Subcontracting

A subcontract is a contract, under the authority of and compliant with the terms and conditions of the original award, that moves a portion of the research or major effort from the "prime awardee" (in this case the College which receives the intial award from the funding agency) to another institution or organization. For example, you might be interested in hiring a consulting firm to assist in meeting your grant reporting requirements, measure performance or create an external website for your program. Note: Information regarding potential subcontractors should be in place at the time of proposal submission along with their written commitment, as you are telling the sponsor that a portion of your required effort will be completed by another party.

Consistency is Key

Therefore, the College needs to know at the time of proposal development that all involved parties are agreeable to the terms to which they will perform their portion. All pertinent information that applies to the prime awardee applies to each subcontract. The term or performance period for the subcontract is the same for the originating or prime award.

When the Award is Made

If a subcontract has been planned for, proposed and approved as part of your grant proposal, keep in mind there will still be a few steps to take and things to watch for. First and most importantly, a formal agreement must still be established between the College and the subcontractor at the time an award is made. The Office of Research and Grant Administration will establish the official agreement upon receiving the subcontract request form, found below.

Funding Sources

Funding sources for the subcontract need to be explicitly defined in the agreement. If the funding sources or distribution of sources changes, a modification will need to be fully executed by all parties. It does not matter if the total amount of funding changes.

Monthly Receiving Reports

All subcontracts include language requiring monthly billing from the subcontractor and including the subcontract's identifying number. These invoices go to you, the PI, for review and approval. They should be attached to a form called a "monthly receiving report" and sent to ORGA for processing. Our office tracks the amount spent on the subcontract (What is a "subcontract"?) against the original agreement. Please contact us if you have any questions on this process.

Note: Issuing a subcontract to a business in which you have a vested interest, such as ownership in or special relationship to, implies a "significant financial interest" on your part. The College requires that you report this information prior to proposal submission for Federal audit purposes. If you need to report a significant financial interest, you may do so on the Proposal Summary and Approval Form. This form's completion is mandatory before ORGA will approve and submit your proposal.

College Proposal Requirements