• Quick Link: Agreement Request Form 

In rare circumstances, UNCG can draft an agreement in which UNCG is the recipient of an award from a sponsor.

The Agreement Request Form should be completed by the PI or departmental research staff, when UNCG is the recipient of funding and the Sponsor would like UNCG to initiate the paperwork on their behalf.

During the course of a project, an agreement may need to be modified. OSP will negotiate needed changes on behalf of a PI. Please call or email your OSP Grants Specialist to discuss your situation.

Reasons an agreement may need to be modified

– Change in PI

– Change in scope of work

– Change in period of performance

– Change in contact information

– Change in budget or total amount funded

– Change in reporting requirement

• Quick Link: UNCG Pre-Award Risk Assumption (PRA) Request Form, 2022

Definition

Externally sponsored programs frequently have start dates that precede the finalization or receipt of formal award documents or agreements. When time is of the essence or when a fund number is required to develop position descriptions and job announcements, the PI can request a PRA (formerly called and AOR). The PRA authorizes the establishment of a restricted funds account from which the PI may make expenditures for 1-3 months.

This policy defines the general parameters through which the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement might assume financial risks associated with sponsored research or projects prior to the receipt of a formal award or fully executed agreement or prior to the receipt of continuation support for multi-year projects; sets forth the necessary administrative review process; and designates who, within the University, authorizes a Pre-Award Risk Assumption (PRA).

The PRA can be requested for:

– Preaward expenditures

– New awards

– The period between the end date of a current budget period and receipt of the

next increment of funds

– The formal extension of the end date for multi-year projects.

If IRB or IACUC approval is pending, PRAs will only be approved for the portion of

proposed awards that does not require IRB/IACUC approval.

Administrative Review

PRA requests must be reviewed and approved by the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP), the  Office of Contracts and Grants (C&G), and the Vice Chancellor for Research Engagement.

Procedure

1. The PI completes an PRA Request Form and attaches supporting documentation:
   • The PRA request form is here: UNCG PRA Request Form, 2022
   • The first attachment is an itemized budget for the period requested (1-3 months). Direct costs, only.
   • The second attachment is supporting documents or correspondence (email is fine) to show award is imminent.

2. The PI then submits an PRA request to the Office of Sponsored Programs (preferably via email).

3. The Offices of Sponsored Programs and Contract and Grant Accounting review the request and make recommendations.

4. If the PRA request is recommended by both OSP and CGA, it is returned to OSP to be entered into Ramses.

5. The PRA request is then sent to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Engagement for approval and guarantee.

6. Once ORE has approved the PRA, this is noted in Ramses and the PRA goes to Contract and Grant Accounting so a fund number can be assigned. The PI will be notified when this is done. Please note that it can take a week for the fund to be established.

Notes

– If there are questions or issues with the PRA request at any point during this process, the PI will be notified.

– When the award is officially received by UNCG, the PRA will be cleared as a part of the setup process. No further action by the PI is necessary.

• Quick link: Change of PI Form

In the event that the PI on a project must change, please complete the above form and OSP will contact the sponsor on your behalf in order to request the change.

Information needed includes:

1. Project Name, sponsor, and Ramses proposal number
2. Effective date of change
3. Current PI and New PI
4. Justification for request: information as to why change is requested.
5. Qualifications of new PI: information as to how the new PI is qualified to lead this project.
6. CV or resume of New PI

• Quick Link: Subrecipient Commitment and Monitoring Form 2022(proposal stage)
• Quick Link: Subagreement Request form (upon award)

Background Information

A subagreement (also called subaward or subcontract) occurs when the prime recipient organization with a sponsored grant or contract allocates a portion of the scope of work to be performed by another institution or organization (subrecipient/Subawardee/subcontractee) to complete.

Definitions:

1. Prime Funding Organization: the sponsor or agency that issues the RFP and issues an award to the Prime Recipient.
2. Prime Recipient Organization: The prime organization receives the funding support directly from the sponsor. Once the funding has been obtained, the provisions in the prime award “flows down” via a subagreement.
3. Subrecipient: Also known as a subawardee or subcontractor. Receives the funds from the prime organization to carry out the duties (illustrated) in their provided scope of work.

