SUBMISSION PROCEDURES for RESEARCH CONTRACTS and CONSULTANCIES

Introduction

This procedure is intended to be used as a guide for the processing and administration of research contracts and consulting between faculty researchers and external sponsors. The step by step procedure (including tasks, roles and responsibilities) is provided in a table for download below. A full copy of the detrailed procedures can also be downloaded here.  

These procedures were produced to ensure a smooth, co-ordinated and efficient research tendering process that is well supported by Research Services. The procedures request that ALL research tenders to external sponsors be registered onto Themis. This is important because:

It allows the faculty to record all research performance data (important for internal and external auditing – i.e. preparation of materials for the Research Quality Framework); It allows the faculty to monitor progress of the tender (and subsequent contract) allowing researchers and administrators free to focus on project management; It provides the faculty with a current and accurate record of all research contract and consultancy work.

Downloads available below.

1. What is the difference between a research contract and a consultancy?

This document refers predominately to two types of projects (research contract and consultancy) and the difference is further highlighted below. It is the researcher’s responsibility to determine if the project is a research contract or a consultancy.

Further information on ther jargon used in research contracts and consultancy area.

2. What is a tender or RFQ?

The use of the word tender and request for quotation (RFQ) in this document refers to the submission of a schedule of works and price to a sponsor for either a research contract OR a consultancy.

3. How do I find out about tenders, RFQs?

The majority of tenders are submitted either to the Department of Education or Training (in Victoria) or to the Commonwealth Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) but other government bodies or other external organisations may also advertise tender opportunities (e.g. www.tenders.gov.au). Advertisements or letters requesting a quotation/tender (RFQ) received by academic staff (through personal and/or collaborative contacts) should be forwarded to the RDO in Research Services.  In addition, each week you will receive the Research Bulletin which has a list of currently available tenders. If an academic is interested in an advertised tender they can register their interest with the RDO and request further particulars if required (tender documents and draft contracts).
The Faculty welcomes and encourages collaboration between research centres/clusters. If an advertised or received tender is not of entire interest or relevance to your academic group, please pass details to the RDO to ensure all members of the Faculty have the opportunity to respond. For projects requiring collaboration across centres/cluster, the RDO can assist in planning meetings and in providing current information about staff interests and expertise.

4. How do I prepare a tender, RFQ response?

The research team begin drafting a response to the tender and begin a preliminary budget for the project. It is important that all research tenders and quotations assess the true and full cost of the research to be undertaken and seek to request appropriate funding from external sponsors to cover these costs. The RDO can provide background information and a calculator to determine your budget. The RDO can also provide assistance with regards to tender preparation (standard templates and wording). Often a tender or RFQ will require proof of insurance and indemnity. Similarly tenders often require statement of capabilities and individuals CVs. These have been generated for previous proposals and can be obtained from the RDO with modifications to suit the tender requirements. Early involvement of the RDO in the tender submission process will ensure these support services can be provided. Suggestions on further support services are also welcome.

Checklist for academics and administrators which outlines what their resposibilities are in the process of tender submission.

Often tenders are accompanied by draft contracts. Where a draft contract has been issued, the draft contract and the tender guidelines will need to be reviewed by the legal team in MRO. This happens via the Submissions module (in Themis) and needs to be immediately sent to MRO upon the decision to submit a tender or upon receipt of draft contract. The legal team generally require about a week for review. In addition the researcher/agreement administrator should complete the Tender Instruction Checklist to assist the legal team at MRO in determining if the draft contract is suitable for the academics needs (with relation to IP, publishing etc.). The details need to be registered into Themis submissions, with the Tender Checklist and draft contract attached. Some information such as budget etc. cannot be completed due to the early stage in the tender preparation but once these items are entered (and the submission is validated), it can progress to the Under Review status. The RDO should be selected as the administrative reviewer. The RDO will forward the submission to MRO for review. The legal team will prepare a Statement of Departures (any suggested changes to the draft contract) and the RDO can forward this for inclusion in the tender response. If a tender or quotation is submitted without a Statement of Departures, The University of Melbourne is then bound to the terms (i.e. there is no chance to negotiate terms if awarded the contract). For submissions with a draft contract, it is important the submission is received by MRO early for review of the draft contract therefore it is unlikely there is time to add the budget forms and final tender response to the Themis submission. This information can be forwarded to the RDO by email. The RDO will ensure these attachments are included in the Themis submission with MRO.

