Research Administrator Monthly Update: Independent Contractor Policy and Process

Research Administrator Monthly November 15, 2018

2

Agenda Independent Contractor/Consultant Policy and Process Update Announcements and Updates Administrative and Clerical Salaries as Direct Expenses on Grants New Budget Template 3

Independent Contractor/Consultant vs. Subrecipient Overview Sometimes a portion of the work on Sponsored Projects will need to be completed by an independent contractor / consultant, or entity outside of BMC. Sponsored Projects are for work to be implemented in exchange for something of value, such as data, results, intellectual property, and/or mandatory reporting. We as a team representing BMC need to identify what the type of arrangement is most appropriate: 1. 2. 3. Independent Contractor/Consultant (ICC) Vendor Subrecipient WHY? There are regulations, both State and Federal This will in turn determine the type of legal agreement required to document the relationship. State: M.G.L. Ch. 149 s. 148B Federal: CFR) PART 200 UNIFORM ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS, COST PRINCIPLES, AND AUDIT REQUIREMENTS FOR FEDERAL AWARDS, 200.330 - Subrecipient and contractor determinations. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e- This is a significant decision because it determines the allocation of responsibilities and influences the appropriate application of indirect cost rates. 4

Independent Contractor/Consultant vs. Subrecipient Policy Flow HR Determination How to Proceed HIPAA Determination Pre Award Determination Once HR, Pre- Award and Privacy Officer make their determinations the appropriate documents can be initiated. HR will determine the legal status: Employee vs Independent Contractor Pre-Award will determine if Subrecipient vs Consultant vs Vendor The Privacy Officer will determine if a Business Associates Agreement is needed Any contested determinations will be brought to the Compliance Officer for resolution. 5

Pre-Award Department Completes Independent Contractor Request Form and Submits to Human Resources Department Completes Subrecipient vs Contractor Guidance and Determination Form and Uploads both forms into InfoEd Human Resources Make a Determination if the provider is an Employee or an Independent Contractor If HR Determines provider to be an Independent Contractor Research Administration Makes a Determination if the provider is a ICC / Subrecipient / Vendor 6

Pre-Award If RA Determines provider to be an ICC If RA Determines provider to be a Subrecipient If RA Determines provider to be a Vendor Department Department Department Updates the Budget with provider as Consultant Updates the Budget with provider as Other Costs Work with Subrecipient to initiate a LOI, budget, budget justification, Scope of Work, etc., and include as a Subcontract on the budget Department Uploads all documents into InfoEd for review Research Administration Reviews proposal application for submission 7

Post-Award If RA Determines provider to be an ICC If RA Determines provider to be a Vendor If RA Determines provider to be a Subrecipient Department Department Completes HIPAA Business Associate Agreement Web Link Submits the BMC Subcontract Request Form Web Link Vendor Works with Purchasing to become a BMC Vendor Privacy Officer / HIPAA Makes a Determination if a BAA agreement needs to be included Research Administration Negotiates Subcontract and Creates PO to submit to Purchasing Department Completes the Independent Contractor / Consultant Agreement Form and includes the BAA if needed Vendor Submits Invoices to Research Finance for processing. Department Creates PO for invoices and submits to AP for payment Research Finance Reviews forms, gets signatures, and Creates PO to submit to Purchasing 8

Case Study Do they work at an institution? #1 BMC is the Prime with a Subcontract to John Hopkins School of Medicine Sub PI Bi sketch is included in the application Sub PI justification - will be involved with the review of data, data analysis, dissemination, and manuscript preparation What are your thoughts? Independent Contractor or Subcontract #2 Grant application was submitted without vendor as a consultant Consultants biosketch was submitted as part of the application. BMC was awarded the NIH grant Independent Contractor Request Form was submitted for Provider HR approved as Independent Contractor (IC) Department submitted ICC agreement with passport ID, PO, and scope of work to Research Finance Scope of work had: Advise on study design, assist with publishing Will they publish? Do they publish? What are your thoughts? Independent Contractor or Subcontract 9

