Penn State has negotiated a new 5-year Master Agreement with the Commonwealth Department of General Services (DGS) effective for the period 7/01/26 – 6/30/31. All COP agencies may issue purchase orders to Penn State via this Master Agreement. (Please note that PennDOT has established a separate master agreement with Penn State for specific research projects). COP agencies may also issue stand-alone grants, contracts, or purchase orders to Penn State, but note these include their own set of terms and conditions and do not fall under the COP Master Agreement.

Request for Proposal/Proposal Submission Process

For all projects intended to be issued under the COP Master Agreement, the following process will be followed:

The COP agency will issue Attachment 1 (Agency Request–Work Plan) to Penn State. Attachment 1 information will include:

• Requested project and time frame
• Copyright ownership selection (determined by whether the funding is Commonwealth or federal pass-through)
• Method of invoicing (standard invoice only or special invoicing required)
• Reporting requirements
• Source of funds (which will determine the applicable F&A rate)

If the COP agency has identified the Penn State Principal Investigator (PI) for the requested project, Attachment 1 will be sent directly to the PI who should then contact their contracts and grants office to prepare the proposal. If the PI is not known/identified, Attachment 1 will be sent to the Office of Sponsored Programs at osp@psu.edu. OSP will then determine where to forward the request.

Penn State will respond to the COP agency utilizing Attachment 2 (University Response – Project Template). Attachment 2 will include:

• Statement of work
• Detailed budget
• Summary budget (see below for details regarding the budgets to be provided)

Attachment 2 should be marked ‘Original Response’ by checking the appropriate box and submitted to the COP agency unsigned. Following review by the COP agency (and DGS for proposals >$100K), the COP agency will either:

• Notify Penn State the proposal is acceptable as submitted, at which point we will sign and return Attachment 2 for COP approval/countersignature; or
• The COP agency will notify Penn State that revisions are required. In this instance, a revised proposal and Attachment 2 (with ‘Revised Response’ checked) are to be submitted, again unsigned. If the revised proposal is approved, the signature process under 1) above will be followed.

Compliance Acknowledgement

The Master Agreement requires a Compliance Acknowledgement due to Clause 44, Virus, Malicious, Mischievous, or Destructive Programming, incorporated into the agreement. Upon receipt of Attachment 1, the Unit should begin the Internal Approval Form (IAF) process and complete the Unit portion of the sign-off.

The completed sign-off must then be provided to the Principal Investigator (PI). The PI is responsible for ensuring that all project personnel who will use IT resources while working under a COP Master Agreement Purchase Order review the Compliance Acknowledgement and sign the form to confirm their understanding that they are required to use a Penn State managed device while performing work under the agreement.

After all required signatures have been obtained, a copy of the completed sign-off form must be uploaded to the IAF and labeled “COP Compliance Acknowledgement.”

If additional project personnel are added to the project after the initial sign-off has been completed, the PI is responsible for ensuring that those individuals also review and acknowledge the Compliance Acknowledgement requirements. To document these additions, the PI should work with their Post-Award Administrator to obtain the necessary signatures. The Post-Award Administrator must then email the updated sign-off form to osp@psu.edu and reference the applicable OSP number.

Budget Submissions

• The first budget is a detailed budget, such as is created in SIMSbudgets. COP agencies use this budget for review and evaluation of the project. If the project has a budget of $100,000 or greater, the COP agency will forward to DGS for further review and approval. DGS may contact Penn State for additional detail as needed to evaluate the proposed costs or project.
• The second budget is a summary budget broken into seven major categories (a sample template can be found here)

1. Personnel(includes tuition when requested by Penn State and approved by the COP agency or DGS when appropriate)
2. Operational (includes all other direct costs and expendable equipment not included in one of the other major categories)
3. Subcontracting
4. Professional Services(external purchased services and internal services such as materials characterization analysis, for example)
5. Capital Equipment(cost $5,000 or greater)  (Effective 7/1/2025, cost $10,000 or greater). Submit purchase price and cost to rent the equipment. The COP agency or DGS will then determine which option and advise their selection.
6. Travel The second budget is a summarybudget broken into seven major categories (a sample template can be found here)
7. Administrative Fees(when allowable/applicable). Administrative Fees are also defined as overhead, F&A, indirect costs, and custom invoicing.

The summary budget is used by the COP agency to issue the purchase order. Under the provisions of the COP Master Agreement, Penn State must obtain prior approval before shifting funds from one major category to another. Budget revision requests should be submitted to the COP agency (with a copy to osp@psu.edu) and if accepted, an amendment to the purchase order will be issued. Although not specified in the Master Agreement, it is highly recommended to submit budget revision requests no later than sixty (60) days prior to the purchase order end date. If you receive a purchase order issued based on the detailed budget, please contact the COP agency to request a revised purchase order based on the summary budget.

Additional COP Master Agreement attachments

• Attachment 3 (Report of Personal Property). In Attachment 2, the COP agency designates disposition of Capital and Non-Capital Equipment with the option to either take possession at conclusion of the purchase order period or allow Penn State to retain the equipment for use on other projects funded by the issuing COP agency only. In those instances where the COP decides to take possession, upon completion or termination of the purchase order, Penn State must submit Attachment 3 within 60 days. Further details regarding the reporting process can be found in the highlight document at the link below.
• The former Attachment 4 (Business Associate Agreement) will be negotiated under separate cover.
• Attachment 4 (Lobbying Certification Form) was completed at the time of Master Agreement execution and therefore does not need to be completed for individual purchase orders. This attachment only applies if the project is federally funded. If this form is required, it can be completed and signed by the appropriate authorized representative for the College/Unit.

For some quick highlights regarding travel, equipment, expendable property, invoicing, and the COP minimum wage provision in the COP Master Agreement, click here.