Subaward Relationships at Proposal Stage

If a UNCG PI wishes to include another institution in an upcoming proposal as a third party who will perform a substantive portion of the effort, the following documents must be provided to OSP prior to the submission of the proposal:

1. Subrecipient Commitment and Monitoring Form 2019
2. Detailed subrecipient budget and justification. The budget format and categories should closely follow the proposal guidelines required by the sponsor. If the prime organization (UNCG) is allowed to charge indirect costs on the proposal budget, those terms must also flow down to the subrecipient budget form.
3. Statement of work. This document should be detailed and should outline expectations and commitments to the project expected of and committed by the subrecipient. Sample Scope of Work / Template can be found here.
4. Letter of intent signed by the subrecipient’s institutional authorized official. Sample can be found here.

Please allow sufficient time for your subrecipient to route these documents at their intuition. UNCG OSP will need the final the institutionally approved documents from your subrecipient at the time the proposal is routed for department approvals in Ramses.

Budgeting

The subrecipient’s budget will be included on UNCG’s budget as a direct cost. To calculate UNCG’s F&A costs, the amount that exceeds the first $25,000 of each subaward will be excluded from the calculation.

For details on including a subrecipient in the overall project budget, please see: “Subcontracts/Subagreements” on the Budget Development page.

Subaward Relationships upon receipt of award

A subagreement will only be issued after a fully executed award is received and processed by OSP from the prime sponsor.

Upon receipt of your award notice, please complete and send your OSP specialist the Subagreement Request form.

 Also include an up to date:

1. subrecipient budget and budget justification, reflecting any needed changes that occurred during awarding process.
2. statement of work.
3. an updated letter of intent, if project total changed
4. an updated subrecipient commitment form, if there were changes to the eligibility status of the subrecipient organization.

Once these documents are received by your specialist, a subagreement will be prepared, and a draft sent to the subrecipient authorized official as specified in the subi-mitted forms. OSP will negotiate any requested changes in consultation with PIs, UNCG legal, department personnel, and other needed parties. Once finalized, OSP will execute the agreement on behalf of UNCG and will send one fully executed copy to the subcontractor and upload a copy of the subagreement into the appropriate RAMSeS proposal/award file

Cost-Reimbursable vs. Fixed Price Subagreement

Cost-reimbursable agreements constitute the majority of agreements issued by UNCG, and due to regulations around subrecipient monitoring, a PI should plan to utilize this type of agreement. The subriecipient organization has prepared and will follow a detailed budget. A cost-reimbursable agreement involves UNCG reimbursing the subreicipient organization for allowable and actual costs incurred in the course of completing project activities. This is typically done via an invoicing process, and funds are dispersed no more than monthly.

In rare cases, cost-reimbursable funds may be provided in advance. For instance, a portion of the awarded amount may be issued to a subrecipient upon execution of the agreement or on a fixed payment schedule. However, the subrecipient would still be required to report all costs to UNCG, and any unallowable expenses or unspent funds would need to be returned to UNCG.

Fixed Price Agreements are very rare, and should only be considered when the services or goods can be adequately described and measured in clear, unambiguous terms. The subcontractor is awarded a specified number of lump sum payments over the course of the project for a performance of a specified set of tasks or received deliverables. For example, UNCG may issue a fixed-price subagreement to another university to analyze samples at a fixed price per sample.

With both types of agreements, the scope of work, total budget amount, and term of the agreement can only be modified through as agreement modification.

• Quick Link: No-Cost Extension Request Form

The Principal Investigator is expected to finalize work under a sponsored agreement within the period of performance specified in the award. If a PI needs added time to complete the authorized scope of work, complete and submit the No-Cost Extension Request Form to your OSP Grants Specialist.

Important notes:

In no case does a sponsor allow for an extension simply to use up unexpended funds.

A no-cost extension requested after the end date of a grant will not be honored by the sponsor.

The guidelines for extending the period of an award are normally provided in the awarding Federal agency guidelines. If the award is with the State or a private agency, the terms are normally stated in the award document.

Most sponsors allow no-cost extensions of the final grant period to provide maximum possible continuity in funding research and educational activities. Many federal sponsors now allow grantee institutions to extend the final budget period one time for a duration of up to twelve months. Normally no single extension may exceed twelve months and only in exceptional cases will more than one extension be grant.

