Subrecipient Information Form is required for new subaward or competitive renewals agreement requests (this also includes a changes in subrecipient).  This would be when you have either a) have never initiated subaward from the project before or b) you are initiating a subaward to a subrecipient that does not currently have an active agreement in place with your project. 

"BR" or Budget Reference Field, is changed based upon the terms of your prime award regarding automatic carryover. Grant Accounting is responsible for determining when it is appropriate to flip the BR on the prime award. Our eDSP system will handle the BR flipping in the background automatically when amendments to existing subawards are requested.

The FDP COI Clearinghouse is a site that provides a central location for educational institutions and other entities to document that they are in compliance with various federal agencies.

The FDP Expanded Clearinghouse is a site that uses on-line entity profiles in lieu of subrecipient commitment forms to obtain information needed by pass-through entities when they are issuing subawards or monitoring their subrecipient entities.  Information such as UEI, EIN, Congressional District, SAM.gov registration, institution type, and some certifications, etc. may all be found here.  The University of Iowa is a member.

You may not have individual access to a specific project.  Please call or email DSP and we will assist you in gaining access.

Double check they are using the correct legal name of the subrecipient (e.g. Regents of...).

Refer to the legal name of the entity as they are listed in the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse (see #4 above)

If you are still unable to find the subrecipient and wish to initiate an agreement, send a vendor application and set-up a vendor profile through Purchasing.  Information regarding new vendors may be found here: https://uiowa.edu/ap-purchasing/tools-vendors

Refer to the Payment Address of the entity as listed in the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse (see #4 above)

Look for the address that matches, or closely matches, the Payment Address on the Subrecipient Information Form.  To update a vendor address, please contact Purchasing's Vendor File Team (purchasing-vendor@uiowa.edu).  Please note that this will not stop your request from being submitted to DSP.

We have included a field on the request form for a Nickname.  This is useful for keeping several subawards with varying SOW’s straight (e.g. CORE B, CORE C, Project 1, Project 3, etc.)

You must justify your selection of subcontractor if your selection process was limited to one subcontractor, or if you chose a subcontractor who did not make the lowest offer. Following are sample justifications:

    Sole Source Justifications

• Only known source for acceptable supplies or services. No other type of supplies or services will suffice or are compatible with University needs. No other source can provide supplies or services within the requested deadline.
• Unique prior experience, expertise, professional stature, or key personnel.
• Unique capabilities.
• Supplies or services can be most reasonably and quickly provided.
• Sponsor of the original grant or contract requests a specific subcontractor.

    Competitive Bid (other than lowest offer selected) Justifications

• Sponsor preference
• Only acceptable proposal (e.g. meeting required delivery date, compliance with specifications, etc.)
• Technically superior offer
• Professional stature and reputation
• Availability and competence of experienced personnel
• Availability of necessary facilities
• Method proposed for accomplishing work objectives
• Pertinent and novel ideas in the appropriate branch of science and technology
• Compatibility with University of Iowa facilities and equipment
• Present and/or past experience with similar work
• Understanding of the scope of work
• Fair and reasonable price
• Superior delivery schedule
• Proximity of source

Generally, research and development subcontracts should be awarded to the organization that proposes the best ideas of concepts and has the highest competence in the specific field of science or technology involved.

The level of detail should be proportional to the dollar amount of the subcontract, with greater explanation provided for higher dollar value subcontracts. Emphasize your primary reasons for selecting the subcontractor in the justification. Following are examples of acceptable justifications:

• Subcontractor is a non-profit institution that specializes in the preparation and production of management re-engineering seminars and workshops. No other institution or vendor has the unique collection of talent that is available through Subcontractor at this time. Specifically, this talent includes the developers of the methodologies of interest and the principal instructors associated with those methodologies. Therefore, Subcontractor was selected as the sole source.
• Supply Associates is the selected vendor on this program because of their prior experience and familiarity with the QRS project and their expertise in software configuration. No other company with their expertise and knowledge is known.
• XYZ, Inc. is the only known source that can furnish on schedule additional equipment or equipment modifications that are identical in all essential respects to the original. XYZ performed in a superior fashion under the previous subcontract and delivered equipment or equipment modifications that have now proven to be effective and reliable.
• The rationale for award of a subcontract to ABC, Inc. for technical support on the Sincom project is as follows:
  • ABC, Inc. offers highly qualified personnel with the required broad base of both theoretical and practical experience in national security, intelligence, and the command control and communication arena.
  • ABC, Inc. has the caliber of personnel required, and will make them available for the short period of time required for this subcontract effort. This kind of talent cannot normally be hired for short periods, and the immediate availability of the requisite expertise is a primary factor in the recommendation of ABC, Inc.

Cost analysis is the process of analyzing the individual cost elements of a subcontractor's proposal in order to determine the reasonableness of each element. Most subcontracts issued by the University of Iowa are cost-reimbursement subcontracts (i.e. the UI reimburses the subcontractor only for the actual costs incurred in the performance of the subcontract and the subcontractor does not make a profit on the work performed). Thus, cost analysis is the usual verification required for University subcontracts.

Direct costs are those costs that are directly related to producing a product or performing a service for a particular subcontract, such as labor, material, supplies and equipment.

F&A (Facilities and Administrative) costs, or indirect costs, are costs that are only partially or indirectly related to producing a product or performing a service for a particular subcontract. F&A costs are shared or applicable to more than one contract and cannot be directly identified with the services performed under a particular subcontract. These shared expenses cover a portion of building use/maintenance of research labs and research spaces, utilities, telecommunications/internet/data storage, equipment depreciation, general operations and maintenance, which includes general office supplies and personnel associated with compliance with federal, state, and local regulations. 

