Effective for federally funded proposals and awards received on or after July 1, 2025, personnel from UNC Health and other entities under the UNC Health umbrella may contribute to the scientific work of a UNC-Chapel Hill (UNC) award, with UNC Health serving as a subrecipient.
UNC Health Subrecipient Eligibility
Phase I: UNC Health staff at owned entities who provide expertise on federally funded clinical research can participate in UNC’s prime awards as a subrecipient.
Contracting entity should be the University of North Carolina Health Care System.
Managed entities are out of scope until Phase II is implemented.
Compliance and Documentation
UNC Health complies with all federal subrecipient requirements, including (but not limited to):
- Conflict of Interest (COI) compliance: UNC Health entities without a PHS-compliant COI policy will fall under UNC’s policy for the purposes of federal grants
- SAM.gov registration: Active UEI and certifications
- Audit documentation: Annual audit questionnaires and supporting documentation maintained
- Indirect Cost Rate: Utilize the de minimis rate of 15% unless otherwise negotiated
Proposal Responsibilities
- Department completes the UNC Health Collaboration Survey for initial contact and intake.
- Select “Grant Application Request” and choose sites for collaboration.
- Ensure survey is completed prior to the five business day deadline for proposal administrative components.
- Survey alerts the UNC Health Office of Clinical Research (OCR) to initiate the appropriate connections and next steps, as applicable.
- UNC Health subawards will require the same documentation as all other sponsors.
- Pre-Award Research Office & Support (PROS) is responsible for the development of proposals.
- Nhandi Kenion (Nhandi_Kenion@med.unc.edu) is the point of contact for pre-award, Tamala Gray (Tamala_Gray@med.unc.edu) is the point of contact for post-award questions.
- Expected response time is 1 – 2 business days.
Signature Authority
Chief Administrative Officer and President, Statewide Region, Tammy Scarborough (Tammy.Scarborough@unchealth.unc.edu), is the designated signatory for agreements where the University of North Carolina Health Care System is the contracting entity.
Process for Executing UNC Health Subagreements:
- Send the documents to the Office of Clinical Research “OCR” for signature.
- OCR will ensure the summary and any other pertinent information is attached.
- OCR will forward to UNC Health Legal.
- UNC Health Legal will initiate the DocuSign for the UNC Health signatory.
UNC Health Service Providers
Not Eligible as Subrecipient: UNC Health personnel who will provide services on the project and/or are not eligible to serve as a principal investigator must be proposed as a service provider.
UNC Proposal Budget: UNC Health service providers should be budgeted under “Other Direct Costs.”
UNC Budget Justification/Scope of Work: UNC Health service providers should not be assigned research responsibilities, and no indication of effort (e.g., percent effort or person months) should be included.
Procedure: School of Medicine Sponsored Programs Office Guidance for the Participation of UNC Health Employees or Residents on UNC Sponsored Projects.
Resources and Contacts
- Nhandi Kenion (Nhandi_Kenion@med.unc.edu) is the point of contact for pre-award questions.
- Tamala Gray (Tamala_Gray@med.unc.edu) is the point of contact for post-award questions.
- For all other UNC Health clinical research needs, please contact Kerry Finch (kerry.finch@unchealth.unc.edu) and Hollie Wooten (Hollie.Wooten@unchealth.unc.edu).