13-900 DOE Laboratory Contract and Grant Authority

13-910 Delegation of Contract and Grant Authority to Laboratory Directors

Referencing the authority granted in Standing Order 100.4(dd), the President delegated to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Director the authority to solicit and accept or execute certain extramural grants or contracts. The delegations state:

The authority granted to the President in the attached Standing Order 100.4(dd) is delegated to you to the extent described below, as it pertains to extramural grants and contracts for research, scholarly or professional training, or for public service programs relating either to research or to scholarly or professional training not exceeding $5,000,000 in direct costs in any one project year, solicited or received from sponsors other than the Department of Energy or any successor agency to it, by which each sponsor is willing to have the work performed consistent with the terms of [the DOE prime] contract. For purposes of this delegation, the term grant includes grants from private sources, but excludes gifts as defined in the Policy Guidelines for Review of Gifts/Grants for Research, issued by the President on July 8, 1980.

13-920 Reservation of Laboratory Director’s Contract and Grant Authority by Board of Regents

The above-referenced delegations of contract and grant authority by the President to the Laboratory Director specifically limits the Director's authority to the limitations outlined in Standing Order 100.4(dd) in effect at the time of the delegation. Therefore, even if the power of the President may be increased through subsequent amendment to Standing Order 100.4(dd), the Laboratory Director's authority does not change without a new delegation.  See Section 13-510 for the listing of contract conditions requiring Regental approval.

If a project is within the President's authority to execute (see 13-510) but exceeds the LBNL Director's delegated authority, LBNL must obtain Presidential approval and execution of the agreement.  It is not necessary to obtain Regental approval in this case.  However, if the project is beyond the President's authority, it must have Regental approval before execution by the President and subsequent delegation to the Laboratory.

13-930 Administrative Restrictions on Laboratory Director’s Contract and Grant Authority

The delegation of contract and grant authority to LBNL Director contains the following additional restrictions:

Within the scope of this delegation, you are authorized to solicit and accept or execute such grants and contracts, including the signing of related documents as necessary, except those grants, contracts, or related documents solicited or accepted on behalf of The Regents of the University of California which:

  1. contain provisions which fall within the restrictions and limitations set forth in Standing Order 100.4(dd); however, notwithstanding Standing Order 100.4(dd)(9), you may execute State of California Standard Agreements which include an indemnity clause under which the University assumes liability for the conduct of persons other than University personnel;
  2. include an arrangement for indirect costs which changes the rates or the bases thereof as promulgated by the Office of the President; or
  3. require approval by the President or designee pursuant to specific policy memoranda issued from time to time.

Laboratory procedures for preparation of proposals for extramural support and acceptance of grants or execution of contracts, including reporting of your contract and grant activities, shall be in accordance with the University of California Contract and Grant Manual and with supplementary instructions which may be issued by the Office of the President.

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This authority may be redelegated to specific designees, but may not be further redelegated.

13-940 Review for Legal Sufficiency

The delegation of contract and grant authority from the President to the Laboratory Director states:

A critical factor in processing contracts and grants is the review for legal sufficiency. Responsibility for accomplishing that review must be assigned specifically as a part of any redelegation by you. Attached is a copy of a pertinent Office of General Counsel memorandum dated March 27, 1974 which provides guidance on this particular point. Whenever there is any question as to whether a particular grant or contract requires legal review, General Counsel's advice shall be obtained.

See Sections 13-331 and 13-334 for the role of the Office of General Counsel, and Section 13-333 for the text of the Checklist used for reviewing for legal sufficiency.

It is the responsibility of all Laboratory Contract and Grant Officers who have delegated authority to sign agreements to make the determination as to whether the agreement requires advice from the Office of General Counsel, and if it does, to obtain this advice prior to execution.