Applicability
By its acceptance of Government contracts and grants, Northwestern University is obligated to identify all government-titled property as it is acquired, keep specific inventory records and establish controls for the usage, maintenance and disposition of equipment and material.

Policies
Equipment Policy Manual
Fabricated Equipment Policy
Component System Policy

Charging

• If a piece of equipment will be used for work under a sponsored project, that piece of equipment can be charged to that sponsored project based on the principle of allocability.
• If the equipment is being utilized for other purposes, whether sponsored or non-sponsored work, then the equipment cannot be charged in entirety to any one sponsored project. A unit must determine, based on reasonable methods, how to allocate the charge of the equipment. The method must be based on actual usage and must be consistently applied in like circumstances.
• It is recommended that units maintain usage logs for shared equipment - logs which track who utilized the equipment, how the equipment was used and for how long.

Equipment Inventory
Units should maintain an equipment inventory log to document current University equipment in the unit as well as document the disposal, sale or transfer of any University equipment. Because the University's main equipment inventory covers only capital equipment, it is recommended that units maintain their own equipment inventories for non-capital equipment such as computers. An equipment inventory template is available here to download.

University Contacts

• ASRSP is responsible for compliance with the equipment regulations of specific grants and contracts. The ASRSP Property Manager is responsible for reviewing equipment purchases made with sponsored project funds. The ASRSP Property Manager is Jany Raskina.
• The Property Control Coordinator (PCC) records and maintains all equipment in the institution. The PCC is Reginold George.
• The University PCC and ASRSP Property Manager conduct biennial inventories of all Government-titled property. This inventory verifies the usage, condition, and location of the equipment. This information is used to update the Government-titled property database which ASRSP maintains.

Resources

• Request a free equipment inventory list
• Request a free inventory training session
• Request inventory template
• Request department inventory tags
• Do-it-yourself inventory template
• Do-it-yourself inventory worksheet
• Forum to sell and acquire used goods no longer useful to the department

Definitions

• Capital equipment: An article of non-expendable, tangible property having a useful life of one year or more and a minimum acquisition cost of $5,000 per unit.
• Fabricated equipment: An item of equipment that is built or assembled from individual parts by a PI and/or other sponsored project personnel, an internal shop, or an external shop.
• Component system: Individual equipment or material items connected together to operate as a system, such as when individual computers and servers are joined together to create a network. Component systems are distinguished from fabricated equipment in that they do not generally require extensive construction or assemblage, as provided by an internal or external shop.
• Government-titled property: Government-furnished or contractor-acquired property that the Government holds title to. Government-furnished property is acquired by the Government and furnished to the University. Contractor acquired property is purchased by the University with Federal grant or contract funds for which the award terms specify that the title will vest with the Federal Government.

Help

• For assistance with equipment purchases related to sponsored projects, contact Jany Raskina in ASRSP.
• For assistance related to Northwestern University's equipment inventory, contact Reginold George in Accounting Services
• For any additional assistance relating to research, contact ORI.