(4) The journals involved are not operated for profit; and

(5) The author does not receive an emolument for the research paper.

(b) A credit line shall be included in any such publication to indicate that the research has been funded, in whole or in part, by DOE. A patent check shall be made in advance of release to the public of any material prepared for publication.

(c) The contractor or principal investigator may publish contract data as approved by DOE in accordance with the provisions of the Patent Rights clause.

917.7111 Extension of contracts.

917.7111-1 Renewal proposals.

(a) Where additional time, beyond the current expiration date, is required to continue or complete the work under a special research contract, the contractor shall be requested to submit six copies of its renewal proposal to the contracting officer not later than four months nor earlier than six months before the date of expiration of the contract. If a renewal proposal has not been received four months prior to the contract expiration date, the contracting officer shall determine if a renewal proposal is to be submitted and take necessary

action for contract close-out or processing the renewal proposal as appropriate.

(b) The renewal proposal shall outline and justify a program and budget for the succeeding year, showing in detail the estimated cost of the project, together with an indication of the items for which the contractor is requesting reimbursement or proportionate cost-sharing, the percentage of any such costs to be shared by the contractor, and any items to be contributed solely by the contractor. It should include the same type of information as that required for initial proposals, or reference this information to the extent contained in earlier proposals. Any contemplated change in program or scope for the ensuing period should be justified and explained clearly, and the cost estimates and other items should be based upon past experience. Any deviation from

the contract which has not received DOE approval should be explained in detail.

(c) The renewal proposal should inIclude a financial statement of the work under the current contract including:

(1) Total project costs for the current period to date, indicating the amount chargeable to DOE;

(2) An estimate of the total costs to be incurred during the remainder of the current contract period, indicating the amount chargeable to DOE;

(3) The anticipated difference, if any, between the accumulated support cost at the end of the current contract period and the cumulative Government ceiling; and

(4) A footnote to show the estimated amount of outstanding commitments for property at the end of the current contract period.

917.7111-2 Evaluation of requests for renewals.

(a) Requests for renewals are required to be evaluated by the appropriate program office in the light of:

(1) Progress reports submitted by the contractor;

(2) Research results published in scientific media;

(3) Field visits to the research site by technical personnel;

(4) Contractor's performance and progress;

(5) Continued relevance to DOE's mission;

(6) Scientific and technical merit of the research and a comparison of the relative importance of the project in relation to other research proposals, proposed and ongoing; and (7) Availability of funds.

(b) Requests for renewals generally follow the same process of review and evaluation of technical aspects, funding, and preparation, and execution of the contract, and administration as a new project, although less use would normally be made of outside consultants.

(c) Contracts authorized by program offices shall not be extended for a new term or on an interim basis or modified in scope without specific por authorization from the appropriate pro

gram office except as provided at 917.7111-3(c).

917.7111-3 Authorization to renew.

(a) When a determination has been made to extend a special research contract, the sponsoring program office is required to provide the contracting officer with notification 60 days in advance of expiration to permit an orderly completion of the extension before the expiration date. The authorizing directive generally should include the same type of information provided in the authorization of a new contract, including pertinent information concerning any changes in scope of work, level of funding, scheduled dates for completion of certain phases of work, target dates for submission of report, etc. The directive will describe the results of the prior funding period and what is expected to be accomplished in the new funding period.

(b) An authorization to renew a special research contract shall state the estimated total cost of items to be included under Article A-II(a) of Appendix A for the renewal period, the percentage of such costs to be reimbursed by DOE, and the amount of new funds authorized to increase the Government ceiling.

(c) The field office that has administrative jurisdiction of an existing contract may extend the term of an existing contract without authorization from the cognizant program office, provided that:

(1) Any such extension does not provide for an increase in DOE's monetary obligation under the contract;

(2) The scope of work is not revised by such extension;

(3) Such extension is necessary to permit completion of the scope of work authorized by Headquarters, including preparation of required reports; and

(4) Any such extension will not be for a period in excess of 90 days.

917.7112 Administration.

917.7112-1 Responsibilities of program offices.

(a) Technical representatives of program offices will make, to the extent practicable, periodic site visits. A writ

ten summary of the results of all visits will be prepared and filed promptly. Copies of such reports shall be forwarded to the contracting officer whenever they contain information of administrative interest or other information pertinent to the assigned responsibilities of the Contracting Activity. These visits are for the purpose of: (1) Determining that the research is being performed in accordance with the contract;

(2) Ascertaining that schedules are being met to ensure timely submission of interim and final reports;

(3) Determining whether the project has adequate facilities, equipment, and scientific, technical, and other personnel for the specified research;

(4) Ascertaining that any equipment requested for purchase is not reasonably available within the institution;

(5) Assisting the principal investigator to clarify specific technical aspects as work progresses;

(6) Exploring future budget requirements, but without making any commitments as to future funding level; and

(7) Obtaining information regarding the status of work for administrative and technical purposes of the program sponsor.

