Definitions and Resources:
- Subaward: An award provided by GSU to a Subrecipient for the Subrecipient to carry out part of a grant award or sponsored
contract received by GSU.
- Subrecipient: An entity receiving a portion of the funds from a grant award or sponsored contract to carry out a portion of the
funded project and meeting one or more of the criteria listed at https://ursa.research.gsu.edu/proposals-awards/manage-award/#defining-and-paying-sub-contractors-and-consultants.
Subaward Requests Guidance Document
- Quick Start
- New Subawards:
- Begin with the following information/documents:
- Project CON number and NOAA
- Subaward number from Spectrum (ex: first subaward listed in Spectrum budget is SP00012345-01)
- Budget and matching justification
- Statement of Work
- Attachment 3A
- Sub commitment form/LOI
- Sub's audit, F&A rate agreement & fringe rate agreement (unless an exception applies as described below)
- Amendments:
- Know the:
- CON number
- Subaward number
- Type of action
- The Portal form will guide you through the remaining required information.
- General Guidelines/Form Updates
- Guidance Only: The information provided in this Subaward Requests Guidance document is intended to address the most commonly occurring issues with Subaward Requests in the Research Portal. Subawards you are handling may have unusual factors not addressed here that impact the information and documentation required by OSPA to complete the request. Please reach out to the OSPA officer or Associate Director handling Subaward Requests with any questions you have.
- First steps: Prior to submitting a Subaward Request to OSPA, department administrator shall ensure completion of the following steps:
- NOAA Issued: Confirmation that OSPA has issued an NOAA for the prime award.
- Subawards will not be issued on advance accounts or awards received by GSU, but not approved by OSPA with an issued NOAA.
- Subaward Approved by Sponsor: Confirmation that a subaward to the Subrecipient is permitted by the prime award and/or approved by the sponsor.
- If the subaward was included in the proposal application submitted to the sponsor and an NOAA is issued by OSPA with a budget that includes this subaward, it is generally considered approved by the sponsor and OSPA.
- Spectrum Budget: The Spectrum budget includes subaward line items for the funds to be awarded to the Subrecipient.
- Required Documents: Gather necessary documents to upload into the Portal Subaward Request. The documents required depends on the type of request. For new subaward requests, you will need to provide:
- Budget and budget justification: For the current period being awarded only. All budget numbers and calculations must be correct and the budget justification must match the information on the provided budget.
- Example of what NOT to provide: A budget for all anticipated years of the subaward. Subawards are typically awarded for not more than 1 year at a time and the budget must match the time period being awarded in this subaward request.
- Statement of Work: This must describe the work being performed by the Subrecipient only.
- Example of what NOT to provide: The project summary or description from the prime award. That would include GSU's work which is not covered by this subaward. Only the Subrecipient's work should be listed in the Statement of Work.
- Attachment 3A: This must be completed by the College officer and uploaded into the Portal. A link to the template is provided in the document upload section. Attachment 3A provides the Subrecipient with GSU and PI-specific contact information, as well as information about where to send invoices. It is included as an attachment to the subaward.
- Subrecipient Commitment Form or Letter of Intent:
- Subrecipient Commitment Form: Required for all Subrecipients that are not members of the FDP Clearinghouse.
- Additional information about the FDP Clearinghouse is found in Section (B)(3)(a) below.
- Letter of Intent: Permitted in lieu of the Subrecipient Commitment Form for Subrecipients that are members of the FDP Clearinghouse.
- Subrecipient's F&A Rate Agreement and Fringe Rate Agreement
- If the Subrecipient is a member of the FDP Clearinghouse, you do not need to provide these documents. The OSPA officer will access them via the FDP Clearinghouse.
- If the Subrecipient is not a member of the FDP Clearinghouse, but they have a website that links to these documents, you may provide that link in lieu of the documents themselves.
- If the Subrecipient is not a member of the FDP Clearinghouse and does not have these documents accessible via a website, you must upload the documents into the Portal request.
