Executive Branch Policy Fellowships: IPA Funding

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An Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) is often used by the Federal government to hire new employees on a temporary basis. Technically, a person funded through an IPA is not hired by the Federal government at all, but rather is on temporary assignment from an IPA eligible organization, such as a state or local government, institution of higher education, or other eligible organizations.

The term ‘IPA’ is slightly inaccurate. IPA actually stands for the legal authority that makes this type of agreement possible. You do not enter into an ‘act’ with the government. You, your sponsoring institution, and the Federal government form a contract. In order to fit the acronym, this is talked about as the three of you entering a written agreement.

How does an IPA work?
If your Fellowship involves an IPA, your salary will be paid by the agency where you work, but you will receive your money from your sponsoring institution. The Federal agency pays the money to your sponsoring institution, and that institution pays you, presumably in the same manner they are currently paying you. This allows the Federal government to receive the benefit of additional employees without having to increase the number of full-time employees (FTE) employed by the Federal government. This is important in a political sense – you may recall in the late 1980s and early 1990s a lot of debate about the need to shrink the Federal government. Through the use of IPAs, the government has been able to keep its count of employees fairly constant throughout the last decade. OF course, IPAs have other purposes, including some that benefit the employee. By temporarily assigning someone to a new position, rather than that person leaving a current job to take a new one, the employee’s employment is uninterrupted, allowing the employee to continue to accrue years of service or tenure. This has implications for retirement packages, pay increases, etc.

In order to enter into an IPA with the Federal government, your sponsoring organization must be certified as eligible to participate in an IPA. State and local governments and most institutions of higher education (all public and some private) are automatically "certified". Other institutions seeking to enter an IPA must be certified by the agency with whom the IPA will be contracted. This is the reason behind our application requirement that you provide a statement from your sponsoring institution that you are eligible for an IPA.

What are the requirements of an IPA?
All IPAs must be in writing. Also, unless you are on an IPA from another Federal entity, you must have been employed in a career position by your sponsoring organization for at least 90 days prior to beginning the IPA. Technically, this means that you must work for that organization, and that the position you are in is one that you can return to at the conclusion of the IPA. Fortunately, with most agencies, this does not mean that you must be expected to return to the organization in the same capacity as when you left. This would create quite a problem for individuals who have just graduated and are being sponsored by their graduate school, and for individuals who are entering the Fellowship as a career transition. By entering the IPA with you and the Federal government, your sponsoring organization is certifying that you are eligible to return. Except with one or two agencies, the sponsoring organization does not have to certify that you are eligible to return to your exact same job or position. So, the organization is merely saying that you would be welcome to return in some capacity; they do not have to specify what capacity. (Your sponsoring organization may require that you promise to return.)

You may be entering an IPA agreement with an organization at which you may not have been employed for 90 days. This may affect your official start day for the purposes of the IPA, but should not affect your stipend, or your ability to begin the Fellowship in September. However, it is to your advantage to work out an agreement with the sponsoring organization that allows you to be considered some level of employee at least 90 days prior to September 1. The IPA requirements do not include salary requirements, which allows graduate students to be considered employees for these purposes even if they are not receiving wages.

What are the limitations associated with an IPA?
IPAs are time-limited contracts because they are intended to provide temporary employees. However, some individuals have been employed long-term with the government via IPAs. This works because the employee rotates to different IPAs.

The Fellowship assignment is for one year. However, an IPA assignment can be made for up to two years, and can be extended by the agency for up to two additional years. This means, and has often been the case, that your Fellowship would extend for two years, but your assignment at the agency may be extended beyond that. The agreement to extend the fellowship for a second year is worked out some time in the second half of the first year. If the opportunity to extend your Fellowship becomes available, you must consider the pros and cons of remaining a Fellow. Sometimes the work you would be doing can be made into an actual FTE position. If so, it may be more financially beneficial for you to be hired into that position rather than remain a Fellow.

Is there additional information on IPAs?
If you or your sponsoring institution need further information, please see the U.S. Office of Personnel Management website regarding IPAs. The address is: http://www.opm.gov/programs/ipa/index.htm.