13-700 Campus Contract and Grant Authority

13-710 Delegation of Contract and Grant Authority to Chancellors

Referencing the authority granted to the President in Section 100.4(dd) of the Standing Orders of The Regents, the President has delegated to Chancellors the authority to solicit and accept or execute certain extramural grants and contracts:

The authority granted to the President in Standing Order 100.4(dd) is delegated to you to the extent described below, as it pertains to extramural grants and contracts for research, scholarly or professional training, or for public service programs relating either to research or to scholarly or professional training not exceeding $5,000,000 in direct costs in any one project year. For purposes of this delegation, the term grant includes grants from private sources, but excludes gifts as defined in the Policy Guidelines for Review of Gifts/Grants for Research issued by the President on July 8, 1980.

Within the scope of this delegation, you are authorized to solicit and accept or execute such grants and contracts, including the signing of related documents as necessary, except those grants, contracts, or related documents which:

a. contain provisions that fall within the restrictions and limitations set forth in Standing Order 100.4(dd); however, notwithstanding Standing Order 100.4(dd)(9), you may execute State of California Standard Agreements which include an indemnity clause under which the University assumes liability for the conduct of persons other than University personnel;

b. include an arrangement for indirect costs which changes the rates or the bases thereof as promulgated by the President;

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d. establish or modify programs within the Education Abroad Program; or

e. require approval by the President or designee pursuant to specific policy memoranda issued from time to time.

Campus procedures for preparation of proposals for extramural support and acceptance of grants or execution of contracts shall be in accordance with the University of California Contract and Grant Manual and with supplementary instructions which may be issued by the Office of the President.

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This authority may be redelegated to specific designees, but may not be further redelegated…….

13-720 Reservations of Chancellors' Contract and Grant Authority by Board of Regents

The above-referenced delegation of contract and grant authority by the President to the Chancellors specifically limits the Chancellor's authority to the limitations outlined in Standing Order 100.4(dd) in effect at the time of the delegation. Therefore, even though the power of the President may be increased through subsequent amendment to Standing Order 100.4(dd), the Chancellor's authority is limited by those items requiring Regental approval as of the date of the delegation.  Further, once Regents’ approval has been secured for an individual project, the President must delegate authority for the project to the Chancellor on a case by case basis. Without such a delegation for each individual project, only Contract and Grant Officers in the Office of the President have authority to solicit and accept or execute Regents approved projects, (See Section 13-610). See Section 13-510 for the listing of contract conditions requiring Regental approval.

If a project is within the President's authority to execute (see 13-510), but exceeds the Chancellor's delegated authority, the campus must obtain Presidential approval and execution of the agreement.  It is not necessary to obtain Regental approval in this case.  However, if the project is beyond the President's authority, it must have Regental approval before execution by the President and subsequent delegation to the campus.

13-730 Administrative Restrictions on Chancellors' Contract and Grant Authority

The above-referenced delegation of authority by the President to the Chancellors itemizes certain restrictions in addition to those contained in Standing Order 100.4(dd).  For instance, the Chancellor's authority does not include the authority to enter into a contract or grant which involves more than $5,000,000 in direct costs in any one project year, or which changes the indirect cost rates or bases on which such rates are applied that have been approved by the President (see Chapter 8, Section 8-200, Authority for Establishment and Application of Indirect Cost Rates, and Section 8-600, Exceptions to Approved Indirect Cost Rates, of this Manual). Chancellors also are not authorized to enter into contracts or grants establishing or modifying the Education Abroad Program.  The delegation of authority to Chancellors also requires the solicitation and acceptance of contracts or grants to be in accordance with the University of California Contract and Grant Manual and with supplementary instructions which may be issued by the Office of the President.  Finally, the President has imposed in the delegation the restriction that the Chancellor may redelegate the authority to specific designees, but the authority may not be further redelegated.  Therefore, all Contract and Grant Officers and other campus officials who are to receive the delegation of contract and grant authority must receive the delegation directly from the Chancellor.

See Section 13-710 for a listing of all the administrative restrictions on the delegation of authority to the Chancellors.

13-740 Review for Legal Sufficiency

The delegation of contract and grant authority from the President to the Chancellors states:

A critical factor in processing contracts and grants is the review for legal sufficiency. Responsibility for accomplishing that review must be assigned specifically as a part of any redelegation by you.  Attached is a copy of a pertinent Office of General Counsel memorandum dated March 27, 1974 which provides guidance on this particular point. Whenever there is any question as to whether a particular grant or contract requires legal review, General Counsel's advice shall be obtained.

See Sections 13-331 and 13-334 for the role of the Office of General Counsel, and Section 13-333 for the text of the Checklist used for reviewing for legal sufficiency.

It is the responsibility of all Contract and Grant Officers who have delegated authority to sign agreements to make the determination as to whether the agreement requires advice from the Office of General Counsel, and if it does, to obtain this advice prior to execution.