To help determine if a subaward should be issued from the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) or if a services agreement should be issued from Purchasing Services, consider the nature of the relationship with the external party. The Uniform Guidance §200.331 outlines the differences between Subrecipients (subawards) and Contractors (services agreements).
Note that all characteristics described below may not be present and good judgment should be used in determining the appropriate third party relationship.
| Characteristics of Subrecipients vs. Contractors |
| Subrecipient (subawards issued by Office of Sponsored Programs) |
Contractor* (service agreements issued by Purchasing Services) |
|---|---|
| Performs substantive, programmatic work in an intellectually significant way | Performs specific services ancillary to the operation of the sponsored project |
| Has an identified Principal Investigator (PI) who serves as the Pitt co-investigator on an externally-funded award | Does not have much or any independent decision making for design and implementation of the sponsored project |
| Responsible for adherence to terms and conditions flowed down from Pitt's external sponsor | Responsible for deliverables, that if not satisfactorily completed, may result in withholding of payment or requirement to redo the work |
| Performs work that may result in intellectual property development or publishable results, including co-authorship | Has no expectation of retaining intellectual property or authoring/co-authoring publications |
| *Includes individuals working as independent consultants |
How to initiate a request for a new subaward (or an amendment of an existing subaward) or services agreement:
If the third party relationship has the characteristics of a subrecipient, submit an electronic subaward request to OSP.
If the third party relationship has the characteristics of a contractor, go to Purchasing Services to initiate a services agreement.
See the OSP subawards page for more information.