Transcript Document

Receiving
Module 7
the
Award
Receiving the Award
Special thanks to
SRA members Sharon Kiser, Steve Lawrence, Tim
Quigg, Lawrie Robertson, Cary Thomas, Sheila Vrana
and Mark Wdowik for parts from their session on
Contracts, Grants & Cooperative Agreements 10/2005
and
Toni Lawson & Monique Anderson from the University of
Maryland for parts of their Contract Compliance and the
FAR 1/2007 presentation
Office of Sponsored Programs
Contact Information
OSP Director
Jeanne Wicks
472-1825
[email protected]
Associate Director
Suzan Lund
472-1930
[email protected]
Assistant Directors
Deb Arent
472-6327
Mike Behne
472-6323
[email protected]
[email protected]
Office of Sponsored Programs
Contact Information
Grants Coordinators
Shelly Hardies
472-2247
[email protected]
Nancy Becker
472-3601
[email protected]
Currently looking for 2 additional pre-award staff
Office of Sponsored Programs
Contact Information
Project Specialists
Kathy Anderson
472-6326
[email protected]
Ruth Clayton
472-3553
[email protected]
Linda Dickinson
472-3510
[email protected]
Donna Douglas
472-6321
[email protected]
Belinda Gillam
472-7061
[email protected]
Kathi Malone
472-3430
[email protected]
Joyce Schuette
472-6354
[email protected]
Signature Authority
• Sponsored Programs has authority for
– proposal submission
– negotiation and acceptance of grants and contracts
Note: IANR has signature authority for USDA projects it submits
• Technology Development has authority for
– negotiation and acceptance of licensing, confidentiality and
material transfer agreements
• Signature authority is delegated by the Board of Regents
(http://bf.unl.edu/bfpolicy/SignatureAuthority.pdf)
• If a document commits university resources (people, building space,
funds), proper signatures are required
Note: PIs, deans, chairs and others are not authorized to sign any
proposals, agreements, or any other legal document on behalf of the
Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska.
Funding Mechanisms
•
•
•
•
Grants
Cooperative Agreements
Contracts
Incoming Subawards
– can come in any of these forms
– sometimes come in as Purchase Order
Federal Assistance
Types of Support
• Mandatory – block grants, formula-driven
• Discretionary – competitively awarded
Fund Transfer Agreement Types
• Grants – assistance
• Cooperative Agreements – assistance but with
strings attached
• Contracts – procurement/acquisition
Grant
Financial assistance for a project that will benefit the
public. There is no substantial involvement between
the sponsor and the recipient during performance.
Federal grants are governed by Office of Management
and Budget (OMB) circulars and Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR).
Grants
• Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), Program
Solicitation
• Financial Assistance Award
• Made for stated purpose (proposal/award)
• Made for stated period of time (project period)
• Made to an organization in the name of a Principal
Investigator (PI)
• No substantial programmatic involvement by awarding
agency
• Funding may be annual, multi-year or for entire budget
period
• Minimum of limiting conditions (governed by OMB
Circulars A-21 and A-110)
Cooperative Agreement
Financial assistance for a project that will
benefit the public. Substantial involvement
is expected between the government
agency and the recipient. Federal
cooperative agreements are governed by
OMB and CFR regulations.
Cooperative Agreements
• Agencies have substantial freedom to structure
the terms and conditions (T&Cs)
• Agencies must issue cooperative agreement
regulations
• Often differ from standard assistance regulations
and may even resemble acquisition regulations
Contract
An agreement, enforceable by law, between two
or more competent parties, to do or not do
something not prohibited by law, for a legal
consideration.
FAR 2.101 defines a contract as a mutually
binding legal relationship that obligates the
seller to furnish supplies or services and the
buyer to pay for them.
Contracts
• Request for Proposal (RFP) and Invitation for Bid (IFB)
• Mutually binding legal relationship that binds the seller to
deliver certain specified goods or services (deliverables) in
exchange for certain specified consideration (e.g., money)
• Terms are usually detailed and specific
• Activities frequently dictated by sponsor (buyer)
• Less latitude to modify scope of work and line-item
expenditures
• Funding may be incremental, tied to work components,
final payment (e.g. 10%) may be held until “acceptance” of
deliverables
• Process governed by FAR
What is FAR?
• Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR)
• System of uniform policies and procedures governing the
acquisition (purchasing) of all federal agencies
• Procedures manual for federal agencies to acquire goods and
services, including research
Location of the FAR
• The FAR is codified at Title 48 of the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR) and consists of 63 chapters.
