Contract Review and Approval Process
>
California Native Plant Society
Contract
Review and Approval Process
Approved by
CNPS Board (month, date, year)
Overview
This document represents a
process for the California Native Plant Society (CNPS) to review and
approve contracts. The intent of this document is to establish a process
for contract conformance. The process is also intended to expedite CNPS
chapter contract review and approval while insuring appropriate CNPS
state and chapter level involvement. All contracts to which CNPS is
a party, whether at the state or at the chapter level, are subject to
the process specified in this document. The overall goal is to manage
CNPS risk, while facilitating efficient operation.
It is the responsibility of any party proposing execution of a contract by CNPS to insure
appropriate time is made available
for the complete review and approval process specified herein. The review
period should never be less than 14 days, and may be as many as 30 days.
Anyone proposing a contract must keep in mind that volunteers are integrally
involved in the process. Failure to insure sufficient time for thorough
review shall not be used as a justification for requesting an expedited
or abbreviated review.
Any party who enters into a contract on behalf of CNPS, other than as specified herein,
shall be held personally liable
for performing the contract. That party shall also be held personally
liable for all financial obligations of the contract. It is the responsibility
of any party who considers entering into a contract on behalf to CNPS
to know, understand, and conform to, this process.
The process includes an explanation
of general contract review as well as specific chapter-related contracts.
There are several types of contracts identified in this policy. There
is a Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement (FSA), useful when a specific project
is identified. There is a Memo of Understanding (MOU), used when chapter
and state responsibilities need to be separately identified. The MOU
is also necessary when dealing specifically with the hiring and oversight
of employees and contractors, particularly those retained by CNPS chapters.
Lastly there is a contract agreement necessary for general services
between CNPS and an outside consultant. A table of these types of contracts
and their responsibilities is below.
Types of Contract Agreement
/Responsibility
A. CNPS Chapter and outside
entity:
1. Fiscal Responsibility
Agreement - Contract in which funds or services
are committed to an outside entity that require CNPS reporting and monitoring.
2. Contract or consultant
agreements - Service or consulting agreement that requires a unique
definition of liability and role.
B. Agreement
between a Chapter and CNPS State Office:
1. Memo of Understanding
(MOU) - Contract between a chapter Board of Directors (BOD) and the
state office that requires unique explanation of each party00 role;
especially the hiring of a chapter employee or any other funds commitment
that requires oversight, while maintaining the autonomy of the chapter.
. 2. Contract or
Consulting Agreement - Hiring of a consultant or the commitment
of state funds or liability, such as a rental agreement.
All contracts entered into
on behalf of CNPS must be in writing, and must be reviewed and approved
by the individuals as shown in Attachment 1. Anyone having questions
regarding this process should contact the CNPS Executive Director directly.
After a chapter is contacted
regarding possible approval of a contract, the chapter shall review
the contract requirements with the state office. The parties involved
with the contract shall also examine the Chapter Responsibility Table
for the required signature authority. This table describes the reviewing
parties, approvals necessary, and who can be a signatory. Once
the parties involved with the contract have been determined, the state
office will do an assessment regarding the legal and risk management.
If a contractor is involved, the contractor shall return a signed copy
of the 00ndependent Contractor Questionnaire00 Attachment 2.
This document shall be necessary for contract approval by the state
office.
At a chapter BOD meeting the
proposed contract must be assigned an independent, impartial Contract
Manager. Conflict of interest issues must be avoided, i.e. spouses or
friends of chapter board members. The chapter00 approved meeting minutes,
reflecting the contract decisions, must be sent to the state office.
As part of any agreement with the CNPS state office, each chapter shall
provide a signed copy of the chapter minutes in which the following
is also identified (examples in parenthesis):
Project name and brief description
(i.e. Seed collection), the amount of the contract and source of funds
($2400), the contractor00 name (Mr. Coates), a designation of a chapter
member as the local CNPS project or contract manager (Jon Smith), and
the exact duration of the contract ( April 1, 2004 to February 29, 2009).
