Subcontracts
Process Improvement:
A Work in Progress
MRAM - February 13th, 2014
Presenter: Marcea Kato, Assistant Director
Office of Sponsored Programs
University of Washington
Subcontracting:
Process Starts at Proposal
 Documents to be submitted with Proposal:
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Subrecipient Entity Letter of Intent (signed by IO – not PI)
Scope of Work
Budget
Budget Justification
 If subcontracts are not identified in proposal, sponsor approval is generally
required to be obtained which can delay issuing the subcontract.
The age old ?:
Subcontractor or Consultant??
SUBAWARD RELATIONSHIP
CONSULTANT RELATIONSHIP
The entity may be either an individual or an
organization.
The entity is usually an individual but may be an
organization.
The services are of a specialized and specific nature
which cannot be performed by a regular employee
The services are primarily advisory in nature
requiring professional expertise to solve a
clearly delineated problem. The advice cannot
be obtained from campus resources.
Entity may be given responsibility for the conduct
of part of a sponsored project.
Entity may provide advice, recommendations,
analysis and resources based upon their
background, education, experience, knowledge
and expertise. Entity may not be given
responsibility for any part of conduct of
sponsored project.
The department retains the right to control the
results of services performed, but not the manner
of performance. The department has the right to
reject the services/products provided.
The department retains neither the right to
control the results nor the manner of
performance.
University of Washington
Presenter’s Office
Changes To Date
 400 emails in ospsubs@uw.edu inbox in late Dec 2013 – Assistant
Director now managing triage
 Requests email subject line format to contain:
 Action, PO/Sub #, UW PI name, Sponsor Award/eGC-1/FA #
 Centralized tracking system established @ intake to aid in status,
volume (assignment and type)
 Use of FDP and non-FDP Templates on all new and renewals –
piloted previously, will be required as of 2/15/14
 Piloted use of Smart Webform to submit modifications
(no matter type) submitted via OSP Website @
washington.edu/research/?page=subcontracts
 Continue Subrecipient Monitoring project
 Team signing with electronic signatures
Ongoing and Upcoming
Changes in the Works
 Requirement for Campus partners to submit
modification (of any type) using Smart Webform via
OSP Website as of 3/1/14
@washington.edu/research/?page=subcontracts
 Development and Implementation of Request for
Subcontract Initiation Form
 Continued Process Improvements with Campus
Workgroup
Ongoing and Upcoming
Changes in the Works (con’t)
 Campus Communication and Education
 Update curriculum as needed for Learning Program series
 Enhanced Guidance and Definitions
 Update Webpages
 Evaluation of creating standard department assignments
for Sub Team Member
 PAS conversion of Blanket Purchase Orders to Open
Balances in Ariba
*****Ultimate Goal*****
 Continue to foster in-house solution thru to
implementation with partner departments including:
Procurement/Purchasing/Accounts Payable/ORIS to
implement Cradle to Grave Subcontracts System (via
Ariba) encompassing 4 functional areas:
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Technical aspects (i.e. converting info in PAS to Ariba)
Request of Sub Initiation (in lieu of current PAS PO entry)
Contract Management (authoring tools inc. clauses library)
Supplier Management (vendor/entity tool with compliance
capabilities)
Subcontracts Team
Project Coordinator - Adel Caberto
Subcontract Specialist - Debbie Emerson-Carter (FFATA, Closeout,
Invoice Discrepancy)
Compliance Analyst –Tru Ambrose
Grant and Contract Coordinator - Danny Do, Bo Park, Vivian Sun
Part-Time Temporary – Joel Searles
Shared Admin Assistant – Christine Lo (Subrecipient Monitoring)
Student Assistants – Bahran, Sadie, Ariam (= to ~ 20 hours wkly)
Assistant Director – Marcea Kato
Additional FTE Resource - to be hired in the coming months
University of Washington
Presenter’s Office