(b) Program offices will provide guidance to the contracting offices in connection with:

(1) Any contractor requests for approval of proposed deviations or other actions requiring DOE approval which are brought to their attention by Contracting Activity, or which have been brought to their attention through site visits, progress reports, or other agreements or contacts with the contractor;

(2) Increasing the obligational authority under any special research contracts;

(3) Whether or not required contractor reports are satisfactory; and

(4) The renewal or close-out of contracts. Instructions should be provided at least four weeks prior to the expiration date of a contract.

917.7112-2 Responsibilities of field offices. Field offices are responsible for the following:

(a) Assisting Headquarters program offices, as requested, in carrying out the functions set forth in 917.7112-1;

(b) Performing the necessary administrative functions required by the terms of the contract, and making payments in accordance with the contract;

(c) Bringing to the attention of the appropriate Headquarters offices:

(1) Any contractor requests for approval which are required by the contract;

(2) The upcoming expiration date of a contract whenever required instructions on renewal or close-out have not been received on a timely basis;

(3) Any request by a contractor to revise an established stipulated salary support amount, and any notification by a contractor that is reducing the charges under the stipulated salary support procedure (see 917.7106-4(c)); and

(d) Determining whether to use Pub. L. 95-224 or the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended, as the authority for vesting title to personal property in the contractor when authorized to do so pursuant at 917.7106-7(c)(6). Pub. L. 95-224 shall be used to the maximum extent consistent with the authority contained therein.

917.7112-3 Payments under special research contracts.

(a) Payments will be made to contractors under a special research contract in accordance with its provisions (see Article B-XI of 917.7113). The letter-of-credit procedures, as provided for in Treasury Fiscal Requirements Manual, Part 6, Chapter 2000, shall be used to the maximum extent feasible when the total of DOE contracts and agreements with advance financing to an institution provides for a continuing annual level of support of $120,000 or more. When the total DOE contracts and agreements with advance financing provide for a continuing annual level of support of less than $120,000, DOE shall make advance payments covering the first 90 percent of the amount of the new funds as set forth in Article A-III(b) of the contract. The contracting officer may revise Article B-XI of 917.7113, regarding the timing and amounts of ad

vance payments, in accordance with the following provisions.

(1) The advance payments may be made at times and in amounts determined appropriate provided that no single payment will exceed 45 percent of the new funds as set forth in Article A-III(b) of the contract for the pertinent period except on the basis of a request from the contractor evidencing that a specified amount is required in connection with expenditures or commitments made under the contract.

(2) The timing and amounts of payments should be determined on the basis of limiting the amount of advances to the extent feasible, consistent with effective and efficient administration and performance of the research, for the purpose of slowing the rate of cash withdrawals from the Treasury and thereby decreasing the financing costs to the Federal Government.

(3) In determining the timing and amounts of payments, consideration should be given to funds already available to the contractor, the expected expenditures under the contract, any information from the contractor regarding the need for funds, and the administrative cost of additional pay

ments.

(b) If the contract is to be extended for an additional period of performance with additional funding, there may be paid at the time of execution of the extension, the amount withheld from the expiring period which, when added to the payments already made, does not exceed the new funds set forth in Article A-III(b) for the expiring period. The final payment under both of the procedures referred to in paragraph (a) of this section shall be made on the basis of determinations by the contracting officer that: (1) The required reports are satisfactory; (2) the research was performed in accordance with the provisions of the contract; (3) an additional payment is required to reimburse for all costs chargeable to DOE; and (4) an appropriate patent clearance has been obtained. If necessary in making these determinations, the contracting officer should obtain advice from technical personnel. It is expected that the annual progress and final reports and

the contractor's certified cost statements will provide an adequate basis for making the required determinations. If the determinations cannot be made on the basis of the reports, visits to and other contacts with the research project during the contract period, and the contractor's certified statements, and the contracting officer determines that the contractor has not satisfied the contractual undertakings, appropriate steps shall be taken to protect the Government's interest. 917.7112-4 Approval of deviations in per

formance and other specified actions. (a) Contractors should be advised to inform the contracting officer as soon as possible of contemplated deviations and other proposed actions which require DOE approval. Specific deviations and approval actions include the following:

(1) A change of the principal investigator, co-investigator, or other key people as might be named in the contract, or continuation of the research work for any period in excess of three months without direction by an approved principal investigator. The principal investigator may increase or decrease the amount of effort which he devotes to the project without obtaining the contracting officer's approval; however, a representative of the institution shall consult with the appropriate Headquarters program representative if the principal investigator plans to, or becomes aware that he will, devote substantially less effort to the work than anticipated in Article A-I. The purpose of such consultation will be to determine what effect, if any, the anticipated change will have on the research work and what modification to the contract, if any, may be appropriate.