Flowchart of the steps involved in tender preparation, including draft contracts.

6. What about overheads?

The RDO has prepared a briefing note on overheads and this outlines what can and cannot be changed to research contracts and consulting and what level of overheads is recovered.

7. Do I need to submit on Themis?
At this stage, yes. All tenders or RFQs should be registered on Themis. If no draft contract or standard terms have been provided with the tender documentation, it is the responsibility of the researcher (in consultation with Research Services) to ensure some form of contract is in place. Written confirmation of the project scope, deadlines and budget will ensure the researcher and university are well protected from possible disagreements with the funding sponsor (and in extreme cases, litigation). Further details can be obtained from the RDO and Standard University Agreements are described below.

For tenders without a draft contract, a new submission for the tender/quotation is entered into Themis Attachments should include the RFQ documents, tender response and budget forms. As items are entered the submission can be saved as a Draft until all documentation is finalised and attached. Once all items are entered (and the submission is validated), it can progress to the Under Review status, with the RDO selected as the administrative reviewer. If possible, it is suggested that relevant Themis notifications are forwarded to the RDO to ensure we are aware of any updates to contracts. It is important that the RDO is aware of the advisor allocation as this allows the RDO to have direct contact with the advisor for queries and to follow up on progress.

8. What is administrative review?
Once you have submitted the details of the contract into Themis it is important that the submission is reviewed internally by Research Services (on final validation page select Mandy Mercuri as reviewer. The submission will be reviewed by Research Services to ensure all necessary paperwork is attached and the budget adheres to internal costing and pricing policy. If the RDO has been assisting in the preparation of the tender it is unlikely the administrative review process is lengthy. Once received by Research Services, the RDO will ensure the appropriate internal Faculty authorization is completed [HOD notification and approval].

In addition, an academic reviewer can be assigned and will be provided with a reminder to review and provide comment on the submission. Once they have reviewed the submission, they can return the status to Draft (if changes are required) or forward it to Under Review (for Research Services to review as explained above).

9. Who signs a tender?
In most instances, the tender will require an authorised signature by a person authorised to act on behalf of the university. The RDO will ensure this is obtained from the Director of Financial Operations (Bryan Rossi). Please note that this stage may take a few days. Once authorised, the tender can be submitted. Research Services, in consultation with the researcher will ensure the tender is submitted on time to the appropriate sponsor. Submission may be electronic or by express post and can occur either from RDO or researcher directly.

10. Who signs a contract?

The contract may arrive signed by the sponsor, in which case the document (normally 2 copies) must be co-signed by the authorised university signatory (normally the DVC Research). Research Services will forward the originals (after copying) to MRO to instigate the contract negotiation phase. To assist the legal team in negotiating the contract, a Contracts Checklist will need to be completed by the researcher/agreement administrator and forwarded to the RDO. If the tender process involved a statement of departures and the contract was partly negotiated before submission, then this stage may not take very long. However, if this is the first time the University has sighted the contract, the legal team may need to negotiate some terms. Please allow sufficient time for this process to happen. Ideally works should not commence on a project until a contract is signed. The RDO is responsible for following up on all tender and contracts that have been forwarded to MRO. Feedback regarding the process of your tender/contract will be supplied within one week.

NOTE: When completing the Contract Checklist keep in mind that the deliverables section of the form (REPORTING OBLIGATIONS AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE (Deliverables)) should be as detailed as possible. Please be mindful that the information supplied here is what is included in invoices sent to the sponsor.

11. How does my contract get finalised?

When the tender has been successful, the sponsor will send a contract to either Research Services or the individual researcher. It is important that a copy of this document is forwarded to Research Services.

Once the legal contract/agreement is finalised, the investigator (with assistance of Research Services) needs to complete a Research Agreement Execution Checklist. This checklist is supplied from MRO. A signed copy (referred to as fully executed) of the contract or agreement is forwarded to the researcher and Research Services.  The Themis entry for this project will now receive Fully Executed status and move to Agreements module.

