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SUBCONTRACTORS
AND
CONSULTANTS
Say
you've
received
your
award
for an
exciting
project
in
advanced
research.
But the
award is
based on
a
portion
of work
to be
completed
by your
colleague
at
another
university.
Or, you
discover
that you
need
expert
advice
about a
critical
part of
your
effort.
If
either
of these
is the
case,
you need
a
subcontractor
or
consultant.
For
sponsored
programs,
noncompetitive
subcontracts
and
consultant
agreements
are
processed
through
the
Office
of
Sponsored
Programs.
Purchasing
handles
those
processed
on a
competitive
basis.
In
either
case,
specific
sponsor
approval
is
required
before
you can
use a
subcontractor
or
consultant,
and the
agreement
must be
formalized
before
the
subcontractor
or
consultant
begins
work.
HOW IT'S
DONE
1. A
sponsor
will
normally
include
approval
to use a
subcontractor
or
consultant
in the
award if
the
specific
need and
amount
to be
subcontracted
is
identified
in the
proposal.
Additionally,
if a
specific
subcontractor
or
consultant
is
identified
in the
proposal,
the
award is
based on
our use
of that
particular
subcontractor
or
consultant
and
therefore
can
be
processed
on a
noncompetitive
basis.
2. To
initiate
the
process
(whether
or not
you have
included
your
subcontractor
or
consultant
in your
proposal),
you will
need to
fill out
a
standard
purchase
requisition,
to be
forwarded
to OSP.
This
requisition
must be
supported
by the
following:
-A
statement
of
work:
This
is a
clear
definition
of
the
work
you
expect
the
subcontractor
or
consultant
to
do,
along
with
specific
milestones
of
performance
along
the
way
and
a
clear
definition
of
how
you
will
determine
the
work
to
have
been
successfully
completed.
-A
source
list:
Subcontracts
and
consulting
agreements
by
the
Commonwealth
of
Virginia
are
done
on a
low-cost
bid
basis.
Therefore,
you
must
provide
OSP
with
a
list
of
qualified
service
providers,
whose
bids
for
your
project
will
be
solicited.
If
use
of a
specific
provider
is
clearly
needed,
you
must
provide
a
sole-source
justification
for
hiring
that
provider.
And,
according
to
the
state,
a
sole-source
provider
must
offer
an
entirely
unique
service,
one
that
no
other
provider
can
offer.
(Therefore,
specifying
a
provider
in
your
research
proposal
can
come
in
handy.
If
the
sponsor
has
accepted
your
recommended
provider,
and
awarded
the
contract
on
that
basis,
your
specified
provider
becomes
unique
in
his
or
her
ability
to
fulfill
your
contract
obligations.)
3. Once
you have
submitted
your
purchase
requisition
and
supporting
material,
the
purchasing
process
will
begin.
This
includes
bidding
out the
project,
collecting
bids,
awarding
the job,
and
assuring
that the
provider
has bid
a "fair
price"
for the
work
requested.
(The
university
must
make and
support
a
determination
that the
cost of
the
subcontractor
or
consultant
is fair
and
reasonable.
Gathering
information
to
support
such a
determination
can be a
time-consuming
process.)
Depending
upon the
amount
of money
to be
spent,
the size
of the
project,
and the
qualifications
of the
contractor,
this
process
can take
from 3
weeks up
to 3
months.
Typically,
most
consulting
and
subcontracting
agreements
are
finalized
in 3 to
4 weeks.
4. If
you are
on a
tight
timeframe,
or if
you need
to
subcontract
an early
portion
of your
project,
then you
should
begin
the
purchasing
process
as soon
as
possible.
You may
initiate
the
process
even
before
your
award
has been
received.
The
award to
your
subcontractor
can be
made
contingent
upon the
university's
receiving
your
project
award.
By
planning
ahead,
you can
have
your
consultant
or
subcontractor
ready to
go as
soon as
your
project
is
authorized.
5.
Remember,
until
you have
completed
this
process
and been
notified
that a
consultant
or
subcontractor
has been
hired by
the
university
, you
cannot
charge
project
funds
for that
service
provider's
work.
6.
Consultants
and
subcontractors
are
directed
to
submit
their
invoices
to OSP ,
where
they are
reviewed
against
the
terms of
the
purchase
agreement.
Then the
invoices
are
forwarded
to the
PI for
final
approval.
You will
need to
review
the
invoices,
approve
them
(make
sure
project
codes
are
correct!),
and
return
them to
OSP for
processing
and
payment.
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