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Start the award
with a shared brief.

Bring the funding, dates, source documents and unresolved questions into one handoff.

Read the fictional case first ↓

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1. Identify the award and source documents

Leave unknown facts blank.

Do not enter access tokens or private sharing links.

2. Separate the funded period from the full project

Use the amount available for this period, not just the latest increment or the anticipated full-project ceiling.

3. Record the review and follow-ups

“Confirmed” means you recorded a finding and its source; it is not an institutional approval.

1. Funding and award source

Identify the executed award or funding notice and the total funding authorized for the entered budget period. Distinguish that total from the latest action increment, anticipated future funding and cost sharing; record those separately in the evidence.

2. Project and funded budget dates

Confirm the project period and the funded budget period against the source document. Record any unresolved date differences.

3. Budget and indirect costs

Check the approved budget, cost basis, and applicable indirect-cost rate and base. Record the source and unresolved allocations.

4. Restrictions and special terms

Record spending restrictions, cost sharing, special conditions and relevant institutional requirements from the award.

5. Required approvals

Identify applicable institutional and sponsor approvals and document their status. A checklist selection does not provide approval.

6. Partners and agreements

Determine whether subawards or other partner agreements are needed and record the responsible office and unresolved dependencies.

7. Reporting and deliverables

Record each report's name, covered period, owner, recipient or submission system, award deadline and any earlier internal deadline separately in the evidence. The action due date below is only for following up on this check, not an inferred reporting deadline.

8. Account setup and team handoff

Record account setup, team responsibilities, outstanding actions and the handoff discussion with the project team.

Award-setup brief · working record

Your brief will appear here

Add a title and preparation date, then record what you know.

Fictional case · all people, funding and terms are invented

Two project years. One funded year.

The Community Research Planning Study has a project period of October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2028. Its initial notice authorizes $75,000 in total costs for October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. A second year is anticipated, subject to a future funding action. The project includes planned interviews, an outside partner and a reporting schedule that still needs clarification.

Prepare a brief for the PI and administrator. Which funding belongs in the current period? What evidence would let the team resolve the approval, partner and reporting questions?

Compare with the worked explanation

Record $75,000 on a total-cost basis for the first funded year. Keep the two-year project dates separate. Record possible second-year support as anticipated in the funding notes; the end date does not establish that it is funded.

The loaded example preserves open questions. Verify the applicable research approvals and any activity restrictions with the responsible office, complete the outside-party agreement review and identify the actual report, period, recipient, system and due date from the award terms. Give each follow-up an owner and a next-action date. A preparation date or follow-up date does not become the sponsor’s reporting deadline.

The handoff can be useful while items remain open. “Confirmed” records an evidenced finding; it does not authorize spending or release a restriction. Export the unresolved items with the brief so the next person sees them.

Continue through the award lifecycle.

Prepare an award financial review, work through MTDC and F&A, or practice a subrecipient-invoice review.

Sources and scope · reviewed September 24, 2026

This original planning worksheet draws on 2 CFR 200.211, award information, the budget-period and period-of-performance definitions in 2 CFR 200.1, financial-management records in 2 CFR 200.302 and budget/program revisions in 2 CFR 200.308. Reporting prompts are informed by financial reporting, 2 CFR 200.328 and performance reporting, 2 CFR 200.329. Apply the requirements relevant to your award; the fictional case does not establish sponsor requirements.

Use issued award documents, amendments and applicable terms as the source for each entry. Completing this brief does not accept an award, authorize spending, release restrictions or replace institutional review. This worksheet is not an official agency form or an exhaustive compliance checklist.