The IPA is a contractual agreement, authorized by the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, which provides the temporary assignment of personnel between the Federal Government and state and local governments, colleges and universities, Indian tribal governments, federally funded research and development centers, and other eligible organizations. The purpose of the IPA is to facilitate cooperation between the Federal Government and the non-Federal agency.
An IPA between the Federal Government and Virginia Tech usually allows for a faculty member to work with a federal agency. However, an IPA agreement can work both ways: the federal agency could send a person here to work instead of asking one of our faculty to come to their agency to work. Also, it is not required to have our faculty leave campus. The faculty member can stay on campus if their work with the agency allows this and be paid off an IPA with University approval.
An IPA is typically for one year but may be negotiated up to two years on the original appointment. The faculty member can share his/her expertise with the federal agency, learn more about the agency he/she is working with, and return to Virginia Tech to share his/her government knowledge and experience.
The sponsoring federal agency will normally cover the full salary and the fringe benefits of the faculty member and may support a cost-of-living differential. The faculty member will continue to earn leave and will retain employee benefits with the University. The faculty member is usually required to take the same holidays that the federal agency takes, but this is usually written into the IPA Agreement.
Once OSP is notified of a pending IPA Agreement we will do the following:
1. Compute the salary and fringe benefits associated with the time period. Salary is computed on a 12 month basis because the IPA is usually for 12 months. To do this, compute the AY salary using the current fringe benefit rate and then compute full summer using the current summer fringe benefit rate. Add the AY and summer salaries (plus fringes) together and divide by 12 to get the monthly salary. Even though we calculate the salary this way, the faculty member will still be paid for an AY appointment with 100% summer salary funding. Occasionally a faculty member will want to convert from AY to CY. We can compute the salary for them on this basis, but the conversion must be approved by the Provost Office.
2. Ask if there is any lost consulting due to the faculty member going on the IPA agreement. Provisions within an IPA allow for compensation for lost consulting pay. If there is, the faculty member has to have copies of their tax returns for the past 2 years to justify the request for lost consulting compensation.
3. IPAs do not pay indirect expenditures. The only amount that will be included on the IPA is the salary plus fringe benefits plus any lost consulting. Occasionally some agencies will refuse to pay certain parts of the fringe benefits (fee waiver, educational leave). If this happens, the department or college will have to cover this portion of the fringe benefit.
4. Advise the faculty member that they can ask the federal agency to provide funds for travel between their agency and the University (especially if they still have graduate students here that they need to continue to oversee), moving and relocation expenses. If they are moving to an area that has a higher cost-of-living than Blacksburg, they can ask for a salary adjustment to cover the higher cost-of-living (The federal agency doesn't always agree to this request, but they can ask for it). These funds may be paid directly to the faculty member and not to the University, therefore they will not be included in our calculations -- usually the faculty member is responsible for negotiating these extra expenses themselves.
5. Advise the faculty member that he/she needs to go to the Provost Office and get it in writing that the Provost is in agreement with the IPA and that they will return to the University at the end of their IPA agreement to the same position and with their salary intact.
6. The faculty member will contact the federal agency with the information that we have given them and they will help the federal agency to develop the statement of work that will be included on the IPA. The federal agency will then draft the IPA agreement and forward it to the University for signature.
7. The IPA Agreement and an internal approval form should then be forwarded to OSP. The faculty member's department head is to be listed as the Principal Investigator on the internal approval form. The person receiving the IPA cannot be the PI.
8. If required, OSP will send the IPA agreement to the Provost Office for signature and then mail it back to the federal agency.
9. The project will be set up according to where the PI is normally paid (208, 230, or 231).
Please see provisions of IPAs at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.