PROCESS TO ESTABLISH NPS PROJECTS THROUGHNational Park Service

THE GREAT LAKES-NORTHERN FOREST CESU

 

To download a copy of these steps in pdf format, click here.

The following information will help to assist when processing a project through the Great Lakes-Northern Forest CESU. Click on the following depending upon your circumstance:
•  Project Initiation: These directions will guide you when establishing a new project.
•  Task Agreement Modification: These directions will guide you when making a change on an existing project.

    • To obtain funding for future year(s), click here.
    • To obtain a change in the effective date(s) of the project, click here.

•  Invoicing Procedures
•  Project Products

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PROJECT INITIATION:

(NOTE: A complete “ Task Agreement ” includes the following: An approved “Documentation for Use of a Cooperative Agreement” form, fully signed Task Agreement Form, a scope of work, and signed Application for Federal Assistance Standard Form (SF-424).

  1. Contact the NPS Research Coordinator, Jerrilyn Thompson, either by email at Jerrilyn_Thompson@nps.gov or by telephone (612-624-3699) for a preliminary discussion about the proposed project.
  2. The NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager and Partner Principal Investigator (PI) collaboratively prepare:

    A) Task Agreement Form (TA Form): The TA Form is the mechanism used for obligating funds, and when fully signed is the official agreement between partners. The MWR Assistance Officer, Tonya Bradley, is the official signatory for the NPS.


    B) Scope of Work (Scope) generally includes the following sections: statement of need/introduction, objectives, methods/procedures, tasks and timeline, products, budget (NOTE: All project budgets include a 17.5% indirect cost rate which goes to the partner institution.), roles and responsibilities, statement of substantial involvement by NPS staff. The Scope MUST include statements relating to project invoicing and project products.

  3. The NPS Research Coordinator will review the TA Form and Scope for completeness and coordinate additional peer review if necessary. When the TA and Scope review is complete, the NPS Research Coordinator will send the Partner PI the final TA Form and Scope for routing through their university for approval and signatures.
  4. NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager must obtain the “Purchase Request Number” and account information, and provide it to the NPS Research Coordinator.
  5. Partner PI must initiate/complete any paperwork required by their internal sponsored projects office, including the standard federal form: SF-424. 

(NOTE: The SF-424 is prepared by either the PI or their sponsored projects office, and should be completed for the amount of money being funded during that fiscal year.)

TA Form Document Routing: TWO complete TA Forms are routed for signatures as follows: (NOTE: Funds are obligated after all signatures have been obtained.)

  • Partner PI
  • Partner Sponsored Projects Administrator
  • NPS Research Coordinator
  • NPS Midwest Region Assistance Officer

(NOTE: The Research Coordinator will initiate the routing process.)

Fully Executed TA Form:

  • The Partner Sponsored Projects Administrator receives an original of the fully executed TA Form and establishes an account so that the project can begin. (NOTE: Only the fully signed TA form is returned to the Partner. All conditions in the Master Cooperative Agreement apply to each Task Agreement.)
  • The CESU NPS Research Coordinator, NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager, and Partner PI receive faxed copies of the fully signed TA Form.

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NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager Responsibilities for Project Initiation:

    • Submit a “Documentation for Use of Cooperative Agreement” form to Research Coordinator for review.  This documentation must be approved by the Assistance Officer to allow the project to proceed as a cooperative agreement through the CESU.
    • Prepare preliminary TA Form.
    • Work with Partner PI to develop project scope.
    • Prepare a “statement of substantial involvement” to be included in the scope document. This statement should have its own heading and identifies how the NPS will ACTIVELY be involved in the project.
    • Initiate Purchase Request process in “IDEAS”

Instructions for entering purchase request into NPS "Procurement Desktop" electronic database, "PD"/"IDEAS"(For first year funding, as soon as budget is finalized go into PD):

  • Description = Project title
  • In the Purchase Request (PR) folder, make sure you specify "Line-item funding" AND that the PR# is a 10 digit number in the correct format ( 4 digit park code + 2 digit fiscal year + 4 digit sequential # provided by originating office ). (NOTE: In the past, alpha numeric codes were used for the PR - this has changed - all numeric codes are now required.)
  • Enter the cost account(s) for the project
  • On the "Approval Sheet", use the "standard option"
  • After the "Requisition Approval" is complete, route to the "Acquisition Inbox". In the "Acquisition Inbox":
    • go to the "Routing Sheet" folder
    • go to the category "TEAM"
    • select "Midwest Acquisitions Inbox" (Leader Deb Imhoff)

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Partner PI Responsibilities for Project Initiation and Project Term:

    • Work with NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager to develop the project scope.
    • Initiate internal project proposal process with your sponsored projects administration office.
    • Prepare federal SF-424 forms for the amount of money being funded during that fiscal year.
    • Sign and route TWO copies of TA Form and scope document to your sponsored projects administration (SPA) office. Instruct SPA to mail to the GLNF CESU NPS Research Coordinator, Jerrilyn Thompson, 115 Green Hall, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, MN, 55108-6112
    • Provide a project status report (generally quarterly) to the NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager prior to or at time of invoicing.
    • Provide electronic copies of interim and final products/reports to the NPS Research Coordinator, Jerrilyn Thompson, at Jerrilyn_Thompson@nps.gov, at the GLNF CESU Office, University of Minnesota - Department of Forest Resources.

