Click here to access the Change of Principal Investigator and Key Personnel section of the Post-Award Sponsored Projects Guide on page 38.
Change of Principal Investigator and Key Personnel
Circumstances may, on occasion, warrant the designation of a new temporary or permanent Principal Investigator. A sponsor must be advised, and prior written approval must be obtained, before a new Principal Investigator may be designated. If the PI finds it necessary to nominate someone, such requests must bear the signed endorsement of the Department Chair and the Dean of the College. If the request is made by the Department Chair, it must be endorsed by the Dean of the College. (If the Principal Investigator is also the Dean, then the request should bear the endorsement of the next higher authority).
In those instances where the request can be submitted through a Sponsor’s post-award management system (e.g. FastLane), no additional paperwork is necessary. In all other instances, a letter will need to be drafted by the department that explains why the key personnel is no longer able to continue on the project, the name of the individual who is replacing the key personnel and evidence of the qualifications of replacement personnel, including a c.v. This letter should be signed by all affected key personnel (when practical) and counter-signed by an authorized University signature (OSP), who will forward the request to the sponsor for action.