- Single Audit or Audit Questionnaire:
- Uniform Guidance requires that we review each Subrecipient's Single Audit or if the Subrecipient is not required to have a Single Audit, that we review their financial information, including reviewing their financial systems and financial statements.
- If the Subrecipient does not have a Single Audit, the Subrecipient must provide a completed Audit Questionnaire and financial statements to be reviewed per the above. The most common examples of Subrecipients that don't have a Single Audit are non-US universities such as small nonprofits, for-profit companies, and foreign universities.
- As part of the Uniform Guidance's requirements that we perform ongoing risk mitigation efforts and sub-recipient monitoring, we review these documents each time a new subaward action (including amendments) is requested. Additional information about this topic is found in Section B(3) below.
- Documents NOT Required with Portal Request: For federal subawards, you are not required to provide Attachment 3B or Subrecipient IRB/IACUC approval at the time of submission of the Portal request to OSPA. If those documents are not provided, the OSPA officer will request them from the Subrecipient when they send the subaward agreement for signature.
- Type of Subaward Request: The Subaward Request format will change depending on the type of subaward action being requested. For amendments to existing Subawards, there are seven (7) categories you may select from.
- Types of Subaward Requests:
- New
- Amendments
- Additional Funding Only
- Additional Time & Funding
- Administrative Contact Change
- No Cost Extension
- Sub PI Change
- Scope of Work Change
- Corrections and Other
- Select the category most inclusive of all the changes being requested for the amendment. You do not need to submit separate Subaward Requests if the changes covered by an amendment will cross multiple amendment categories. For example, if you are requesting an amendment that will add a new project period, additional funding and will change the Subrecipient PI, select "Additional Time & Funding". In addition to the standard information required for adding time and funds to a subaward, you will also need to change the PI information in the Subrecipient Information as necessary and include a note in the Comments stating that there is also a Subrecipient PI change as part of this amendment.
- Linked Requests: Subaward Requests for the same subaward are now linked in the Portal. Upon selecting a particular subaward in the Portal, you will see all subaward requests for that subaward, each in their own tab. For example, if you are creating a Year 3 subaward amendment request, there will be a tab for Year 1 and Year 2 and you will be working in the third tab for Year 3.
- Autofill: For Subaward Requests for amendments, information that does not change when a subaward is being amended will autofill from previous Subaward Requests.
- NOTE: If information has changed from a previous Subaward Request, you will need to change the autofilled information and note that such change was made in the Comments so that the OSPA officer is aware of the change and can make any required adjustments.
- CON Number: Subaward Requests are created based upon the project CON number. The CON number can be located on the Award Profile page in Spectrum:
- Grants > Awards > Award Profile. Enter the SP# in the Project field and hit the "Search" button. The CON number will be located at the top of the page as "Award ID".
- The purpose of using the CON number instead of the SP number is that there may be multiple SP numbers linked on the same project. They will all have the same CON number even though they have different SP numbers. Upon entering the CON number, all existing subawards under all SP numbers for the project will appear. For creation of subaward amendments, this allows the request creator to easily select the appropriate subaward to be amended via the Subaward Request.
- EXCEPTION: If a separate SP number was created in a project, but not linked to the other SP numbers for that project, it will have its own SP number and CON number and you will need to search by that CON number. This should be a rare case and typically only happens with supplements for which a separate, non-linked SP number has already been created.
- Creation of a Subaward Request for a New Subaward
- How to Create a Request for a New Subaward:
- After selecting Subaward Request from the Create Submission dropdown list, enter the CON# and then select the appropriate SP number from the dropdown list and hit Enter.
- Under the "Select a Subaward #" dropdown list, select the subaward number assigned to this subaward and hit the "Create a New Subaward" button.
- When there are multiple subawards on an SP number, the number assigned to each subaward corresponds with the award budget provided to OSPA to set up the award in Spectrum. In that budget, you will have listed each subaward and OSPA enters the subawards into Spectrum in the order listed on the provided budget. The first subaward listed is 01, the second 02, etc.
