So Your Proposal Includes a Subawardee...

Whenever your proposal involves a subagreement, your interest as the lead researcher is best served by getting TEES Research Services in the communication loop early! Get acquainted with the information below and then contact your TRS Proposal Administrator.

The subagreement proposal includes, at a minimum:

  • the statement of work,
  • the project budget,
  • written evidence that an authorized organizational official has endorsed the subrecipient's proposal
  • and the TEES Subawardee Certification Form.

Additional documents might include a resources/facilities page, checklist page, biosketch, other support, and a signed face page. The TRS Proposal Administrator prepares a form to request the required information.

It is the responsibility of the TEES principal investigator (PI) to discuss and negotiate the scope of work to be performed by the subrecipient. The subrecipient submits a statement of work or subagreement proposal that outlines the procedures and methods to be employed in accordance with the goals of the project proposed by the TEES PI.

The statement of work should be submitted to the TEES PI well in advance of the agency deadline to allow for review and negotiation. If the subagreement involves human or animal work, appropriate subrecipient approvals should be included in the proposal if required. Many sponsors have now initiated "Just-In-Time" processes whereby regulatory approvals are only sought upon a favorable proposal score or upon agency request.

The Sub Budget
The subrecipient submits a budget that itemizes appropriate salaries, fringe benefits, supplies, travel, equipment, and other direct costs. The sponsor¿s requirements dictate the form and format of the budget.

F&A costs
The subrecipient will usually request facilities and administrative costs (or in the case of a commercial firm, general and administrative costs). Your TEES Research Services (TRS) Proposal Administrator will determine whether to request verification of F&A at the proposal stage.

Fixed Fee
For commercial organization subrecipients, any fixed fee or claimed Facilities Capital Cost of Money (FCCOM) must be included in the budget proposal. The sponsor's requirements will specify whether fixed fee is an allowable cost. NIH, for instance, does not allow profit or fee to commercial organizations, except under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs (STTR).

Cost Sharing or Matching
If the subrecipient proposes mandatory cost sharing or matching as a component of the budget under an assistance award, the TRS Proposal Administrators will take special precautions to ascertain whether an authorized official of the subrecipient approved the mandatory cost sharing or matching and that these costs are allowable under the prime sponsor's requirements.

Cost and Price Reasonableness
It is the responsibility of the TEES PI to evaluate the proposed budget for cost and price reasonableness against the proposed statement of work. The subcontracting institution's designated business representative who is authorized to commit the institution's resources should sign the subagreement proposal. This signature can be provided in several formats, including a signed copy of the agency cover page, a signed budget page, a letter of commitment, an e-mail or an electronic submission.

Possible Subawardee Conflict of Interest
 Just as it is the responsibility of the PI to discuss and negotiate the scope of work and assess the budget, it is also the PI's responsibility to use their best efforts to assure that there is no conflict of interest in subcontracting to a third party.

Take the Time to Build a Solid Subagreement Proposal
 Whew! What a job! Yes, and it takes time to protect you as a researcher and TEES as an institution while following all applicable Federal and State guidelines. TRS Proposal Administrator assists with the subagreement portion of the TEES proposal to ensure that the applicable items have been incorporated. The subcontractor's budget is reviewed by TRS and costs are determined to be appropriate and reasonable. If submitted under a federal program, the subrecipient F&A needs review and may even require clarification of costs or other items with the subcontractor business official.

The first step your Proposal Administrators takes, of course, is to discuss questions concerning a subagreement with you, the TEES PI. When you get that call, you will now be more prepared to perform this crucial coordination role between subawardee and your TRS Proposal Administrator.

Requesting Documentation from Subawardee

The TRS Sub-Award Information Request form is designed to assist the Principal Investigator and the TRS Proposal Administrators in obtaining necessary sub-award information.

Other Requirements

For a procurement contract, the following items may also need to be requested from the subawardee:

  • Contract Pricing Proposal Cover Sheet;
  • Certificate of Current Cost or Pricing Data as required;
  • Certifications and Assurances as required should be submitted with the subcontractor¿s proposal.

  • If the subcontract is expected to exceed $500,000 the Small Business Subcontracting Plan will need to be finalized and accepted by the agency prior to the award. If the subcontractor is identified at the proposal stage, the subcontracting plan should be submitted as part of their proposal.

Source Selection Justification or Competitive Bidding
Determination if the subagreement will be handled and documented as a sole source or, if there are other organizations that can perform the same work, whether the subagreement will be competitively bid is very important. Due to its highly specialized nature, R&D work may be appropriate to be sole-sourced. However, if competitively bid, a TEES RFP may be needeed.

Time of Award Considerations
When it appears likely that a proposal will be funded, some federal and non-federal sponsors require recipients to submit additional documentation -- such as, revised or detailed budgets, current and pending support statements for the investigators, and required assurances and certifications. For example, additional assurances may include necessary approvals for human subjects or animal research. TRS is responsible for ensuring that these assurances have been obtained from the subrecipient. Similarly, if a subrecipient has transferred substantive work to a lower-tier organization, the subrecipient is responsible for obtaining assurances from that lower tier.

Has the Subagreement Changed?
When TEES receives notice of an award under which a subagreement is applicable, the OSR needs to ascertain whether the sponsor approved the subrecipient agreement and, if so, whether any changes were made. Some sponsors will require the prime recipient to obtain the sponsor¿s formal written approval before transferring a significant portion of the work to another organization, as this may be an indication of a change in the scope of work. If the sponsor already has approved the subrecipient in the normal course of proposal review and acceptance, no additional approval is required in most instances.

Get TRS Involved Early in Subagreements
Whenever your proposal involves a subagreement, your interest as the lead researcher is best served by getting TEES Research Services in the communication loop early!