Subcontract Request Form for Northeastern-Issued Subcontracts
1. Request to Issue (check one):
a. [ ] New Subcontract
b. [ ] Amendment to Subcontract
c. [ ] Termination of Subcontract
2. Project Title:
3. Subcontractor Name:
4. NU PI; Dept./College Grant Administrator:
5. Sponsor:
6. Grant #; CFDA #; NU Grant Code #; NU Fund #:
7. Incremental $ Amount:
8. Cumulative $ Amount (Cumulative & Incremental are
the same in Period/Year 1):
9. Incremental Period of Performance:
11. Subcontractor PI (s) Contact Info:
10. Cumulative Period of Performance (Cumulative &
Incremental are the same in Period/Year 1):
12. Subcontractor Grant Administrator Contact Info (i.e.
to whom will the subcontract agreement be emailed for
review):
As NU Principal Investigator I certify that:
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The services of the subcontractor are essential to the project and cannot be provided by individuals currently employed
by Northeastern University and/or the physical capabilities do not exist at the University to perform the project tasks.
This subcontractor is the sole source, defined as the only source known to perform the services needed for this project
or is one source among others that is most advantageous for the purpose of this project.
The project or relationship with this subcontractor (check one) ____ does or ____ does not present a potential for a
conflict of interest or investigators with a potential conflict have provided complete disclosure of this matter as
instructed by current University policy and/or Federal Regulations.
The Subcontractor’s proposed costs have been reviewed and are reasonable for the technical effort proposed.
Funding is available for this subcontract and is an allowable cost under the terms and conditions of the Prime Award.
The information listed on this form is accurate.
PI Signature:
Date:
Please submit this completed form to the Subcontracts Office, ORAF, 960 RP, and attach the following:
1. Subcontractor’s Statement of Work
2. Subcontractor’s Budget and Budget Justification
Key for Northeastern-Issued Subcontracts Form
Category/Item on Form
1. Request to Issue
2. Project Title
3. Subcontractor; Subcontractor Co-PI(s)
4. NU PI; Dept/College Grant Administrator
5. Sponsor
6. Award #; CFDA #; NU Grant Code #; NU Fund #
7. Incremental $ Amount and 8. Cumulative $ Amount
9. Incremental Period of Performance and 10. Cumulative
Period of Performance
Definition/Notes
Subcontracts (subs) are awarded on a yearly basis, so yearly
renewals in the form of Amendments need to be requested
using this form if the subs are more than one year in length.
Subs terminate at the end of the Period of Performance as
stated on the original sub agreement or most recent
Amendment (Modification). Normally, there is no need to
request Termination of a subcontract, unless the subcontract will
terminate earlier than expected. Subs can be outgoing
(Northeastern issues the sub) or incoming (Northeastern is the
sub). The ORAF Grant Officers manage the incoming subs. The
Subcontracts Manager manages the outgoing subs.
The Project Title of the subcontract agreement is usually
identical to the Title listed on the Notice of Award document.
A Subcontract is defined as contractual agreement between NU
and a third party organization (the Subcontractor e.g. University,
Medical Center, Corporation, Design Firm, etc.) to perform a
material portion of the University’s sponsored project. The Co-PI
(Co-Principal Investigator) is often called the Project Director at
the subcontracting organization.
The Grant Administrator is the professional who works directly
with the PI to submit a grant proposal (pre-award) and/or
manage the grant after it has been awarded (post-award). Some
PI’s have their own Grant Administrator, while some share Grant
Administrators in a Department or in the Dean’s Office.
The Sponsor is the organization awarding the research funds to
Northeastern. A sponsor can be a government agency (NSF or
NIH for example) or a foundation (Ford Foundation for example)
The Award # is issued to Northeastern from the Sponsor and is
located on the notice of award. The Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance (CFDA) provides a full listing of all available Federal
programs. Each program has an unique CFDA # and is located on
the notice of award if the award is federal. Visit
https://www.cfda.gov/ for more information. A 9-digit
inception-to-date NU Grant Code # is assigned to all awards. An
award will have one Grant Code # but may have multiple
fund/index #’s. The NU Fund # (often called index #), identifies
the source of funds, is six digits, and always begins with a 5.
The Incremental $ Amount is the dollar value of funding
provided to the subcontractor for each year of the subcontract
(Year 1 Incremental $ Amount - $100K, Year 2 Incremental $
Amount $50K, Year 3 Incremental $ Amount $150K, etc.). The
Cumulative $ Amount will accumulate by each yearly increment
of funds (Add together Year 1, Year 2, and Year 3 Incremental $
Amounts for the Year 3 Cumulative $ Amount = $300K).
The Incremental Period of Performance (PoP) is the time span
for each period (normally in years i.e. 12 month increments) of
the subcontract (Year 1 PoP = 01-01-13 through 12-31-13, Year 2
PoP = 01-01-14 through 12-31-14, Year 3 PoP = 01-01-15 through
12-31-15, etc.). The Cumulative Period of Performance will
accumulate by each PoP increment (Add together Year 1, Year 2,
and Year 3 Incremental PoP’s for the Year 3 Cumulative $
Amount = 01-01-13 through 12-31-15 ).
Determining Subcontracts versus Vendor Agreements
Key components of subcontracts versus vendor agreements, which can be used to define the contractual relationship.
NOTE: Determining whether or not the contractual relationship is sub or vendor should occur at the pre-award stage i.e.
before the grant proposal is submitted to the sponsor.
Subcontract
Subcontractor services are uniquely designed in response to
each project, and not provided commercially.
Vendor Agreement
Vendor provides the goods or services commercially.
Subcontractor technical lead is usually a scientific collaborator or
a co-PI on the Northeastern project.
Vendor operates in a competitive environment.
Subcontractor usually retains rights to intellectual property.
Vendor retains no rights to intellectual property.
Subcontract participates in development and execution of
statement of work.
Vendor provides the goods or services ancillary to the operation
of the federal program.
Subcontract results are likely to be published in scientific
literature and/or subcontractor is likely to be a co-author in a
Northeastern publication.
Vendor results are not likely to be published.
Rules and restrictions that apply to a subcontract versus a vendor agreement:
Subcontract
Requires prior approval of the sponsor, if not originally included
in proposal.
Indirect costs in Northeastern’s accounting system are only
assessed on the first $25,000 of transactions of each
subcontract. No additional indirect costs will be assessed on this
subcontract during the approved period of the award under
which it was issued (e.g., during the 3 year lifespan of an NSF
award). However, if there is follow-on funding beyond the
originally approved period of the award (e.g., competitive
renewal), then indirect costs will again be assessed on the first
$25,000 of each subcontract. It is particularly important to keep
this in mind when preparing proposal budgets.
Vendor Agreement
Generally does not require prior approval of the sponsor, subject
to re-budgeting restrictions imposed on the particular category
of cost.
Indirect costs are assessed on entire expended amount, just as
with most other direct costs.
Is exempt from sole-source justification or open-bid
requirements (unless issued under a federal contract).
Is subject to sole-source documentation or open-bid
requirements.
Is subject to federal subcontract monitoring requirements.
Is not subject to federal subcontract monitoring requirements.
In some cases, it may be difficult to tell the difference between a subcontract and a vendor agreement, but the budget and
statement of work will usually provide enough information to make the determination. However, if you have any questions
when preparing a proposal budget, please contact your ORAF grant officer for guidance.