NOTE: It is important for each ERC to develop a database for collecting information about the personnel associated with the ERC. In addition to providing information for individual center needs, this database will be required to collect and report the data required for the personnel table entered into the ERC Program Database described in Section 6.7.1.7. There is no "ideal" database structure. Suggested categories and items of information are listed below.

PERSONNEL INFORMATION

The following data fields are recommended for capturing data required for NSF reporting:

• Name--last, first, middle (preferred or casual name)
• Institution, department, and discipline (note: for REU students and K-12 teachers, be sure to capture home institution)
• Thrust and project association
• Demographic data including citizenship status, gender, race, and ethnicity
• ERC personnel type: See the ERC Guidelines for the Submission of Data (Table 7) for the categories of ERC personnel including leadership, faculty, staff and students.
• Start and end dates of ERC association
• Indication of whether the individual received NSF support
• For students, indicate degree program (undergraduate, masters, doctoral) pursued and degree completed; date of degree; employment after graduation

The following data fields may be useful for other ERC functions:

• Titles of address (Ms., Mr., Dr., etc.)
• Home Address Info:
• Local Address/phone number
• Permanent (hometown) Address/phone number (if different)
• Emergency Contact (name/address/phone no.)
• Forwarding Address (home & employer)
• Campus Info:
• ERC office/cubicle no. (and building); office phone no.; e-mail address
• Alternate address, Box #, phone, fax, secretary name, e-mail
• URL address: homepage & project page
• Employment Data:
• Social security number
• Payment account and rate (and any other payroll identification codes)
• Date of birth
• Marital status; spouse's name
• Promotion and reclassification history
• Awards/Committees (name; year)
• For students, the following additional information is recommended:
• Faculty supervisor(s)
• Thesis or dissertation title
• For international students: visa status
• Optional: passport no.; admission no.; I-20 & passport expiration dates

FINANCIAL

Detailed center financial records will be needed for the day-to-day management of the center, compliance with sponsor regulations, and for providing data required for the ERC annual report. Your university has a financial system for sponsored projects that provides monthly reports of the funds that have been awarded and budgeted. These reports may or may not be adequate for providing the management tools the center requires and for providing data in the format that you will need for the ERC's Annual Report. You may have to develop a shadow system for tracking awards and expenditures but it should be consistent with the data provided by your university's sponsored projects accounting system. You will need to track the following information:

SOURCES OF SUPPORT for the ERC including cash and in-kind contributions. This includes the NSF funding as well as all other awards for direct center support.

Fields needed include:

• Sponsor (includes university funding)
• Principal investigator
• Sponsor
• Title
• Thrust/project supported by award
• Type of affiliation this sponsor has with center
• Award amount
• Start date/end date
• Contract/grant # and type
• Reporting requirements
• Administrative and technical contact
• Budget restrictions and conditions

EXPENDITURES (CURRENT AND HISTORICAL) for all sources of support of the center. It will be necessary to be able to report expenditures in a variety of formats:

• Total direct costs for each project/thrust
• Total expenses for particular categories as described in the Guidelines for Submission of Data to the ERC Program Database; n actual to actual expenditures for a particular year, the center needs to be able to project expenditures for the upcoming proposed year
• Total Expenditures by ERC function as described in the Guidelines for Submission of Data to the ERC Program Database.

INVOICES

When invoicing for industrial memberships, fields may include:

• Organization name, official membership start date
• ERC program affiliation(s), by year (they change)
• Payment status; payment amount; in-kind notes
• Invoice month; payment due date in effect
• Check date, check amount, received date, deposit account no.
• Invoice date, invoice no., amount, type (1st, 2nd, etc.), date paid.

OTHER FINANCIAL INFORMATION.

Learn what your university's requirements are for record retention for documents related to purchasing and be sure the center's policies satisfy at least the minimum requirements.

Find out how the university handles capital asset management and be sure that the center has proper inventory control process in place to monitor purchase, use, and disposable of capital equipment.

Make sure you understand how the payroll system operates and in particular, how effort certification is handled by your institution.

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