Definition: Principal Investigator (PI) / Project Director (PD)

Principal Investigator (used interchangeably with Project Director)“ is the person in charge of a sponsored project. The PI has primary spending authority and primary responsibility to fulfill the technical, scientific, fiscal, administrative, and reporting obligations required by the funding agency. The PI is the individual designated by the applicant organization to have the appropriate level of authority and responsibility to direct the project or program to be supported by the award. Multiple individuals may be designated as program directors/principal investigators who share the authority and responsibility for leading and directing the project, intellectually and logistically. The PI must be a regular salaried TWU employee at the time of proposal submission and at the time of award, and is generally a full-time faculty member. A request for exception to this requirement must be made to the Vice Provost for Research and Innovation and Dean of the Graduate School (“VPRI/DGS”). A student may serve as PI on a project with a faculty advisor as Co-PI. Any proposal from a student requires a faculty Co-Investigator, with the faculty member maintaining fiscal responsibility for the grant.