Glossary of Abbreviations, Terms, and Definitions
Confused by the dozens of acronyms and niche lingo? See glossary of terms
A
Abstract – A brief overview of the proposed work
Acceptance Date – The date when the awarding agency accepts the proposal for funding
Allowable Costs – Expenses that meet the necessary, reasonable, and allocable criteria to be charged to a federal award
AOR (Authorized Organization Representative) – An individual, named tby the applicant organization, who is authorized to act for the applicant and to assume the obligations imposed by the Federal laws, regulations, requirements, and conditions that apply to grant applications or grant awards
ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health) – U.S. government agency that funds high-risk, high-reward biomedical research to accelerate the development of groundbreaking health technologies and treatments.
Audit – An official inspection of an individual’s or organization’s accounts
B
BARDA (Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority) – U.S. government agency that develops and procures medical countermeasures, such as vaccines and treatments, to protect the public from bioterrorism, pandemics, and other health emergencies
Biosketch – A concise summary of an individual’s professional background, achievements, and qualifications
Budget Justification – Explanation of the iterms and calculations used to arrive at the costs for each line in the budget
Budget Period – The interval of time, usually annual, into which the project period is divided for budgetary and funding purposes
C
CDMRP (Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs) – U.S. Department of Defense initiative that funds innovative biomedical research to address specific health issues, including cancer, neurological diseases, and military-related conditions
Certification and Representations -Statements that verify the accuracy and honesty of the information within a grant application
Clinical Trials – Research studies that test a medical, surgical, or behavioral intervention in people to evaluate the effect of the intervention on health-related biomedical or behavioral outcomes
Collaborative Proposal – A proposal in which invesitgators from two or more organizations wish to collaborate on a unified research project
Continuation Support – Additional funds provided for budget preiods subsequent to the initial budget period of a new, competing, or competing continuation award
Cooperative Agreement – A type of federal assistance, the nature of which means federal staff may be actively involved in a proposal preparation
Cost Sharing – The portion of project costs not paid by Federal funds (unless otherwise authorized by Federal statute)
CRO/Fee-for- Service Provider – An institution who will be involved with the physical work, but have no intellectual input
D
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) – An agency of the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for military use
Direct Costs – Costs that can be identified specifically with a particular final cost objective, such as a Federal award, or other internally or externally funded activity, or that can be directly assigned to such activities relatively easily with a high degree of accuracy
DoD (Department of Defense) – U.S. federal agency responsible for coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions related to national security and the armed forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines
E
eBRAP (Electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal) – Online system used by the U.S. Department of Defense to facilitate the submission, review, and management of research proposals for various biomedical research programs
Equipment – Tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a monetary value
eRA Commons b – An online interface provided by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for applicants, grantees, and federal staff to manage and track grant applications, awards, and related documentation
Expiration Date – The date a funding opportunity announcement closes to new applications
F
Facilities and Administrative Costs – Costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity
Funding Cycle – Sequence of key events in the process of awarding grants
G
Grant – a legal instrument of financial assistance between a Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity and a non-Federal entity
Grantee – The individual or organization that has been awarded a grant
Grants.gov – Provides a common website for federal agencies to post discretionary funding opportunities and for grantees to find and apply to them
H
Human Subjects – Individuals about whom a researcher is conducting a clinical research study to obtain data and identifiable private information
I
Indirect Costs – Costs incurred for a common or joint purpose benefitting more than on ecost objective, and not readilyassignable t the cost objectives specifically benefitted
Indirect Cost Rate – A ddevice for determining fairly and coneniently, within the boundaries of sound administrative principles, what proportions of departmental administration expenses each sponsored agreement should bear
Intellectual Property – Any tangible or intangible result of research that can legally owned, including patents, trademarks, and copyrights
Impact Score – Rating assigned to an application by reviewers folloowing assessment of the scientific and technical merits of the application. Impact scores may be numerical or alphabetical
J
Just-in-Time Procedures – Certain elements of a grant application can be submitted later than the original application, just prior to the award
K
L
Letters of Support – Letters indicating endorsement of the project written by individuals not participating in the proposed project
Limitation of Cost – A funding mechanism that allows the grantee to perform work under the award up to a specified dollar amount
LOI (Letter of Intent) – A preliminary document submitted by a prospective grant applicant to express interest in applying for funding, outlining the proposed project’s scope and objectives
M
Merit Review – An objective process evaluating a federal grant application by independent, qualified experts
Match – The portion of project costs not covered by the federal grant
N
No-cost Extension – The extension of the project period beyond its original expiration date without additional costs
Non-Compliance – A failure to meet the terms and conditions of the grant
Not Discussed – Review outcome from an NIH peer review meeting, indicating the application was noncompetitive among the pool of applications.
