Sec. 108. Management and oversight of large facilities
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The Director shall maintain a Large Facilities Office within the Office of the Director. The functions of the Large Facilities Office shall be to support the research directorates in the development, implementation, and assessment of major multi-user research facilities, including by— serving as the Foundation’s primary resource for all policy or process issues related to the development and implementation of major multi-user research facilities; serving as a Foundation-wide resource on project management, including providing expert assistance on nonscientific and nontechnical aspects of project planning, budgeting, implementation, management, and oversight; coordinating and collaborating with research directorates to share best management practices and lessons learned from prior projects; and assessing projects during preconstruction and construction phases for cost and schedule risk.
The Director shall appoint a senior agency official within the Office of the Director whose primary responsibility is oversight of major multi-user research facilities. The duties of this official shall include— oversight of the development, construction, and operation of major multi-user research facilities across the Foundation; in collaboration with the directors of the research directorates and other senior agency officials as appropriate, ensuring that the requirements of section 14(a) of the National Science Foundation Authorization Act of 2002 are satisfied; serving as a liaison to the National Science Board for approval and oversight of major multi-user research facilities; and periodically reviewing and updating as necessary Foundation policies and guidelines for the development and construction of major multi-user research facilities.
The Director shall ensure that the Foundation’s polices for developing and maintaining major multi-user research facility construction costs are consistent with the best practices described in the March 2009 Government Accountability Office Report GAO–09–3SP, or any successor report thereto, and the Uniform Guidance in 2 C.F.R. part 200. The Director shall ensure that a cost proposal audit is conducted on any project with a total project cost over $50,000,000, in accordance with Government Auditing Standards as established in Government Accountability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or any successor report thereto.
The Director must certify in writing that all issues identified by the auditor, including any finding of unjustified or questionable costs items, are corrected before the Foundation may execute a construction agreement with respect to the audited project. The Director shall transmit each certification made under subparagraph
(B)to the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. The Director shall ensure that an incurred cost submission and audit is conducted annually on any project with a total project cost over $50,000,000, in accordance with Government Auditing Standards as established in Government Accountability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or any successor report thereto. The Foundation shall not make any award which provides for contributions to a contingency reserve held or managed by the awardee, or any similar provision made for events the occurrence of which cannot be foretold with certainty as to time or intensity, or with an assurance of their happening. For budgeting purposes, the Foundation shall estimate costs associated with unforeseen events that could occur, and shall retain the funds allocated for such purposes except as provided in this paragraph. The Foundation shall update its NSF Grant Policy Manual and any other applicable guidance for contingencies on major multi-user research facilities with regard to estimating, monitoring, and accounting for contingency expenditures. The policy updated under subparagraph
(B)shall require that the Foundation— may only include contingency amounts in an award made to a recipient to the extent that those amounts are for occurrences that are foreseeable with certainty as to time, intensity, or the assurance of them happening and are supported by verifiable cost data; shall retain control over funds budgeted for unforeseeable events and release those funds only when the awardee demonstrates a bona fide need for the funds supported by verifiable cost data; and shall ensure that supporting cost data described in clauses
(i)and
(ii)are sufficient to establish that the amounts are reasonable, allocable, and allowable. The policy updated under subparagraph
(B)shall require that an awardee shall— provide verifiable cost data for any amounts proposed for contingencies; support requests for the release of contingency funds with evidence of a bona fide need and verifiable cost data to establish that the amounts sought are reasonable, allocable, and allowable; and record and report all contingency expenditures to the Foundation. The Foundation shall work with awardees for whom awards with contingency provisions have been made before the date of enactment of this Act— to determine if any of their use of contingency funds represents out-of-scope changes for which Foundation’s prior written approval was not obtained; and if out-of-scope changes are found, to identify any financial action that may be appropriate. In this paragraph, the term management fee means a portion of an award made by the Foundation for the purpose of covering ordinary and necessary business expenses necessary to maintain operational stability which are not otherwise allowable under Cost Principles Uniform Guidance in 2 C.F.R. part 200, Subpart E, or any successor regulation thereto. The Foundation may provide management fees under an award only if the awardee has demonstrated that it has limited or no other financial resources for covering the expenses for which the management fees are sought. The Foundation shall require award applicants to provide income and financial information covering a period of no less than three prior years (or in the case of an entity established less than three years prior to the entity’s application date, the period beginning on the date of establishment and ending on the application date), including cash on hand and net asset information, in support of a request for management fees. The Foundation shall also require awardees to report to the Foundation, within 30 days of receipt, any sources of non-Federal funds received in excess of $50,000 during the award period. The Foundation shall require awardees to track and report to the Foundation annually all expenses reimbursed or otherwise paid for with management fee funds, in accordance with Federal accounting practices as established in Government Accountability Office Report GAO–12–331G, or any successor report thereto. The Inspector General of the Foundation may audit any Foundation award for compliance with this paragraph. An awardee may not use management fees for— costs allowable under Cost Principles Uniform Guidance in 2 C.F.R. part 200, Subpart E, or any successor regulation thereto; alcoholic beverages; tickets to concerts, or sporting and other entertainment events; vacation or other travel for nonbusiness purposes; charitable contributions; social or sporting club memberships; meals for nonbusiness purposes; luxury or personal items; lobbying, as described in the Uniform Guidance at 2 C.F.R. 200.450; or any other purpose the Foundation determines is inappropriate. The Foundation shall review management fee usage under each Foundation award on at least an annual basis for compliance with this paragraph and the Foundation’s Large Facilities Manual. Not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director shall submit to Congress a report describing the Foundation’s policies for developing and managing major multi-user research facility construction costs, including a description of any aspects of the policies that diverge from the best practices recommended in Government Accountability Office Report GAO–09–3SP, or any successor report thereto, and the Uniform Guidance in 2 C.F.R. part 200.
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- 2 CFR 200
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