SRS supports collaborative work between PIs and domestic and international partners. We have a dedicated subaward team consisting of contract negotiators and a Subrecipient Monitoring Group. The Subaward Contract Negotiators are singularly focused on negotiating subawards. The Subrecipient Monitoring Group ensures awards are issued and reported in accordance with sponsor guidelines, rules, and regulations. SRS fully understands how critical subawards are to researchers and are committed to meeting these needs.
Subaward Relationship
For any sponsored research project awarded to a PI in The Texas A&M University System that involves an external, third party to perform substantive work on the project, SRS must generate a “subaward agreement” to formalize this third-party relationship and allow the work to proceed. The third party performing the effort under a subaward agreement is identified as the “subrecipient.”
Subaward Proposal
If a PI intends to include another institution in a proposal for funding on a research project (i.e., where said institution will be expected to perform a substantive portion of the effort), a number of documents must be obtained from the proposed subrecipient prior to submission of the proposal to the sponsor. These documents must be routed with the proposal for system member approval prior to proposal submission:
- Statement of Work
- Budget and Budget Justification (if NIH, Sponsor Budget and Checklist required)
- Negotiated Facilities and Administrative Rate Agreement
- Subrecipient Commitment Form – must be signed by the subrecipient’s authorized organizational representative
Preparing to Issue the Subaward Agreement
Subawards are issued only after a fully executed award is received by SRS from the prime sponsor.
If the subrecipient was not proposed in the original proposal, sponsor approval may be necessary prior to issuance of the subaward. Prior approval may also be necessary even if the subrecipient was proposed in the original proposal. In some very rare instances, prime sponsors request to review and approve the proposed subaward prior to SRS’s release of the subaward to the subrecipient.
In preparing to issue a subaward, SRS gathers information about the subrecipient and reviews the subrecipient’s financial status and internal controls. Our subaward contract negotiator drafts the subaward and adheres to the prime award agreement’s terms and conditions and flows down the appropriate clauses.
Once the subaward draft is complete, SRS sends it unsigned to the subrecipient for review. The subrecipient may want to negotiate changes or request clarification of the terms and conditions. Once negotiations are complete and the signed subaward is received, SRS executes it on behalf of the respective A&M System Member, returns the fully executed document to the subrecipient, and distributes the fully executed subaward to the PI.
Subrecipient Monitoring
SRS is required to monitor the programmatic and financial activities of its subrecipients as part of the terms and conditions of its prime awards and as required by the federal government.
Progress reports and other technical deliverables must be reviewed by the A&M System PI and discussed with the subrecipient as needed. These reports are usually incorporated as part of the deliverables along with the technical reports submitted to the sponsor by the PI. SRS is responsible for obtaining the other reports required by the subaward terms and conditions, such as invention reports or audit reports.
Subrecipients will send invoices to SRS according to the terms and conditions of the subaward. Your Project Administrator will review the invoices to ensure that costs are allowable according to the subaward document. The PI will be asked to review the invoices prior to SRS processing payment to the subrecipient. A sample invoice will normally be provided to the subrecipient with the subaward agreement.
Close-Out Requirements
In accordance with the terms of the subaward, the subrecipient may be required to submit one or more of the following documents upon completion.
- Final Financial Report
- Final Technical Report
- Final Inventory of Property
- Final Statement of Inventions
- Final Audit Notification if subrecipient is subject to A133
Subawards between Texas A&M System Members
A subaward agreement may be required by A&M System PIs wishing to conduct work with another PI located at a different A&M System member; and in some collaborations between A&M System members, a subaward agreement may not be necessary. To determine whether a subaward will be required in a research-project collaboration performed by PIs in different system members, contact your respective SRS proposal administrator. And regardless of whether a subaward is required, A&M System PIs will need to work closely with our proposal administrators to outline the terms of a collaborative research partnership at the time of the proposal preparation and submission.