office of the senior procurement official, Headquarters, not later than three months nor earlier than six months before the date of ex

piration of the agreement. The submission of a renewal request shall be at the exclusive initiative of the contractor. Renewal proposals shall not be requested or informally stimulated by ERDA employees.

(b) The renewal proposal should 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 agreement which has not received ERDA approval, should be explained in detail.

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

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

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

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

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

9-4.5111-2 Evaluation of requests for renewals.

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

(1) progress report 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 ERDA'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 evalution of technical aspects and funding, preparation, and execution of the agreement, and administration as a new project, although less use would normally be made of outside consultants.

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

9-4.5111-3 Authorization to renew.

(a) When a determination has been made to extend an agreement, the sponsoring program office shall provide the field office with notification four weeks in advance of expiration to permit an orderly completion of the extension agreement before the expiration date. The authorizing directive should include generally the same type of information provided in the authorization of a new agreement 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 reports, etc. The directive will describe the results of the prior support period and what is expected to be accomplished in the new support period.

(b) An authorization to renew a special research support agreement 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 ERDA, and the amount of new funds authorized to increase the support ceiling.

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

(1)

any such extension does not provide for an increase in ERDA's monetary obligation under the agreement;

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

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

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

9-4.5112 Administration.

9-4.5112-1 Responsibilities of Program Offices.

(a) Technical representatives of program offices will make, to the extent practicable, periodic site visits. A written summary of the results of all visits will be prepared and filed promptly. Copies of such reports shall be forwarded to the field office whenever they contain information of administrative intere.t or other information pertinent to the assigned responsibilities of the field office. These visits are for the purpose of:

(1) determining that the research is being performed in accordance with the agreement;

(2) ascertaining that schedules are being met to insure

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 fo the program sponsor.

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

90-136 - 77-10

(1) any contractor requests for approval of proposed deviations or other actions requiring ERDA approval which are brought to their attention by field offices, 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 support agreement;

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

(4) The renewal or closeout of agreements. Instructions should be provided at least four weeks prior to the expiration date of an agreement.

$9-4.5112-2 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 §9-4.5112-1;

(b) performing the necessary administrative functions required by the terms of the agreement, 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 agreement;

(2) the upcoming expiration date of an agreement whenever required instructions on renewal or closeout have not been received on a timely basis; and

(3) any request by a contractor to revise an established stipulated salary support amount, and any notification by a contractor that it is reducing the charges under the stipulated salary support procedure (see $9-4.5106-4(c));

(d) determining whether to use the Grant Act (Public Law 85-934) 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 to §9-4.5106-7(c)(6). The Grant Act shall be used to the maximum extent consistent with the authority contained therein.

$9-4.5112-3 Payments under special research support agreements.

(a) Payments will be made to contractors under a special research support agreement in accordance with its provisions (see Article B-XI of $9-16.5002-1). The letter of credit procedures, as provided for in Treasury Fiscal Requirements Manual, Part VI, Section 1020, shall be used to the maximum extent feasible when the total of ERDA contracts and agreements with advance financing at an institution provides for a continuing annual level of support of $250,000 or more. When the total ERDA contracts and agreements with advance financing provides for a continuing annual level of support of less than $250,000, ERDA 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 agreement. The field office may revise Article B-XI of $9-16. 5002-1, regarding the timing and amounts of advance payments, in accordance with the following provisions. The advance payments may be made at times and in amounts determined by the field office, provided that no single payment will exceed 45 percent of the new funds as set forth in Article A-III(b) of the agreement 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 agreement. 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. In determining the timing and amounts of payments, consideration should be given to funds already available to the contractor, the expected expenditures under the agreement, any information from the contractor regarding the need for funds, and the administrative cost of additional payments.

(b) If the agreement 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 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) that the research was performed in accordance with the provisions of the agreement; (3) that an additional payment is required to reimburse for all costs chargeable to ERDA; and (4) that an appropriate patent clearance has been obtained. If necessary in making these determinations, the contracting officer should obtain advice from the technical personnel of the program office based upon their visits to and other contacts with the research project during