Some of the terms defined below are not included in the narrative portion
of the manual, but are included here because they are part of the sponsored
research administration vocabulary.
Abstract: A brief description of a project consisting of a
concise summary of project goals, methodology, may also include staffing, and
total cost of the project.
Academic Fraud: A deliberate effort to deceive, including
plagiarism, fabrication of data, misrepresentation of historical sources,
tampering with evidence, selective suppression of unwanted or unacceptable
results, and theft of ideas.
Allowable Costs: OMB Circular A-21 defines allowable costs
as those that are:
-
- Reasonable
- Allowable and allocable to the project
- Given consistent treatment by use of generally accepted accounting
principles
- Conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth by the sponsored
agreement or OMB Circular A-21
Amendment: Any change to a contractual agreement needing
official signature.
Applicant: Usually refers to the institution submitting the
proposal. In most cases it does not refer to the individual researcher who
wrote the proposal or who will serve as PI.
Application: A request for financial support of a project
or activity usually submitted in a specified format and in accordance with a
sponsor's guidelines and instructions.
Approved Budget: The financial expenditure plan, including
revisions, that has been approved by the sponsor and supports the project's
activities for a stated period of time
Assurance of Compliance: Refers to certifications that
applicant institutions must file before they can qualify for funding from
government agencies.
Audit: A formal examination of an organization's accounts.
An audit may also include examination of compliance with applicable terms,
laws, and regulations.
Authorized Signature: The signature of a College official
who is designated to give assurances, make commitments, and execute such
documents on behalf of Dartmouth College as may be required by federal and
state agencies and other organizations which provide financial assistance to
the College; the signature of an authorized official certifies that commitments
made on grant proposals or contract agreements can be honored; and ensures that
all sponsored agreements conform to federal regulations, agency guidelines, and
College policies.
Award: Funds provided from an external sponsor for support
of a project at Dartmouth College or the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical
Center.This term is used for both original award and supplements; it can mean
moneys or equipment.
Broad Agency Announcement (BAA): An announcement that is
general in nature and that identifies areas of research interest, including
criteria for evaluating proposals, and soliciting the participation of all
offers capable of satisfying the government's needs.
Budget: An estimate of expenditures to be incurred in the
performance of a project or statement of work.
Budget Category: A portion of the budget designated for
certain kinds of expenditures, e.g., salaries, materials and supplies,
travel, equipment.
Budget Justification: The section of a proposal that
explains why the funds listed in the budget pages are being requested.
Budget Period: The interval of time, usually 12 months,
into which the project period is divided for budgetary and funding
purposes.
Challenge Grant: A grant that provides moneys in response
to moneys from other sources, usually according to a formula. A challenge grant
may, for example, offer two dollars for every one that is obtained from a fund
drive.The grant usually has a fixed upper limit, and may have a challenge
minimum below which no grant will be made.This form of grant is fairly common
in the arts, humanities, and some other fields, but is less common in the
sciences. A challenge grant differs from a matching grant in at least one
important respect: the amount of money that the recipient organization realizes
from a challenge grant may vary widely, depending upon how successful that
organization is in meeting the challenge. Matching grants usually award a
clearly defined amount and require that a specified sum be obtained before any
award is made.
Civil Rights: A certification assuring the Federal agency
that the institution complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
(P.L.88-352, as amended), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race,
color, or national origin.
Classified Research: Research sponsored by a federal
government entity, or often the defense industry, that involves restrictions
imposed by agreement or otherwise on the distribution or publication of the
research findings, results following completion for a specified period or for
indefinite duration, or access to facilities and information necessary to
complete the work of the project
Clinical Trial: A contract to test drugs, devises, or other
controlled substances for FDA approval or for-profit corporations.This contract
usually involves the use of human or animal subjects.
Competing Continuation: A request for continued financial
support from a sponsor to continue the work of a previously funded project.
Competing continuations compete with new applications for a sponsor's funds.
SEE ALSO: Non-competing
Continuation
Concept Paper: see Informal Proposal
Conflict of Interest: A certification assuring the Federal
agency that the institution has established administrative policies for
promoting objectivity in research
Consortium: A consortium is two or more institutions
working in collaboration on the same research project, either funded directly
by the supporting agency or one prime institution subcontracting out the funds
to the other members of the consortium.
Consultant: An independent contractor who specifically
provides professional advice. They usually have a separate skill or expertise
not available within the College, and the need for their services commonly does
not extent beyond a limited period of time in which to complete a specifically
defined project.
