Key Personnel are the program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) and other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request salaries or compensation. Review the sponsor's funding opportunity and policies for more specific guidance.
A consultant is not usually considered "Key," but may be included if their proposed project work meets the above definition. Generally speaking, technicians, postdoctoral fellows, nurses, graduate students, and other related individuals, while still serving an important role in the project, would not be typically included as “Key.” More about Collaborator Roles.
All UMB key persons must certify the proposal.
Proposal Roles
PI/Contact: UMB’s Principal Investigator for the project; the contact PI for a multiple PI proposal
PI/Multiple: Use only for UMB investigators. This is used for the other Principal Investigators from UMB for an NIH multiple PI proposal.
Co-Investigator - labeled "Co-I (UMB Routing Req'd)": Use of this role is not recommended. It may result in extra approval stops in the workflow. DO NOT use this role for non-UMB persons.
Key Person: Once selected, you will add a brief description for this person’s role as follows:
- Non-UMB multiple PI: PD/PI
- UMB or Non-UMB Co-Investigator: Co-Investigator
- UMB or Non-UMB other roles: enter the person’s role on the project, such as investigator, OSC, or Other Significant Contributor, biostatistician, etc.
UMCP collaborators: Add UMCP and other proposal persons from the Address Book (non-employee look-up). If the UMCP proposal person is not in the non-employee look-up, submit an Address Request to add.
Person Details
Click on the triangle to the left of the person’s name to open the details for that person. Several tabs are available across the page
Key Person Details tab:
- ALWAYS UNCHECK “Include in Credit Allocation” – UMB does not use this.
- eRA Commons Username. NIH requires eRA Commons IDs in the Credential field of the Sr/Key Person Profile form for all individuals listed on that form (NOT-OD-21-109). Request an eRA Commons username for UMB persons. More NIH information
Key Person Organization tab:
Add Total Effort for each key person
For proposals submitted system-to-system,
- A phone number and email address are required for each key person
- Check that the zip code has 9 digits
- For proposals submitted system-to-system, the Directory Title field populates the Key Person form. This may be updated manually for the proposal.
- The Directory Title for UMB employees comes from the campus directory. To update the title, the individual must log into the myUMB Portal. Under the Self-Service card, select My Employee/Affiliate Info to update the title.
- The Directory Title field must be filled manually for non-employees
Extended Details tab:
- Citizenship information may be required for fellowship or career development proposals. Correct/update as needed.
- For non-employees, enter the person’s department, institute, or center at their home institution in the Directory Department field. This information will print to the Department field on the R&R Senior/Key Person form for system-to-system proposals.
Degrees tab: For system-to-system proposals, enter the highest degree.
Unit details tab: For the UMB PI(s), the proposal Lead Unit will appear. If different, the PI's unit of academic appointment will also appear. For other UMB Key Personnel, the person's unit of appointment will appear. This tab will be blank for non-employees.
- For the PI, when the Lead Unit for the proposal is a Center or Institute (unit number starts with 102), ADD the PI's unit of academic (primary) appointment if it is missing (academic unit numbers start with 103 or 104).