12. How do I get financial reporting and invoicing done?

When the contract is fully executed (signed), Research Services will liaise with either Financial Operations or Financial Services to ensure a project or group code is allocated. A project code is allocated if eligible by Financial Operations on basis of whether the project meets a certain number of criteria. These are outlined in Financial Operations document Project Code Determination (Information found half way down this page under section titled Chart of Accounts) and further information is available in the administration of finances in Themis document produced by Financial Operations.  A group code allows centres/clusters to capture the project financial information at levels that are relevant to them. The RDO will notify the agreement administrator of the allocated budget or group code for the contract/agreement. Themis will then automatically notify the researcher and agreement administrator with relevant reminders regarding milestones and invoicing. Often the RDO will not receive automatically generated Themis notifications (such as advisor allocation notifications and deliverable information). If possible, it is suggested that relevant Themis notifications are forwarded to the RDO to ensure we are aware of any updates to contracts. It is important that the RDO is aware of the advisor allocation as this allows the RDO to have direct contact with the advisor for queries and to follow up on progress. THis stage may require a Budget Form for Research and RDO can assist in preparing this document for Financial Operations.

13. What if there are changes to my contract or agreement?

It isvery important to please contact the RDO if there are any changes to the contract once executed (such as milestones, extensions to due dates) or any other problems or issues. If alterations are agreed verbally and the project continues, there is little legal protection for the researcher/university unless the current contract/agreement reflects the new conditions.

A sponsor may offer to extend or vary an existing research contract. In this instance an amendment can be made to the existing contract rather than begin a new contract (from submission stage). When this occurs, the CI or agreement administrator completes an Amendments checklist and forwards to Research Services. Research Services will then with liaise with MRO to ensure the necessary updates are processed. The same research contract budget codes and contract references will be used. As stated, it is important to document variations as if alerted end dates or millstones are used there is little legal protection for the researcher/university.

14. What is a standard university agreement?

Sometimes a sponsor will request a quote directly from a researcher. It is still important to ensure the standard procedure is followed. This ensures the contract negotiation and signing stage will be completed in good time. If the sponsor does not offer a draft contract, it is the responsibility of the researcher (in consultation with Research Services) to ensure some form of contract is in place. This ensures the expectations of both parties are formalised and reduces possibility of any disagreements once the contract/consultancy is completed. There are two Standard University Agreements available (one for research contract and one for a consultancy). A similar process is followed as above (details are entered into Themis and forwarded to RDO for review). The Standard University Agreement can be authorised by the HOD and the RDO will arrange for this to occur and for the agreement to be sent to sponsor.

15. What is the process for a DET panel contract?

The Faculty of Education has a standing offer agreement for professional services with the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET). This means that DET can offer RFQ to Faculty researchers (who had been nominated on the original contract) without going through the normal tendering process. Research Services will circulate to staff a notice of a RFQ or directly contact an appropriate researcher to respond to the RFQ from DET. The researcher writes a response and submits the proposal to Research Services who will submit the tender response to DET. A Themis submission is still required for HOD approval. If awarded, DET will issue a purchase order contract which is essentially a letter stating the conditions of the award. Once this is lodged on Themis, the project can commence.  

16. Where do I go for help?

In most cases, the first point of call should be the Research Services contact, Mandy Mercuri, Research Development Officer. Resources to assist in proposal preparation can be supplied such as:

• Standard daily rates for DET Education and Training Research Panel (schedule 11).
• University and Faculty Costing and Pricing of Research Contracts policies.
• Salary costing calculators
• Recommended daily rates for researchers (based on salary rate) for consultancies.
• Standard RFQ response templates Copies of researcher CVs, centre/cluster capability statements, copies of insurance, ABN details etc.

If there are some other templates or resources that you think would be valuable please suggest them to the RDO.

Downloads (password protected)

1. Jargon Buster
2. Notes on overheads and pricing
3. Faculty of Education pricing calculator 
4. Full copy of submission procedures
5. Checklist for academics and agreement administrators
6. Flowchart of Procedures
7. Notes on administration in Themis (financial)