Chapter 10-200: Special UC Organizational Considerations in Contract and Grant Administration

Some University contract and grant administration issues and considerations are primarily a function of the University's internal organization and operation. These special considerations as described at 10-210 through 10-253 should be understood and accommodated by all University personnel involved in the contract and grant administration function.

10-210 Proposals/awards Requiring Regents' Action or Op Approval

10-211 General

Authority to solicit, approve, and accept or execute a contract, grant, lease, or other agreement or document remains with the Board of Regents unless otherwise delegated. (See 13-500 through 13-530.) Except as restricted by Standing Order 100.4(dd), authority needed for soliciting, accepting or executing contracts and grants for research, training and public service has been delegated to the President. In accordance with Standing Order 100.4(dd), Duties of the President, the President is authorized to execute all contracts and other documents necessary in the exercise of the President's duties, including documents to solicit and accept pledges, gifts, and grants except as otherwise specifically provided in the Bylaws and Standing Orders. The President has, in turn, delegated this authority to the Chancellors, Vice President for Agriculture and Natural Resources, and the LBNL Director, up to the limit of $5 million dollar of direct costs in a year. The OP Research Policy Analysis and Coordination (RPAC) has authority to sign proposals and awards over this dollar threshold.

The Regents may, on a case-by-case basis, confer additional authority on others, usually the President and/or Officers of The Regents for selected individual projects, programs or actions. The President may, in turn, grant such additional authority to appropriate University officials.

10-212 Authorization Obtained at Scheduled Regents' Meetings

Any action which requires Regental approval under Standing Order 100.4(dd) are presented as Regents' Agenda Items at scheduled Regents' meetings. Most matters presented to The Regents are considered first by an appropriate Standing Committee of The Regents, which takes final action, if so authorized or makes a recommendation for action by The Board.

The Committee on Educational Policy has the responsibility to consider and recommend to the Board on the solicitation and acceptance or execution of grants and contracts for research, instruction, and public service, except as otherwise provided in the Bylaws and Standing Orders. Information concerning the scope of matters considered by various Committees appears in Bylaw 12 of The Regents.

10-213 Authorization Obtained on an Urgent Basis

Contract and grant matters which require Regental action, but which cannot be held for presentation at the next scheduled meeting of The Regents, fall into two categories of authority: Emergency Authority, which is exercised by the President acting alone; and Interim Authority, which is authorized by the President and the Chairman of the Board or the Chairman of The Regents' Committee having jurisdiction over the action.

a. Interim Authority

Interim Authority provides a mechanism for Regental action between The Regents' meetings. The Regents' meeting schedule is provided at: http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/regents/meetings.html.

b. Emergency Authority

In an emergency, the President is authorized to approve matters which normally require action by The Regents, as provided for in Standing Order (100.4(ee)). In practice, Emergency Authority is rarely required, but when it is, the President has full authority to act for The Regents following normal administrative review. Justification must be fully supported in a transmittal memorandum from a campus Chancellor or Laboratory Director as to why action cannot wait for a regular Board meeting or be handled under Interim Authority and why Emergency Authority action by the President is required. During the period when Interim Authority exists, Emergency Authority continues to exist, but seldom can be justified.

10-214 Submission of Revised Proposals for Regents' Items or OP RPAC Approval

On occasion, after a contract or grant proposal which required Regental or OP RPAC approval has been provided, an extramural sponsor will request additional submissions by the campus of revised proposal budgets and/or narratives. The process of submitting such revised proposals to a sponsor can be viewed as part of the negotiation phase for an award and does not require additional solicitation authority by Regents or RPAC, provided that the general intent and purpose of the proposed project, as approved, are not significantly changed by such negotiations.