Contract: For purposes of this manual, a contract is an
agreement to acquire services that primarily benefit the sponsor.For an award
to be considered a contract, it normally must contain all of the following
elements:
-
- Detailed financial and legal requirements must be included with a specific
statement of work to be performed.
- A specific set of deliverables and/or reports to the sponsor is
required.
- Separate accounting procedures are required.
- Legally binding contract clauses must be included.
- Benefits of the project accrue first to the sponsor, then to the
university, then to the nation.
Contributed Effort: Effort expended on a sponsored project
that the sponsor does not compensate for; a form of cost-sharing
Cooperative Agreement: A funding mechanism which can be
used by federal agencies when a program requires more agency involvement and
restrictions than a grant but requires less agency supervision than a
contract.
CO-Principal Investigator (CO-PI): One
investigator sharing equal responsibility for the direction of a research
program.Some sponsors prefer the term 'Collaborating Investigator' or
'Investigator'. Federal sponsors officially recognize only one individual (per
institution) as a principal investigator or project director.
Copyright: A narrow form of intellectual property
protection. It protects only the fixed expression of an idea, not the idea
itself. The Dartmouth College Copyright Policy governs copyright ownership of
the works created by Dartmouth faculty and other employees.
Cost Share: College and non sponsor resources provided in
support of sponsored programs; includes contributed effort and matching
funds.
Cost Transfer: Transactions that move funds from one
account to another, or move funds within one account from one budget category
to another.
Debarment and Suspension: A certification assuring the
Federal agency that the research personnel and the institution are not
presently declared ineligible for receiving federal support, have not been
convicted of fraud or a criminal offense in the performance of a federal award,
are not in violation of federal or state statutes, are not presently indicted
for criminal or civil charges and have not within a three-year period preceding
the application had one or more federal, state or local transactions terminated
for cause or default.
Delinquent Federal Debt: A certification provided to the
Federal awarding agency that the applicant organization is not delinquent on
the repayment of any federal debt.
Deliverable: A generalized term for a product that is
created in fulfilling the terms of a sponsored research project
Development Proposal: The initial stage of the proposal as
originally devised by the Principal Investigator(s) and the academic
department(s). The Development Proposal includes all budget years and requires
the final approval of OSP before it may be submitted to the sponsoring
agency.
Direct Costs: Clearly identifiable costs related to a
specific project. General categories of direct costs include but are not
limited to salaries and wages, fringe benefits, supplies, contractual services,
travel and communication, equipment, and occasionally computer use.
Discretionary Funds: Money that has not been earmarked for
specific items and can be allotted at the discretion of an administrator.
Donated Property: Property provided by an outside party for
specific activities related to sponsored project and/or research activities of
the university; title to the property passes to the College at essentially no
cost
Donation: Transfer of equipment, money, goods, services,
and property with or without specifications as to its use. Sometimes donation
is used to designate contributions that are made with more specific intent than
is usually the case with a gift, but the two terms are often used
interchangeably.
Drug-Free Workplace: A certification assuring the Federal
agency that the institution does and will continue to provide a drug-free
workplace as required by the Drug-Free Workplace Act of 1988.
Effort: The amount of time, usually expressed as a
percentage of the total, that a faculty member or other employee spends on a
project. Effort is certified and documented through the Activity Distribution
Report (ADR) system.
Employee Related Expenses: Total project costs related to
the employment of project staff. This includes salaries and wages, benefits,
and other costs associated with the employment of staff.
Encumbrances: A specific amount of funds that has been set
aside in an account for the receipt of an order or the payment of an invoice.
Encumbrances reduce the available balance of an account.
Endowment: A fund usually in the form of an
income-generating investment, established to provide long-term support for
faculty/research positions.
Equipment: Generally, an article of non expendable tangible
personal property having a useful life of more than two years and an
acquisition cost of $2,500 or more per unit. Equipment is not a replacement
part or component returning a piece of equipment to its original condition. If
a component increases the capability of the original equipment and has an
acquisition cost of $2,500 or more, it is considered a capital equipment
item.
Expanded Authority: Ability of the Office of Sponsored
Projects to approve certain changes to a federally sponsored research project
without going through the prior approval process. Expanded authorities are
granted only for specific changes to projects funded by designated Federal
agencies.SEE ALSO: Prior Approval
Expiration Date: The date signifying the end of the
performance period, as indicated on the Notice of Award.May also be the date
after such an agency's forms should not be used.
Extension: An additional period of time that may be given
by the sponsor to an organization for the completion of work on an approved
grant or contract. A no cost extension allows previously allocated funds to be
spent after the original expiration date and usually triggers a new Notice of
Award from the sponsor.
Extra Mural Support: Funding for research, training or
public service programs provided by federal or private sources outside the
College.
