Testing Services Agreement (TSA) and Fabrication Services Agreement (FSA)
Testing Services Agreements (TSA) and Fabrication Services Agreements (FSA) are contracts that offer external firms and agencies the opportunity to capitalize on the occasional unused capacity of specialized services and facilities of the University. These services and facilities include but are not limited to panels of trained subject-area experts, machine shops, specialized scientific and analytic instrumentation. These services are driven by protocols and specifications normally established by external firms and contain no experimental design.
Budget
There is no cap on the budget. Examples of budget items in a services agreement would be labor and/or lab supplies.
F&A Rate
No F&A will be assessed unless the sponsor wants to negotiate Terms and Conditions. When the Terms and Conditions are negotiated, the F&A rate will be 33.6%.
Agreement Templates
The agreement terms of testing services are non-negotiable. Below are approved contract forms:
- Wilson College of Textiles Fabrication & Testing Services Order Form (SOF) for agreements up to a maximum of $50,000
- Testing Services Agreement (TSA) Template
- Fabrication Services Agreement (FSA) Template
SOF Procedure
The SOF is a simplified version of TSA or FSA and the Wilson College of Textiles can execute the agreement up to a maximum of $50,000 if no changes to the terms and conditions are required. A PINS record should not be submitted for a simplified, standard SOF of $50,000 or less. If changes are required, the agreement cannot be executed by the College and will need to be submitted in PINS for review and execution by SPARCS.
- The PI should share the SOF template with the client and strongly encourage them to accept the terms and conditions as written. If changes are requested, the PI should remind the client that the University may assess an additional fee of 33.6% on top of the service center’s billing and if acceptable, the agreement should be marked up.
- If the client is in agreement with the terms, the PI should complete the template by filling in ALL information on the top of page one. This includes adding the client’s information to the form and preparing a statement of work included under Description of Requested Services. It is important to ensure that this statement does not indicate research. Terms that might be an indication of research include, but are not limited to: develop, development, research, experiment, IP, interpret, interpretation of data, follow on testing, create, or consult.
- Once the client signs and returns the SOF to the PI, the PI should then forward the contract to an appropriate authorized signatory as described in the SOF template for execution. The authorized signatory should verify all fields on page one of the agreement are correctly filled out and that no research is being performed. Once the review is complete and the information deemed accurate, the authorized signatory can execute the agreement on page two.
- A PDF copy of the executed contract should be sent to tex-billing@ncsu.edu and Jennifer Clark (jmclark9@ncsu.edu). The Business Office will log it in a Google Doc and upload a copy to the Google Drive. Funding for standard SOPs are administered via ledger 3-accounts. When the client is to be invoiced, the PI needs to submit a statement to tex-billing@ncsu.edu to initiate the invoice. The statement should be supported by daily logs kept to record facility use. The Business Office will bill the client upon receiving the statement from the PI.
SOF Modification Procedure
Modifications to existing SOFS should be requested using the form below:
Modifications can include additional services or service changes, period of performance changes, increases/decreases in funding, and/or performing service unit changes. Please note that the total amount (inclusive of all modifications) of each SOF cannot exceed $50,000.
TSA/FSA Procedure
A TSA or FSA template must be used if the Not to Exceed Cost of the agreement is above $50,000.
- The PI should share the TSA or FSA template with the client. This action would allow the PI to confirm in advance that the client is accepting of the University’s terms and conditions contained in the TSA or FSA template and thus may avoid miscommunication further in the process.
- If the client is in agreement with the terms, the PI should complete the template by adding the client’s information to the form and preparing a statement of work which will be identified as Attachment A and appended to the TSA or FSA. It is important to ensure that the Statement of Work does not indicate research. Terms that might be an indication: develop, research, experiment, development, IP, interpret, interpretation of data, follow on testing, create, consult. In addition, an extensive statement of work needs to be scrutinized as TSA statements of work are typically simple. Also at minimum, the statement of work should contain at least one sentence stating how much the work will cost.
- Once the client signs and returns the TSA or FSA to the PI, the PI should then create and route a PINS. The partially-executed TSA or FSA (including the statement of work) should be attached to the PINS record. The PINS record will be routed to Sponsored Programs. An authorized official from Sponsored Programs will review and sign the document. Sponsored Programs will email the fully-executed TSA or FSA to the client, the PI, Jennifer Clark (jmclark9@ncsu.edu), and tex-billing@ncsu.edu. Funding for standard TSAs and FSAs are administered via ledger 3-accounts. When the client is to be invoiced, the PI needs to submit a statement to tex-billing@ncsu.edu to initiate the invoice process. A contact from the business office will bill the client upon receiving an invoice from the PI.
Testing vs. Research
Testing and fabrication work capitalizes on the occasional unused capacity of specialized services and facilities of the University. Testing services involve the following activities: panels of trained subject-area experts, machine shops, and specialized scientific and analytic instrumentation. These services are driven by protocols and specifications normally established by external firms and contain no experimental design. The University will conduct the work in the exact manner described in the protocol without alteration and/or use of the University intellectual capital. Conversely, research efforts involve “the systematic investigation into and study of materials and sources in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions” utilizing the University’s intellectual capital. The statements of work for these efforts are typically written by the University and may also be co-authored by the sponsor funding the work. Scopes of work may be altered during the term of the project as needed based on the results generated.