- It is important to assign the subaward the same number in the Portal as it is in the Spectrum budget. The OSPA officer preparing the subaward checks the Spectrum budget to confirm enough funds have been budgeted to cover the amount being awarded in the subaward and they will be checking the subaward number in Spectrum that corresponds with the number assigned in the Portal.
- Complete all blank fields in the new Subaward Request. Certain information in the Georgia State University Information section will autofill from Spectrum, but you will need to complete the fields that have not autofilled.
- Subrecipient Information:
- FDP Clearinghouse: If the Subrecipient is part of the FDP Clearinghouse, you are now able to import certain information from the FDP Clearinghouse.
- If you are not sure if the Subrecipient is part of the FDP Clearinghouse, there is a link to the website so you can search the Subrecipient name in the FDP Clearinghouse.
- If you answer Yes to the question "Is the Subrecipient Part of the FDP Clearinghouse", you can select the Subrecipient's name from a dropdown list under "Subrecipient Legal Entity Name". The Portal will autofill the EIN number, Congressional district and DUNS number.
- You do not need to provide a copy of the Single Audit, F&A Rate Agreement or Fringe Rate Agreement for Subrecipients that are in the FDP Clearinghouse. That information is located on the FDP Clearinghouse website and OSPA will access it from there.
- You do need to provide the Letter of Intent signed by the Subrecipient from proposal submission time.
- Not part of FDP Clearinghouse: If the Subrecipient is not part of the FDP Clearinghouse, but the Subrecipient has a website that provides their F&A Rate Agreement, Fringe Rate Agreement and Audit, a space will appear where you can insert the link to that website. When the link is provided, you do not need to upload copies of those documents. If such a website does not exist or doesn't include all information, you will need to upload the necessary documents, as applicable.
- Subrecipient Audit: Either a Single Audit (or link thereto) or a new Audit Questionnaire must be provided for every Subaward Request.
- Single Audit: A Single Audit will include a section auditing major programs and internal control over compliance in accordance with Uniform Guidance. This is key. If the available audit only audits financial statements, it is not a Single Audit and an Audit Questionnaire is required. Single Audits always audit compliance with Uniform Guidance.
- Audit Questionnaire: If the Subrecipient does not have a Single Audit, a completed Audit Questionnaire is required for each Subaward Request. The Portal includes a link to the Audit Questionnaire form where it states "Please upload F&A Rate Agreement, Fringe Rate Agreement and Single Audit/Audit Questionnaire." Also, the Portal provides guidance as to when an Audit Questionnaire is required: "Not sure if you need an Audit Questionnaire? Click here."
- Documents
- Document upload fields are located on the left side of the Portal form and scrolls separately from the main Portal form.
- The document upload fields change depending on certain answers provided in the Portal form. For example, if you select that the Subrecipient is a member of the FDP Clearinghouse, the document upload fields for Single Audit and Negotiated F&A Rate Agreement will not appear.
- The document upload fields serve as a guide for what documents are required for OSPA to complete the Subaward Request, but is not an exhaustive list and additional documents may be required based upon the circumstances of the prime award, Subrecipient and subaward needs. There is a field for "Other Documents" where any documents not otherwise listed in the document uploads section may be uploaded.
- If you have a single PDF comprised of multiple documents that have separate upload fields, you may upload that single PDF, but you need to make a note in the Comments section alerting the OSPA officer that you did this.
- For federal subawards, you are not required to provide Attachment 3B or Subrecipient IRB/IACUC approval at the time of submission of the Portal request to OSPA. If those documents are not provided, the OSPA officer will request them from the Subrecipient when they send the subaward agreement for signature.
- Workflow Approvals and Routing
- Approvals
- The PI or their designee must approve the Subaward Request in the Portal workflow.
- Additional approvers may be included at the College or Department's discretion.