NOFO (Notice of Funding Opportunity) – Formal announcement inviting grant award applications from extramural investigators
NSF (National Science Foundation) – An independent U.S. government agency that supports and funds research and education in all non-medical fields of science and engineering
O
P
Pass-through Entity – A non-federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry out part of a federal program
Peer Review – The evaluation of a proosal by a group of experts in the relevant research field
Performance Site – The primary location where the work outlined in the grant proposal is to be carried out
Portal – Online platform for different grant organizations that can be used to prepare and submit grant applications, and for post-submission follow-up activities and awards
Post-award Amendments – Adjustments made to the grant agreement after the award has been made
Preproposal – An initial brief description of a project idea submitted before a full proposal is requested
Principal Investigator – The primary individual responsible for the perapartion, conduct, and administration of a research grant in compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Prior Approval – The requirement that some activities or budget changes need pre-approval from the funding agency
Project Narrative – A section of a grant applcication that provides a detailed description of the project’s goals, objectives, activities, timeline, and evaluation measures
Project Period – The total time for which the project is approved for support, including any extensions
Proposal – A written request for funding, providing detailed information about the project and organization, designed to persuade potential funders to support the work
Q
R
Renewal (or continuation) Application – A request for additional funding for a project period beyond the years already funded
Reporting Requirements – The obligations to submit progress and financial reports at specified times throughout the project period
Research Integrity – The use of honest and verifiable methods in proposing, performing, and evaluating research
Research Plan – A detailed description of the proposed research, including specific aims, methodology, and significance of the project
Review Criteria – The standards by which a proposal will be judged and selected for funding
S
Salary Cap – The maximum annual rate of federal compensation for an individual
SAM (System for Award Management) – An official US Government website used to register to conduct business with the US Government by registering as an entity and access award data
SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) – A program that funds small businesses to conduct innovative research and development with commercialization potential
Single IRB – A selected IRB of record that carries out the IRB requrements for more than one site particiapting in a research study
Soliciation – A public notice requesting applications for a funding opportunity
Subrecipient – An entity that receives a subaward from an awardee or higher tier subrecipient under a Federal award and performs part of the Federal program
Supplemental Funding – Additional funding provided during the project period to cover costs not anticipated at the time of the original award
T
Terms of Award – All legal requirements imposed on an agreement by the sponsor, whether by statute, regulation(s), or terms in the award document
U
UEI (Unique Entity Identifier) – A distinctive alphanumeric identifier used by the U.S. government to identify and manage entities doing business with federal agencies, replacing the DUNS number for this purpose
Unsolicited Proposal – A written proposal for a new or innovative project that is submitted on the initative of the offeror to an agency on the offeror’s own initiative
V
W
X
Y
Z
NIH Institutions
NCI – National Cancer Institute
NEI – National Eye Institute
NHLBI – National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
NHGRI – National Human Genome Research Institute
NIA – National Institute on Aging
NIAAA – National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
NIAID – National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
NIAMS – National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases
NIBIB – National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
NICHD – Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
NIDCD – National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
NIDCR – National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research
NIDDK – National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
NIDA – National Institute on Drug Abuse
NIEHS – National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
NIGMS – National Institute of General Medical Sciences
NIMH – National Institute of Mental Health
NIMHD – National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
NINDS – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
NINR – National Institute of Nursing Research
NLM – National Library of Medicine
NCCIH – National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health
NCATS – National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
FIC – Fogarty International Center
NCMRR – National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research
NCSDR – National Center on Sleep Disorders Research
Fogarty – John E. Fogarty International Center
NCRR – National Center for Research Resources
CC – NIH Clinical Center
OD – Office of the Director