Issuing a Subaward

On behalf of Rutgers, The State University, ORSP is responsible for issuing, negotiating and executing subawards/subcontracts on sponsored projects. A subaward is a legal commitment by Rutgers, The State University and must be executed by university officials authorized by the Board of Governors.

In most cases, if a subaward is included in the original grant application and approved in the budget and award by the sponsor, the competitive bidding policies will not apply to the subawards. Terms and conditions of the prime award to Rutgers University will be passed to the subrecipient in the subaward documents.

Subawards cannot be issued until ORSP has received and processed the prime award to the Rutgers PI. ORSP cannot issue subawards against an IPAS account.

In order for ORSP to issue the subaward, the PI must fully complete and submit via email to the Contract Specialist, the Subaward Checklist, a detailed scope of work and a budget. The scope of work and budget must be in accordance with the grant award. Incomplete checklists will be returned to the sender for completion. The PI should retain a copy of the Subaward Checklist for future reference.

Subaward Checklist (PDF)

Elements of the Scope of Work: The Scope of Work is the section of a subaward that describes the work to be undertaken by the subrecipient, and including, but not limited to:

  • Objective, aims or purpose
  • Period of performance
  • A general description of the actions to be performed by the subcontractor and the expected results
  • A list of detailed work requirements; list tasks and what is expected; should provide both technical and performance specifications.
  • Performance, quality and timeliness requirements - this includes required or acceptable levels of performance on each specific task measured in terms of accuracy, response time, and speed.
  • Workload requirements - a description of levels or size of contractual effort.
  • Personnel requirements - minimum qualifications or skill levels expected in the contractor's staffing.
  • Government-furnished equipment and other resources to be furnished to the subcontractor.
  • Reporting requirements - describe any reports to be submitted by the contractor to show progress.

The contract specialist will prepare the subaward and send it to the subrecipient’s Research Officer. Any changes to the contract must be negotiated and approved through the Contract Specialist in ORSP. Upon execution of the subaward by Rutgers and the subrecipient institution, ORSP will cut the Purchase Order and distribute copies of the executed subaward to DGCA, the PI and the subrecipient’s Research Officer. Only upon receipt of a fully executed subaward should the subgrantee begin work on the project; any work started prior to receipt of this document is at the risk of the subgrantee.

MANAGING THE SUBAWARD AND MODIFICATIONS

Invoicing and payments: The subgrantee is responsible for invoicing in accordance with the terms of the subaward. Invoices are to be sent to the address identified in the subaward and not to the ORSP.

Modifications: Changes to the subaward must be made in writing via a subaward modification. Such changes include, but is not limited to, increase/decrease in funding, extensions of time on the project, changes in the scope of work, changes in the PI or subgrantee institution or termination of the subaward. The Rutgers PI must complete the Subaward Modification Checklist and submit it to the ORSP Contract Specialist via email.

Subaward Modification Checklist (PDF)

The Contract Specialist will prepare the subaward modification. Upon full execution, the Contract Specialist will modify the Purchase Order if necessary, and distribute copies of the modification to DGCA, the PI and the subrecipient’s Research Officer. Purchase Orders will not be changed/modified until the subaward has been officially modified.
          

ARRA Sub Recipient Monitoring

ARRA Subawardee Commitment Form (PDF)

In order to fulfill federal regulations related to stimulus funding and ARRA subrecipient monitoring, this form must be completed by the subrecipient institution when an ARRA-funded subaward is issued from Rutgers to another institution.