Office of Sponsored Programs Guidance
Securing Subrecipient Commitment to Participate in a Sponsored Project
Background
The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Subrecipient Organization Commitment Form, which complies
with the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) and other federal laws and regulations, is used when an ECU
Principal Investigator/Project Director (PI/PD) identifies another organization that will perform a
substantive portion of the work on a project for which ECU receives funding directly from an external
sponsor. This form is intended to ensure eligibility of the organization to serve as a subrecipient, to
assess the organization's capability to appropriately manage the subawarded funds, to collect
information required for reporting of subaward activity, and to identify research compliance
requirements for the subrecipient organization. An official approval statement, to be signed by the
subrecipient organization's authorized official, serves as the formal commitment for participation in the
project in accordance with the subrecipient organization's statement of work and budget/budget
justification.
Because certain certifications and information items determine the eligibility of the organization to act
as a subrecipient on an ECU sponsored project, and because some certifications are required by some
agencies at the proposal submission stage, the Subrecipient Organization Commitment Form is intended
to be completed and submitted to the ECU OSP as part of the subrecipient organization's subaward
proposal submission during ECU's proposal development phase. When formally executed, this form
will serve as an inter-institutional agreement between ECU and the subrecipient organization to enter
into a formal subaward agreement upon award of funds to ECU by the sponsoring agency. Unless
required by the sponsoring agency for inclusion in the proposal, no separate dually executed letter of
intent to establish such a formal subaward agreement is required by ECU.
The new form is a fillable MicroSoft Word document. It is currently available at http://www.ecu.edu/csacad/osp/development/upload/Subrecipient-Organization-Commitment-Form-v-05-21-2015.docx.
Business Process
1. When a subaward to an identified organization is anticipated during the proposal development
phase, the ECU PI/PD or departmental administrator should complete Section A (Project
Identification) of the Subrecipient Organization Commitment Form, save the document, and then
forward it via email to the contact person at the subrecipient organization for completion of the
remaining sections. The subrecipient organization's contact person may be the subrecipient
organization's PI/PD, departmental administrator, or sponsored programs officer. However, an
authorized official must sign the form in order for the subrecipient organization's commitment to
be valid; the authorized official is usually a sponsored programs officer.
2. The subrecipient organization should be instructed to complete and return the signed form to
ECU. It may be included as part of the subrecipient's formal proposal package or it may be
scanned and emailed directly to the ECU OSP at osp@ecu.edu. ECU OSP should receive this form
prior to submission of ECU’s proposal to the funding agency. If the form is returned to the ECU
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PI/PD or departmental administrator, he/she should upload it in RAMSeS. If OSP receives the
form directly from the subrecipient, the OSP Grants Officer will upload the form in RAMSeS.
3. Upon receipt of the prime award, the ECU OSP Grants Officer will review the Subrecipient
Organization Commitment Form and will, as necessary, collect any additional information needed
from the subrecipient organization in order to prepare the subaward document. ECU OSP will
follow its normal procedures for issuing the subaward.
4. Occasionally, the need for a subrecipient is not identified until after ECU receives the prime
award. In this case, as soon as the PI/PD identifies a potential subrecipient organization, he/she
should contact his/her OSP Grants Officer to request establishment of a subaward. Following
any required agency pre-approvals, the Grants Officer will coordinate with the PI/PD to secure
the completed Subrecipient Organization Commitment Form and the subrecipient's statement of
work, budget, and other required documents. Note that OSP will not issue the subaward
agreement until all required documents have been received.
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