Receiving the Award

1. Receiving the Award Module 7 When the Award Arrives 1

2. Office of Sponsored Programs Contact Information Director Jeanne Wicks 472-1825 jwicks2@unl.edu Associate Director Suzan Lund 472-1930 slund2@unl.edu Assistant Directors Deb Arent 472-6327 darent1@unl.edu Mike Behne 472-6323 mbehne1@unl.edu 2

3. Office of Sponsored Programs Contact Information Grants Coordinators Nancy Becker 472-3601 nbecker1@unl.edu Shelly Cutsor 472-2247 mcutsor2@unl.edu Julie Poykko-Post 472-6174 jpoykkopost2@unl.edu Contracts Coordinator Andy Budell 472-3759 abudell2@unl.edu 3

4. Office of Sponsored Programs Contact Information 312 N 14th Street Alexander Bldg West Lincoln, NE 68588-0430 Ph 402-472-3171 Fax 402-472-9323 http://research.unl.edu/sp1 Official Applicant/Recipient Entity: The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln use same address as above 4

5. Negotiation & Signature Authority Sponsored Programs has authority for negotiation and acceptance of grants, cooperativeagreements and contracts. Signature authority is delegated by the Board of Regents (http://bf.unl.edu/bfpolicy/SignatureAuthority.pdf) Note: PIs, deans, chairs and others are not authorized to negotiate or sign agreements or any other sponsored programs document on behalf of the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. 5

6. Funding Mechanisms • Grants • Cooperative Agreements • Contracts • Incoming Subawards • can come in any of these forms • sometimes come in as Purchase Order 6

7. 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). 7 7

8. Grants • Financial Assistance Award (CFDA) • Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), Program Announcement/Solicitation (PA) • 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 8 8

9. Grants • Funding may be annual, multi-year or for entire budget period • Minimum of limiting conditions (governed by OMB Circulars A-21 and A-110) 9 9

10. Cooperative Agreement Financial assistance for a project that will benefit the public. Substantial involvement is expected between the government agency and the recipient during performance. Federal cooperative agreements are governed by OMB and CFR regulations. 10

11. Cooperative Agreements • Financial Assistance Award (CFDA) • Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), Program Announcement/Solicitation (PA) • Made for stated purpose usually developed in conjunction with the sponsor (scope of work) • Made for stated period of time (project period) • Made to an organization in the name of a Principal Investigator (PI) • Substantial programmatic involvement by awarding agency 11

12. Cooperative Agreements • Agencies have substantial freedom to structure the terms and conditions (T&Cs) • Often differ from standard assistance regulations and may even resemble acquisition regulations 12

13. 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. 13

14. Contracts • Request for Proposal (RFP) and Invitation for Bid (IFB) • Handled as a procurement or acquisition • Terms are usually detailed and specific • Activities frequently dictated by sponsor (buyer) • Scope of work dictated by sponsor with less latitude to modify it • Depending on contract type, may not be able to modify line-item expenditures 14

15. Contracts • Funding may be incremental, tied to set deliverables or schedules • final payment (e.g. 10%) may be held until “acceptance” of deliverables • Federal process governed by Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 15

16. Contracts - Research & Development • 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 16

17. Contract Types • Cost-Reimbursement (CRC) • Pays allowable costs that are expensed and invoiced • 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 • Purchase Orders • Contract becomes effective upon written acceptance or actual performance 17

18. Contracts – Cost Reimbursable vs. Fixed Price • Cost reimbursable contracts paid on regular billing intervals or payment schedule – only costs incurred will be paid – excess balance returned to sponsor • Fixed-price contracts pay a flat amount whether or not costs are covered – any excess balance is retained • UNL requires a substantial up-front payment on industry contracts regardless of the type (usually 75-100%) 18

19. Contracts – Fixed Price Issues • UNL must fully recover costs in performing services and cannot generate profit or be in deficit • Even if costs are found to be underestimated, UNL must still perform full SOW promised and loses money • If costs are significantly overestimated, residual balances at project end may be subject to UBIT and affect UNL’s tax status • UBIT is Unrelated Business Income Tax – UNL’s tax status is based on its non-profit related mission (education, research and community outreach) 19

20. Contracts – Fixed Price Issues • Residual balances can also violate state or federal regulations on non-profit status, or on cost-accounting standards • 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 A-21 effort reporting requirements • Must track all effort through PARs • Account may not pass an audit – costs could be disallowed and required to be returned to the sponsor, possibly with penalty fees 20

21. What is FAR? • Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) • System of uniform policies and procedures governing the acquisition (purchasing) for all federal agencies • Procedures manual for federal agencies to acquire goods and services, including research 21

22. 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) 22

23. Public Law US Code Code of Federal Regulations Federal Acquisition Regulations Federal Agency Supplements Path to the FAR 23

24. 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 24

25. Export Controls What are Export Controls? • Restrictions on shipments outside of the US and/or • Restrictions on the transfer of information and/or technology (either outside or inside the US) • 'deemed' exports 25

26. Export Controls How are Export Controls Regulated? Department of State (International Traffic in Arms Regulations [ITAR]) - Primarily Military and Space related items Department of Commerce (Export Administration Regulations [EAR]) - dual-use items Department of Treasury - imposes sanctions on foreign countries prohibiting exports Other government agencies (i.e. USDA - fungi, etc) 26

27. Export Controls Fundamental Research Basic and applied research in science and engineering, the results of which ordinarily are published and shared broadly within the scientific community Excluded from Export Control Regulations (Fundamental Research Exclusion) 27

28. Export Controls Fundamental Research Differs from proprietary research and 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. 28

29. Export Controls • 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. 29

30. Export Controls • “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. • Civil and/or Criminal penalties for export control violations can result for both the PI and the University and may also violate university policies on openness in research. • A separate Export Control NURAMP course is in preparation for the upcoming fall or spring session. • UNL’s Export Control website: http://research.unl.edu/orr/exportcontrol.shtml 30

31. Contracts & OMB Circulars • OMB A-21 (2 CFR 220) – Cost Principles • Incorporated by FAR 31.3, allowable costs • OMB A-110 (2 CFR 215) – Uniform Admin Requirements • 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 – Audit Requirements • incorporated by FAR 52.215-02, Alt.II 31

32. Contracts 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 Grants 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 Major Differences between Contracts & Grants 32

33. Pre-award awarding process Award arrives in OSP and Pre-award Coordinator: Reviews award terms & conditions alongside original proposal documents Verifies routing form fully signed Reviews award budget against proposed budget Verifies any cost share commitments documented Verifies subaward documents complete Letter of commitment contact information budget and justification detailed work statement 33

34. Pre-award awarding process Verifies compliance requirements are met, as necessary IRB approvals obtained IACUC approvals obtained Biosafety approvals obtained DOI process complete Submits to Post-award for creation of WBS and ongoing financial management NOTE: PARs from previous awards must be current before WBS is established. 34

35. 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 35

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