Extramural Agreements Training

Extramural Agreements Training

For ERS Authorized

Departmental Officer’s

Designated Representatives

Learning Objectives

To describe the key elements of the ERS administrative structure as it pertains to Extramural Agreements

To describe the types of applicable agreements To explain the roles and responsibilities and the

relationship between the Authorized Departmental Officer’s Designated Representative (ADODR), Budget Office, and Administrative and Financial Management (AFM), Financial Management and Agreements Division (FMAD) during the award process

To describe the extramural agreements process

Delegation of Authority

Secretary of Agriculture

Under Secretary for REE

Administrator, ERS

ADO

ADODR

Order of PrecedenceRelevant Laws, Regulations, and Policies

• Statutes• Program Regulations• Administrative Regulations• OMB Circulars and other Directives• Agency Policy

– P&Ps– Bulletins– SOPs

Statutes Related to ERS

• Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements Act of 1977 (31 U.S.C. 6301-6303)

• Food Security Act of 1985

(7 U.S.C. 3318(b) – 3319(a))

Policies

Mutual Resource Contribution

• The Cooperator’s contribution must be maintained at 20 percent of the Federal funding level throughout the life of the cooperative agreement.

• The Cooperator’s resource contributions must consist of a sufficient amount of itemized direct costs.– Examples: money, space, equipment,

materials and supplies, personnel services.

Obligation and Expenditure of Funds

• Funds may not be used for obligations or expenditures made prior to the start date of the agreement.

– A formal written request must be submitted to ERS to authorize pre-award costs.

– A copy of the pre-award cost letter and approval or disapproval must be included in the official file.

Indirect Cost Negotiation

• If the Cooperator is not a State Cooperative Institution, FMAD must negotiate the indirect cost rate.

• For non-profit organizations, the rate cannot exceed 10 percent.

• The rate for profit organizations cannot exceed the audited rate of any federally recognized agency or what is approved by FMAD.

Indirect Costs and Tuition Remission

Type of Agreement

Type of Performing Organization

Cooperative Research Agreement

Grant Agreement Cost Reimbursable Agreement

State Cooperative Institutions

Indirect Costs/Tuition Remission are PROHIBITED.

Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate NOT to exceed the audited rate of any recognized audit agency.

Tuition Remission is allowable.

Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate NOT to exceed 10 percent of total direct costs.


Non-Profit Organizations

Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate NOT to exceed 10 percent of total direct costs.




Other Organizations





Types of Agreements

Important questions to ask when determining the correct type of agreement:• What is the principal purpose of the agreement?• What is the nature of ERS’ anticipated

involvement?• What benefit will ERS derive from the

agreement?• What is the anticipated relationship between ERS

and the cooperator/recipient?• Will either party contribute funds, and if so, who

will provide them?

Type of Agreement

• Grant Agreement

• Assistance-Type Cooperative Agreement (ATCA)

• Cooperative Agreement

Type of Agreement

• Grant• Assistance-Type

Cooperative Agreement (ATCA)


ERS uses a Grant to transfer something of value, usually money, to the recipient (usually a non-Federal entity) to stimulate or carry out a public purpose.

No substantial involvement between ERS and the recipient during the performance of the project.

Type of Agreement

ERS uses an ATCA to transfer something of value, usually money, to the recipient to stimulate or carry out a public purpose.

ERS is substantiallyinvolved with the recipient during the performance of the project.

• Grant• Assistance -

Type Cooperative Agreement (ATCA)


Type of Agreement

An agreement between ERS and another party or parties that describes in detail a jointly planned and executed research program or project of mutual interest.

Both parties contribute financial resources, participate in the cooperative work to be accomplished, and benefit from the outcome of the project.

Subject to regulations codified at 7CFR 550.

• Grant• Assistance-

Type Cooperative Agreement (ATCA)


Roles and Responsibilities

Provides advice, guidance, and service on all

financial matters

Authorized Departmental Officer

Authorized Departmental Officer’sDesignatedRepresentative

The Primary Players

Division SupportStaff Provides

administrative assistance to

the ADODR

FinancialManagement &AgreementsDivision, ARS

Develops policy and provides guidance to ERS

as it pertains to extramural agreements

Official delegated signature authority to

commit authorized funding

The technical representative who oversees the specific

work to be performed

Budget Office

Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO)

• Reviews and approves or disapproves proposed agreements submitted by the ADODR.

