VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System Research Services
Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA)
The Intergovernmental Personnel Agreement or IPA program is managed by the Federal government’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM). For more information, CLICK HERE.
The program provides for the temporary assignment of personnel between the Federal Government and state and local governments, colleges and universities, Indian (Native American) tribal governments, federally-funded research and development centers, and other eligible organizations, including Non-Profit Research Corporations/ Foundations (NPCs) at each VA facility. IPAs allows for assignments to be made for people who work outside the VA to be paid with VA research funds. These agreements are normally used to acquire research expertise from a variety of sources including affiliated universities and NPCs when the required knowledge/experience is not readily available from normal VA recruitment channels, especially when seeking the help/paid collaboration from a non-citizen.
CLICK HERE to download an IPA Assignment Agreement. The sections in yellow will need to be updated.
Things to remember about IPAs:
- IPA’s are initiated by the University of Michigan. Begin by contacting your UM administrator. IPAs will need to be routed through the PAF system. More information can be found at UM's website.
- The Employee must have been a permanent employee of their current employer for a minimum of 90 days before being eligible for an IPA.
- IPAs may be used for part-time, full-time, short-term, or long-term employment, but they may not exceed 24 months at a time. Intergovernmental Personnel Act contracts can be renewed for an additional 24 months, not to exceed 48 months. If an employee is still needed beyond 48 months, the employee must return to their employer, and remain off an IPA for 12 consecutive months before they can participate in another IPA.
For additional assistance, contact LaShawn Cooley or Towanda Willis in the Research Office or Theresa Spencer at CCMR.
