Subcontracts and Subawards

Proposals may include work to be done by one or more other institutions. In these cases, the other participating institutions become subrecipients under the University of Idaho’s prime award. If subrecipient institutions are being used, appropriate paperwork (e.g., a commitment form from the subrecipient's authorized signer) is required at the time the proposal is submitted to confirm the proposed subrecipient’s eligibility and willingness to participate. Forms are available on the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) website under the subaward forms section of the forms tab.

When a subaward or subcontract has been included as part of a larger proposal, the total yearly cost for the subaward is included as a line item in the University of Idaho's budget. Under the Modified Total Direct Cost (MTDC) method, UI indirect costs are assessed on the first $25,000 of individual subawards. The subrecipient may also include his/her institution’s indirect costs within the subaward budget, as long as they have a federally negotiated rate agreement, or a 10% MTDC de minimis rate if they do not. If a subrecipient does not have a federally negotiated indirect rate and wants to charge more than the de minimis rate, contact OSP to work with the subrecipient toward resolution.

Subawards are, in effect, mini-proposals. They should therefore include essentially the same elements as proposals. At a minimum, each subaward proposal should contain the following:

• Line-item budget in the same format and at the same level of detail as the budget provided in the prime proposal
• budget justification or narrative
• short statement of work
• CV or bio-sketch and list of publications for the lead PI at the subcontracting institution
• commitment form signed by an authorized organizational representative at the subcontracting institution (typically from their Sponsored Programs office)
• cover sheet in the sponsor’s approved format
• representation or certification forms, and, if applicable
• Subcontract Cover Sheet or NIH Statement of Intent

PIs must address specific questions regarding subcontractor suitability, selection and potential conflicts of interest prior to the establishment of a subcontract; OSP staff preparing the subcontract will forward these questions to the PI for completion and inclusion in the project file.