• Delegates authority to an ADODR and ensures the ADODR performs the duties within their delegation.

• The Division Director serves as the ADO on all agreements under $100,000.

• The Administrator, ERS, serves as the ADO on agreements $100,000 or more.

Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO)

The ADO is the only person who

can obligate funds or commit

Agency resources, with regard

to extramural agreements.

Financial Management & Agreements Division (FMAD)

• Formulates, develops, and implements Agency policy.

• Provides guidance to ERS as it relates to extramural agreements.

• Reviews and approves ERS’ cooperative agreements prior to signature.

• Enters the Invoice Document in FMMI.

• Provides deobligation information to Budget for closeout of completed/expired agreements.


• Responsible for:– Award, Administration, and Closeout of the

Agreement– Maintaining the “official” agreement file in the

REE AIMS e-green module.

FMAD will take all authorized actions

necessary to protect and advance the

interest of ERS, as it pertains to

extramural agreements.


• Ensures that the ADODR performs the administrative duties within the scope of their delegation.

• Ensures that ERS has the programmatic authority to enter into the agreement.

• Determines the appropriate type of agreement with the assistance of the ADODR.

• Assists the ADODR in developing the SOW and budget, as necessary.


• Ensures that the cooperator does not perform work prior to the agreement being fully executed, unless pre-award costs are authorized.

• Negotiates all final terms and conditions.• Ensures that the agreement is in compliance

with all applicable Federal laws and regulations.


• Ensures that the terms of the agreement are current, and that the agreement is revised, continued, suspended, or terminated as appropriate.

• Initiates and completes agreement closeout.• Ensures that the ADODR has a proper

delegation.

ADODR

• The ADODR performs an integral role in the extramural agreements process and is responsible for working with the Cooperator to:

– Direct and monitor technical performance

– Provide oversight of the project

– Ensure fiscal accountability of the project

ADODR

• Discusses projects with the Division Director and Cooperator. – Obtains line management approval for the

project prior to REE AIMS data entry.– Develops an accurate budget

• Develops detailed statement of work (SOW), work plan, or proposal.

• Submits draft SOW with budget form (REE-454 or REE-455) to their Division Support Staff.

• Reviews, approves or disapproves, and forwards invoices (or Form SF-270) for payment to FMAD.

• Monitors work progress, reviews and approves progress reports and financial status reports.

ADODR

• Reviews performance reports to determine the level of program accomplishments and to resolve any discrepancies in program performance.

• ADODRs document all accomplishments, discrepancies, and efforts made to reconcile differences.

• These reports are the basis for approval or disapproval of payment requests.

• Forwards pertinent information to FMAD for inclusion in the official file.

Budget Office

• Provides advice, guidance, and service on all financial matters.– Obligates funds through

the FMMI system and enters the appropriate data into REE AIMS system.

– Codes Purchase Orders as “pay immediately”.

– Assist FMAD with agreement closeout and account reconciliation

Exercises

The Extramural Agreements Process

Statement Of Work (SOW)& Budget

Division Director

FMADCooperator for

Signature

Process Overview

ADODR

Cooperator Returns signed AgreementPackage

Budget Office

Division Director for Final Signature

Division SupportStaff

• Discuss project and obtain line management approval.

• Develops:

- Statement of Work (SOW)

Consisting of: Objective, Approach,

Statement of Mutual Interest,

Cooperator Agrees to, ERS Agrees to,

and Mutual Agreements.

- Budget Form (REE-454 or REE-455)• Submits all documents to the Division Support staff.

ADODR

• Enters SOW and Budget information into the REE AIMS System for the Division Director’s review and approval.

Division Support

Staff

• Reviews SOW and Budget

• Authorizes/approves the commitment of funds.

DivisionDirector

• Enters the obligation into FMMI.

• Enters FMMI information into the REE AIMS.

Budget Office

• Is the primary POC for all ERS agreement transactions.

• Reviews the entire agreement for completeness.