Facilities and Administration Cost Rates: The rates used to
recover the Facilities and Administration Costs of a sponsored project.
Negotiated, approved rates are to be used for all agreements with the federal
government and for most non-federal projects, as allowable. Information on
current Facilities and Administration Cost rates is available from the Office
of Sponsored Projects.
Facilities and Administration Costs: Also referred to as
overhead, overhead costs, or administrative costs. Facilities and
Administration Costs are actual costs incurred to conduct the normal business
activities of an organization. Facilities and Administration Costs usually
cannot be readily identified with or directly charged to a specific project or
activity.The normal activities of the College include: instruction and
departmental research, organized research, public service, and other
institutional activities. Facilities and Administration Costs are real,
auditable costs incurred by the College each time it accepts an award for a
sponsored project.If the College does not collect full reimbursement for these
costs, other College resources must be used to subsidize them.
Federal Demonstration Partnership-Phase III: Many changes
that occur in the conduct of sponsored projects require prior approval.That is,
before the change can take place the PI must obtain approval for the change
from the sponsor and/or the OSP.Some Federal and nonfederal sponsoring agencies
have delegated approval rights to the College, under what is frequently termed
"expanded authority." The level at which approval may be granted depends upon
the type of award and the sponsor's specific policies governing the award. If a
sponsor has not granted expanded authority to Dartmouth College, making changes
to a project requires written approval by the sponsor before the change may
take place.
Fiscal Year: Any twelve-month period for which annual
records are kept . The fiscal year as defined by Dartmouth College is July 1
through June 30. The Federal fiscal year is October 1 through September 30.
Foreign Travel: Foreign travel includes travel outside of
the United States and its territories and possessions (Guam, American Samoa,
Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Canal Zone) and Canada.
Formal Proposal: Any proposal submitted by a college
employee to an outside entity that may directly lead to an award.The majority
of formal proposals require an institutional endorsement by an official
authorized to commit college resources.
Foundation: A private organization that makes awards to
individuals or organizations for a broad range of projects.
Fringe Benefits: Those costs associated with employing
staff that are not part of salary. Fringe benefits include such costs as health
insurance, retirement benefits, vacation, and federal withholdings.
Full and Open Competition: The solicitation of bids from
prospective suppliers which is used to assure that all responsible bidders are
permitted to compete for the procurement.
Funding Cycle: Range of time during which proposals are
accepted, reviewed, and funds are awarded. If a sponsor has standing proposal
review committees (or boards) that meet at specified times during the year,
application deadlines are set to correspond with those meetings.
Gift: A unilateral transfer of money, property, or other
assets to the recipient for the recipient's ownership and use by a donor who
makes no claims on the recipient in connection with the gift. Gifts normally
have the following characteristics:
-
- The statement of work allows the project director significant freedom to
change emphases within the general area of work as the project progresses.
- No deliverables involved.
- Separate accounting procedures are not required.
- Benefits of the project are to accrue to the nation and the world.
- Sponsor has no audit rights.
Governmental Donated Property: Property donated or
transferred to the institution by a municipality, county, state agency, or the
federal government.
Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE): Equipment provided to
the university by the federal government or government contractor; title may or
may not remain with the government.
Grant: A financial assistance mechanism whereby money , or
equipment, is provided to carry out an approved set of activities.
Grantee: A grantee is the recipient of a grant.When the
College accepts a grant award, on behalf of an individual, it becomes the
grantee.
Handicapped Individuals: A certification assuring the
Federal agency that the institution complies with Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (P.L.93-112, as amended, which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of handicaps.
Human Subject: A Human Subject is a living individual about
whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research
obtains:
-
- Data through intervention or interaction with the individual
- Identifiable private information
Independent Contractor: Someone who specifically provides
professional advice, and are not considered employees of the College.They
usually have a separate skill or expertise not available within the College.
The need for their services does not commonly extend beyond a limited period of
time in which to complete a specifically defined project.
Indirect Cost Rates: The rates used to recover the indirect
costs of a sponsored project. Negotiated, approved rates are to be used for all
agreements with the federal government and for most non-federal projects, as
allowable. Information on current indirect cost rates is available from the
Office of Sponsored Projects.
Indirect Costs: Also referred to as overhead, overhead
costs, or administrative costs. Indirect costs are actual costs incurred to
conduct the normal business activities of an organization. Indirect costs
usually cannot be readily identified with or directly charged to a specific
project or activity.The normal activities of the College include: instruction
and departmental research, organized research, public service, and other
institutional activities. Indirect costs are real, auditable costs incurred by
the College each time it accepts an award for a sponsored project. If the
College does not collect full reimbursement for these costs, other College
resources must be used to subsidize them.
