University of California, Santa Barbara

Office of Research - Sponsored Projects & Procurement Services

Subrecipient vs. Contractor Determination Sheet

The following checklist should be filled out and analyzed in order to determine whether the agreement between UCSB and the party receiving Federal program funds constitutes a Subaward or a procurement transaction.

If the determination is that of a Subrecipient, please submit this form to the UCSB Sponsored Projects Office at proposal stage (before submission of proposal). If the determination is that of a Vendor/Contractor, please send this sheet and the contractor's Scope of Work to contracts@bfs.ucsb.edu before, or at the same time as you are submitting your proposal to UCSB Sponsored Projects Office.

Project & Party Details
Check all that apply: Subrecipient
Check all that apply: Contractor

All of the characteristics listed above might not be present in all cases. Therefore, judgment must be used in classifying the agreement as either a subaward or a procurement transaction. The substance of the relationship is more important than the form or name of the agreement.

Please note Subawards cannot be made to individuals. If the scope of work is research, see if the individual can provide the research through their home institution. If not, the scope of work will need to be modified to fit a procurement transaction.

Final Determination

Based on your analysis of the above checklist results, the organization is determined to be a:

Principal Investigator Authorization