Processing of Center Membership Proposals:

 

Center Membership Proposals: 

• Has the sponsor already agreed to fund this project?  This question should always be answered NO.
• Poposal type:  in PINS should be ‘new’ for new members of a Center or ‘renewal’ for members who already have a current agreement with NCSU, however, it is due to expire soon.

Uploading in PINS – The Department is responsible to upload all required documents in  PINS  including: 

• A current and completed copy of the standard membership agreement. The agreement should reference the company’s name (i.e., IBM, DuPont, etc.), address, and membership type (full member, or associate member).
• A  copy of the Center’s By-Laws.

      NCSU’s documentation concerning the reduced F&A rate of 9.5% TDC.

Renewals – If the action requested is a renewal and there are no significant changes in the membership agreement (rather than extending the period of membership and/or changing the amount of annual dues) since it was originally signed, the University will issue a short amendment to the agreement which will be prepared by SPARCS. In this case, there is no need to upload the standard membership agreement in PINS.

If however, the agreement has been revised since original signing, then the Department will need to upload in PINS the revised agreement.

Project Title – The title in PINS should reference the name of the Center and the level of membership; i.e., ‘SiSoC Membership, Full Member’, or ‘SiWEDS Membership, Associate Member’, if there are multiple levels of membership (full, associate, etc.) or just ‘ATEC Membership’, in case where there is only one level of membership. There is no need to add the name of the Sponsor to the project title.

F&A in PINS – The F&A in PINS should indicate the reduced rate of 9.5% TDC – and you should select ‘D-Center Memberships/Projects’ and use the PINS code XXCM-08-000-TDC.

Budget and Budget Justification – The budget and budget justification is not a required document for these types of proposals, therefore, not applicable.

Contact Information – The PINS record should include an updated valid sponsor’s contact information including; name, address, telephone number, and email. SPARCS needs this information, which is provided by the Department, for mailing of the partially executed membership agreement document to the company. SPARCS preference is to send documentation electronically since we are going paperless.  If this option for some serious reason is not acceptable by the Sponsor please indicate so under comments.

In very rare cases, when the Center Director considers it more appropriate to do so, the Department may send and/or hand-deliver the agreement to the company sponsor. If the Center Director elects to deliver the agreement to the sponsor and wishes to include a Cover Letter, then this Cover Letter should be uploaded in PINS as well.  This exception method of sending an agreement  should be noted in the PINS comments section.

Period of Performance – Normally should be entered in PINS based on expectation that sponsor’s intention is to remain a member for three (3) years, in accordance with the terms and conditions of NCSU standard Center membership agreement. Please note, this is not a firm commitment on Sponsor’s part and a member may not agree upfront to pay for membership for 3 years. A member has the option for early termination if they so desire.

Basic membership year is based on a calendar year, January 01 through December 31 or fiscal year, July 01 through June 30 as may be the case for a particular Center. This is determined when the Center is established and is not subject to change unless there are special circumstances and approvals in advance. If a company joins after January 01 or Jul 01, depending on the membership year of a particular Center, then the membership dues are prorated as well as the agreement dates.

For example, Period of Performance (PoP) would be January 01, 2011 through December 2013 or July 01, 2010 through June 30, 2013.

 If Center’s basic year is calendar and company is joining on May 1, 2010, the PoP will be 05/01/2010 through 12/31/2013 and the total membership amount in PINS would be calculated as follows considering that annual dues are $25K :

$16,667  prorated for partial Year 01 ($25,000/12months  X 8 months )

+ $25,000 for Year 02

+ $25,000 for Year 03

for a total of $66,667.

If Center’s basic year is fiscal and company is joining on May 01, 2010 the PoP would be 05/01/2010 through 06/30/2013 and the total amount in PINS would be calculated in the following manner:

$4,167 prorated for partial Year 01 ( $25,000/12months X 2 months)

+ $25,000 for Year 02

+ $25,000 Year 03

for a total of $54,167.

Start date should not be different than the 1st of the month.

Abstract – This is represented by a brief summary of the Center’s mission and how it is related to cooperation with  the industry partner.

If you have any questions, please direct them to Rosette J. Tavolacci, CRA, Assistant Director, College of Engineering, Office of Research Administration at (919) 515-701 1 (carbon copy Patrick Hayes, Director)

Revised: August 2010