Informal Proposal: A short (generally 2-5 pages)
description of the proposed project that does not involve a commitment of
college resources or a signature on behalf of the college.An informal proposal
may include a total cost estimate but does not include a budget and is not
expected to result directly in an award. The purpose of an informal proposal is
usually to inform and interest the potential sponsor enough to request a more
detailed formal proposal.Also sometimes called a letter proposal, preliminary
proposal, pre-application, or concept paper.
Informed Consent: The voluntary agreement obtained from a
subject (or the subject's legally authorized representative) to participate in
research or related activity, before participating in that activity.The consent
must permit the individual (or legally authorized representative) to exercise
free power of choice without undue inducement or any element or deceit, fraud,
force, duress, or other form of coercion or constraint.
In-Kind Contribution: A non-cash commitment (such as
contributed effort, facilities use, or supplies) to share the costs of a
sponsored project.
Institutional Authorized Officials: Individuals authorized
by the Dartmouth College Board of Trustees to sign grants, contracts, and
agreements on behalf of Dartmouth College.
Institutional Proposal: The proposal after approval from
OSP, is ultimately submitted to the sponsoring agency. The Institutional
Proposal is considered to be the property of the Trustees of Dartmouth College
and not the submitting Principal Investigator(s) or academic department(s).
Institutional Review Board (IRB): A board or committee
organized at the College to provide review at the institutional level for
ethical concerns in research, such as laboratory animal care and the use of
human subjects in research.
Invitation to Bid: see Request for Proposal
Letter of Inquiry: A letter of inquiry is initiated by an
applicant to determine if a proposed project is within a private agency's
fundable program area and to request agency policy and program information, as
well as instructions and forms.
Letter of Intent: A letter of intent advises a funding
agency that an application will be submitted in response to their
solicitation.The letter may contain general program information, unofficial
cost estimates, and a request for specific application guidelines, instructions
and forms.
Letter Proposal: see Informal Proposal
Lobbying: A certification assuring the federal agency that
no federal appropriated funds or any other non-federal funds have been paid or
will be paid for influencing any federal official or employee in connection
with the awarding of any contract, grant or agreement
Matching Funds: A cash commitment to share the costs of a
sponsored project. Funds raised under a matching funds agreement are usually
matched 'dollar for dollar' by the sponsor.
Material Transfer Agreement: Outlines who will retain final
ownership of specific equipment purchased from sponsored research funds.Most
frequently it refers to the transfer of ownership from a sponsor to Dartmouth
College, or from Dartmouth College to a principal investigator or another
institution.
Misconduct in Science: Misconduct in science means
fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously
deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community
for proposing, conducting, or reporting research. It does not include honest
error or honest differences in interpretation or judgments of data.
Mission: A sponsor's stated purpose, which is designed to
address a specified set of problems. Almost all federal research agencies are
designated as mission agencies.
Modification: Any change made to an existing sponsored
agreement.
Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC): A subset of direct
costs, normally excluding costs such as patient care, rental of off-site
facilities, tuition remissions, scholarships and fellowships, and equipment
over $2,500, alterations and renovations, and subcontract costs in excess of
the first $25,000, on which Facilities and Administration Costs may be
charged.MTDC is established by the Facilities and Administration Cost rate
agreement.
Modified Total Direct Costs: The portion of direct costs on
which the Facilities and Administration Costs are based,
namely:salaries and wages, fringe benefits, materials and
supplies, services, travel.
New Application: A request for financial support for a
project not currently receiving support from a sponsor, and not previously
submitted in the same form to a sponsor.
No-Cost Extension: Provides for an additional period of
performance to accomplish project goals.May be handled internally in certain
circumstances or sought externally from the sponsor.
Non-competing Continuation: A request for financial support
to a sponsor to continue the ongoing work of a previously approved project.
Noncompeting continuations are not subject to competing review by the sponsor.
Noncompeting continuations are, however, reviewed by the sponsor to assure that
progress is being made on the project.SEE ALSO: Competing Continuation
Notice of Grant Award: A legally binding document that
serves as a notification to the recipient and others that sponsored funds have
been awarded to a grantee to support a specific project or activity.
OMB Circular A-21: Cost Principles for Educational
Institutions, published by the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB),
this circular establishes the principles for determining the costs applicable
to grants, contracts, and other government agreements with educational
institutions (also known as Sponsored Projects).
Patent: An agreement awarded by the government, granting
the inventor the right, for a limited period, to exclude others from making,
using, or selling the described invention.
