Research Institution Participation Guide
STAR METRICS® will be discontinuing Level I activities as of January 1st, 2016 and is no longer accepting new participants. Institutions already participating in Level I activities can continue to submit data until that time.
Getting Started
Partnering with Research Institutions
As a voluntary program, the STAR METRICS® team relies on research institutions for the project to be successful. Therefore, the STAR METRICS® approach was designed to be as easy as possible for participating institutions. The STAR METRICS® team works with research institutions during each step to provide information, guidance and support. The diagram below outlines the process for Level I.
Initial Informal Meeting with Research Institution
Research Institution Decision to Participate
Research Institution Sends Sample Data
STAR METRICS® Team Provides Feedback / Reports
Research Institution Sends Quarterly Data and Historical Data
STAR METRICS® Creates Quarterly Reports
Step 1: Initial Meeting with Research Institution
The first step in the STAR METRICS® data gathering process is to schedule an introductory meeting, usually in the form of a webinar/videoconference, to introduce the research institution to the basic approach of STAR METRICS® and to the participation requirements. In this first meeting, which lasts about one hour, we review the details of the project and discuss the information that will be collected, the process for collection and the reports that will be generated from the data.
Research institution representatives in the meeting should include a primary IT person, primary contract finance person and a primary contact HR person. It is often useful to have someone from the Office of the Vice President for Research in attendance as well.
Step 2: Decision to Participate
After the initial meeting with the STAR METRICS® team, a Memorandum of Understanding MOU - Participation Agreement (doc) needs to be signed between the research institution and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) – the data custodians for the STAR METRICS® project. A proposed sample of the MOU can be downloaded on the left hand side of the Participate page on the STAR METRICS® website. Note that data cannot be accepted until the MOU has been signed and sent to the NIH.
Additional technical meetings can be set up to provide additional information and support on collecting the requested data elements before the MOU is received.
Step 3: Research Institution Sends Sample Data
As part of Level I of the STAR METRICS® project, research institutions are asked to provide information drawn from their administrative systems housing data on human resources, indirect costs, vendors, and sub-awards. The table below outlines the data elements we are requesting in Level I.
The STAR METRICS® team works with the research institution to send baseline quarterly data. Depending on the research institution, data can be accurately pulled from as far back as seven years or as few as 2 quarters. Multiple years of data permit long trend lines to be generated in the analytical reports.
The Data Dictionary and Technical Specification Guide provides further explanation of the data elements, the requested formats, and details on how to submit data. Typically, sample data represents the last quarter’s worth of research institution data.
Data Elements Requested in Level I
Information on Awards
Unique Award Number
The unique federal number as defined by concatenating the 6 position CFDA code with the assigned award id from the awarding Federal Agency (such as the federal grant number, federal contract number or the federal loan number). Format example: 47.074 AGS-0120950 where "47.074" is the CFDA and "AGS-0120950" is the Federal Award ID.
Recipient Account Number
Research Institution's internal number for the award.
Overhead Charged
Actual Overhead dollars disbursed for award in the specified period.
Information on Individuals
Recipient Account Number
Research Institution's internal number for the award.
Unique Award Number
The unique federal number as defined by concatenating the 6 position CFDA code with the assigned award id from the awarding Federal Agency (such as the federal grant number, federal contract number or the federal loan number). Format example: 47.074 AGS-0120950 where "47.074" is the CFDA and "AGS-0120950" is the Federal Award ID.
De-identified Employee ID
Unique Employee ID (not Social Security number) of grant funded personnel
Occupational Classification
Occupational classification / Job description of the funded personnel (ex. Faculty, Undergrad Student, Grad Student, Post Graduate Researcher, Research Support, Technician/Staff Scientist, Research Analyst/Coordinator, Clinicians)
FTE Status
Designation of the status of the funded personnel (full time = 1.0, half time = .5)
Proportion of Earnings Allocated to Award
Calculated portion of the earnings charged by funded personnel to the award in the specified period.
Information on Indirect Costs
Overhead Salary + Fringe to Total Ratio
Proportion of overhead dollars that goes to pay salaries and fringe benefits. The calculation used is (Salary $ + Fringe $) ÷ Total Overhead Dollars. For more information, see the Indirect Cost Proposal Example.
Payments to Vendors
Unique Award Number
The unique federal number as defined by concatenating the 6 position CFDA code with the assigned award id from the awarding Federal Agency (such as the federal grant number, federal contract number or the federal loan number). Format example: 47.074 AGS-0120950 where "47.074" is the CFDA and "AGS-0120950" is the Federal Award ID.
Recipient Account Number
Research Institution's internal number for the award.
Vendor DUNS Number
Vendor DUNS Number. The Vendor's 9 digit DUNS number. If DUNS is unavailable then substitute zip code with "Z" prefix so as to distinguish it from the DUNs number.
Vendor Payment Amount
The funds charged to the award by the vendor in the specified period.
Subcontracts and Sub Awards
Unique Award Number
The unique federal number as defined by concatenating the 6 position CFDA code with the assigned award id from the awarding Federal Agency (such as the federal grant number, federal contract number or the federal loan number). Format example: 47.074 AGS-0120950 where "47.074" is the CFDA and "AGS-0120950" is the Federal Award ID.
