When the University is awarded more than the federal threshold (currently 750,000) in funding, it is required to submit a Small Business Subcontracting Plan to the funding organization. Situations requiring that a plan be developed:
- A federal agency directly awards a prime contract to the University. That agency requires a Small Business Subcontracting Plan be submitted to the agency, either as part of the initial proposal package, or after the award agreement has been initiated.
- Another institution or company is a prime contractor to a federal agency and awards a subcontract exceeding the threshold, $750,000, to the University. UC Berkeley must submit and have a Small Business Subcontracting Plan approved by the funder, before an award agreement can be finalized between UC Berkeley and the prime contractor or subcontract institution.
- Another institution is a subcontractor to another prime contractor and initiates a subcontract with the University. The University must submit a plan to that subcontractor.
When the University is a contractor and is subcontracting to other institutions where the total is greater than $750,000, the University must also obtain and accept Small Business Subcontracting Plans from any such institutions.
REFERENCE: Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR)
The Federal Acquisition Regulations require one of the following actions during the project duration:
In the event a federally funded project is not able to spend with a small business for which it included goals in a Small Business Subcontracting Plan, the Principal Investigator/project team must: proceed with one of the following actions.
- Explain in writing the reason spend could not occur during a federal reporting period and describe what efforts will be made to purchase from that business in the future. The Principal Investigator must notify the funder of these circumstances.This information also needs to be shared with the Supplier Diversity Program Manager, filing Individual Subcontracting Reports (ISR) in the Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System. See the Required Monitoring & Reporting webpage to learn more about these reports.
- If spend will not occur at all with the business, explain the reason why in writing and document the name of an alternate small business to provide the goods or services. If another small business cannot be used, document why, and the name of the large business from which the goods or services will be purchased. The PI/Project Team must then contact the Contracting Officer to explain the situation.
