You've received approval to go on sabbatical or an extended leave of absence, but how are you going to manage your sponsored projects while you're gone? Will another faculty member be overseeing your projects in your absence? Or will you still have frequent access to email and site visits so you can continue to oversee your projects at a reduced effort? After you find out that your leave has been approved, you should contact OCG and BOC to let our offices know.
Depending on the sponsor and the length of the leave, we may need to get approval from the sponsor for either a temporary replacement PI or significant changes in your effort commitment. Most federal sponsors want to at least be notified when a PI will be absent for short periods of time. However, almost all federal sponsors require us to seek prior approval when a PI will be absent for longer than 3 months. For these extended leaves, we may need to submit a plan to the sponsor for approval that details how the work will be carried out in the PI's absence. If a temporary replacement PI will be overseeing the project, this plan may need to include identifying who will be in charge during the PI's absence and providing his/her curriculum vita and written concurrence.
Every sabbatical or extended leave will be unique with different sponsor requirements and different plans for how the work will be managed while on leave. That is why it's important to notify OCG and BOC beforehand in case we need to get sponsor approval for the programmatic changes and also so our offices know who we need to contact if things come up while you are on leave.
Thank you.
Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)
Academic personnel may find information on sabbatical leave in the ANR Administrative Handbook, Series 300 – Academic Personnel, Section IV - Sabbatical Leave, at: http://ucanr.edu/sites/anrstaff/files/119882.pdf