No Cost Extension Policy

Background

As indicated in the Memorandum of Understanding and Grant Agreement (MOU) between the Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) and the grant recipient, the awarded funds are expected to be expended within the approved period of agreement in alignment with the approved budget.

Definitions

Period of agreement: Period of time between the grant start date and the grant end date specified in the MOU. If a no cost extension is granted by the Wisconsin Partnership Program, the period of agreement extends through the no cost extension end date.

Grant start date: Date specified in the MOU, usually the first day of the month, on or after which expenditures may be charged to the grant.

Grant end date: Date specified in the MOU, usually the last day of the month, after which expenditures may not be charged against the grant except to satisfy obligations incurred during the period of agreement.

No cost extension end date: Date specified in the letter from WPP approving the no cost extension, no more than 12 months after the original end date, after which expenditures may not be charged against the grant except to satisfy obligations incurred during the no cost extension period.

Policy

Grant recipients may request a one-time extension of up to 12 months beyond the grant end date if additional time is required to complete the original scope of work and budget funds remain. Extensions beyond 12 months will not be considered. Extension requests for Strategic grants will not be considered.

Requests must be well justified and reasonable, reflecting the anticipated scope of work during the extension period. The fact that unexpended funds remain at the approved end-date is not, in itself, a sufficient justification for a no-cost extension.

No cost extension requests require approval by the WPP Administrative Leadership Team (Executive Director, Executive Administrative Director, Administrative Director, and Associate Directors for Finance and Operations), in consultation with the lead Program Officer. Requests greater than 25 percent of the grant award require dual approval from the WPP Administrative Leadership Team and either the Oversight and Advisory Committee or the Partnership Education and Research Committee, as appropriate. The WPP and committee, within their respective authority as set forth herein, and in their sole discretion, may approve, partially approve, or reject the no cost extension request.

Procedures

Grant recipients shall submit the no cost extension request using the guidelines and forms provided by WPP no earlier than 120 days and at least 60 days prior to the end date as specified in the MOU. No cost extension requests submitted after the deadline will not be reviewed and the grant recipient will be notified. If the original request is determined to be incomplete or inadequate, grant recipients will be given one final opportunity to revise their request. Subsequent revisions will not be considered. Decisions by the WPP Administrative Leadership Team regarding the no cost extension will be made based on the information provided in the original or, as applicable, revised request.

In rare instances, the WPP may recommend that a Grant Recipient submit a no cost extension request earlier than 120 days from the project end date. Awards must be in the final year of the original period of agreement and be significantly underspent, defined as inception to date expenditures equal to or less than 50% of the prorated budget amount. Recipients must also demonstrate a need for additional time to accomplish the goals set out in the original proposal. The request will be reviewed according to the No Cost Extension policy.

Within 60 days of receipt by WPP of all required information, the grant recipient will be notified of the decision regarding the request by letter from the WPP Executive Director.