Outgoing Subcontracts

Status Updates

• To view all pending subcontract requests for your department, run Cognos report GA301. Visit the Knowledge Base to learn more about CERES Cognos Reports, including the GA301.

Processing Procedure for Establishing an Outgoing Subcontract

1. The sponsored award to Northwestern must be set up by Sponsored Research (SR). The Project Account Summary (PAS) mailing is distributed to the PI, research administrator, department chair or center director, and dean’s office. The PAS reflects the appropriation of the parent award, including all budgeted line items. This is the notice to the research unit that it is okay to incur costs against the chart string.
2. Once the award and subaward are set up on the parent award in CERES, SR initiates a subcontract agreement request by sending the CERES agreement to the subcontract request primary contact (most commonly the research administrator). The request arrives in the primary contact’s CERES dashboard/inbox in “pre-submission” status.
3. In consultation with the PI, the subcontract request primary contact completes and submits the request to issue a new subcontract or subcontract amendment.
4. Once the subcontract request is submitted to SR, it will be assigned to the appropriate member of the SR subcontracts management team.
5. SR conducts subrecipient risk assessment, drafts a subcontract agreement, and issues the agreement to subrecipient/subcontractor via DocuSign for institutional review and signature.
6. Upon receipt of the partially executed agreement from the subrecipient/subcontractor, SR provides the final signature on behalf of Northwestern University, fully executing the subcontract agreement.
7. The fully executed agreement is distributed via DocuSign to the subrecipient/subcontractor (SR equivalent and financial contact) and to the relevant parties at Northwestern (i.e., subcontract primary contact, SR subcontracts team staff, and ASRSP).
8. The departmental purchase order requestor works with ASRSP to establish a purchase requisition to encumber subcontract funds obligated in the Fully Executed Agreement (FEA). This step will enable ASRSP to pay subcontract invoices. For more information visit the ASRSP webpage on Subcontracts or contact ASRSP at ASRSP-Subk-EV@northwestern.edu 

Northwestern’s Use of DocuSign 

Sponsored Research (SR) uses DocuSign to issue and execute subawards. For each subaward (or amendment) issued in DocuSign, a DocuSign generates two emails:

1. The first email includes a subaward agreement for subrecipient/subcontractor institutional review and signature. For the Northwestern subcontract primary contact, this email is simply for notification purposes, and no action is required at this point.
2. The second email includes the fully executed subaward agreement, which is distributed via DocuSign to the subrecipient/subcontractor (SR equivalent and financial contact) and to the relevant Northwestern parties (i.e., subcontract primary contact, SR subcontract staff, and ASRSP subcontract staff). This email will require action on your part. Click on the “Action Needed” tab for more information.

Help Resources for Subrecipients

• SIGN (Electronically): How to Sign Electronically in DocuSign
• SIGN (Wet Signature): How to Print & Sign
• REASSIGN: How to Assign Signing Responsibility to Someone Else

Action Needed for Fully Executed Subcontract Agreements

When the research unit (the subcontract primary contact) is copied on a fully executed subcontract agreement via DocuSign email notice please note the following:

• Funds are now available for the subcontractor to spend and submit invoices (the FEA is also available on the CERES subcontract agreement request record).
• The research unit must encumber the funds with a purchase order (PO)

For guidance on processing a purchase order, see “Action Needed for Fully Executed Subcontract Agreements” or reference ASRSP’s Subcontracts page for more information.

Sponsor Approval and Notice of Award (NOA) Terms

Prior sponsor approval requirements for adding new subcontracts are determined by the prime sponsor award.  For FDP/RTC awards, please refer to the RTC Prior Approval and Other Requirements Matrix.  When a subcontract is not included in the originally approved budget, please work with Sponsored Research to determine if sponsor prior approval is required. [NOTE: Not all sponsors require that the subcontract entity be listed on the NOA.] 

Sufficient Funds Verification

• Subcontracts team will rely on Unit verification of sufficient funds allocated to subcontract budget lines in NU Financials
• Units encouraged to attach supporting documentation of sufficient funds verification to subcontract modification requests
• Subcontracts team will process re-budget in NU Financials if/when Unit:
  • Determines there are insufficient funds and
  • Provides re-budget guidance in CERES
• Download the sufficient funds verification and rebudgeting tool. Note: The tool is specifically for sufficient funds tracking, calculation, and re-budgeting to allocate funds for outgoing subcontracts to the subcontract budget categories in NU financials and to assist with F&A implications resulting from re-budgeting.

Institutional Information