Managing Subawards

PI/Department & SPA Roles & Responsibilities

During the course of the subaward, the University principal investigator (PI) is responsible for the following oversight:

  • Monitors scientific progress and subrecipients adherence to the terms of the agreement
  • Verifies that cost sharing commitments are met
  • Verifies compliance approvals are current for subrecipient’s portion of statement of work (human subjects, animal subjects, biosafety)
  • Document and store required reports submitted by subrecipient
  • PI must personally approve invoices for payment. See invoicing section below for more detail on this process.

About documentation: As a PI, you may document their review of progress reports in whatever format is easiest for them (e.g., email confirmation of review, or by indicating “Reviewed, Approved” with a signature and date on the report itself). Remember that the evidence of their review may be requested by auditors. You are responsible for documenting their review, storing reports, and providing them in the event of an audit. An inability to produce a report could result in increased federal oversight and prior approvals in the future or even payback of subaward or award funding.

During the course of the subaward, we will ensure FCOI documentation, annual audit, and FFATA reporting are up to date, and also ensure corrective action plans are implemented. We will receive, track, and pay invoices, with PI and GA approval, during the course of the agreement.

Subaward Invoicing through WorkflowGen

Subrecipients must submit their signed invoices to a central email inbox in SPA (sub-inv@umn.edu). The sample subrecipient invoice may be helpful to some subrecipients. We will document receipt and enter the invoice into WorkflowGen and the system will email the invoice to the PI and the GA for review and approval in the system.

A copy will also be sent to the Departmental Research Administrators (DRAs). If there are relevant DRAs who would like to receive a copy of subaward invoices, up to two UMN x500 email addresses and one group email address can be sent per deptID to sub-inv@umn.edu. Departments may update their information at any time by sending an updated email to sub-inv@umn.edu. See a master list of subaward invoice DRA contacts.

Reviewing Invoices in WorkflowGen

PIs and GAs may access the invoice and review system, WorkflowGen, by clicking the link in the email they receive or accessing the WorkflowGen Portal. Use the Subaward Invoice Review Checklist to review invoices. PIs and GAs must complete their review within 14 days of receipt of the original WorkflowGen email in order to comply with Uniform Guidance. SPA will send reminders to the PI and the departmental administrator if invoices are not reviewed promptly.

If an invoice contains an error or unallowable costs, progress isn’t being completed at an acceptable pace, or the subrecipient failed to comply with the terms of the award, the invoices should be rejected by selecting “No” under "Approval" in WorkflowGen. The PI should notify SPA and SPA will work in tandem with the PI and subrecipient to correct any problems. The subrecipient will be required to resubmit the invoice to sub-inv@umn.edu once the problems are resolved or errors have been fixed.

By approving an invoice, a PI is certifying/documenting that they have received and reviewed any required programmatic reports during the period covered by the invoice. PIs are responsible for documenting their review, storing reports, and providing them in the event of an audit. An inability to produce a report could result in increased federal oversight and prior approvals in the future or even payback of subaward or award funding.

Payment

SPA will process the payment in the Enterprise Financial System (EFS) once approval from the PI and the SPA GA is received. 

Modification/Amendment

During the subaward period of performance, it may be necessary to modify the amounts, dates, or terms of a subaward. Some changes may require prior approval from the prime sponsor, such as a change to the scope of work or investigator.

Your SPA GA will help you determine whether approval is needed from the prime sponsor. The University PI and/or department administrator must contact SPA when an amendment is required and must provide all information needed to issue the amendment (e.g. revised budgets, dates, reporting requirements, etc.). When an award is incrementally funded, we will initiate the amendment process upon receipt of the prime award. Prior to issuing the subaward amendment for incremental funding, SPA will verify the amounts with the PI and/or department administrator.