UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON
UNIVERSITY of WISCONSIN-MADISON

Outgoing Subawards

Page Updated: March 30th, 2023

What is an outgoing subaward?

The OMB Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200) define a subaward as "an award of financial assistance in the form of money, or property in lieu of money, made under an award by a recipient to an eligible subrecipient or by a subrecipient to a lower tier subrecipient."

A subrecipient means the legal entity to which a subaward is made and which is accountable to the recipient for the use of the funds provided. A subaward may be provided through any form of legal agreement, including an agreement that UW-Madison considers a contract.

For the purposes of this webpage, the terms "subaward", "subcontract" and "subagreement" are used interchangeably.

Subrecipient Selection Process

The Principal Investigator (PI) is in the best position to select the subrecipient that will be included in the proposal. The selection is based on the potential subrecipient's technical experience and the ability to perform the portion of the scope of work being proposed to the Sponsor.

Proper attention should be paid to the relationship. There are many ways to work with third parties. An outline of the factors in the determination of the relationship are listed below.

RSP does not issue agreements for all third party relationships. The information below serves as a guide to determining the appropriate relationship/agreement. There is also a Service Agreement Website, which will assist campus users in finding the right starting place for fulfilling their external service needs.

Subaward v. Vendor v. Consultant v. Re-Grant

Subaward Vendor Consultant Re-Grant
Intellectually significant portion of programmatic effort Goods and Services provided within normal business operations Service provided within normal business operation When the UW is charged with dispensing awarded funds to various grantees
Responsible for programmatic decision making No programmatic decision making Provides an expert opinion A panel/committee is formed to issue an RFP and select grantees from the proposals received
Work performed by the subrecipient's personnel, using their personnel at their facilities Operates in a competitive environment No programmatic decision making, but uses knowledge and expertise in field The grantees are selected by panel to perform a project of their own design and direction.
Responsible for same regulatory and compliance requirements as prime recipient Fee for Service No stake in outcome of project

* RSP issues agreements for Subaward and Re-grant relationships. Vendor and consulting agreements (typically ASSAs) are issued by Purchasing Services.

** Need further assistance in making the appropriate determination? Use this checklist or check out the Service Agreement Website.

Shared Grants

A Shared Grant is essentially a "subagreement" or "re-grant" to another UW System institution. The Shared Grant Transfer of Extramural Funds applies only when the transfer of funds is related to joint participation by two or more UW Institutions in completing the scope of work of an extramural project (subaward) or if the other UW institution has submitted a proposal to an RFP issued by UW-Madison (re-grant).

A Shared Grant relationship may be determined at the time the formal grant proposal is submitted or subsequent to the award being issued. In either instance, both institutions should have knowledge of the transaction.

When UW-Madison is subbing to another UW-System school, that subaward will be excluded from the F&A base calculated for UW-Madison. The UW-System School that is receiving the subaward may include F&A at the sponsor approved rate.

Subaward Setup Preparation for Conversion to Workday

Starting April 3, 2023, there is a new Subaward Setup Preparation