Follow-up: 12/9/20 Research Management Meeting
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Information requested during Jen Jackson's Q&A:
- PPMS contact: ppmsadmin@hms.harvard.edu
- URL to access: https://ppms.us/harvard-hms
- Below are the responses to each unanswered question from the Research Employees Abroad discussion. Please get in touch with your school research office or OSP/ORA for additional information.
1. How would you deal with a professor who has a split appointment, working in the US for 6 months and 6 months in an EU country and their main country is in the UE?
While we can’t give a definitive answer, the fact that their home address is in the UE makes us assume they cannot be on the Harvard payroll. We suggest you speak with your HR contact and the International Office to get a definitive answer.
2. Could you please recap what this means for out-of-state domestic personnel, mentioned in the beginning?
Just yesterday we heard that MA has extended certain flexibilities beyond 12/31/20 and a draft of the revised guidance and FAQs will be sent soon. Hopefully those revisions will be done and published within the next day or two. This change does not impact anyone who is abroad.
3. Any onus to have students update their PS addresses?
Everyone on Harvard payroll is required to update their addresses and the onus is on the individual. Unless an individual informs someone at the university that they are out-of-state, then no action is needed on the part of the dept or school.
4. You mentioned the salary/fringe should not be more than what they were paid on payroll, but PEOs will be more expensive due to fees and there may be greater cost with currency flux. Do you just mean we cannot alter their base pay from what it was in USD? PEOs will naturally be more expensive, so just looking for clarity. AND Hiring through Harvard Global typically comes with a significant mark up (fees) that exceed originally budgeted amounts for staff. What does OSP suggest when we are working on setting up an international hire within a tight budget?
Yes, paying with a PEO is expensive and we are not yet sure if all the fees would be allowable on a federal award. Each school is dealing with the added costs locally so we suggest your department contact your budget/accounting office for additional information. We also suggest you contract GSS (Global Support Services) to discuss options and cost. It is not an ideal situation but required by the university for regulatory reasons.
5. So if a PI, faculty member is in Europe and has been just prior to COVID, working on all research projects abroad (but otherwise would have been in Harvard if not for COVID) is that something that needs to be addressed?
Yes, if he/she is not planning to come back soon that is a situation that does need to be addressed.
6. Might it be possible to initiate a new subaward to foreign orgs (if sponsor allows it), as it might ultimately be less expensive that using PEOs, etc.
Yes, if that could be appropriately arranged that could work. We’ve also heard of paying an individual through an affiliated university (in the example, it was the trainee’s affiliation).
7. Is there an appropriate response to faculty to refuse to pay the fees associated with global support services and what are the appropriate funding sources to cover those fees?
Please contact your local budget/accounting group.
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Message from OSP
Greetings Harvard Research Administration Community,
The first Research Management Meeting will be next Wednesday, October 14, from 3 to 4 pm. Given the size of the invitation list, we will be running the meeting as a webinar. Below is the agenda for the meeting and the registration information.
DC Colleague Kara Haas, Director of Federal Relations, Harvard University, will provide a federal update, as well as on-campus University updates. The sponsored research community is expanding the reach of its Sponsored Administrative Leadership Committee (SALC). Currently, comprised of two reps from each school, co-chairs of the SALC sub-committees, and primary contacts within central offices (RMAS, OGC, OTD, OFSP, and OC). Limitation on membership was due to both space and time constraints. With our Zoom-centric work life, we are significantly broadening the list of attendees. The new Research Management Meetings, will be held bi-monthly and open to all within the research community. Questions? Contact Rachel Cahoon or Christina Kennedy.
Research Management Meeting Agenda
- Intro & Welcome, Sarah T Axelrod, OSP, & Rachel Cahoon, HMS ORA (co-chairs)
- Federal Update – Kara Haas, HPAC DC
- University Updates – Ara Tahmassian, OVPR
- IT Updates – Simone Alpen, HUIT/ATS