IPAs (MED)

Intergovernmental Personnel Act agreements (IPAs) also called mobility assignments, allow the temporary assignment of skilled personnel to work on projects based at federal and non-federal entities. Their traditional purpose is to support federal research activities although they have been used to obtain management expertise or to upgrade skills, if in the public interest. IPAs serve mutual interests of the respective institutions to collaborate by sharing the skills of persons already in permanent, career positions. They are not designed for use as extensions or replacements of employment by the home institution nor to promote a career change away from the home institution. Slide presentation on IPAs

• Who qualifies?
• Who initiates an IPA?
• Which forms and where to send them?
• What’s the term limit?
• How to complete an IPA?

Who qualifies?

• BU employee
• Date of hire greater than 90 days from start of IPA
• Employed in permanent ‘career’ position (can be part-time). IPAs monitored by OSP are research agreements and effort is research-related, that is, non-administrative, non-clinical, non-support. (IPAs may be established for clinical effort but would not be administered by OSP.)
• Not a student, trainee, teaching assistant, or postdoctoral fellow

Who initiates an IPA?

IPAs are initiated by management of the Federal entity desiring to obtain BU expertise.

Which forms and where to send them?

• Request form for IPA: Form completed and signed by employee, department chair, and OSP, similar to the familiar Proposal Summary.
• OF69 (Optional Form 69, a US Office of Personnel Management form), the Federal form for IPA assignment agreements. An IPA template and guidance on how to complete follows, below.
• Information you will need to complete forms:
  1. Employee’s BU payroll e-document
  2. Current BU fringe benefit rates
  3. Dates of previous IPA assignments, if applicable
• Procedure: The manager/administrator of the Federal unit desiring to obtain BU expertise initiates OF69 two or three months in advance of the projected start date. The BU department completes the request form. Both forms are signed by the BU employee, completed and reviewed by the department, then sent for execution by OSP and the Federal entity, usually but not always VA. Upon completion the original resides at the Federal entity; copies are generated for the other parties. After execution, OSP establishes an account code, notifies department for payroll purposes, and forwards the account to Post Award Financial Operations (PAFO) for invoicing. Forms need to be fully-executed before the IPA start date. Sixty to 90 days is the estimated time for processing.

What’s the term limit?

A single agreement may last up to two years and may be extended for two more years provided that there continues to be justification. The length of assignment is limited to 48 consecutive months without a break. Upon completion of 48 months of un-interrupted service, a 12-month break is required when the employee returns to employment at home institution. A break in service of 60 calendar days before the 48-month limit is reached is enough to re-start service for another period of up to 48 months. (For Federal employees, assignments usually are subject to a 6-year lifetime cap; non-federal employees’ assignments to federal units are not subject to the cap.)

How to Complete an IPA

On the Forms and Worksheets page, download the VA IPA template and complete it. The template assumes VA Boston Healthcare System. For an IPA funded by Bedford VA, for example, modify the form field as appropriate.

Item 1: New agreement: self-explanatory. If a prior assignment has lapsed with a period of discontinuity, check ‘New’. If during the period of an existing IPA, there is any change in assignment, duties, salary (greater than 3%), early termination, or other significant change, select “Modification’. Select ‘Extension’ to start a new assignment at conclusion of period of a previous one.

Item 3: Enter BU ID number. Do not use social security number.

Item 5: Employee and department administrator need to monitor assignments and keep track of dates. Answer ‘Yes’ if employee has ever been on an IPA at any other federal facility and provide dates.

Item 7: specific BU unit/department/school employer

Item 8: always answer ‘No’

Item 9: Office of Sponsored Programs, BUMC, 85 East Newton St M-921, Boston MA 02118

Item 12: name the person accountable for employee (unit head, chair, etc)

Item 14: use BU institutional base salary and BU hire date

Items 15-18; for Federal entity to complete. Position title of IPA assignment should correspond to employee’s BU position title with regard to job duties.

Item 19: check box ‘On detail to Federal agency’ and (usually) indicate ‘full-time’

Item 20: enter the dates of period of funding. An IPA may be from 1 month to 24 months.

Item 21: justification should indicate why Federal entity needs BU employee for the work and be congruent with the major duties (listed next in item 22). Should be specific, detailed (longer than one line of text) and should cite location where work to be performed. Conclude with following text: ‘Employee will return to his/her previous employment following completion of the mobility assignment.’

Item 22: provide scope of work for the assignment. Describe major duties in a way that could be used as evaluation tool for performance review. Include hours of duty and the statement: ‘Employee is responsible for the hours of duty and for notification to supervisor of any inability to be present for work.’

Item 23: similar to #14, or pro-rated based on base salary and assignment effort

Item 24: usually not applicable

Item 25: Enter, “Regular leave policies apply, with respect to annual vacation, institutional holidays, Intercession, and authorized absences from work, and are the responsibility of the employer, Boston University.”

Item 26: BU departmental administrator to ensure that proper institutional base salary and FB rate have been used to calculate the obligation. List salary and fringe benefit on separate lines as indicated, on annual or monthly basis, concluding with total for the period of assignment. If IPA assignment takes place over two fiscal years, break out calculation using FB rate for first part and FB rate for second part. For an IPA, do not include any F&A cost; for a VA contract, include F&A.

Item 27: Office of Research Accounting, c/o Office of Sponsored Programs-MED, 85 East Newton St. M-921, Boston MA 02118 will send invoice to:

Budget analyst (or counterpart of appropriate Federal entity), Research Administration (151B), VA Boston Health Care System, 150 So. Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02130

Items 28-29 should be marked with ‘X’

Items 30 A,B,C: mark the box N/A with ‘X’

Item 31: “Regular Boston University employee benefits are the responsibility of Boston University.”

Item 32: same as item 31

Item 33: usually not applicable. VABHS does not pay non-employee travel although other federal agencies may do so.

Item 34: all boxes except E should be marked with ‘X’

Item 35: name and address of institution where work will be performed

Item 36: should match item #20

Item 39: signature of BU signatory

Item 43: Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, BUMC