Announcements and Updates New Employees: Mahara Pinheiro, Senior Grant Administrator Justin Freeman, Business Analyst Roberto Cabrera, Clinical Trial Financial Analyst Yves Marcelin-Henry, Executive Assistant Matteus Demelo, Grants Administrator Mina Zeng, Research Financial Analyst Simonia Belnavis, Grant Accountant Promotions: Joanna Senteno Manager, Research Finance Sandy Lok Senior Clinical Trial Financial Analyst Mike Porreca Senior Clinical Trial Financial Analyst Sheril Application Analyst II Chris Sylvester Manager, Sponsored Programs 10

Announcements and Updates Infor (Lawson update) Space Survey and Upcoming Trainings Thursday, November 15th 1:00 3:00 pm Gambro 387A Monday, November 19th 2:00 4:00 pm Shapiro 1 Tuesday, November 20th 12:30-2:30 pm EBRC (650 Albany) 714 11

Announcements and Updates Web Site Updates Directory and Portfolio Listing (About Us & Directory) Federal Negotiated Rates (Education & External Links / Resources) Subrecipient vs Contractor Guidance and Determination form (Forms) Budget Template (Forms) FY17 A-133 Audit (Education & External Links / Resources) Research Administration Meetings (It s own Icon) 12

InfoEd Update Pre Award Accomplishments Today Over 95% active accounts have NOA s - Uploaded All Subcontract awards for Active grants - Uploaded All Subcontract awards going forward are being uploaded All Subcontract going out are being uploaded Naming Convention NOA SUBIN SUBIN SUBOUT Planning for Tomorrow Working with InfoEd to build project development (PD) for grant submission routing Need departments for beta testing Naming Conventions for Grant Submissions GUIDELINES (for Non system 2 system (S2S)) BUDGET (please use the new excel BMC Budget Template) SUB-UCLA (complete package received from subrecipient) APPLICATION (full application submitted to sponsor other then S2S, including the complete subcontract submission to the Prime) Look Up Awarded Grants By Activity Number InfoEd calls it the Ref Account Number RIS may need to assist in setup 13

InfoEd Update Research Information Systems Accomplishments Today Data Cleanup Expired user accounts deactivated/removed (839); Sponsor names corrected/updated (68) / duplicates removed (20); spanning across (1200) proposals; Developed internal processes to better manage data integrity for users and sponsors Paperless Process Conversion: Post-award information to be entered into InfoEd for new accounts going forward. Test Environment established (for training and testing) Planning for Tomorrow Uploading of financial documentation: Invoices, Financial Reports, Budgets (Research Finance) Populating currently active summary-level award data Subaward entities naming cleanup Single Sign-On Integration (BMC Login) 14

Administrative and Clerical Salaries The salaries of administrative and clerical staff should normally be treated as indirect (F&A) costs. Direct charging of these costs may be appropriate only if ALL of the following conditions are met: Administrative or clerical services are integral to a project or activity (Integral means the services are essential, vital or fundamental to the project or activity). Tip: If a person expends 10-15% effort or less on an award, it is very hard to argue that he/she is integral to the project Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity Such costs are explicitly included in the budget or have the prior written approval of the Federal awarding agency The costs are not also recovered as indirect costs 15

Administrative and Clerical Salaries Typically direct charging of administrative or clerical salaries is only done on larger program P30/P50 and U54 awards, when specifically identified thru the administrative core portion of the award. Just because the administrative and clerical salary is in a sponsor approved budget does not make it allowable. If a role has administrative and research responsibilities be sure that an appropriate portion of that person s salary is charged to a non-research account. 16

Administrative and Clerical Salaries: Unallowable Examples Examples of unallowable duties: Assisting with proposal processing Monitoring projects for fiscal and administrative compliance Assisting with general correspondence internally and with collaborators Assisting with technical/program reports Ordering supplies/equipment Managing human resource responsibilities Making meeting/travel arrangements for the Principle Investigator/Students Real Examples from OIG Audits: In 2016 OIG requested a refund of $1.3M from the University of Louisville for unallowable expenses, which included transactions for salary costs for administrative and clerical work such as ordering supplies, reconciling accounts In 2014 OIG requested a refund of $6.4M from the University of South Florida for unallowable expenses, which included transactions for salary costs for administrative and clerical work such as ordering supplies, performing general information technology work, and supervising data collections. In 2013 OIG requested a refund of $1.4M from the University of Colorado Denver for unallowable expenses, which included salary costs for managing all project budgets, reconciling fiscal reports to funding agencies, correcting posting errors, and tracking personnel budget allocations. 17