As you likely already know, NIH grant recipients may make subawards such that another organization performs certain grant-supported research activities as part of the federal award. Subawards are also called consortium agreements. Transactions such as normal grant purchases and fee-for-service arrangements are not considered subawards. A subrecipient (i.e., the second organization) may not make an ancillary subaward (i.e., to a third organization).
Notably, NIAID does not interact with subrecipients. Grant recipients are accountable for arranging the subrecipient’s research, spending, and reporting actions, which must conform to all terms and conditions of a grant award. If a dispute arises between a grant recipient and a subrecipient, NIAID is not responsible for resolving the matter.
Subawards are often arranged in advance of submitting a grant application; doing so can demonstrate to peer reviewers that sufficient expertise and resources have been prepared to conduct the proposed research project. A recipient can also establish a subaward during an award’s project period, although doing so requires NIAID’s prior approval if the arrangement would add a foreign component, be based on fixed amounts, or change the scope of the award.
Some Rules Will Change in October
In a May 19, 2023 Guide notice, NIH announced planned updates to Section 15. Consortium Agreements of the NIH Grants Policy Statement that will go into effect on October 1, 2023. There are four important aspects for you to consider.
- Subawards must be formalized by a written agreement and the document must signed by both parties. The agreement should address negotiated arrangements for fulfilling the grant award’s scientific, administrative, financial, and reporting requirements (refer to 15.2.1 Written Agreement). If the subrecipient is unwilling to sign such a written agreement, then the grant recipient cannot make the subaward.
- For a foreign subrecipient, the written agreement must stipulate that the subrecipient will provide copies of all lab notebooks, data, and documentation that support the research outcomes as described in the progress report. These supporting materials must be provided to the grant recipient with each scientific update (no less than once every 3 months).
- If you arrange a subaward while preparing a grant application, instruct the potential subrecipient to include language in the corresponding letter of support that demonstrates awareness of all applicable grant requirements and willingness to abide by them should an award be made.
- NIH reserves the right to request copies of the written agreement and relevant supporting documentation as needed, as part of its oversight responsibilities. Failure to provide requested documentation may lead to remedies for noncompliance and potential enforcement actions.
NIH published a corresponding notice in the Federal Register, which includes a call for public feedback on the requirement that foreign subrecipients turn over records to the grant recipient at routine intervals. You can submit a response at Notice to Announce NIH Updated Policy Guidance for Subaward/Consortium; the deadline is July 5, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.
We will publish additional, practical instructions in this newsletter as they become available.
Direct any questions about this policy, including implementation concerns, to NIH’s Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration at grantspolicy@nih.gov. For help with matters specific to an active grant, instead contact the award’s listed grants management specialist.
Learn more about subawards on our pages Using Subawards and Subawards (Consortium Agreements) for Grants SOP.