Peer Review: A process utilized by some federal and private
agencies, whereby committees of research investigators in the same area of
research or with the necessary expertise [from other institutions] review and
recommend applications to the funding agency.
Principal Investigator (PI): Typically, a faculty member or
administrator who submitted a proposal that was accepted and funded by an
external sponsor, also referred to as the project director.The PI has primary
responsibility for technical compliance, completion of programmatic work, and
responsible spending of a sponsor funds.
Prior Approval: The process by which approval for specific
changes to a sponsored research project are granted from the sponsor and/or the
Office of Sponsored Projects.SEE ALSO: Expanded Authority
Priority Score: A score derived from the rating given a
research proposal by each member on a review committee.It is used to help
determine which approved proposals will be granted awards, from funds
available.
Program Announcement (PA): An agency's notification to the
research community that financial assistance is available to carry out specific
activities. The PA usually includes the program title, special emphasis or
interests of the sponsor, type of assistance, and other sponsor imposed
regulations or controls.
Program Officer: A sponsor's designated individual
officially responsible for the technical, scientific, or programmatic aspects
of a particular grant, cooperative agreement, or contract. Serving as
counterpart to the Principal Investigator, the program officer deals with the
grantee organization staff to assure programmatic progress.
Project Director: See Principal Investigator.
Proposal: The term used to describe the complete grant
package, including required forms and budget.
Proprietary Research: Research sponsored by non
governmental entity or individual that involves restrictions on the
distribution or publication of the research findings or results following
completion, for a specified period or for indefinite duration.
Rebudgeting: Process by which funds available for spending
are reallocated between budget categories to allow best use of funds to
accomplish project goals
Request for Application (RFA): A formal announcement
describing an initiative in a well-defined area that invites anyone in the
field to submit a grant application for a one-time competition for a specific
amount of committed funds to be used for a specific number of awards
Request for Information (RFI): An RFI contains the detailed
information that must be supplied in the preliminary proposal.
Request for Proposal (RFP): Written documents soliciting
pricing and/or technical proposals to supply goods or services as specified in
the requesting document. The proposal procedure is often complex and must
satisfy very specific requirements.Any resulting award(s) would normally be
funded by a contract.
Research and Related Activities: All formal investigative
efforts (whether funded or unfunded) by faculty, students, and staff that are
designed to develop or contribute to generalize knowledge, including analyses
of secondary data.
Research: A systematic investigation, including research
development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to
generalized knowledge.
Sex & Age Discrimination: A certification assuring the
Federal agency that the institution complies with Title IX of the Education
Amendments of 1972 (P.L. 92-318, as amended), which prohibits discrimination on
the basis of sex; and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (P.L. 94-135), which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of age.
Site Visit: An agency-initiated review of a proposed or
funded project conducted at the applicant's institution.
Special Purpose Equipment: Equipment which can be used only
for research, scientific, or other technical activities.
Sponsor: An external funding source which enters into an
agreement with the College to support research, instruction, public service or
other sponsored activities. Sponsors include private businesses, corporations,
foundations and other not-for-profit organizations, other colleges and
universities, and federal, state and local governments.
Sponsored Research: Research, training, or instructional
projects involving funds, materials, other forms of compensation, or exchanges
of in-kind efforts from sources external to an institution and funded through
awards or agreements
Subcontract: A contract issued under a prime contract,
agreement, purchase order, or grant for the procurement of purchased
program-related tasks. Issuance of subcontracts under federal prime award is
subject to compliance with federal law and all subcontracts are subject to the
terms and conditions of the prime award and the normal purchasing requirements
of Dartmouth College.
Subgrant: An award of financial assistance in the form of
money or property made under a grant by the grantee to an eligible
recipient.
Supplemental Proposal: The request for additional funding
from the project's sponsor to continue activities of an ongoing project.
Terms of Award: All legal requirements imposed on an award
by the sponsor, whether by statue, regulation(s), or terms in the award
document. The terms of award include both standard and special stated
provisions that must be met in carrying out the goals and objects of the
grant.
Total Cost: Dollar amount it will take to complete a
proposed project . It includes sum of the direct and Facilities and
Administration Costs of a project.
Total Direct Costs: The total allowable direct costs
incurred by the institution to carry out an approved project or activity.
Unrestricted Funds: Funds having no requirements or
restrictions as to use or disposition. Funds awarded under grants, contracts,
and cooperative agreements are considered to be restricted funds.
Unsolicited Proposal: Proposals submitted to a sponsor that
are not in response to an RFP, RFA, or program announcement.
Withholding of Support: A decision by the awarding office
not to make a noncompeting continuation award within a previously approved
project period
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