Outgoing Subagreements

Be diligent.

The term Subagreements refers to either a Subaward or a Subcontract. A Subagreement is a formal written contract between CU Boulder and another institution (Subrecipient) to perform an intellectually significant portion of CU Boulder’s Statement of Work under a sponsored project.

CU Boulder is responsible for monitoring the programmatic, technical, and financial activities of its subrecipients to ensure proper stewardship of sponsored funds. Outgoing Subagreements are a significant area of risk for CU Boulder.  

Lifecycle of an Outgoing Subagreement

Including an outgoing subrecipient on your proposal

Subrecipients, also called subawardees or subcontractors, may be involved in certain proposal submissions. If you have any questions regarding whether or not collaborators should be designated as consultants versus subrecipients, see the tools found on the subagreement FAQ page. If you still have questions, contact your Proposal Analyst.

Documentation required from all proposed subrecipients:

  • Budget
  • Budget Justification
  • Statement of work
    • Subrecipient statement of work components:  
      • Detailed and clear purpose or objective of the work to be performed by the subrecipient Ìý
      • Possible timetable or schedule of the work to be performed Ìý
      • Any deliverables, products, or the expected outcomes Ìý
      • The statement of work should be detailed to ensure expectations are clear and can be enforced in the case of a disagreement between CU and the subrecipient
    • The PI is responsible for reviewing the subrecipient’s statement of work and budget to ensure that they are accurate and reflect what they have agreed upon. Ìý 
  • Subrecipient Commitment Form
  • Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA)
  • Any other documentation required by the prime sponsor (e.g., other support, biosketch)

The proposal package must include:

  • Subrecipient proposal in the full proposal
  • Subrecipient’s budget total as a single direct cost line item in proposal budget
  • Other forms (e.g, budget, biosketches, other support) as required by Sponsor
  • PI forwards the completed proposal to Proposal Analyst for review.
  • The entire proposal, including the subrecipient proposal and budget, will be submitted by OCG's Proposal Analysts.

Prime award received with outgoing subrecipient(s)

After an award is received, the Grant or Contract Officer negotiates and then processes the prime award through InfoEd.

  • A short form is created in InfoEd for each proposed subrecipient
  • Once the prime award is fully executed, the Grant or Contract Officer then routes the award to Campus Controllers Office (CCO).

Subcontract Officer receives notice of new subrecipient

After the prime award is processed by CCO the subcontracts team receives notification.

The Subcontract Officer reviews subrecipient paperwork and works with the PI, Department Administrators (DRAs), and the Subrecipient to obtain any additional required documentation. If the subrecipient is funded differently than proposed, a revised budget, revised budget justification, and statement of work (if affected), may need to be collected from the subrecipient.  

Provided by the subrecipient:

  • Subrecipient Commitment FormÌýor the Subrecipient Statement of Collaborative Intent (only used with FDP Universities)
  • Budget
  • Budget Justification
  • Statement of Work (SOW)
    • This should include a clear description of the work to be performed, proposed timelines, and deliverables. The SOW should be detailed to ensure expectations are clear and can be enforced if there is any future disagreement between CU Boulder and the subrecipient.
  • Federally Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA)
    • NICRA is not required if the subrecipient is only collecting the de minimis rate or if the indirect cost rate is restricted by the prime sponsor.
  • Most recent Single Audit or their No Audit Questionnaire
  • China Assurance (required only for NASA awards)
  • Human and/or animal subjects protocol approvals, if applicable

Completed by the CU Boulder PI and/or DRA:

  • Subrecipient review form
    • The PI should use this form to include any special terms they would like incorporated into the subagreement (reports, invoicing requirements, communication, deliverables, etc.) or information the Subcontract Officer should be aware of when drafting the subagreement. Ìý
    •  The PI should review the prime award prior to completing this form to include any appropriate flowdown reporting requirements. Ìý
    • Export Control information should be indicated, if applicable ÌýÌý
  • (subcontracts only)

Ìý

The Subcontract Officer during this phase also:

  • Completes subrecipient risk analysis
  • Writes the subagreement to include:
    • Flowdown terms and conditions from the prime award
    • Reporting requirements and any additional terms listed on the subrecipient review form
    • Additional terms and conditions to mitigate any risks identified during risk analysis review
  • Negotiates subagreement with the subrecipient

Subagreement is signed by both parties

  • The Subcontract Officer approves CU Marketplace requisition to create a Blanket Purchase Order (BPO).
  • The fully executedÌýsubagreement and BPO will be sent to the subrecipient and department administrator.
  • Subrecipient can begin invoicing.

During the life of the subagreement, CU Boulder is responsible for monitoring the programmatic, technical, and financial activities of its subrecipients to ensure proper stewardship of sponsored funds.

Subrecipient monitoring responsibilities are shared by the Principal Investigator (PI), the Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG), and Department Research Administrators (DRA). However, the primary responsible party is the PI.Ìý

Subagreement Modifications

Modification to prime award with outgoing sub(s) is received

The Grant or Contract Officer negotiates and processes the modification and routes to CCO. Once fully processed by CCO, the Subcontract Officer is notified of the prime award modification. Ìý

Modification routed to Subcontract Officer 

The Subcontract Officer reviews documentation and works with PI, DRAs, and the subrecipient to obtain any required documents.  

Once all documentation has been obtained, a subagreement modification is written and sent to the subrecipient. The BPO is updated with the new information once the subagreement modification is signed. Ìý

No-Cost Extension (NCE):

Incremental funding that follows subrecipient's original (proposal) budget:

  • authorized by DRA or PIÌý

Incremental funding that does not follow subrecipient's original budget:

  • authorized by PI
  • Subrecipient revised budget
  • Subrecipient revised budget justification
  • Subrecipient revised statement of work, if affected by the change in funding

Deobligation when subrecipient is continuing work:

  • authorized by PI
  • PI Justification for the deobligation
  • Subrecipient revised budget
  • Subrecipient revised budget justification
  • Subrecipient revised statement of work, if affected by the change in funding

Deobligation when subrecipient is stopping work:

  • authorized by PI
  • PI Justification for the deobligation including description of deliverables completed by the subrecipient

Once the deobligation has been fully executed with the subrecipient, a Subrecipient and Participant Support Reallocation form will need to be completed and sent to ocg@colorado.edu to move the funds to a different SpeedType.Ìý

Administrative:Ìý

No paperwork is needed from the department for prime award modifications that must be flowed to the subrecipient. This includes a change to prime award terms and conditions or change of the CU Boulder PI. Notice of the administrative modification will be sent to the PI and department from the Subcontract Officer. Ìý

Closeout of a Subagreement

The Subcontracts Team handles the closeout of all subagreements. The Subcontracts Team will contact the PI to confirm all deliverables have been received and subrecipient invoicing is complete. The Subcontracts Team will close the subrecipient Blanket Purchase Order during the closeout process.  

Looking to close out a subrecipient before the end of the prime award’s period of performance? Watch  for next steps. Ìý

Need help?

Email OCGSubs or find your Subcontract Officer in the Unit Directory.