Consultants are entities (individuals or companies) receiving a portion of the funds from a grant as an expert advisor or goods/service provider paid by the hour or day for the work they do on the project. Consultants do not maintain rights to IP or authorship for published work from the sponsored project. While a consultant may contribute their expertise on a project, they cannot be named as a Co-PI or Co-Director, nor can they be considered as "key personnel." Consultant fees may be paid only to experts not employed by Georgia State who provide a unique contribution to the project. In addition, prior approval must be obtained in order for any University System of Georgia and State of Georgia employees to be eligible to receive compensation for consulting services on sponsored projects.
When listing a consultant in the budget, include all their travel expenses and supplies as line items under the "consultant" subheading. Since they are not employed by Georgia State, their travel and supplies cannot be listed under the normal "travel" and "material and supplies.” Consultants fees are generally listed as a daily/weekly rate or a flat fee for services. Typically, consultants should supply a letter of agreement to be included in the application. For more details, visit Georgia State's Policy on Payments to Independent Contractors/Consultants page found on the Office of Financial Operations Payments to Independent Contractors/Consultants website. [back to top]
Subcontracts are made to outside entities (subcontractors or subrecipients) that have substantive, programmatic involvement in a specific portion of the proposed project with a separate, itemized budget and specific performance objectives. Subcontractors maintain access to any intellectual property they develop on the project and to publication authorship for their work on the project.
Proposals that include a subcontract must be accompanied by a letter of intent from the authorized signatory of the subcontractor outlining their intent to participate in the program, and their agreement to submit to regular monitoring of their subcontract by Georgia State (see GSU's Subrecipient Monitoring Policy). This letter should be accompanied by a description of the scope of work that the subcontractor will conduct towards the project, an itemized budget specifying any cost share to be provided by the subcontractor, and include a copy of their institutions's F&A rate agreement.
Each subcontractor must have their own itemized budget including salaries, fringe benefits, equipment, travel, supplies, other direct costs, indirect costs and cost sharing. Subaward budgets should use the F&A rate set by the subcontractor's institution. Any subcontracts from other universities must be routed through the subcontracting institution's approval process to obtain the necessary approvals prior to routing the proposal through GSU.
Finally, the PI of the proposal must submit to OSP a statement disclosing any direct or indirect financial interest in the subcontractor's organization (see Georgia State's Individual Conflict of Commitment and Conflict of Interest Policy and Financial Disclosures in Sponsored Instruction, Research, or Service Activities Policy). [back to top]
Proposals that include subcontracts must be accompanied by a letter of intent from the authorized signatory of the subcontractor of their intent to participate in the program, their agreement to the proposed budget and any cost sharing, and their agreement to submit to regular monitoring of their subcontract by Georgia State's (see the Subrecipient Monitoring Policy). The statement should also include specific language explaining how cost sharing will be documented and should include a statement of work and an estimate of the time required to complete the work. This letter should be accompanied by a description of the scope of work that the subcontractor will conduct towards the project, an itemized budget specifying any cost share to be provided by the subcontractor, and include the negotiated indirect costs rate agreement of the subcontractor's institution. Any subcontracts from other universities must be routed through the subcontracting institution's approval process to obtain the necessary approvals prior to routing the proposal through Georgia State. [back to top]