PROCUREMENT OF SERVICES
UNDER A SPONSORED RESEARCH ACCOUNT

INTRODUCTION

The Division of Sponsored Research provides these procedures for the procurement of services under contract and grant accounts (Funds 520-570). Following these procedures will reduce the time it takes to get a subcontract or contractual services contract in place. The information provided herein pertains only to contract and grant accounts. Procurements under other types of accounts should follow standard University purchasing procedures.

Pre-Award

The determination of the potential need for a subcontract to a business/organization is normally made at the proposal stage. The Principal Investigator must be prepared to justify the selection of the potential subcontractor.

The first step in procuring services under a sponsored project is to determine the type of relationship that will exist between a third party and the University. The two choices are "subrecipient" and "vendor." (see "SUBRECIPIENT vs. VENDOR"). Ideally, this determination should be made at the proposal stage so that F&A (indirect) costs in the proposed budget may be calculated properly. (Hereafter, the terms subcontractor replaces the terms 'subrecipient' and 'vendor' and may also include certain consultants)

The PI, at a minimum, must receive from the potential subcontractor a letter of intent signed by an authorizing official, a budget and the agreed upon scope of work. Other information may be required by the prime sponsor, depending on the proposal preparation guidelines.

The budget from the subcontractor should be of the subcontractor costs only, which could include both direct and facilities and administrative (F&A) costs. If F & A costs are included, a copy of their most current F & A Cost Agreement should be provided. For-profit, non- profit and consultants may have different budget considerations. PI's are responsible for ensuring that subcontract costs are reasonable and allowable.

The scope of work must outline the work to be accomplished by the subcontractor and identify deliverables, products or expected outcomes that support the overall project.

The documentation should be sent to Sponsored Research Services (SRS) as part of the overall proposal submission to the sponsor.

Issuing the Subcontract/Post Award

Once FSU has accepted an award from a sponsor which contains provision for a subcontract, the PI will work with SRS to prepare the subcontract. If a subcontract was NOT contemplated at the time of the proposal, budget revisions and sponsor approval may be required.

It is the responsibility of the PI to ensure the Request for New Subcontract or Amendment to Existing Subcontract and attachments are properly filled out and send them to SRS as an electronic file.

For any subcontract over $5,500, the PI or his/her designee is required to prepare a Cost/Price Analysis to determine reasonableness of prices/costs. (If the subcontractor is another university, the PI should have already reviewed the budget at the proposal stage; SRS will review their budget as submitted by an office of sponsored research with current F & A rates to ensure reasonableness.) See also Cost/Price Analysis Explanation.

If the subcontract is over $50,000 and is NOT a university, public institution, or was NOT named in a Federal Award, the services should be competitively bid. If there are compelling reasons to subcontract with an entity without competition, a Sponsored Research Exemption (SRE) from competitive bid request must be completed by the PI or his/her designee.

SRE request may be used for other exemptions such as open records for confidential/proprietary documents and exemption from Florida Travel Regulations for out-of-state entities on Federal awards.

SRS is responsible for the development of the subcontract and the inclusion of all applicable OMB requirements and other applicable regulations, disclosures, and obtaining the proper signatures on the subcontract. The PI is responsible for preparing the scope of work, schedule of deliverables and schedule of payments. The subcontractor will be advised of the source of the funds (e.g., name of the sponsor, federal or state agency, CFDA title and number, if applicable, and award name) and all audit requirements. SRS may verify that the subcontractor has met prior A-133 audit requirements, if applicable.

SRS is responsible for all negotiations of the subcontract, and any changes to the subcontract document requested by the subcontractor must be approved by SRS with the involvement of the PI and legal counsel if necessary.

The subcontractor will sign and return the documents to SRS. Once executed by SRS, an original of the subcontract is returned to the subcontractor and a copy of the subcontract is sent to the PI. Sponsored Research Accounting Service (SRAS) maintains the official file and is responsible for processing invoices.

No requisition is required. SRS/SRAS has a direct purchase order system in OMNI to encumber funds without the necessity of the departments using requisitions/purchase orders for pure subcontractor agreements. The encumbrance will appear on departmental ledgers as RXXXX where the "X" will be an encumbrance/contract number sequentially assigned by SRS.

The PI may also determine when a subcontract is to be amended and is responsible for conveying the proper changes to SRS for amendment preparation. Use Request for New Subcontract or Amendment to Existing Subcontract.

The PI and his/her designated project manager are responsible for monitoring periodic progress reports and invoices from the subcontracts for compliance with the terms of the contract. Invoices should be checked to ensure that they are reflective of the progress and that invoices adhere to the line-item budgets. Non-compliance with the technical reporting requirements or dissatisfaction with the level of progress should be reported to Sponsored Research Services.

Questions should be directed to jkamke@fsu.edu or telephone Juel Kamke 644-8654.

The following forms, policies and procedures for the procurement of services under contract or grant accounts may be modified and/or supplemented periodically.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Subrecipient vs. Vendor--Definitions -- Proposal state (PDF read only)

Request for New Subcontract or Amendment to Existing Subcontract (PDF fill-able form)

Attachments to subcontracts:

Subcontractor Contact Information (PDF fill-able form)

Schedule of Deliverables and Invoicing (Word)

Formats for Scope of Work and Budget (Word)

Cost/Price Analysis Explanation (PDF read only)

Cost/Price Analysis Worksheet (PDF fill-able form)

Sponsored Research Exemption Request Form (PDF fill-able form)

Sub-recipient Monitoring Policy

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