Extramural Agreement Authorities, Restrictions and Limitations 

• Agreement Authorities, Regulations, Terms and Conditions

This table provides a list of the Agency's extramural agreement authorities, applicable Federal regulations, and terms and conditions.

• Indirect Cost Funding Restrictions & Tuition Reimbursement Limitation

Note that all indirect cost rates applied to awards are subject to review and approval of the Agency Authorized Departmental Officer

Extramural Agreement Terms and Conditions

• USDA ARS-ERS-NASS Award Terms and Conditions, Statutory and National Policy Requirements, effective 10/15/2021

  These are the assurances for REE-26 Organization Information, Representations, Assurances & Certifications, C. Assurances. 
  The REE-26 is associated with these instrument types, which is identified at the top of the Award Face Sheet: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement, Cooperative Agreement, Grant Agreement, Research Support Agreement, and the Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement.

• 7 CFR Part 550 - General Administrative Policy for Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreements, effective 10/11/2016

• REE-22— General Provisions, Trust Fund and Reimbursable Cooperative Agreements

• REE-452R— General Provisions, Research Support Agreement

• REE-453— Special Provisions, Grants and Assistance Type Cooperative Agreements For Grant and Cooperative Agreement (previously Assistance-Type Cooperative Agreement) awards in place prior to the implementation of 2 CFR Part 200, Uniform Guidance, on December 26, 2014, and not amended.

• Civil Rights Policy Statements | USDA

• Codified Federal Regulations and OMB Circulars

Requirement to do Business with the Federal Government 

Cooperators are required to have Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and be registered in SAM.GOV.

Cooperators should register or renew their registrations in SAM.GOV as early as possible.  Additional guidance on submitting new, or updating existing entity registration information in SAM can be found at SAM.gov | Home

NOTE: Subrecipients are only required to obtain a UEI, which is necessary for FFATA reporting. Additional details can be found at 2 CFR 25.300.

• Avoid these 7 Common Mistakes when Submitting Documentation for Entity Validation – This is a U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) document addressing some of the most common reasons entity validation documents are not approved for SAM.GOV registrations.
• UEI and SAM Requirements
• USDA Transitioning to the Governments Entity Identifier UEI

Extramural Agreement Performance Reporting Requirements 

• Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) - for awards executed 10/11/2016 and thereafter.  The RPPR has been mandated by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and coordinated by the National Science Foundation.  Recipients must meet mandatory reporting requirements and any other reporting requirements that may have been identified in the award document.  (This is the document found on the National Science Foundation website.)  Reports must also include the provisions set forth in eCFR :: 2 CFR 200.329 -- Monitoring and reporting program performance.

Intellectual Property Reports

• Recipients of federal funding agreements are required to report subject inventions to the federal funding agency and complete other reporting, as required by the Bayh-Dole Act and its implementing regulations.  This is accomplished through iEdison, an interagency online reporting system for recipients of Federal funding agreements.
• Register in iEdison: Registering with iEdison | NIST
• The Agency does not require a Final Invention Statement.
• Within 120 days of the End Date of the Period of Performance, Cooperators shall report by email to the Agency ADO and Agency PI that no inventions or patents resulted from their funding agreement.  The email notification must include the Cooperator Name, Principal Investigator Name, and Federal award identification number (FAIN).

Extramural Agreement Payment

The Cooperator's method of payment is identified on the Award Face Sheet (REE-451). Method of payment will indicate: HHS-PMS or EFT/Treasury Check.

HHS-PMS: 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Payment Management System, Program Support Center (PMS). https://pms.psc.gov/ This is the default method of payment for ARS.

•  About the Program Support Center: https://pms.psc.gov/about-us.html

•  PMS User Guide | HHS PSC FMP Payment Management Services

•  The FFR-FCTR is due to HHS-PMS within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. 

     Quarter      FFR-FCTR Reporting Period         Due Date       

         1st         October 1 through December 31      January 30th

         2nd         January 1 through March 31           April 30th

         3rd          April 1 through June 30                  July 30th

         4th          July 1 through September 30         October 30th 

•  PMS Help Desk | HHS PSC FMP Payment Management Services

EFT/Treasury check: 

The recipient must submit invoices to the REE Agency ADO on the OMB-approved “Request for Advance or Reimbursement” SF 270 (OMB 4040-0012).

•  Additional invoice backup or itemization requirements may be identified by REE Agency in the REE Award, generally in the Statement of Work, “Mutual Agreements” section (7 CFR Part 550 (for Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement), and the REE-452 (for a Research Support Agreement)).

•  Payment is usually made via electronic funds transfer.

 Information for ARS Partners (Sponsors of Funding) 

     Agency Fringe Benefits: 

• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2022)
• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2020-2021) - No change from (2019)
• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2019)
• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2018)
• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2017)
• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2016)
• ARS Fringe Benefits Information (2015)

      ARS Indirect Costs:

• Indirect Program Support Costs Letter for Valued Partners

NOTICE regarding USDA, National Institute for Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) Federal awards to Non-Federal Entities (NFE) with the USDA, Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) as a subrecipient. 

USDA-NIFA awards many grants to NFEs with USDA-ARS identified as a co-Principal Investigator (subrecipient).  As a subrecipient, USDA-ARS shall receive a sub-award from the NFE.  Subject to the eligibility requirements identified in a USDA-NIFA or another Federal funding opportunity announcement, USDA-ARS may apply as a subrecipient of the NFE.  The Agency’s legal authority to enter into a competitive grant proposal for research as a NFE’s subrecipient for which grant funds will be provided to the Agency is 7 USC 3318a. Therefore, a NFE who is a prime recipient of a USDA-NIFA grant or other Federal grant has the authority to issue a sub-award to USDA-ARS.

USDA Non-Discrimination Statement:

• https://www.usda.gov/non-discrimination-statement

Links to Federal Resources 

• Code of Federal Regulations (CFR)

The CFR is a codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the Executive departments and a agencies of the Federal Government

• United States Codes (U.S.C.)

The United States Code is a consolidation and codification by subject matter of the general and permanent laws of the United States.