1 Navigating the Award Kim Hayes Michael Lenetsky

2 Navigating the Award - Overview Types of Awards Above / Below the Line –Foundation Relations Non-Monetary Agreements –Non Disclosure Agreements –Material Transfer Agreements –Restricted Data Set Access Agreements

3 Types of Awards Gift, Grant or Contract –Issue is whether assistance, procurement or type of donation –Can lead you to SPS or to Development –Questions on categorizations Restricted or Unrestricted Above the Line or Below the Line

4 Gifts In general the following criteria identifies a gift: –No contractual requirements –Award is irrevocable –No defined period of performance –No formal financial accounting required –Not from a government entity

5 Gifts (continued) Gifts may –Be restricted to specific person or purpose –Request report describing use, utilization or impact of gift

6 Grants and Contracts Important to note –Contract is both term of art and a legal document –Grants, Cooperative Agreements and “Contracts” are all legally binding documents that fit under the umbrella of contracts

7 Grant (Assistance Action) Used in a relationship when: –Accomplish a public purpose of support –Little involvement between sponsor and recipient is anticipated –Deliverables are minimal

8 Grants (continued) In general the following criteria identify a grant: –Specific budget w/restrictions –Specific goals/objectives (Scope of Work) –PI responsible for completion of effort –Period of performance –Authority to withhold funds –Return of unused funds

9 Grants (continued) Criteria of Grants (continued) –Formal financial accounting –Formal reporting on efforts, effects of work, etc. –Copies of published materials –Acknowledge of Support –Unilateral Agreements –FDP agreements are grants

10 Cooperative Agreement Used in a relationship between the Sponsor and Recipient when: –Need to support public purpose –Substantial interaction between Sponsor and Recipient is anticipated

11 Contracts (Procurement Action) Used in relationship between the Sponsor and Recipient when: –Goal of relationship is to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Sponsor

12 Contracts (continued) In general the criteria for identifying a contract (procurement action are): –Formal conditions for performance and outcomes –Not unilateral agreement –Publication restrictions –Intellectual Property –Conveyance of tangible property

13 Contracts (continued) General criteria (continued): –Conveyance of intangible property rights –Strict restrictions on financial spending –Frequent reports –Ability to stop work on short notice

14 Payment Terms Payment terms further define Awards: –Cost Reimbursement –Most common Or –Fixed Price –Needs to be closely monitored –Seldom used –Could be costly

15 Determining Appropriate Type If the Government (or other Sponsor) is buying services: If the Government is supporting a project that will foster a public purpose PurchaserContract Grant Cooperative AgreementPartner Patron

16 Who to work with: SPONSOR Basic Grant FDP Unrestricted Restricted GiftGrantContract Sponsored Programs Systems Development Office Coop. Agmt.Non-Monetary Fixed Price Cost Reimb.

17 Above the Line/Below the Line Gifts and restricted grants that are accepted without indirect cost recovery factored into the budget, have an impact on the financial condition of the University overall Carry 10% rate instead of typical F&A rate Rate cannot be waived on below the line –Impacts Department/PI when Sponsor does not allow charges

18 Above/Below the Line (continued) To be considered Above the Line – –Award document must contain one or more of the following requirements: Specified deliverable (report, hardware, software, data, etc.) Sponsor receives rights to intellectual property Sponsor is main beneficiary of work Sponsor has input on performance of effort Note – Government awards are always Above the Line

19 Above/Below the Line (continued) When Above the Line –Full F&A applied unless Sponsor policy applies. –F&A can be waived if prohibited by Sponsor in written policy SPS makes determination Above or Below the Line. If sponsor states in Guidelines or Agreement that no overhead can be charged to this grant then the 10% will need to come from other sources

20 Working with Foundation Relations Priority Foundations –1 st Tier (always Foundation Relations) –2 nd Tier (SPS or Foundation Relations) –3 rd and 4 th Tier (SPS with cc to Foundation Relations)

21 Non-Monetary Agreements MTA (Material Transfer Agreements) NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreements) RDS (Restricted Data Sets) Referred to as non-monetary agreement because no funding is associated with it.

22 Material Transfer Agreement The transfer of material coming into Cornell Some types of material are: –animals, cells, vector, plants, roots, seeds and trees MTA’s are contracts that cover the transfer of the property (material) from the owner of the property to the user (the researcher)

23 Material Transfer Agreement Can be complicated Agreements to negotiate Can be very restrictive –In use –Who can work with the material –Ownership –Transferring –Patents –Publications –Location

24 Material Transfer Agreements Can negotiate with same sponsor several times. A sponsor can have different agreements because of restriction on the material AUTM (Association of University Transfer Managers) – –UBMTA (Uniform Biological Material Transfer Agreement) – A FREEBIE !

25 Material Transfer Agreement Material leaving Cornell is handled through CCTEC (Cornell Center for Technology, Enterprise and Commercialization) – was CRF –Caution when transferring material that comes into Cornell through SPS and is transferred out through CCTEC

26 Material Transfer Agreement A MTA statement is required from the researcher An electronic copy of a sponsor’s MTA is very helpful Documentation when destroying or returning the material

27 Non-Disclosure Agreement Contracts that covers the transfer of some intellectual property information (tangible and non-tangible) from the discloser of the information to the recipient of the information Also called “Confidentiality Agreement” or “Secrecy Agreement” Frequently complicated documents to negotiate

28 Non-Disclosure Agreement Areas of negotiations that can be problematic - –Intellectual Property –Who can have access to the information –Publications –Length of time information needs to remaining confidential

29 Non-Disclosure Agreement A NDA is sometimes necessary before a researcher can have a meeting with a sponsor SPS encourages faculty to try and use our own NDA. –No negotiation necessary

30 Non-Disclosure Agreement A Form 10 is required An electronic copy of the sponsor’s DNA is very helpful

31 Restricted Data Sets Information that is coming into the University that must be strictly maintained. Often seen in agreements with Dept of Ed and Dept of Census. Protecting information usually about individuals CISER is approved facility for maintaining information.