10-215 Incrementally Funded Awards

Extramurally sponsored projects are sometimes incrementally funded through a series of modifications to the original award instrument. In this case, as in all circumstances, the solicitation and acceptance/execution authority as approved by the Board of Regents or RPAC remains in effect during the life of the award. As this authority is delegated by the President to the Chancellor and subsequently delegated to the campus Research Administration Office, each solicitation and award for each funding increment, regardless of amount, must be accepted or executed by the appropriate campus person who is delegated this authority.

10-216 Regents' Items Procedures and Administration

Information on Regents' Item formats, processing procedures and authorities, and other related administrative issues is issued by RPAC, through Contract and Grant Memos [http://www.ucop.edu/raohome/cgmemos/97-05.html]. The scope of campus authority is set forth in the delegation of authority to Chancellors as well as in the delegation of authority for each award subject to such approvals. Discussion on lease or construction items which need to be presented to the Board of Regents is contained in the University of California Facilities Manual.

10-220 Agricultural Programs

The Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources is responsible for the solicitation, execution or acceptance of extramural contracts, grants and cooperative agreements for all activities administered by the Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station and for all Cooperative Extension activities.

10-230 Construction Programs

Solicitation and acceptance of contracts and grants for construction which fall within authority pursuant to 13-1210, shall be handled in accordance with the University Facilities Manual. Solicitation and acceptance/execution of assistance awards or contracts for research which fall within the authority of Contracts and Grants Officers pursuant to Chapter 13, but which incidentally involve construction of facilities, shall be handled in accordance with the policies in this Manual and in the University Facilities Manual.

10-240 Multiple UC Campus Projects

Campuses may engage in extramurally sponsored research, instruction, or public service projects which involve more than one University of California campus. Under such multiple University campus projects, one campus shall serve as the "prime" campus with respect to oversight and accounting, with other campuses considered "participating" campuses.

10-241 Authorities/Responsibilities

Authorities to solicit, approve, and accept/execute documents to support multi-campus projects are based on standard delegations of authority presented in Chapter 13.

a. Prime Campus

The "prime campus" is the campus which submits the overall multiple-campus proposal to and receives the award from a sponsor. For the overall project, the prime campus is responsible for carrying out all research administration policies and responsibilities as presented in this Contract and Grant Manual, including 10-240 through 10-248 of this policy, as presented in other relevant University policy issuances, and as are imposed by the extramural sponsor. Such policies and responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

(1) submission of assurances required by a sponsoring agency,

(2) equipment accountability, and

(3) maintenance of records pertaining to grant related income and expenditures.

The prime campus may assign such responsibilities or delegate such authorities to participating campuses, as it judges appropriate, and within any constraints placed on it by University policy or the extramural sponsor. Contract and Grant Operating Guidance 02-02, UC Campus Subaward and Inter- Campus Award Administration, and 02-02, Supplement 1, provide model subaward documents for inter-campus transactions.

b. Participating Campus

"Participating campuses" are University of California campuses which assist in carrying out the scope of work awarded to the prime campus. Each participating campus is responsible, on its respective campus and for its portion of the project, for carrying out such contract and grant administration policies and responsibilities as are assigned or delegated by the prime campus. In exercising all responsibilities, prime and participating campuses shall comply with the communication and coordination policies in 10-242 through 10-244, below.

10-242 Communication with Extramural Sponsors

All written communications with the extramural sponsor shall be routed through the prime campus. Participating campuses should not engage in direct communications with the sponsoring agency. Participating campuses should transmit through the prime campus all communications, approvals, assurances, requests, and financial and technical reports covering its portion of the project intended for the sponsoring agency.

10-243 Intercampus Communications

All intercampus communications concerning proposal, award, and other contract and grant administration matters between prime and participating campuses should occur between campus Research Administration/Sponsored Projects Offices. This is not meant to preclude routine communications between campus Extramural Funds Accounting Offices regarding fiscal administration or day-to-day collaboration between Principal Investigators on the performance of the work of sponsored projects.

