The purpose of this section is to present an overview of Sponsored Programs Foundation's (SPF) policies applicable to research. Research compliance encompasses a wide variety of areas including financial management of sponsored projects, conflicts of interest, and Time and Effort reporting. Research compliance is accomplished through a collaboration between SPF and University faculty and staff to ensure the integrity of research and instruction.

SPF Research Policies

Administrative Manual

The Administrative Manual is a collection of SPF’s general operating policies with relation to its immediate staff and those services which we contract out to Cal Poly Humboldt. SPF reserves the right to change any of these policies as may be necessary. The staff of SPF will make every effort to keep this manual updated as policies evolve.

Some commonly referenced SPF policies that can be found in the Administrative Manual include:

• Facilities and Administrative Costs Policy
• Indirect Revenue Distribution Policy
• Principal and Co-Investigators Policy
• Purchasing/Procurement Policy (7/1/24)
• SPF Purchasing/Procurement Matrix (7/1/24)

Humboldt Lecturers interested in obtaining their ‘Research Associate’ status to become an eligible Principal Investigator can apply for Research Associate Status. For more information about the Research Associate status, please reach out to your Department Chair or College Dean.

Personnel Manual

The Personnel Manual provides a general summary of SPF's personnel policies, work rules, and benefits. This is not a legal document; rather it is intended to highlight topics relevant to employment with SPF.

SPF management may, from time to time, take actions which affect administrative matters that are described in this publication and may amend these policies and procedures at any time. Accordingly, inquiries can be made to the appropriate contact to determine if specific descriptions are current.

Institutional Policies

These policies originate from entities other than SPF and are wide in scope.

• Policy on the Administration of Grants and Contracts in Support of Sponsored Programs
• California State University Chancellor’s Office Sponsored Programs Administration Policies (ICSUAM)
• CSU guidelines for applying for a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the FAA for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (a.k.a "drones")
• Policy and Procedure for Responding to Allegations of Research Misconduct
• Institutional Review Board (IRB)
• Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) 
• Policy on the Use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) - aka"DRONES"
• Directions for using SkyVector
• Flight Operations Proposal Template
• Humboldt Guidance on the use of UAS by students
• Logic Flow Chart
• Pre-Flight UAS Checklist

Responsible Conduct of Research

Both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) have policies that require certain categories of researchers to receive Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training. Your Pre-Award and Post-Award specialists will let you know if RCR training is required for your grant proposal or award. The Office of Research and Sponsored Programs subscribes to the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Program. Selecting this link will allow you and your students to take the Responsible Conduct of Research training course at no charge to your department.