APRIL 15, 2014 SERIES 4, SESSION 4 OF AAPLS – APPLICANTS & ADMINISTRATORS PREAWARD LUNCHEON SERIES International Collaborations

Presenters Zoya Davis-Hamilton, CRA, EdD Senior Associate Director, Research Administration (ORA) Office of the Vice Provost for Research Elizabeth Marino-Costello, MS, RD Program Manager Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy Shibani Ghosh, PhD Adjunct Assistant Professor Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy Associate Director Nutrition Innovation Lab: Asia & Africa

Session Overview Pros and cons of collaborating with entities located abroad Subcontract as mechanism of managing a relationship with international organization Evaluating risks of potential collaborations International partnership experience of the Nutrition Innovation Lab at the Friedman School

Why Collaborate with Foreign Organizations? Foreign entity has expertise on the ground that is not available to Tufts Project can only be accomplished if local organizations are performing the work Unique expertise is available from a collaborator who is employed by a foreign organization where s/he will perform the work Award conditions require involvement of foreign partners Sponsors are interested in collaborative and international proposals

Risks of International Collaborations Laws, rules and regulations, and business practices are different in foreign countries US requirements are not easily understood Compliance is harder to monitor and ascertain Legal recourse may be unenforceable or too costly Tufts will have to absorb any unallowable expenditures by the subcontractor or any payments for which work was not performed

Subrecipient Risk Analysis Subcontracts with foreign entities are never low risk Medium risk: Canada or US territories; established non-profit experienced with US-funded projects; fixed-price by deliverables rather than cost reimbursable; no advance payments; previous positive experience with Tufts; small amount of funds High risk: most other foreign subcontracts See Subrecipient Risk Analysis Chart for more detailed guidelines and examples of risk analysis

Tufts Policy-Audits Conducted by External Agencies High risk activities have higher risk of audit Tufts policy outlines procedures of communication between departments when projects have external audits: links/policy-on-audits-conducted-by-external- regulatory-bodies-and-agencies/ links/policy-on-audits-conducted-by-external- regulatory-bodies-and-agencies/ Use Audit and Management Advisory Services (AMAS) as an internal resource

Establishing a Subcontract Subcontracts are prepared, negotiated and signed by ORA Allow additional time for drafting of foreign subcontracts because customized terms are necessary Information needed by ORA:  Award number  Internal account number (received from Sponsored Accounting via INOA)  Subcontract start and end dates  Name and contact information of the subcontract’s Institutional Official  Subcontract PI name and contact information  Subcontract budget  Subcontract scope of work

Nutrition Innovation Lab-Asia & Africa-Background Around 10 in-country partner contracts and Memorandums of Understanding Three in-country managers Student stipends and tuition Tuition to in-country institutions Tuition to third country institutions In-country business Tufts research through an in-country partner with whom we have a separate contract

International Collaborations – Developing a Partnership Questions: How do we identify collaborators abroad? How do we know and can be sure our collaborators will do the work and will not abscond with the funds? How do we interact and monitor our in-country partners? Best Practices?

International Collaborations-Challenges Cultural differences Cash handling Audits/if any Require explanations for all purchases Differences between the government rules in the US and in foreign countries (human subjects, IP, customs)

Collaboration Situations – Stories from the Field Fund consultant in advance for work in-country Leftover cash and no receipts Received “cash projections” on the invoice and not actual expenses with a standard Tufts contract Receipt for one glue stick Request to stay the weekend after training session

Receipts in another language

Receipt for 600 Liters Water

Handouts Subrecipient Risk Analysis Chart Tufts Sponsored Research Roles & Responsibilities Matrix - Subrecipient Monitoring Sample subcontract language

Nutrition Innovation Lab – Tools for Vetting Partners Questions from the internal audit of Nutrition Innovation Lab Sample subcontract language Subrecipient Prequalifying Questionnaire (2013 draft, final document not yet released by ORA)

Conclusions International collaborations are about developing a partnership Foreign collaborations are higher risk than domestic ones Make every effort to thoroughly evaluate your foreign collaborators before entering into binding agreements with them Monitor performance of foreign partners throughout the duration of the project with the appropriate level of involvement