Subaward Proposal Development

If a sponsored project requires a Subrecipient’s collaboration, the UC Berkeley Principal Investigator (PI), with help from their Research Administrator, should follow the steps below during proposal development.

Ensure the collaborator is truly a Subrecipient

Before budgeting for a Subrecipient in your research proposal, check to make sure the Subrecipient would not more appropriately be budgeted as a supplier/vendor. Budgeting suppliers/vendors incorrectly as Subrecipients can negatively impact the project’s direct costs later on. For help determining if your collaborator is a true Subrecipient, use the Subrecipient vs. Supplier Wizard.

Obtain a subaward proposal

Ask the Subrecipient to provide a subaward proposal, containing, at minimum:

A Subrecipient Commitment Form. Use the Subrecipient Commitment Form Guidance to determine the appropriate type of commitment form.
A Statement of Work that includes a clear description of the work the Subrecipient will perform, including proposed timelines and deliverables, if applicable. The Statement of Work should clearly demonstrate that the Subrecipient has a collaborative relationship with UC Berkeley, involving programmatic decision making.
A detailed budget and budget justification that includes:
- The Subrecipient’s direct and indirect costs, calculated using the appropriate facilities and administrative (F&A) and fringe benefit rates, based on the sponsor’s requirements.
- Any committed cost-sharing, including amounts and justification description.
- Detailed cost categories sufficient to satisfy the sponsor’s requirements as well as UC Berkeley’s needs for expenditure monitoring.
Any other Subrecipient documents required by the sponsor. These may include:
- A biographical sketch for each of the Subrecipient’s key personnel.
- Other Support documentation for each of the Subrecipient’s key personnel.
- Descriptions of Subrecipient Facilities & Equipment that will be available to the project.
- Other forms or documentation required of Subrecipients by the sponsor. Consult the sponsor’s Request for Proposal for this information.

Integrate the Subrecipient’s information into your research proposal

Use the information and materials provided by the Subrecipient to complete your proposal, according to the sponsor’s Request for Proposal.

Complete any required UC Berkeley forms

Provide the following additional UC Berkeley forms, as applicable:

Request to Subaward the Majority of Project Funds Form: Provide this form if 75% or more of the Prime Award funds will be obligated to a single Subrecipient. This form is not required for Multiple Campus Awards (MCAs) to other UC entities.
Fair and Reasonable Cost Analysis and Sole Source Justification: Subawards under Contracts: Provide this form for each Subrecipient, if the Prime Award will be a contract. To meet audit requirements, SPO must retain this with the subaward documentation.
Statement of Economic Interests for Principal Investigators (Form 700-U); Addendum to Statement of Economic Interests for Principal Investigators: If the sponsor is a non-governmental agency, provide these forms, completed by the UC Berkeley PI, to determine if the UC Berkeley PI has a financial interest in the Subrecipient.

Upload the Subrecipient documents into Phoebe

Compile an individual subaward proposal package, for each Subrecipient, and upload it into Phoebe at the time of proposal submission. Also upload any required UC Berkeley forms.

SPO will not endorse a research proposal until this documentation is on file in Phoebe. Discuss any exceptions to the above requirements with the SPO CGO handling the proposal. SPO may be unable to submit a proposal if you do not provide appropriate and acceptable documentation in a timely manner.

For the next step in the process, see Subaward Pre-Award or Just-in-Time.

If you have questions, please contact the Subaward Team at subcontracts@berkeley.edu. If you have a suggestion on how we might improve SPO’s subaward services, please drop it in the Subaward Suggestion Box.