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There are three basic relationships that may exist between a sponsor and the
recipient of sponsored research funds. These three types of awards are
reflected in how the funds are allocated and controlled. Each award type
carries with it a set of regulations as articulated in OMB Circular A-21, and
reflected locally in the policies and procedures of the OSP.
Grant
A grant is an award of funds included in a written instrument executed by
the head of the awarding agency or his/her duly authorized representative.
Grant funded project activities support the aims and objectives of the
sponsoring agency. Except in monitoring project progress and financial
transactions, the sponsor is not involved in the management of the project.
Generally, grants have the following characteristics:
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- They are made for a stated purpose.
- The purposes are specified in writing.
- They are usually made for a stated period of time during which funds may be
spent.
- The grant instrument names the Principal Investigator or Project Director
under whose direction the project will be carried out.
- The grant carries a minimum number of limiting conditions, which are stated
in the award document.
Contract
A contract is "an agreement between two or more people to do something,
especially one formally set forth in writing and enforceable by law." Awards
made by contractual agreements are usually more complicated than awards made as
grants. They commit the College to a specific and usually narrowly focused set
of tasks. The sponsor is usually in partnership with the College and therefore
takes a much more active role in the management of the project. The OSP is
responsible for preparing and negotiating contracts with industry, agencies of
state and federal government, local municipalities and non-profit
organizations. Cooperative efforts are encouraged with private and public
partners to support research and creative activities that are consonant with
the College's research, teaching, and public service mission. Generally,
contracts have the following characteristics:
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- The terms of a contract tend to be spelled out in greater detail.
- The activities supported by the contract are frequently dictated by the
sponsor rather than being generated by the applicant.
- The applicant is generally given less latitude to modify the scope of the
agreed upon activities and/or the expenditure of funds provided by the
sponsor.
- A greater number of terms or conditions are included in a contract.
- There is a greater likelihood that the sponsor, through its technical
representatives, will be directly involved in the day-to-day conduct of the
sponsored research award.
Clinical Trial Contract
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- Are research studies that typically involve testing an experimental drug or
device using human subjects
- Principal Investigator's need prior approval from the Committee for the
Protection of Human Subjects (CPHS) before submitting a proposal involving
human subjects
- All clinical trials (federal and non-federal) are charged a $1,500 IRB Fee,
if review is expedited, IRB Fee is $500
- Payments from sponsors on Clinical Trials, is based on the number of
patients enrolled
- Only budget into OGA what we have actually received in payment from
sponsor
- Clinical Trials tend to be open ended, there are no specific end dates, it
ends once the study has been completed or has been terminated
- If there are remaining funds, and if the sponsor allows, the money is
transferred into the department's GL-account (research reserve account).
Principal Investigator needs to confirm that study is completed (via
email)
Cooperative Agreement
Cooperative agreements create a partnership between the institution and the
sponsor. The principal differences between a grant, contract or a cooperative
agreement are in the ways the statement of work is defined. A grant or
contact's statement of work has been articulated in the proposal.
Alternatively, the statement of work may be defined with some degree of
specificity in the contract instrument itself. A cooperative agreement,
however, tends to describe a more open-ended statement of work; details are
filled in during the term of the funded project by mutual agreement between the
sponsor and the recipient. A cooperative agreement is necessary in instances
where it is difficult, if not impossible, at the outset of a project to
anticipate most contingencies and define the full parameters of the
project.
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