If the new Agreement incorporates changes to responsibilities, such as revised percentages of participation, changes to the scope of work, revised procedures, etc. A new authorizing document in the form of a Supplemental Report, or even a Contract Change Order, is also required in order to explain and justify the changes. If the modifications are called for by a current Department Policy and Procedure, Manual, or other policy memorandum, it will be satisfactory to reference them in the transmittal memorandum rather than to prepare a supplemental report. If the new Agreement extends the time frame beyond the funding time constraints, new funding shall be obtained. This is a formal, legally binding contract just like the original Cooperative Agreement.
Modification means altering language contained in the body of the Cooperative Agreement.
Many Cooperative Agreements contain attachments, such as Scopes of Work, which are made parts of the Agreements. If such attachments need modification, it will not be necessary to prepare an Amendment to Agreement. If the original Agreement contains language that authorizes the officers who executed the original Agreement to make changes to the Attachments without the necessity of an Amendment, the revised Attachments then become part of the original Agreement. An informal letter type amendment or MOU cannot be used to change the terms in the body of a Cooperative Agreement. An exception may be where the advertising of a project may be delayed due to the time required to execute an Amendment to Agreement.