10-244 Coordination of University Multiple Campus Projects

Responsibility for overall coordination of the multiple-campus project rests with the prime campus. However, before submitting proposals or assurances, accepting awards, revising budgets or awards terms, closing out awards, or carrying out any other contract and grant administration policies and responsibilities, the prime campus shall secure the concurrence of each affected participating campus. Each participating campus is responsible for advising and coordinating with the prime campus all contract and grant administration issues concerning its portion of the project.

10-245 Fiscal Arrangements

Fiscal arrangements shall be in accordance with Accounting Manual Chapter F-351, under terms of which participating campuses will be reimbursed via intercampus transfer of funds. The prime campus, in its award notification to the participating campus, shall clearly inform the participating campus of the extent of its rebudgeting authority and of related prior approval requirements as determined by the terms of the award and by the prime campus' need to monitor and control budget actions. Prime campuses are encouraged to recognize participating campuses' organizational prior approval systems. (Also see C&G Memo 02-02, UC Campus Subaward and Inter-Campus Award Administration, and 02-02, Supplement 1, for documents for inter-campus financial transactions.)

10-246 Direct Costs

Each campus involved in a multiple campus project is entitled to recover allowable direct costs associated with its participation.

10-247 Indirect Costs/Facilities & Administrative Rates

Each campus is entitled to recovery of indirect costs or facilities and administrative costs (F&A) on its own modified total direct costs at the rate negotiated with the University's cognizant audit agency, the Department of Health and Human Services. These negotiated rates are published by each campus as well as by OP Costing Policy & Analysis. The prime campus shall not recover indirect costs on the expenses of participating campuses. Indirect costs are applied to subcontracts to campuses from LBNL. Any agency-specific exceptions to federally negotiated indirect cost rates must be approved with an indirect cost rate exception. (See Chapter 8.)

10-248 Time and Effort Reporting

Time and Effort Reporting/ Personnel Activity Reports by personnel hired on multiple campus extramural projects shall be in accordance with the procedures established by the hiring campus.

10-250 Internal Sponsor/recipient Relationships

On occasion, when the University contract and grant administration function does not directly involve extramural sponsors. This occurs when procurement of services or support of projects occurs within the University, between several University organizational components, using University funds. (In the case of funding from LBNL, the funds are generally DOE funds.) In these cases, both the "sponsor" and the "recipient" are the University.

Sections 10-251 through 10-253 provide coverage on the unique organizational considerations with respect to various internal University sponsor/recipient relationships which may be encountered. C&G Memo 02-02, UC Campus Subaward and Inter-Campus Award Administration, and 02-02, Supplement1, provides model intercampus transfer documents for programs using University funds.

10-251 Campus Procurement of Laboratory Services

RPAC (formerly Contract and Grant) Operating Guidance Memos provide the approved boilerplate for funds-in agreements for campuses to use when funding work at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory or the Lawrence Livermore or Los Alamos National Security (LLNS and LANS) Laboratories.

10-252 Laboratory Procurement of Campus Services

RPAC Operating Guidance Memos also provide the approved LBNL Intra-University Transaction Agreement or subcontract boilerplate for use by LLNS and LANS for work performed by campuses for the Laboratories.

10-253 University Internal Funding Programs

The University has initiated a number of internal University funded programs to support individual or campus projects serving a special or emergency research, instruction, or public service need. Awards issued under such funding programs are internal allocations of funds involving no contractual or other arrangements with external sponsors. All such programs, however, must be carried out within the internal policies of the University. These programs, therefore, should be coordinated with the

Contracts and Grants Office, Office of the President, and with campus Contracts and Grants Offices, as appropriate. Contract and Grant Operating Guidance Memo 02-02, UC Campus Subaward and Inter-Campus Award Administration, and 02-02, Supplement 1, provides a model award document for inter- campus program award and financial transactions.

On occasion, such programs are carried out in conjunction with programs to acquire services from external private or governmental sources. Acquisition of such external services is discussed in Chapter 16.