45.14 - Changes Requiring Prior Approval from Sponsor

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Last Updated: July 13, 2026

A. Purpose. To define the requirements of and process for requesting sponsored project changes from a sponsor.

B. Scope. This policy applies to all sponsored projects.

C. Definitions.

C-1. Prior Approval. Any change requiring formal approval from the sponsor of a project prior to being implemented.

Such changes can include, but are not limited to:

  1. A change to the period of performance;
  2. A change in the status of the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PIs or other key personnel working on the project (including a decrease to level of effort greater than 25% of approved effort, disengagement from the project for more than three months, or as required by the sponsor, PI/Co-PIs departure from the University, project transfer or relinquishment requests, etc.);
  3. Changes to line-item budgets not falling within the authority prescribed by a sponsor (also known as “rebudgeting” greater than as allowed by the award terms). Note that rebudgeting more than 25% of the award funding requires a justification from the PI to confirm the scope of work is not changing (whether or not sponsor approval is required);
  4. Rebudgeting out of participant support costs;
  5. A change to the approved scope of work, project methodology, objectives, or deliverables;
  6. Subawards and foreign travel (for certain sponsors, prior approval is required even if proposed);
  7. Foreign components, including foreign site or foreign co-authorship, for specific sponsors, including non-funded collaborations;
  8. Any other changes requiring prior sponsor approval, as determined by the terms and conditions of the specific award, 2 CFR 200, FAR, DFAR, when applicable, and/or by the applicable regulations of the sponsoring agency (including but not limited to: some equipment purchases, subawards not initially proposed, travel not proposed, carry-forward of funding, cost sharing, data management and sharing plan changes, and pre-award costs).

Whether prior approvals are required is determined by specific award terms and conditions and by the general terms and conditions or applicable regulations of the sponsoring entity. If you are unsure as to whether or not a prior approval is required, contacting Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Post Award for a determination on the need for prior approval is required before initiating the activity.

D. Policy. Changes to a sponsored project that require prior approval from the sponsor are to be coordinated through the unit/college and the OSP and are only to be submitted to the sponsor by OSP or their designee, when applicable.

Principal Investigators are responsible for review of the award document(s) and for contacting OSP if there are questions regarding prior approval submission and/or deadlines.

E. Procedure. To allow sufficient processing time, requests must be submitted to OSP at least five full business days before the sponsor deadline; earlier coordination is strongly encouraged to ensure timely submission. Requests for sponsor approval of any change other than a time extension must be received by OSP and approved by the UI authorized official at least 30 days before the requested effective date of the change. Some sponsors require more than 30 days' advance notice.

For no-cost extensions, sponsor submission deadlines are typically 10–30 days in advance for an initial request and 45 days in advance for any subsequent request.

Requests submitted outside these timelines may be declined by OSP or rejected by the sponsor.

Because OSP is responsible for the monitoring of all regulations and obligations associated with sponsored program funding, OSP (as the VPRED designee) serves as the final University approval for all proposed changes.

F. Contact Information. For questions or additional information, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs at 208-885-6651 or postaward@uidaho.edu.

Version History

July 2026. Interim approval on July 13, 2026. Revisions update to current format and strengthen clarity, compliance alignment, and institutional control over sponsored project modifications.

December 2018. Rewrite to remove outdated information and clarify policy.

2007. Policy Inception.