(2) A change in the phenomenon or phenomena under study (i.e., broad category of the research under the contract) requires the specific written approval of the contracting officer; ordinarily such changes, if approved by the contracting officer, will be accomplished through a new contract or modification. The contractor may change the specific objectives in the research work described in the contract, provided it gives the contracting

officer prompt notification of such changes; and the contractor may continue to follow the new objectives while DOE determines whether it wishes to continue the program under the changed approach. Significant changes in methods or procedures employed in performing the research should be reported in the first technical progress report issued subsequent to the changes.

(3) Acquisition of an item of equipment not itemized in the contract, the cost of which is $1,000 of more. Approval is not required if the equipment is merely a different model of an item listed in the contract. If plant and capital equipment funds are provided for the acquisition of equipment, with title to be vested in the Government, the total cost of such equipment shall not exceed the amount provided for such equipment unless prior approval has been obtained.

(4) Purchase of any general-purpose equipment, such as office equipment or furniture, air conditioning, etc., not specifically provided for in 917.7113, Appendix A of the contract will require prior approval.

(5) Incurring costs for items set forth in Article A-II(a), during the pertinent contract period stated in 917.7113, in Appendix A, in excess of 110 percent of the total estimated cost specified in Article A-III. Charges to DOE for any such costs incurred with approval of the contracting officer shall also be subject to the limitations of Article III.

(6) Any proposed foreign travel (defined as any travel outside of Canada and the United States and its territories and possessions) if requires prior approval.

(7) Expenditures for domestic travel if such expenditures exceed the amount shown in Article-II(a) for such travel by $500 or by 25 percent, whichever is greater, requires prior approval.

(8) Acquisition of excess personal property.

(9) Such other items as, in the judgment of the program office or the contracting officer, in specific cases need to be separately identified in the contract. (When plant and capital equipment funds are provided for the acqui

sition of Government property, the program offices shall require that such funds be used only for acquiring the equipment designated in the contract, unless prior approval has been obtained.)

(b) The contracting officer will present (in any manner considered appropriate) all such requests for approval to the cognizant program office for consideration, and will issue such authorizations and modifications under the contract as are necessary and appropriate.

(c) Contractors should be required to provide such statements of the project's financial and program status as are believed necessary for considering requests for approval.

917.7112-5 Auditing.

(a) As a part of the management of the research program accomplished through special research contracts, auditing of participating institutions shall be initiated by the contracting officers administering the contracts. The prupose of this audit program is to corroborate that the participating institutions are properly using the funds and personal property provided by the contracts, and to identify any changes needed in the arrangement or in related administrative requirements in order to further the effectiveness of the contracts in accomplishing their intended programmatic research purposes. In addition to these general objectives, the principal specific objectives of the audits of special research contracts should determine that:

(1) The amounts as submitted in the contractor's certified cost statement are accurate and were incurred in connection with the work;

(2) Satisfactory documentary evidence is available in support of the costs incurred;

(3) DOE approval was obtained where required; and

(4) The proportion of total cost charged to DOE is in accordance with the percentage stipulated in the contract.

(b) The review of special research contracts should be made on a selective basis with the selected sample including all special research contracts where the contracting officer request

ed that an audit be performed pursuant to the provisions of 917.7112-3(b).

(c) In the event of termination prior to the expiration date of a special research contract, unless the costs incurred by the contractor are relatively small or can be otherwise adequately corroborated, an audit should be made to determine the nature of the costs and other relevant data for use in arriving at a termination settlement.

(d) While audit is not a prerequisite to payment under a contract, the contracting officer, before authorizing final payment, should consider the necessity for an audit to determine whether the charges to the contract are proper. If any such audits result in findings which may be of value to program offices in their determinations regarding selection and renewal of research projects, such findings should be made available to them.

917.7112-6 Security.

As a general rule, investigators should not need access to classified information in the conduct of basic research funded by DOE. The contractor should be advised when, in the judgment of the principal investigator, information is developed which should be classified, the DOE field office must be notified immediately. When, in the opinion of the cognizant program office, the work moves into a classified area, prompt steps shall be taken to notify the contractor and appropriate field office.

917.7113 Format for Special Research Contracts (SRC) with educational institutions/or other nonprofit institutions. Contract No.

This contract is effective as of the ——, 19-, between the United States of America (hereinafter referred to as the "Government"), acting throught the U.S. Department of Energy (hereinafter referred to as the "DOE"), and (hereinafter re

ferred to as the "Contractor").

RECITALS

DOE wishes to have the Contractor perform certain research. This contract states the terms and conditions under which the Contractor agrees to perform the work.

This contract is authorized by the Department of Energy Organization Act of 1977 and other applicable law.