The University of Iowa will not pay subcontractors F&A costs that exceed their federally approved F&A rate or exceed the F&A cap placed by the sponsor of the award that is funding the project. 

• For a federally funded project, if a subcontractor does not have a federally approved F&A rate agreement to provide to the University, the subcontractor will be required to use the de minimis F&A rate applicable to the project/sponsor for the duration of the project.
• For a privately funded project, the subcontractor must follow the indirect cost allowance policy of the private sponsor.

The emphasis of cost analysis is on determining whether a cost is reasonable and necessary for the scope of work and allowable based on the sponsor’s guidelines and UI policy. To analyze a cost the following questions must be considered:

• Is the cost necessary to perform the work?
• Is the cost reasonable for the services to be performed?
• Is the cost allowable based on the sponsor’s guidelines and UI policies?  (e.g. items that are listed as unallowable for the UI are not allowable for a subcontractor, additionally, UI policies restricting the use of funds for certain expenditures also apply to a subcontractor, which comply with State law.
• Is the subcontractor performing in accordance with sound business practices, applicable laws and regulations, acceptable accounting procedures, and the prime award requirements?
• Would a prudent businessperson take this action in a competitive environment?
• Has the cost been increased by deviations from the subcontractor's normal practices?
• How does the cost compare with other estimates from the same offeror or other offerors?

Reasonableness of costs for personal services can be measured by conformity with compensation practices of other organizations of the same size, in the same discipline or industry, and in the same geographic area. If there is a salary cap in place from the sponsor funding the project, that salary cap also applies to the subcontractor and their personnel.  A public source is available on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics https://www.bls.gov/ooh/occupation-finder.htm.

Price analysis is the justification / evaluation of a vendor's total price proposal based on the documentation listed below. Price analysis typically occurs when the subcontractor is a commercial entity that makes a profit on the work performed. Few subcontracts are issued by the University of Iowa are fixed price subcontracts (i.e. the UI pays based on a milestone payment and deliverable schedule and the subcontractor could make a profit on the work performed, provided that they fall under the type of entity that is allowed to make a profit (for-profit entity)). Thus, price analysis is the usual verification required for fixed price subcontracts, which also require specific written prior approval from the sponsoring agency.

Cost analysis and price analysis may be documented by:

• Comparison of Competitive Proposals. At least two responsible suppliers submit bids that can satisfy the University's requirements, are independently submitted, are responsive to the solicitation, and are within a competitive price range.
• Established Catalog Price and Any Applicable Discounts. Applies only to commercial supplies/services sold in substantial quantities to the general public. An established catalog price is a published price included in a catalog or price list that is regularly maintained by the supplier, is available for inspection by potential buyers, and states the current sales prices for the supplies/services. A copy of the supplier's price list will generally suffice to substantiate the fairness and reasonableness of the supplier's quotation.
• Comparison of a Current Quotation with a Prior Cost or Price-Justified Subcontract for the Same or Similar Supplies/Services. If a prior price paid for supplies/services was determined to be fair and reasonable, then the same or similar current price for such supplies/services may also be presumed to be fair and reasonable, allowing for any minor differences.
• Established Market Price. Applies only to commercial items sold in substantial quantities to the general public. An established market price is a current sales price for supplies/services, established in the normal course of trade between buyers and sellers free to bargain that can be substantiated from sources independent of the supplier. Market price substantiation may be documented by obtaining copies of other customers'' orders from the supplier for the same or similar item, along with an explanation of any price differences.
  • Definition of Commercial Item: Regularly used for other than government purposes
  • Definition of Sold in Substantial Quantities: If there are sales of more than a nominal quantity based on the norm of the industry segment. Models, samples, prototypes and experimental units are not substantial quantities. Substantial quantities may be established by sales orders, contracts, shipments, invoices, or other such records.
  • Definition of General Public: Sold to other than affiliates of the supplier for end use
• Vendor's General Services Administration (GSA) Federal Supply Schedule. The Federal Government negotiates formal contractual agreements each year with its major suppliers. These GSA agreements list terms and conditions of sale and current sales prices for direct purchase by the government.
• Prices Set by Law or Regulation. When a subcontractor's price is set by law or regulation, the University need only obtain a memo from the subcontractor identifying the regulatory authority and stating that the price quoted is not in excess of that permitted by law or regulation.
• Government Assist Audit. Subcontractors sometimes prefer to keep cost and pricing data confidential. In this case, the University can request the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) to perform an assist audit of items in question regarding the vendor's proposal. This is often necessary for high-dollar value, sole-source proposals.
  • When an assist audit is requested, the DCAA will review the vendor's labor rates, overhead, etc. to determine acceptability. The DCAA normally will not furnish any specific vendor cost or pricing data; it will merely verify or question the acceptance of the data furnished by the vendor to the University. It remains the University's responsibility to evaluate and justify the reasonableness of the vendor's proposal or negotiate a subcontract that the University considers to be fair and reasonable. For example, if the University agrees the number of labor hours proposed are reasonable and the DCAA advises that the hourly rates are acceptable, the fairness and reasonableness of vendor's proposed labor charges is substantiated.
• Asking the subcontractor to separately identify each of the direct costs, advise why each is required, and provide supporting documentation to substantiate each charge, such as:
  • Catalog price lists and any applicable discounts;
  • Copies of the subcontractor's orders from others for the same or similar items, including explanations for cost variations;
  • Subcontractor's internal cost estimate, or
  • Documentation of whatever means the subcontractor used to arrive at the charge.

Time spent on cost or price analysis should be proportional to the dollar amount of the subcontract. The most time should be spent analyzing the larger dollar items, especially those items whose validity may be in doubt. Emphasis should be on the need and reasonableness of the cost.