Subrecipient Monitoring Policy
Policy number | 17-04.11 |
Responsible office | Research |
Enforcement official |
Enforcement official
Vice President for Research
|
Classification | |
Category | Research and Intellectual Property |
Statement of policy
The Universitywill comply with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Guidance regarding the Universityās monitoring and stewardship obligations as the primary award recipient when accepting sponsored funding and assigning responsibility for conducting a portion of the work to another entity through a subaward agreement.
Summary of contents/major changes
Moved to Policy Template
1. Purpose of Policy
As the prime recipient of an award, which includes one or more outgoing subawards to other entities, the University has the responsibility for ensuring that all research under the prime award is conducted and administered in compliance with sponsor requirements and University policies. Subrecipient monitoring includes activities undertaken to review the financial status and management controls of a subrecipient to mitigate the risk of entering into an agreement with a subrecipient organization.
2. Stakeholders Most Impacted by the Policy
This policy applies to federally funded subawards issued under federally sponsored awards made to Ā鶹“«Ć½ (WMU). The corresponding procedures are intended for use by Principal Investigators, Department Administrators and the Office of Research and Innovation to define their respective roles and responsibilities for subrecipient monitoring. This Policy does not apply to consulting agreements or other forms of vendor procurement.
3. Key Definitions
3.1 Pass-through entity
- Pass-through entity means a non-Federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry our part of a Federal Program.
3.2 Subrecipient
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Subrecipient means a nonāFederal entity that receives a subaward from a passāthrough entity to carry out part of a Federal program; but does not include an individual who is a beneficiary of such program. A subrecipient may also be a recipient of other Federal awards directly from a Federal awarding agency.
3.3 Subaward
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Subaward means an award provided by a passāthrough entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the passāthrough entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that the passāthrough entity considers a contract.
3.4 Subrecipient Monitoring
- Subrecipient monitoring includes activities undertaken to review the financial status and management controls of a subrecipient to mitigate the risk of entering into an agreement with a subrecipient organization.
Note: For the purposes of this policy, where reference is made to "research" awards, it is defined as all awards (i.e., training grants, etc.) where a subaward is issued. Similarly, where reference is made to "subaward," it may refer to a subrecipient agreement, subcontract, or consortium agreement, dependent upon the nature of the prime award.
3.5 Contractor
- A contractor is defined as "an entity that receives a contract,ā which is defined as āa legal instrument by which a nonāFederal entity purchases property or services needed to carry out the project or program under a Federal award. The term as used in this part does not include a legal instrument, even if the nonāFederal entity considers it a contract, when the substance of the transaction meets the definition of a Federal award or subaward.ā
3.6 Substantive work conducted by a third party
- Project activities that are of primary purpose to the research program but are not conducted at the University. These activities constitute a significant portion of the research program and require the leadership and direction of a responsible investigator located at the work site of the cooperating entity.
4. Full Policy DETAILS
It is the policy of Ā鶹“«Ć½ to administer subawards consistent with the requirements of the OMB Uniform Guidance, and in accordance with the requirements of the institution, the applicable sponsor regulations, and the terms and conditions of the prime award. As the prime sponsored award recipient (the Passāthrough entity), the University is responsible for ensuring that performance goals are achieved and the scope of work is met while sponsor funds are managed appropriately. The goal is to ensure that the subaward satisfies institutional and governmental reviews as well as governmental audits while providing adequate stewardship of the research enterprise at WMU.
5. Accountability
5.1 Failure to adhere to these Federal regulations in connection with a specific subrecipient monitoring may result in the withholding of new awards.
5.2 Additional consequences for non-compliance include possible individual discipline for failure to follow applicable University policies and requirements.
6. Related Procedures and Guidelines
Effective date of current version | December 1, 2019 |
Proposed date of next review | August 1, 2022 |
Certified by |
Betty McKain Director of Grants and Contracts |
At the direction of |
Terri Goss Kinzy Vice President for Research and Innovation |