A subaward is the contracting mechanism issued to the collaborating entity (not an individual), typically (but not exclusively) another institution of higher education. The collaborator is a subawardee also know as subrecipient (vs. a contractor) when they have shared programmatic decision-making responsibilities with Seattle University's Principal Investigator (PI).
It is the PI's responsibility to coordinate with their collaborator regarding the technical components of their project, reviewing and approving invoices prior to payment to ensure that the work has been completed as described, and to obtain the necessary reports or information in order to meet the sponsor's reporting requirements.
Please read the below guidance for more details for each stage of the subaward relationship.
The OSP is a resource throughout this process - please contact us early and often!
Once an award is received, the subaward must be issued to your collaborator. The subaward must be included in the proposal and budget, and approved by the sponsor. If you are seeking to add a subaward after the prime award (agreement from the sponsor) has been issued, it must be pre-approved by the sponsor.
Following your New Award Orientation, the Associate Controller will conduct a risk assessment to determine the level of monitoring required for this subrecipient and your Sponsored Research Officer will draft the subaward agreement per the approved scope of work, budget and timeline. The conditions of the prime award (from the sponsor) will be incorporated into the subaward as they "flow-down" and are applicable to the subrecipient.
The subaward will be issued to your collaborator's institution and must be signed by their Authorized Organizational Representative.
Once the subaward is executed, obtain a W-9 from the subrecipient to set them up as a vendor in ProcureSU.
Once they are established as a vendor in ProcureSU, set up a declining PO for the total contract value so that payments can be expedited when the first invoice is received.
On an ongoing basis, it is the PI's responsibility to coordinate with their collaborator regarding the technical components of their project, reviewing and approving invoices prior to payment to ensure that the work has been completed as described, and to obtain the necessary reports or information in order to meet the sponsor's reporting requirements.
When an invoice is received:
On an annual basis, the Associate Controller will conduct an annual review in alignment with this subrecipient's risk assessment monitoring plan as determined at the contract execution stage.