• Makes any necessary corrections.• Forwards the agreement to the Cooperator

for signature.

FMAD

Cooperator

• Reviews and signs the agreement.• Completes pre-award negotiations

in collaboration with the ADODR and FMAD as necessary.

• Returns the signed agreement to FMAD.

• Reviews the signed agreement.

• Forwards the agreement to the Division Support Staff for the Division Director’s signature.

FMAD

• Submits agreement to the Division Director for final signature.

Division Staff

• Signs the agreement. – The Division Director signs agreements under

$100,000.– The Administrator, ERS, signs agreements

$100,000 or more.• Returns the agreement to FMAD.

DivisionDirector/ERS Administrator

• Prepares agreement for distribution:– Cooperator - FMAD– ADODR - Official File - e-green– Budget

FMAD

Amendment Process

• Amendments go through the same review and approval process as a new agreement.

• If there is no change in the money allocated to the award, the Budget Office is not involved in the process.

Regular Amendments(Requires both ERS’ and Cooperator’s signatures)

• Decrease or increase funding or Change in Scope:

What is needed:• Revised SOW/Proposal explaining the

need for the change and the amount of both parties’ contributions.

• Form REE-454/455 showing a revised budget.

• FMMI Purchase Order Document to commit additional funds.

• Form REE-451 with noted changes.

Regular Amendments (Requires both ERS’ and Cooperator’s signatures)

• Change in Principal Investigator

What is needed:

Form REE-451 with noted changes.

Administrative Amendments(Requires ERS’ signature only)

• Change in accounting code, address, bank information, ADODR, or an extension of time.

• Extension of time:

What is needed:

• Form REE-451 with noted changes.

A letter or an e-mail from the Cooperator should explain the need for the extension and should be attached to the REE-451 as backup.

The Payment Process

• Submits invoices and financial reports to FMAD.

• Submits progress/technical reports to ADODR.

Cooperator

• Reviews the invoice for accuracy and reconciles any differences with the Cooperator prior to sending it to the ADODR.

• Ensures all reporting requirements have been met by the Cooperator.– Financial Status Report– Performance Report

• Requests performance reports when forwarding payment request to the ADODR.

• Ensures accurate accounting information. • Forwards the invoice (via e-mail) to the ADODR

for review and approval/disapproval.

FMAD

• Reviews the invoice and the Performance Report for approval/disapproval.– If approved, the payment request is returned to

FMAD for processing with performance report covering the period invoiced.

– If disapproved, the payment request is returned to FMAD with explanation and for follow-up action.

Performance Reports are required. No reports means no payment.

ADODR

• Enters the invoice document into FMMI.

• Sends an e-mail with a list of invoice document numbers to AFS for posting/approval.

FMAD

• Approves the invoice document in FMMI.

• Send e-mail to FMAD to acknowledge payments have been posted/approved.

• Payment is completed!

AFS

Closeout

• FMAD notifies the ADODR within 90 days of expiration that the agreement is due to expire.

• The ADODR decides to either:

– Amend the agreement for additional time or money;

– Terminate and deobligate any account balances that will not be used.

Closeout

• The ADODR and FMAD are responsible for acquiring the following:

– Cooperator’s final billing and final financial status report (REE-269)

– Cooperator’s final performance report

CloseoutInvention Disclosure and Utilization Reporting

The Cooperator shall report Invention

Disclosures and Utilization information

electronically via i-Edison Web Interface at:

www.iedison.gov.

If access to Inter-Agency Edison is unavailable,

the invention disclosure should be sent directly to:

Division of Extramural Inventions and Technology Resources

6705 Rockledge Dr. (RKL 1)

Suite 310, MSC 7980

Bethesda, MD 20892

Exercises

Resources

• P&P 702.0: Selection, Appointment, and Responsibilities of the Authorized Departmental Officer’s Designated Representative (ADODR)

• Brochure - Grants and Cooperative Agreements with the Economic Research Service: Guidelines for External Organizations

• http//www.afm.ars.usda.gov/agreements/index.htm

Thank you!

• Questions ?????

• Contact Information:

– Deborah Watson, FMAD

301-504-4411 or

301-504-1147

Documents

Extramural Agreements Training