Office of Contract Administration
The Office of Contract Administration (OCA) is responsible for the review and execution of contracts and grants associated with sponsored projects, as well as the preparation and administration of outgoing collaborative subawards and hybrid POs. More specifically, OCA is responsible for the following:
- Incoming Grants and Contracts: Review and sign contracts, grants, and amendments for externally funded sponsored projects ensuring compliance with state and Federal regulations as well as university policies.
- Outgoing Subawards and Hybrid POs: Prepare, sign, and execute subawards and hybrid POs related to sponsored projects ensuring proper flow down of sponsor requirements.
- Amendments and Modifications: Prepare, sign, and execute related amendments.
- Related Invoice Issues: When a subaward and/or hybrid PO invoice processing issues arise, OCA works to resolve.
- Compliance and Internal Auditing: OCA also conducts internal audits related to subawards to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with university policies, Federal statutes, regulations, and the terms and conditions of the prime award.
- Customer Service: OCA advises university departments and units on all related topics.
Procedure to Obtain a Subaward or Hybrid Agreement
The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) requires a completed Subrecipient Statement of Collaborative Intent (formerly Letter of Commitment) (formerly the Letter of Commitment or LOC) when requesting a subcontract. Use the template below to collect the information from the subrecipient institution that U-M needs to establish the subcontract, including their Conflict of Interest Policy Certification option. This should be completed by subrecipient and uploaded into eRPM.
Subaward and Hybrid Agreements
Subaward, Hybrid Purchase Order, or Purchase Order?
Checklist to Determine Subrecipient or Contractor Classification - A useful resource from Federal Demonstration Partnership to help determine Subrecipient vs Contractor involvement. At U-M, knowing the difference impacts indirect costs, as well as whether your project is handled by OCA or Procurement.
Enter a Subcontract into eRPM - The procedure to obtain a subcontract or a hybrid PO from OCA begins in eResearch Proposal Management (eRPM) with the pre-award submission.
This guide also helps add a NEW subcontract to an awarded project.
Start the process from the Subcontracts tab and follow the instructions.
Request a SUBK Amendment in eRPM - To change an active subcontract (e.g., extend funding, update investigators, initiate an early close).
COST/PRICE ANALYSIS for Federal Contracts
If the project is funded under a Federal contract, then the additional Cost/Price Analysis information is required. Supporting documentation is required in accordance with Federal regulations for each and every budget category proposed by the Subcontractor/Vendor under a Federally-Sponsored Contract. Attached is a listing of the most common budget categories and the justification required to support a cost/price analysis. FAILURE TO PROVIDE COMPLETE INFORMATION WILL DELAY ISSUANCE OF THE SUBCONTRACT OR HYBRID PO. Simply re-stating a budget in detail is not sufficient. COST-PRICE ANALYSIS DETAIL
References and Resources
- Agencies/Organizations following PHS FCOI regulations - Provides a list of agencies that follow PHS FCOI regulations
- PI Sign SUBK in eRPM- Guide to assist a PI on how to approve a subaward
- Federal Subrecipient Monitoring Guide - Guidelines pertaining to the programmatic and financial monitoring Federally sponsored award subrecipients
- Federal Subrecipient Monitoring Guide-Appendix - Subrecipient monitoring roles and responsibilities
For questions, contact subcontracts@umich.edu.