Dear Research Community,
As a result of the changes in operations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Miami research community has been affected in many ways, including financially. While additional fiscal support is not yet available from most research sponsors, and the federal government has not settled on any research-related relief, it is important to document the expenses incurred by our basic research labs and our clinical and translational research activities in response to these changes, both for internal tracking purposes and in hopes of potential partial reimbursements for these expenses from external agencies.
We are therefore asking that all investigators keep a running estimate of expenses incurred in responding to the pandemic that would not otherwise have occurred or been necessary. Examples of such expenses include cancellation fees, expiration of supplies or materials, expenses incurred to store materials or samples that would have otherwise been used during this time, research animals costing per diem while experiments are shut down, and loss of data (time and material estimates) from research activities that were stopped mid-stream as a result of our research drawdown. Relief to mitigate these issues may eventually be available from governmental sources. Please also keep track of how the extra expenses are being paid for (i.e., grants, operations, philanthropy, etc.).
Reporting: If you belong to a school or unit on the CG or RSMAS campus, you should work with your Senior Business Officer on reporting; SBOs are currently providing reports of COVID-19 related expenses to Financial Planning & Analysis on a weekly basis. At the MSOM, we expect to request similar reports in the near future.
As always, we thank you for your cooperation with the restrictions mandated to protect the safety of our research community, and the entire University and South Florida communities.
With regards, |
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