• The components consist of:
– Federal Acquisition Regulations (Chapter 1)
– Agency Specific Supplemental Regulations (Chapters 2-63)
Path to the FAR
Public Law
Federal Acquisition
Regulations
US Code
Code of Federal
Regulations
Federal Agency
Supplements
Contracting under the FAR
• Begin by determining the nature of contract:
– Type
• Cost-Reimbursement
• Fixed-Price
• Time & Material/Labor Hour
• Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity
• Basic Ordering
– Purpose
• Construction
• Research & Development
• Supply
• Service
Research & Development Contracting
• Purpose is to advance scientific and technical knowledge and
apply that knowledge to the extent necessary to achieve agency
and national goals.
• Focus is on the Statement of Work (SOW)
• Regulations found at FAR Part 35
Which FAR Clauses Can Be Accepted?
Consider
• Appropriateness
• Required or optional
• University policies/restrictions
Contract Types
Cost-Reimbursement (CRC)
• Pays allowable costs to extent provided
• Contractor must have adequate accounting system to track
applicable costs
Fixed Price (FPC)
Price-based, not cost-based
• Price defined in contract (by unit or deliverable)
• May be firm or adjustable (economic circumstances, profit, etc.)
•
Purchase Orders
• Contract becomes effective upon written acceptance or actual
performance
Contracts – Cost Reimbursable vs. Fixed Price
• Cost reimbursable contracts are paid on regular billing
intervals or can have a payment schedule – only costs
incurred should be paid – excess balance returned to
sponsor
• Fixed-price contracts pay a flat amount whether costs are
covered or not
• UNL requires a substantial up-front payment on industry
contracts regardless of the type (usually 75-100%)
Contracts – Fixed Price Issues
• UNL must fully recover costs in performing services and cannot generate
profit or be in deficit
• Fixed-Price Contracts pay a flat amount whether costs are covered or not
• Residual balances at project end must be handled carefully - can violate
state or federal regulations on non-profit status, or on cost-accounting
standards which require allocating costs and showing consistency in
budgeting and charging costs
• Salaries for staff working on the project but not charged to the account in
proportion to the effort expended may not comply with OMB Circular A21 effort reporting requirements unless the effort is documented
elsewhere (PARs)
• If salaries not charged to contract account, effort must be tracked through
PARs – per A-21 allowed 100% effort for all activities performed by an
individual, whether paid by sponsored project or not
• Account may not pass an audit – costs could be disallowed and required
to be returned to the sponsor, possibly with penalty fees
Contracts & Export Controls
• The term Fundamental Research means basic and applied research in
science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published
and shared broadly within the scientific community, as distinguished
from proprietary research and from industrial development, design,
production, and product utilization, the results of which ordinarily are
restricted for proprietary or national security reasons.
• The Fundamental Research Exclusion applies only to the
dissemination of research data and information, not to the
transmission of material goods.
• The Fundamental Research Exclusion is DESTROYED IF:
The university accepts any contract clause that
– Forbids the participation of foreign persons
– Gives the sponsor a right to approve publications resulting from
the research; or
– Otherwise operates to restrict participation in research and/or
access to and disclosure of research results.
Contracts & Export Controls cont.
“Side deals” between a PI and Sponsor to comply with such
requirements even though not stated in the research contract
may destroy the fundamental research exclusion and expose
both the PI and the Institute to penalties for export control
violations and may also violate university policies on
openness in research.
Contracts & OMB Circulars
• OMB A-21
– Incorporated by FAR 31.3, allowable costs
• OMB A-110
– Sets standards for grants & cooperative agreements
– Specific actions not applicable to contracts (i.e. expanded
authorities)
– FAR replaces this circular in contracts
• OMB A-133
– incorporated by FAR 52.215-02, Alt.II
Major Differences between Contracts & Grants
Contracts
Grants
• Often RFP solicitations
• Need for specific service/product
• Schedule technical & expenditure
reports and/or other deliverables
• Payment often tied to deliverables
• Numerous special terms and
conditions
• Close control on budget
• Usually audited
• Can be cancelled for default
• Often standard guidelines/proposal
kits
• Support for proposed work in
general programmatic areas - need
to advance knowledge
• Requires technical progress reports
• Payments may be in advance, by
schedule, or upon completion
• General terms and conditions
• Flexible budget control
• Some audited
• Almost never cancelled
Useful Web sites:
OMB Circulars: http://www.omb.gov/circulars
CFR: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/cfr-table-search.html
FAR: http://www.arnet.gov/far/ or
http://farsite.hill.af.mil/vffara.htm
FDP: http://www.thefdp.org
CFDA: http://12.46.245.173/cfda/cfda.html
MIT Export Controls:
http://web.mit.edu/osp/www/Export_Controls/index.htm
Considerations before the award is signed
• Pre-award Costs
–
–
–
–
Not allowed on “24” grants – State Single LOC
May not be available on all grants
Are incurred at the risk of the department
Are allowable no more than 90 days prior to effective
date of award. Written permission from granting
authority is required to exceed 90 days.
