IPAs

Intergovernmental Personnel Act agreements (IPAs), also called mobility assignments, allow the temporary assignment of skilled personnel to take place between federal and non-federal entities. The traditional purpose is to support federal research activities although they may be used to obtain management or other expertise, or provide a skill upgrade, if the assignment serves a sound public purpose. IPAs serve mutual interests of the respective institutions to share 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. The effort provided under the agreement must be non-clinical, non-administration, and non-support.

Slides from training 8/25-26/2009

Who qualifies?
Who initiates an IPA?
Where do I get forms and where to send them?
What’s the term limit?
How to complete an IPA?
IPA terms, conditions, provisions (Federal website)


Who qualifies?

  • BU employee
  • Date of hire greater than 90 days from start of IPA
  • Employed in full-time, permanent ‘career position’ at BU that is non-administrative, non-clinical
  • 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.


Where to get forms and where to send them?

Forms required to process an IPA (two pieces):

  • IPA request form (9/2009). Form to be completed and signed by employee, department chair, and OSP-MED, similar to the familiar Proposal Summary
  • OF69 (Optional Form 69—Federal form initiated by Federal entity, then signed by BU employee, and counter-signed by Federal entity and Office of Sponsored Programs, BUMC). Guidance on how to complete it is provided below and a sample template at: IPA sample

Information you will need for forms:

Procedure: Federal initiating party provides, to appropriate BU department, both documents with employee signature and with much of the contents filled in, see IPA Process Flow Chart. After reviewing for accuracy and completing any missing information, BU department forwards both forms to OSP-MED. After OSP-MED review, the documents will be returned to department for final disposition of originals to initiating party. The forms need to be fully-executed before the IPA start date. Sixty to 90 days is the estimated time for processing IPAs.


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’ assignment to federal units are not subject to the cap.) BU employees with less than 90 days of service may not be placed on an IPA.



How to Complete an IPA

OF69 (Optional Form 69) of the US Office of Personnel Management is the Federal form for IPA assignment agreements. The manager/administrator of the Federal unit desiring to obtain BU expertise is responsible for initiating the form 60-90 days in advance of the projected start date. The form is signed by the BU employee, completed and reviewed by the department, then sent for signatures of the Federal entity and lastly, Office of Sponsored Programs, BUMC. Upon completion it is returned to the initiating unit where the original resides; copies are generated for the other parties. After signatures, OSP-MED establishes an account code, notifies department for payroll purposes, and forwards the account to Research Accounting for invoicing.

Box-by-box Instructions
Download the partially-completed IPA template here as an example of how to fill it out.
Item 1. New agreement: self-explanatory. If a prior assignment has lapsed with a period of discontinuity, count as ‘New’. Modification: during the period of an existing IPA, any change in assignment, duties, salary (greater than 3%), early termination, or other significant change requires a modification. Extension: start of 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 6 [for Federal entity]
Item 7: specific BU unit/department/school employer
Item 8: always answer ‘No’
Item 9: BUMC Office of Sponsored Programs, 85 East Newton St M-921, Boston MA 02118
Item 12: name the person accountable for employee (unit head, chair, etc)
Item 13 [for Federal entity]
Item 14: BU department administrator to record institutional base salary and BU hire date
Items 15-18 [for Federal entity]. Position title 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, from 1 month to 24 months per IPA
Item 21: justification should indicate why Federal entity needs BU employee for the work and be congruent with the major duties (item 22, next). Should be specific, detailed (longer than one line of text) and 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: describe major duties in a way that could be used as evaluation tool for performance review. Include the 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: may be same as #14, or pro-rated based on base salary and assignment effort
Item 24: usually not applicable
Item 25: “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 check 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. Do not include any fees or F&A cost.
Item 27: Office of Research Accounting, Boston University Office of Cost Compliance, c/o 85 East Newton St. M-921, Boston MA 02118 will send invoice to:
Marion Rapoza, 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: N/A should be marked with ‘X’
Item 31: “Regular Boston University employee benefits are the responsibility of Boston University.”
Item 32: same as item 31
Item 33: N/A [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: Jane F. Kinsel signature
Items 40, 42, 44 [for Federal entity]
Item 43: Jane F. Kinsel, Ph.D., M.B.A.
Director, Office of Sponsored Programs, BUMC

Primary teaching affiliate
of BU School of Medicine