The University of Iowa, as a state entity, uses a competitive bidding system as required under state and federal law. If a grant or contract requires the University of Iowa to competitively bid out opportunities for a potential subcontractor or subrecipient, University of Iowa Purchasing handles the competitive bidding process on behalf of the UI based on the type of service, good and dollar threshold.

Although the competitive bidding process is mandatory, there are circumstances in which Subrecipients other than the lowest bidder may be selected. These circumstances include (but are not limited to) the following:

• The subawardee was specifically named in the proposal and/or approved by the sponsor or funding agency.
• The proposal and subawardee were approved by the sponsor and/or funding agency as scientifically valid.
• The subawardee possesses specialized equipment and/or facilities to conduct the research.
• The subawardee has access to appropriate subject populations required to conduct the study/research.
• The subawardee was selected for a pilot project based on a review by a U of I project committee.
• Other: Explain why this subawardee is uniquely qualified to fulfill the subaward scope of work.

For Additional Information:

• Subaward FAQs
• How to Categorize Work with External Entities
• Policies and Procedures for charging costs to externally funded projects

Submission of a proposal and/or requesting an outgoing subaward through UI Workflow assumes that the Principal Investigator and supervising department has verified that the proposed subaward costs are reasonable for the nature of the work to be performed; the scope of work, budget, justification, and other compliance documents are allowable, allocable, and reasonable in accordance with UI and sponsor policies, including the terms of the prime award.  For additional information:

• Subaward FAQ

• Go to the DSP Research Tracker
• Search for the project (search examples: grant program number; DSP Item #; PI)
• Once found, open the ‘Project’ view
• Go to the ‘Outgoing Subawards’ section
• Click ‘Initiate New Subaward or Amendment’
• Walk through the Wizard
  • Step 1: Choose the type of request (New or Amendment)
  • Step 2: Select Subrecipient and/or Subaward PO as applicable
  • Step 3: Select the corresponding funding period for this subaward
• Open New Subaward or Amendment
• The OGS request record will open in the ‘Edit’ mode, enabling you to complete the request.
  • Review and complete the fields in the record.
  • Attachments:
    • For all new and competitive cycle subaward requests, the following subrecipient documentation must be attached:
      • Subrecipient Information Form (Formerly FORM I) and its corresponding attachments from the subrecipient
      • Budget
      • Statement of Work
    • For all amendments to existing subaward agreements during a competitive cycle:
      • When adding Money – Budget
      • When Statement of Work changes – Statement of Work
      • When Deobligating – Budget
  • Make sure to ‘Save’ the request before closing the tab or browser.
• All sections are required in order to submit your request.  The request record will validate upon ‘Save’ and ‘Submit’.  If there are any errors on the record, the system will highlight the problem sections.
• The record will follow the Universal Workflow Path once submitted. 
• Select Vendor (i.e. Subrecipient)
  • If the subrecipient is new and not in the database, the Subrecipient will need to register online at this link.  This is required in order for the subrecipient's invoices to be paid from our purchasing system.
  • If the subrecipient is in database, but a new address is needed, e-mail the Purchasing Vendor File Team (VFT), purchasing-vendor@uiowa.edu, with subrecipient name, vendor number, new address, phone, and contact person.

If there is a request for an Advance Payment to the Subrecipient, please review the Advance Payment requirements and instructions.

The DSP Research Tracker is where you will go to find the status of your outgoing subaward request.  

• Search for your project or subaward number
• Open the ‘Project’ view
• Expand the ‘Outgoing Subawards’ section
  • Here you will see:
    • When the draft subaward agreement was sent to the subrecipient
    • When the partially signed subaward agreement has been received from subrecipient
    • The fully signed subaward agreement
    • Status of the request
    • Action
      • Open submitted request
      • Delete draft request
      • If no action listed, this means there is more than one agreement associated with this subrecipient.  Click the ‘+’ sign on the left-hand side of the record to expand.

• OGS Request Module User Guide
• Subaward FAQ