– Use “Prior Approval to Spend” (IPAS) form to request
Pre-Award spending
WBS Establishment
WBS
Establishment
(Award Cost Center)
Project
Management
Audit
Project
Closeout
WBS Establishment
• Project information must be complete and include:
– Signed & completed routing form
– Annual Conflict of Interest disclosure
– Verification of Compliance – IRB/IACUC
– Copy of proposal
– A balanced budget that agrees to award
– Cost share information with:
• Specific persons identified
• Percentage of time commitment
• Funding source – cost object
– Subaward Information: Letter of Commitment, contact
information, budget, detailed work statement
– NOTE: PARS from previous awards must be current.
WBS Establishment
• Timeline
– Creating the WBS
• Uploaded into SAP on a Monday, Wednesday,
Friday schedule
• Payroll lockdown may impact this schedule
– Changing PAF information
(department responsibility)
– Know your grant specialist
Project Management
• Basic Consideration for Costs:
– Primary Principle – All costs must:
• be reasonable
• be allocable
• Be treated consistently across the institution
• Conform to any limitations or exclusions described
in these principles or in the sponsored agreement as
to types or amounts of cost items
• The cost is unallowable if these conditions are not
all met.
Project Management
• Department Responsibility
– Strongly recommend maintaining records centrally
– Review expenditures/reconcile SAP reports
– Use commitments for planning purposes
– Deficits not allowed – must remove immediately
– Cost share outside of payroll
• Travel
• Invoices
• Outside source
Project Management
• Re-budgeting
– Required in some cases – 0% - ?
– Consider cumulative effect when determining if grantor approval is
needed
– Management tool
Project Management
• Overspending an Award:
– Costs must be removed from the grant. Per A-21 not
allowable to charge to another grant
– Additional budget available?
– Use commitments to avoid deficits
• Special Issues:
• Changing a PI during the grant
• Changing the effort promised
• Leave of Absence (3 months or more)
• Sub-awarding part of the grant
• Transferring award to another institution
• Timing of expenditures – last 30-90 days
Project Closeout
• Prior to end date:
– Process PAFs
– Act on SAP workflow notifications (“action alerts”)
– Request extensions (if needed) in a timely manner
• First 30 days after the end date:
– Pay all invoices
– Review SAP reports and reconcile outstanding items
– PARs
Project Closeout
• 30 – 60 days after end of award:
–
–
–
–
Post award reviews expenditures posted
SAP intramurals post
Department ensures records are ready for audit
Department (PI) files final technical report
• 60 – 90 days after end of award:
– Post award requests final reimbursement
– Post award files final financial report(s)
What Sponsors Look for When Monitoring
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Effort falls below proposal levels
Unreasonably slow progress
Slow or accelerated expenditure of funds
Major rebudgeting
Rebudgeting funds with a restricted purpose
Pursuing a project outside the scope approval for the grant
Not responding to phone calls or e-mails
Habitually late reports
Indications on the financial statements of a lawsuit or
wrongdoing by an officer of the organization
Audits and Reviews
•
Types of Audits:
– Annual A-133
– NU Foundation
– Systems and Desk Audits
– On-Site Project Specific Audits
•
Documentation:
– PARs
– Invoices
– Financial reports
– Technical/progress reports
– Other information required by the award
•
Retention:
– Federal requirement is 3 years after receipt of last required document
– UNL policy is 5 years after the final report is filed
– Multi-year awards
Contact Information
Office of Research
302 Canfield Administration Bldg
http://research.unl.edu
Office of Sponsored Programs
312 N. 14th Street, Alexander Bldg West
472-3171
http://www.unl.edu/research/sp1/
NURAMP
472-7003
http://research.unl.edu/nuramp/