Below is an example of the
appropriate wording of the minutes.
00he Board of Directors of the Greater California Chapter met on April 1, 2004. Agenda item #7 is approval of the $2400 contract for seed collection. Mary Johnson made the following motion:
00o approve the contract
with Mr. Coates, to complete the big seed collection contract, not to
exceed $2400, using a grant from the Water District, beginning April
1, 2004 and ending February 29, 2009. Jon Smith, a chapter member in
good standing, will serve as contract manager and liaison to the state
office.00
Bill Brown seconded the motion.
The motion passed by the following vote_____.
Signed,
Mr. Cole,
Secretary
Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement
Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement
(FSA) is a document used when a specific project or a task must be accomplished
by chapter personnel. Attachment 3 is a sample of a project Fiscal
Sponsorship Agreement between a chapter and the CNPS state office for
work identified as a 00roject00 This type of contract involves specific
and discrete uses of funding. This type of funding is considered 00estricted00
Reports to the originator, or funding source, are usually necessary,
along with strict accountability of these funds. This type of agreement
requires legal and insurance involvement to ensure CNPS has a complete
understanding of the liability issues. This agreement must have a project
manager identified. Roles and responsibilities shall be clearly and
distinctly explained to ensure proper contract management. If there
are any questions regarding whether this type of contract should be
executed, please address your questions to the state office, and particularly
the Executive Director, before proceeding.
Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU)
The Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) is written to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the state
office and the individual chapters. This document is especially necessary
in the hiring and supervision of chapter contractors and or personnel.
Both the state office and the chapter will sign the Memo of Understanding
when a new contractor is hired or a new employee is hired. Attachment
5 is a sample of a Memo of Understanding. The state office as well
as the chapter will always administer employee supervision. In order
to facilitate understanding of which organization will be performing
which role, the following list of requirements and roles is provided.
Function Responsible
Party
Hiring and Firing of Personnel Chapter & State Office
Payroll and Benefit Compensation State Office
Timecard approval process Chapter, then State Office
Expense Reimbursement State Office
Employee Handbook approval State Office
Daily work assignments Chapter
Budgetary concerns Chapter & State Office
Administrative Fees State Office
Initial funding Chapter
Other functions State Office
and/or Chapter.
Once a chapter has identified
the need to hire an employee, there are several steps that must be coordinated
with the state office. The chapter must prepare a detailed job description
of the position, the salary, and the work hours. The state office will
determine whether the position legally qualifies for an exempt or non-
exempt position, whether the salary is appropriate compared to other
similar positions, and what type of benefits are available to the position.
The job description must be reviewed and approved by the state office
before the interviewing process begins. The interview process should
be done jointly with the state office.
After a successful candidate
is chosen, an official 00etter of intent to hire00will be drafted.
The letter shall be reviewed and approved by the legal counsel of the
state office. A signed copy of this letter by the Executive Director
will be sent to the candidate. Once this letter is signed and returned,
an employee will be considered hired after receipt of the appropriate
tax documents and signed receipt of the employee handbook. At the completion
of these documents, the candidate will be considered fully employed
by CNPS.
Consulting Agreement
Attachment 4 is a sample
Consultant agreement between CNPS and an independent consultant, not
a CNPS hired employee. This agreement is signed, when accompanied by
a work plan and the completed consultant questionnaire, Attachment
2. Remember joint management is necessary to maintain the proper
documentation and legal observance for the company. Attachment 1
explains the necessary signatures for these agreements of various values
and nature.
Please call the CNPS state
office, specifically the Executive Director, if there are questions
regarding any part of this policy or process.
Attachments to Contract Review and Approval Process
1. Responsibility Table
2. Independent Contractor Questionnaire
3. Sample Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement between Chapter and State
4. Sample Consulting Agreement or Contract
5. Sample Memo of Understanding.
0 comments
tag: contract
filetype:doc
file time: 2008-02-16
file size:35840
Click Here To Download...
It's no comment...