Topics Map > Operational Support Resources > 4.6 Financial Services
Topics Map > Supervisor Toolkit > 2.5 Contracts & Agreements > 2.5.1 General Signatory Agreements (GSA)
Contracts & Agreements - General Signatory Agreements (GSA) - Start Here
The Division of Extension is not authorized to sign the following types of agreements: memorandum of understanding (MOU), memorandum of agreement (MOA), partnerships, internships, memberships, or any other agreements that formalize a relationship between Extension and an outside organization. Extension has a workflow for routing these agreements to UW-Madison Business Services for review and signature by the General Signatory Authority.
Prior to beginning, please be sure to review Contracts & Agreements - Divisional Policy & Guidance for instructions that include changes to past practices.
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Read BEFORE You Begin
- You must submit your GSA agreement for approval a minimum of 3-4 weeks prior to needing the fully-executed agreement.
- If there are local approval processes, this may take additional time. Please plan accordingly.
- The requestor of the agreement is responsible for shepherding the agreement through the approval process. If the agreement is pending approval it is their responsibility to reach out to the approver(s) to move it forward.
- The requestor of the agreement is responsible for ensuring that a fully-executed copy of the agreement is stored in the Fully Executed Agreements Document Library.
Background
- General signatory agreements are agreements that the Division of Extension makes with an outside signatory (county official, local non-profit, school, etc.) that define a relationship between the Division of Extension and the outside signatory or the outside signatory's organization.
- The Division of Extension is not authorized to sign these agreements directly. Instead they must be routed to UW-Madison Business Services for review and signature.
- Prior to routing to UW-Madison Business Services, they must first be reviewed and approved by the appropriate Extension Assistant Dean or Institute Director and the Extension Chief Financial Officer.
- If you would like more information on UW-Madison signature authority - please review the current Signature Authority Memo.
Instructions
1) Determine Whether to Submit through this Workflow (Requestor)
This should be completed by the individual that would like the agreement reviewed and approved (requestor).
Contracts & Agreements - Determine Approval Process for Contract/Agreement
2) Pre-Submission Requirements (Requestor)
These should be reviewed by the individual that would like the agreement reviewed and approved (requestor).
Contracts & Agreements - General Signatory Agreements (GSA) - Pre-Submission Requirements
3) Create Document Set (Supervisor)
The supervisor should complete this step and share the document set with the requestor.
4) Complete Agreement Cover Sheet (Requestor)
This should be completed by the individual that would like the agreement reviewed and approved (requestor).
Contracts & Agreements - General Signatory Agreements (GSA) - Complete Agreement Cover Sheet
5) Submit Approval Request (Supervisor)
The supervisor should complete this step.
Contracts & Agreements - General Signatory Agreements (GSA) - Create a New Approval Request
6) Divisional Approval (Divisional Approvals)
- Extension's divisional approvals will review and accept/reject.
- If the submission is rejected, the supervisor will need to resubmit for approval after working with the requestor to make changes.
7) Review Document Set and Sign (UW-Madison Business Services)
The submission will be reviewed and pending successful approval will be signed.
Contracts & Agreements - General Signatory Agreements (GSA) - UW-Madison Business Services Review & Approval
8) Upload Fully-Executed Agreement (Extension CFO)
- The requestor is responsible for sending Extension's CFO a copy of the fully-executed agreement.
Training Video
Extension Approvers
- Assistant Deans of Northern/Southern Areas(Scroll down)
- Area Extension Directors submitting GSA approvals will select Assistant Deans as approvers.
- Institute Directors
- Program Managers will select Institute Directors as approvers
- Branded Program/Extension Reserve Managers will select Institute Directors as approvers.
- Chief Financial Officer
- Associate Dean of Operations & Policy
Backup Approvers
- When completing the GSA workflow, always make sure to verify that your Extension approval is in office (check their O365 calendar).
- If an Extension approver is out of office, select an equivalent approver (found on the Extension Leadership Page).
- E.g. Assistant Dean of Southern Areas is out -- Select the Assistant Dean of Northern Areas as approver.
- E.g. Institute Director in YFCD is out -- Select another Institute Director in YFCD as an approver.
- If the Chief Financial Officer is out of office, please contact hr@extension.wisc.edu regarding your submission.
UW-Madison Certificate of Insurance Program
Definitions
Outside Organization
An organization or individual outside of the Division of Extension or UW-Madison (e.g. County, non-profit, school, etc.).
Outside Signatory
The signature authority for an outside organization. This will be the individual or individuals who sign the agreement. (e.g. county official, administrator, principal, etc.).
General Signatory
UW-Madison individual with delegated signature authority deriving from the Board of Regents. See Signature Authority Memo.
Agreement
A binding legal document that formalizes a relationship between organizations. It will usually include a set of expectations and deliverables that is time-bound from one to three years.
Requestor
Extension employee requesting the agreement.
Approver
Extension employee that will review and approve workflow submissions.
Supervisor
- The Requestor's Extension supervisor.
- For the purposes of this workflow county-based faculty will work with their Area Extension Director as the supervisor equivalent.