and designation of a financial manager for the project budget. | No |
| Other staff | Yes, with approval of the dean or the vice president to whom the employee’s unit reports. | |
| Revision History | |
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