- Routing Between College Officer and OSPA Officer
- The Subaward Request must be routed to the appropriate party (College Officer or OSPA Officer) when a task is needed from that party. For example, if the OSPA officer requests you provide Attachment 3A and routes the Request back to you, once you have uploaded Attachment 3A, you must route the Request back to the OSPA officer. Do not merely add a comment into the Request stating you've uploaded Attachment 3A without also routing the Request back to the appropriate party. The Request needs to be in the Portal queue of the person who needs to take the next action.
- Creation of a Subaward Request for an Amendment to an Existing Subaward
- How to Create a Request for a Subaward Amendment:
- After selecting Subaward Request from the Create Submission dropdown list, enter the CON# and then select the appropriate SP number from the dropdown list and hit Enter.
- A list of the existing subawards for the SP number will appear. Select the subaward you are amending.
- All existing Subaward Requests previously submitted for that subaward will appear in separate tabs and a new tab will open for the current amendment request for you to complete.
- Select Amendment Type: For amendments, there are seven (7) amendment categories you may select from.
- Types of amendments:
- Additional Funding Only
- Additional Time & Funding
- Administrative Contact Change
- No Cost Extension
- Sub PI Change
- Scope of Work Change
- Corrections and Other
- Select the category most inclusive of the changes being requested for the amendment. For example, if you are requesting an amendment that will add a new project period, additional funding and will change the Subrecipient PI, select "Additional Time & Funding". You will need to change the PI information in the Subrecipient Information as necessary and include a note in the Comments stating that there is also a Subrecipient PI change as part of this amendment.
- The format of the Portal form will change based upon the type of amendment selected to require only information related to that type of amendment.
- Complete all blank fields in the Request for a Subaward Amendment. Certain information in the Georgia State University Information and Subrecipient Information sections will autofill from Spectrum and the previous Subaward Request, respectively, but you will need to complete the fields that have not been auto-filled. If any information has changed from what auto-fills, make the change and add a note in the Comments describing the change as it may affect how the OSPA officer prepares the amendment.
- Scope of Work: If the Scope of Work for the amendment has not changed from the previous Scope of Work provided, you are not required to upload a Scope of Work. OSPA will reference in the amendment that the Subrecipient will continue following the Scope of Work from the prior subaward agreement/amendment.
- FDP Clearinghouse, Audit and Audit Questionnaire: See information provided in Section B(3) above.
- Documents
- Document upload fields are located on the left side of the Portal form and scroll separately from the main Portal form.
- The document upload fields change depending on the type of amendment being requested. For example, if you select a "No Cost Extension" type amendment, the upload section for a budget and budget justification will not appear.
- The document upload fields serve as a guide for what documents are required for OSPA to complete the Subaward Request, but is not an exhaustive list and additional documents may be required based upon the circumstances of the prime award, Subrecipient and subaward needs. There is a field for "Other Documents" where any documents not otherwise listed in the document uploads section may be uploaded.
- If you have a single PDF comprised of multiple documents that have separate upload fields, you may upload that single PDF, but you need to make a note in the Comments section alerting the OSPA officer that you did this.
- For federal subawards, you are not required to provide Subrecipient IRB/IACUC approval at the time of submission of the Portal request to OSPA. If those documents are not provided, the OSPA officer will request them from the Subrecipient when they send the subaward agreement for signature.
- Workflow Approvals and Routing
- Approvals
- The PI or their designee must approve the Subaward Request in the Portal workflow.
- Additional approvers may be included at the College or Department's discretion.
- Routing Between College Officer and OSPA Officer
- The Subaward Request must be routed to the appropriate party (College Officer or OSPA Officer) when a task is needed from that party. For example, if the OSPA officer requests you provide Attachment 3A and routes the Request back to you, once you have uploaded Attachment 3A, you must route the Request back to the OSPA officer. Do not merely add a comment into the Request stating you've uploaded Attachment 3A without also routing the Request back to the appropriate party. The Request needs to be in the Portal queue of the person who needs to take the next action.