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 TASK AGREEMENT MODIFICATION TO OBTAIN FUTURE FUNDING:
The Task Agreement number will remain the same, indicating it is a modification (TA numbering format: Jxxxxxxxxxx/000x); the NPS Purchase Request Number will change.
IF: The original scope remains unchanged and contains budget information for each year of the life of the project, the NPS Research Coordinator will prepare the TA Form and will send it to the Partner PI for routing.
NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager Responsibilities to Obtain Future Funding:

    • Notify the NPS Research Coordinator when 2nd year funds are available
    • Initiate Purchase Request process in “IDEAS”

Instructions for entering a purchase request into the NPS "Procurement Desktop" electronic database, "PD"/"IDEAS" For 2nd Year Funds: Once budget is finalized, instruct the park staff initiating the PR to Go into PD/IDEAS:

  • Description = Project title
  • In the Purchase Request (PR) folder, make sure you specify "Line-item funding" AND that the PR# is a 10 digit number in the correct format ( 4 digit park code + 2 digit fiscal year + 4 digit sequential # provided by originating office ).
  • Enter the cost account(s)
  • Type of action: select "Modification" and in the Comment Section enter the following information: “Continuation under task agreement number (Jxxxxxxxxxx/000x) for <second> year (i.e., fy2005) funds."
  • On the "Approval Sheet", use the "standard option"
  • After the "Requisition Approval" is complete, route to the "Midwest Acquisitions Inbox" (Leader Deb Imhoff). ( NOTE: Tonya Bradley must have access to the PR in order to process the agreement and obligate funds.)

Partner PI Responsibilities to Obtain Future Funding:

    • Initiate internal project proposal process with your sponsored projects administration office.
    • Prepare an SF-424 and forms for the amount of money being funded during that fiscal year.
    • Sign and route TWO copies of TA Form and scope document to sponsored projects administration office, and instruct them to route documents to NPS Research Coordinator.

IF: The original scope changes and/or new budget information is required, the process is similar to the first year process in that the NPS Research Coordinator will instruct the Partner PI when to begin routing the TA Form.

NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager Responsibilities for Scope and/or Budget Changes:

    • Prepare revised TA Form. The abstract will change to reflect the scope changes. Reference the original scope if parts of project remain unchanged.
    • Prepare a new ‘Documentation for Use of a Cooperative Agreement’ form for approval by the Research Coordinator and Assistance Officer.
    • Work with the Partner PI to develop a revised project scope and/or budget.
    • If necessary Prepare a new “statement of substantial involvement” to be included in the scope document.
    • Initiate Purchase Request process in “IDEAS”

Instructions for entering a purchase request into the NPS "Procurement Desktop" electronic database, "PD"/"IDEAS" For 2nd Year Funds: Once budget is finalized, instruct the park staff initiating the PR to Go into PD/IDEAS:

  • Description = Project title
  • In the Purchase Request (PR) folder, make sure you specify "Line-item funding" AND that the PR# is a 10 digit number in the correct format ( 4 digit park code + 2 digit fiscal year + 4 digit sequential # provided by originating office).
  • Enter the cost account(s)
  • Type of action: select "Modification" and in the Comment Section enter the following information: “Continuation under task agreement number (Jxxxxxxxxxx/000x) for <second> year (i.e., fy2005) funds."
  • On the "Approval Sheet", use the "standard option"
  • After the "Requisition Approval" is complete, route to the "Midwest Acquisitions Inbox" (Leader Deb Imhoff). ( NOTE: Tonya Bradley must have access to the PR in order to process the agreement and obligate funds.)

Partner PI Responsibilities for Scope and/or Budget Changes:

    • Initiate internal project proposal process with your sponsored projects administration office.
    • Prepare the SF-424 and forms for the amount of money being funded during that fiscal year.
    • Sign and route TWO copies of the TA Form and scope document to your sponsored projects administration office. Instruct them to route to these documents to the NPS Research Coordinator.

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TASK AGREEMENT MODIFICATION TO CHANGE THE EFFECTIVE PROJECT DATES:
The Partner Sponsored Projects Administration and NPS MWR Assistance Officer signatures are required.

  • An email requesting a change must be submitted by the NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager to the NPS Research Coordinator. Provide a justification for the change and a new scope of work and timeline if necessary.
  • The NPS Research Coordinator will prepare a TA Form for the project and send to the sponsored projects administrator for signature.
  • The sponsored projects administration office must send or fax a signed copy of the TA Form to the NPS MWR Assistance Officer.
  • The NPS MWR Assistance Officer will fax a signed copy to the NPS Research Coordinator, NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager, and Partner PI.

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INVOICING PROCEDURES:

  • Invoices will be submitted for payment on Standard Form SF-270, Request for Advance or Reimbursement, to the NPS Midwest Region Contracting and Procurement Office at the convenience of the University, but not to exceed quarterly. The request for reimbursement will include a breakdown sheet showing cost in each budgetary item and addressed to:

NPS Midwest Region
Contracting and Procurement
Attn: Terry Rusnak, Procurement Technician
601 Riverfront Drive
Omaha, NE 68102
Terrance_Rusnak@nps.gov
Tel: 402-661-1654
Fax: 402-661-1655 or 402-661-1981

  • The NPS Agreement Technical Representative will confirm that adequate progress is being made on the project prior to approving payment.
    (NOTE: We recommend the Partner PI provide the NPS Agreement Technical Representative/Project Manager with a brief written status report each quarter.)
  • Payment will be made via electronic funds transfer directly to the University’s account at their financial institution.
  • Upon completion of the project, the University will submit an SF-269 for final payment request to close out the account and de-obligate any remaining account balance.

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PROJECT PRODUCTS:

  • It is necessary that the GLNF CESU Office at the University of Minnesota receive electronic copies of all related project products upon completion. These products will be posted on the GLNF CESU website or the URL where the project is located (whichever is appropriate). Send electronic copies to Jerrilyn_Thompson@nps.gov.
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