Responsibility: KE Contracting Services

Prepared by: Subawards Functional Group

Updated: November 21, 2025

Incoming subaward: another entity to ASU

A proposal where a subaward will be issued to ASU should be developed in ERA and follow the same steps as any other proposal submitted by ASU for funding. Subaward proposals should not be submitted to the other entity without KE-SP (KE Sponsored Project’s) endorsement. Problems can arise later such as budget items that were not properly budgeted or delays in being able to issue an agreement between ASU and the other entity because of a lack of appropriate internal reviews and approvals. Noncompliance with proposal development work instructions can potentially impact the ability of the ASU Principal Investigator (PI) to begin their work on the project in a timely manner.

Outgoing subaward: ASU to another entity

Considerations when selecting a subrecipient

There are several things that the PI should consider. These include:

• The technical expertise (qualifications) of the subrecipient PI and institution
• Past experiences with the subrecipient PI and institution
• Their availability to do the project during the anticipated project period
• The cost of the proposed subaward
• The type of entity

Documents and registrations required at proposal time

A detailed list of documents and registrations required at proposal time to ensure a smooth subaward process upon award can be found under Subrecipient Information. Additional documents may be required by the sponsor per the funding announcement.

Research Administrators (RAs) should obtain the name and contact information of the subrecipient’s administrative contact and work with them to receive all required documents.

It’s recommended to provide the subrecipient’s administrative contact with the internal due date that all information should be completed by (no less than five (5) business days). This will help ensure that the ASU proposal as a whole can be circulated internally and submitted on time to the sponsor.

My subrecipient has never worked with ASU before.  How can I help them become familiar with our institutional requirements?

The Subawards Team has prepared information specifically to assist subrecipients with administrative and fiscal management responsibilities resulting from subawards issued by ASU. Please provide your colleagues at the subrecipient institution with a link to the Subrecipient Information page. RAs can also share the Subawards Welcome Packet (editable Word or PDF version) found here.

The importance of obtaining subrecipient institutional approval at proposal time

It might be tempting to await notification of a forthcoming award prior to obtaining official subrecipient documents, but delaying document collection can cause several issues:

• The subrecipient can decline to participate in the project if they did not sign off on their institution’s inclusion in the proposal.
• The budget may not be accurate, potentially impacting the ASU PI who may need to pay additional costs out of their own project to meet the subrecipient’s institutional policies.
• The subaward issuance may be significantly delayed while the RA seeks the required documents.
• If the subrecipient is new to federal support, registering and waiting approvals for SAM registration can result in significant delays
• If the research includes human or animal subjects, the subrecipient will need IRB/IACUC approvals, which can result in delays.
• If the project is sponsored by a PHS-funded agency, subrecipients will need to have a compliant PHS FCOI Certification. Institutions that haven’t received PHS-funded project support will likely need to create this policy which can take additional time.
• If the subrecipient’s work occurs early in the project, delays in getting the executed subaward agreement with the subrecipient PI’s institution can significantly hinder the ASU PI’s work.