Recipient Account Number
Research Institution's internal number for the award.
Sub-Award Recipient DUNS Number
The sub recipient organization’s 9- digit DUNS number. If DUNS is unavailable then substitute zip code with "Z" prefix so as to distinguish it from the DUNs number.
Sub-Award Payment Amount
The funds charged to the award by the sub-awardee in the specified period.
Step 4: STAR METRICS® Team Provides Feedback and Reports
Once initial sample data is received, the STAR METRICS® team will analyze the data and provide reports on job creation, retention, and changes from the previous quarter. In addition, the team assesses the general structure of the files and the specific data elements and provides recommendations on any changes needed to match the data formatting specifications.
Appendix A provides more details on the job calculations the STAR METRICS® team uses to generate reports.
Step 5: Research Institution Sends Recent and Historical Data
After the research institution receives confirmation that their sample submissions are in the correct format and reports can be generated from their data, research institutions are asked to send data as far back as is feasible without any additional burden. In order for the STAR METRICS® team to provide a detailed analysis of historical data, it is preferred that historical data is submitted at the transactional level.
Step 6: STAR METRICS® Team Creates Quarterly Reports and Maps
The final step is to process the information that has been loaded into the STAR METRICS® database, produce and review the reports and return them to the research institution. The STAR METRICS® team will run the processes that will create both quarterly reports and maps. These reports include one set of tables which report direct jobs and positions supported by federal science funding. Additional reports provide estimated jobs generated from funds sent to sub-awardees, purchases from vendors, and research support provided by overhead expenditures. These reports and maps will be delivered to the research institution for their review and comment.
Questions?
Please look at the FAQs, Data Dictionary, Technical Specifications Guide, and Data Samples for further information.
Appendix A: Employment Calculations
STAR METRICS® can be used to help support the employment calculations associated with ARRA spending. The calculations are consistent with ARRA reporting requirements in Section 1512 of Public Law 111-5, which requires:
- “A narrative description of the employment impact of the Recovery Act funded work. This narrative is for each calendar quarter and, at a minimum, will address the impact on the recipient’s or federal contractor’s workforce (for grants and loans, recipients shall also include the impact on the workforces of sub recipients and vendors).
- Provide a brief narrative description of the types of jobs created and jobs retained in the United States and outlying areas. This description may rely on job titles, broader labor categories, or the recipient’s existing practice for describing jobs as long as the terms used are widely understood and describe the general nature of the work.”
Source: Recipient Reporting Data Model - for quarter ending 12/31/2009 ( http://www.recovery.gov )
Direct Jobs Calculated from Individuals Employed
Information Requested
De-identified Employee ID Number
Required for element calculation
Parts A and B below
Information Requested
Unique Award Number
Required for element calculation
Verification and data quality check
Information Requested
Recipient Account Number
Required for element calculation
Verification and data quality check
Information Requested
Occupational Classification
Required for element calculation
Part B below
Information Requested
Proportion of Earnings Allocated to Award
Required for element calculation
Parts A and B below
Information Requested
FTE status
Required for element calculation
Parts A and B below
Calculation for part A and B:
The approach is identical to the discussion in the Peter Orszag memo of Dec 18 2009.
Estimates of Employment Resulting from Purchases made from Vendors
Information Requested
Unique Award Number
Required for element calculation
Validation
Information Requested
Recipient Account Number
Required for element calculation
Validation
Information Requested
Vendor Duns Number
Required for element calculation
Calculation
Information Requested
Vendor Payment Amount
Required for element calculation
Calculation
The vendor DUNS Number will be used to derive an industry code and geographic location[1]. Economic Census data are used to generate estimates of the amount of salaries paid as a result of the grant revenues earned by the vendor[2]. This is in turn divided by the average earnings of workers in that industry and geographic location to generate employment estimates derived from Economic Census data. As the project expands, these calculations can be directly generated from the administrative records of the respondents themselves.
Estimates of Employment Resulting from Sub Awards
Information Requested
Unique Award Number
Required for element calculation
Validation
Information Requested
Recipient Account Number
Required for element calculation
Validation
Information Requested
VSub-Award Recipient Duns Number
Required for element calculation
Calculation
Information Requested
Sub-Award Payment Amount
Required for element calculation
Calculation
The vendor DUNS Number will be used to derive an industry code and geographic location[3]. Economic Census data are used to generate estimates of the amount of salaries paid as a result of the grant revenues earned by the vendor[4]. This is in turn divided by the average earnings of workers in that industry and geographic location to generate employment estimates derived from Economic Census data. As the project expands, these calculations can be directly generated from the administrative records of the respondents themselves.
Estimates of Employment Resulting from Overhead
Estimates will be calculated using information from each research institution’s Indirect Cost Ratio (also known as the Overhead Ratio). Please see the Indirect Cost Proposal Explanation for further information.
[1] The vendor zip code can be used (with a prefix of “Z”) if the DUNS number is unavailable.
[2]http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/
[3] The vendor zip code can be used (with a prefix of “Z”) if the DUNS number is unavailable.
[4]http://www.census.gov/econ/census07/
