Subawards
Southern Miss Subawards Made Simple.
Some funding opportunities may encourage, or even require, collaboration with other institutions or organizations. In these cases, a subrecipient plays a vital role by contributing programmatic, scholarly, scientific, or other creative input to the project. Unlike vendors, contractors, or consultants, subrecipients are not simply providing goods or services as part of their routine business operations; they are active partners in the research or project effort.
At The University of Southern Mississippi, the Office of Research Support and Development (ORSD) is responsible for preparing, negotiating, and executing subrecipient agreements on behalf of the university. This process involves close collaboration among the Principal Investigator (PI), ORSD, and the subrecipient organization to ensure proper fund management and compliance with the terms of the prime award.
Subrecipients carry out a portion of the project’s scope of work and help achieve the overall objectives of the award. Their contributions directly benefit the public and are formalized through subaward agreements.
Contractors provide goods or services to the university for its own use in support of sponsored projects (e.g., evaluation services, sample testing, equipment maintenance) and are paid through procurement contracts or professional services agreements. These services do not contribute directly to the aims of the award.
The subaward process at Southern Miss involves shared responsibilities between the Principal Investigator (PI) and ORSD.
The PI oversees the technical and scientific aspects of the collaboration. Their responsibilities include:
- Initiating the subaward by submitting a request to their assigned Contract and Grants Administrator/ Coordinator after the prime award is received.
- Providing required documents, including the subrecipient’s statement of work, detailed budget, and budget justification.
- Monitoring performance to ensure the subrecipient is meeting project goals and delivering on the agreed scope of work.
- Reviewing invoices to confirm that charges are appropriate and align with project progress and budget.
ORSD holds institutional authority for the legal and administrative aspects of subawards. Our responsibilities include:
- Conducting risk assessments by reviewing audit reports and financial controls of the subrecipient.
- Drafting and negotiating agreements through the Proposal and Award Management (PAM) team, incorporating all required flow-down terms from the prime award.
- Executing agreements, with only designated institutional officials authorized to sign on behalf of the university.
- Ensuring compliance, including verifying that all necessary approvals (e.g., IRB, IACUC) are in place before issuing the subaward.
- Proposal stage: The PI notifies their PAM grant administrator with the intent to include a subaward in the proposal. Required documents are collected from the collaborating institution.
- Award and setup: Once the prime award is received, the PI submits a formal subaward request to their grant administrator to begin the process.
- Issuance: The Contracts and Grants Administrator/Coordinator – Outgoing Subawards drafts and negotiates the agreement. Once finalized, it is signed by authorized officials at both institutions.
- Monitoring: The PI oversees the subrecipient’s programmatic progress, while Financial Reporting and Analysis (FRA) reviews invoices for financial compliance.
- Invoicing and payment: The subrecipient submits invoices to the university. The PI reviews and certifies that the invoiced work has been completed in alignment with the scope of work and project timeline, and FRA processes payment for approved invoices.
- Closeout: At project completion, the PI approves the final invoice and deliverables. FRA manages the financial and administrative closeout of the subaward.
To initiate a subaward during proposal development, researchers will receive an automated email from the research system prompting them to complete the Subrecipient Determination Form. This helps ORSD assess the nature of the collaboration during proposal setup. Once the form is submitted, your assigned Contracts and Grants Administrator/Coordinator will request the following documents:
- Statement of Work
- Budget
- Budget Justification
- Subrecipient Commitment Form
- Audited Financial Statements, Unaudited Financial Statements, or Other Financial Information
- Negotiated F&A Cost Rate Agreement (if no federally negotiated rate exists, the subrecipient
may elect to use a de minimis rate of 15% of modified total direct costs)
- For entities participating in the FDP Clearinghouse, we will collect this information from your FDP Clearinghouse profile.
If the subaward was included in the original proposal submitted by USM, these documents may already be on file. Additional documentation may be required, depending on the sponsor’s guidelines. All compliance-related matters (i.e., export control, human subjects, animal research, or conflicts of interest) must be addressed before the subaward can be issued.
- 2 CFR Part 200: This federal regulation outlines uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal awards, including subawards.
- Subrecipient accountability: The university remains responsible for the subrecipient’s performance, spending, and reporting to the funding agency.
- Flow-down of requirements: All applicable terms and conditions from the prime award must be included in the subaward agreement.
Do you need to request a modification to your subaward? Contact your assigned Contracts and Grants Administrator/Coordinator.
Are you unsure who your assigned contact is? Click here to view the area assignments chart.