In all cases, the Principal Investigator must complete the Request for A No-Cost Extension to OSP and must contain the following information:

1. The length of time the extension is being requested.
2. Justification for the extension.
3. A brief statement as to progress and work remaining to be completed

OSP must notify the sponsor within the sponsor’s deadlines. A letter is sent to the sponsor via the program official, with a copy to the grant official.

The process of transferring awards from one institution to another is not a simple task and requires close coordination between three basic entities: the sponsoring agency, the old institution and the new institution. Normally, two Sponsored Programs offices work in consultation with the principal investigator and his/her department at both the old and new institution.  Items involved include the form of transfer, determination of the unobligated balance, differences in facilities and administrative (F&A) rates and the (possible) funding gaps created by the time required to closeout and re-issue the project. The transfer process can take several months depending on the complexity of the project being transferred and the number of parties involved. Since awards are granted to the Institution and not directly to the PI, institutional support is needed to smoothly and successfully transfer the award.

If you have accepted a position at another institution and want to transfer any current awards you may have at UNCG, you must, as early as possible, discuss the transfer with your Department Chair, the agency and Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP). Transferring an award from UNCG to another institution is an action which must be approved by the awarding agency, and all such requests must be routed through the OSP. Some agencies, such as National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) have standardized this procedure and require submission of forms bearing institutional signatures. Other sponsors prefer that a substitute PI is designated at UNCG and the remaining work subcontracted to the new institution.

At UNCG, most award transfers involve the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation.  The steps below typify the transfer process for these federal agencies.

 Steps for Transferring a National Institutes of Health (NIH) Grant

• Notify your Department Chair.
• Notify the Departmental Administrative staff in the Office of the Associate Dean for Research
• Notify the Program Officer at the awarding NIH institute or center
• Notify your OSP Grants Specialist and provide the following information.
  • Agency name
  • Grant/Award number
  • Amount of unobligated funds remaining
  • Institution to which transfer is requested
  • Contact information for a Grants Manager or Authorized Representative at recipient institution
  • Requested date of award’s termination at UNCG
• Grant terminated in accordance with 45 CFR 74.61 or 92.43

Steps for Transferring a National Science Foundation (NSF) Grant

• Notify your Department Chair.
• Notify the Departmental Administrative staff in the Office of the Associate Dean for Research
• Notify the Program Officer at NSF.
• Notify your OSP Grants Specialist and provide the following information.
  • PI’s name
  • Agency name
  • Grant/Award number
  • Amount of unobligated funds remaining
  • Institution to which transfer is requested
  • Contact information for a Grants Manager or Authorized Representative at recipient institution
  • Requested date of award’s termination at UNCG
• A PI Transfer Request must also be initiated via FastLane. Detailed instructions on submission of the transfer request are available electronically on the NSF website

Steps for Transferring Awards from other Agencies/Corporations/Foundations

• Notify your Department Chair.
• Notify the Program Officer at the awarding entity.
• Notify your OSP Grants Specialist and provide the following information.
  • Agency name
  • Grant/Award number
  • Amount of unobligated funds remaining
  • Institution to which transfer is requested
  • Contact information for a Grants Manager or Authorized Representative at recipient institution
  • Requested date of award’s termination at UNCG
• Complete any agency/corporation/foundation form(s) as identified by your Program Officer and/or Contract Administrator.

Transfer and Disposition of Equipment
Equipment purchased using funds from an external sponsor may belong to the University or to the sponsor depending upon the sponsor’s regulations. When a PI needs to transfer equipment purchased with external funding, Fixed Assets should be contacted to provide information about ownership. In most cases, equipment purchased on currently active awards normally transfer to the new institution, but permission must be granted by the department chair for the transfer of equipment acquired from grants, but now owned by UNCG.

Things to Remember

• Review sponsor requirements
• Begin the transfer process as soon as possible
• Send all required forms and documents to the OSP Grants Specialist
• Review expenditure report with C&G Contract Specialist
• Freeze project account fund as soon as possible so that the Final Financial Report can be completed
• Delays are normally caused by:
  • Untimely notice to sponsor & university administrators
  • Incomplete or inaccurate relinquishment statements/notification of transfers
  • Outstanding final reports
  • Progress, invention, and financial
  • Over/Underestimating unobligated balances
  • Untimely submission of transfer application to sponsors (new institution)
  • Untimely submission of FSR from prior institution