Grants Glossary

Account	The term "account," as used by the NIH eRA Commons, is a personal account that an individual would use to log into the NIH eRA Commons. An account is identified by a unique combination of username and password.
Activity code	A code (e.g., R01) assigned by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to identify support mechanisms. General categories include research grants, contracts, training, and fellowships. Research grants can be subdivided into research projects, research centers, and other research grants. For specific activity code assignments and definitions, see the Web based "IMPAC Activity Codes, Organization Codes, and Definitions Used in Extramural Programs". (PDF)
Application identification numbers	1 R01 AI 183723 -01 A1 S1 The application number identifies the type of application (new is Type 1), activity code (research project grant - R01), organization to which it is assigned (NIAID - AI), serial number assigned by the Center for Scientific review (CSR), suffix showing the support year for the grant and other information identifying a supplement, amendment, or a fellowship's institutional allowance. For contracts, the suffix is replaced by a modification number.
Application types	Type l - New Type 2 - Competing continuation (a.k.a. renewal, recompeting application) Type 3 - Application for additional (supplemental) support Type 4 – Competing extension for an R37 award, or first noncompeting year of a Fast Track SBIR/STTR award Type 5 - Noncompeting continuation Type 7 - Change of grantee institution Type 9 - Change of NIH awarding institute or division (competing continuation) Amended -- see Resubmission Contract types -- see Contract transaction types.
Amendment	NIH term for amended or revised (and resubmitted) application.
Award	The provision of funds by NIH, based on an approved application and budget, to an organizational entity or an individual to carry out an activity or project. This includes both direct and indirect costs (F & A) unless otherwise indicated.
Bridge Awards	Provide one year of funding so investigators can continue research while reapplying for an R01 grant, or enable new investigators to gather preliminary data to improve their applications. Investigators do not apply for bridge awards but are selected from R01 grants at the payline margin. A bridge award is made as an R21 with one year of funding, which the PI can choose to spend over a two-year period. This enables the PI to submit an amended R01 application for the next receipt date while receiving interim (bridge) funding under the R21 mechanism.
Budget Justification	Narrative providing details on the use of and need for costs presented in an itemized budget. See Modular Grant link for restrictions on budget justifications in some NIH grant applications.
Center for Scientific Review (CSR)	The NIH component responsible for the receipt and referral of applications to the PHS, as well as the initial review for scientific merit of most applications submitted to the NIH.
Circular A-21	Cost Principles for Educational Institutions (U.S. Office of Management and Budget)
Circular A-110	Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Other Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals and Other Non-Profit Organizations (U.S. Office of Management and Budget)
Circular A-122	Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations (U.S. Office of Management and Budget)
Competing Applications	Applications that are either new or recompeting that must undergo initial peer review.
Competing Continuation	An application that requires competitive peer review and institute/center action to continue beyond the current competitive segment. Also known as a Renewal or Type 2.
Consortium	See Sub-Contract.
Consultant	Individual hired to give professional advice or services for a fee, normally never an employee of the hiring institution. Strict guidelines apply.
Contracts	Agreements whereby the sponsor defines and supports clearly defined activities.
Cooperative Agreement	Grant-Contract hybrid. Funder is involved in programmatic decisions.
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA)	Any agreement between one or more NIH laboratories and one or more non-federal parties under which the PHS, through its laboratories, provides personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources with or without reimbursement (but not funds to non-federal parties) and the non-federal parties provide funds, personnel, services, facilities, equipment, or other resources toward the conduct of specified research or development efforts which are consistent with the missions of the laboratory.
Cost Sharing	Institutional partnership with funding agency in the support of research. This is usually an eligibility rather than a review criterion. Institutional funds used are commonly known as "matching funds".
Council	Common term for Institute Advisory Board. Each NIH institute convenes such a group to review the decisions of the IRGs for program relevance and need and to determine institute funding levels. This is the second stage of the peer review process.
CRISP	Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects (searchable NIH funded grants database)
DHHS	U.S. Department of Health and Human Services -- Federal executive department of which the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) is a component and the NIH is an agency of the PHS.
Direct Costs	Those costs related to the actual conduct of a research project (salaries, fringe benefits, consultants, equipment, supplies, travel, patient costs, animal costs, human subject costs, publication costs, service contracts). Direct costs are usually itemized in grant application budgets. See Indirect Costs.
Dual assignments	Applications simultaneously assigned to two institutes, centers, or divisions. The primary institute has complete responsibility for administering and funding the application; the secondary assumes this responsibility only if the primary is unable or unwilling to support it.
Dual review system	Peer review process used by NIH. The first level of review provides a judgment of scientific merit. The second level of review, usually conducted by an ICD's advisory Council, assesses the quality of the first review, sets program priorities, and makes funding recommendations.
Electronic Research Administration (eRA)	The NIH's infrastructure for conducting interactive electronic transactions for the receipt, review, monitoring, and administration of NIH grant awards to biomedical investigators worldwide.
eSNAP	Allows an institution to review non-competing grant data and submit a progress report online.
Expanded Authorities	Federal policy (see PHS Grant Policy Statement; http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/gps/8postnew.htm ) giving greater autonomy to grantees, including the ability to carry over funds from one budget period to the next. Expanded authorities apply to most R (but not R41 or 43), P, K, and T series grants.
F&A Costs	Facilities and Administration Costs (see Indirect Costs). Costs that are incurred by a grantee for common or joint objectives and that, therefore, cannot be identified specifically with a particular project or program. These costs were previously known as "indirect costs," and, in most instances, will be referred to as "F&A costs."
Fastlane	NSF system for electronic submission of grant proposals.
Federal Register	An official, daily publication that communicates proposed and final regulations and legal notices issued by federal agencies, including announcements of the availability of funds for financial assistance. Web Address: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/browse.html
Funding Components, abbreviated	components of the NIH that can make extramural awards. They include: AA--National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) AG--National Institute on Aging (NIA) AI--National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) AR--National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) AT--National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) CA--National Cancer Institute (NCI) DA--National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) DC--National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) DE--National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) DK--National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) EB--National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) ES--National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) EY--National Eye Institute (NEI) GM--National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) HD--National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) HG--National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) HL--National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) LM--National Library of Medicine (NLM) MD--National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NCMHD) MH--National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) NR--National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) NS--National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) OD--Office of the Director (NIH) RG--Center for Scientific Review (CSR) RR--National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) TW--John E. Fogarty International Center (FIC) WH--Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH)
FY (Fiscal Year)	The annual period established for government accounting purposes. Fiscal year 2006, for example, began October 1, 2005 and ended September 30, 2006.
Gift	General support with minimal restrictions on use. Progress and financial reports not usually required.
Grant	Support for a specific project designed by the funds recipient. Sponsor has expectations about how the funds are spent. Deliverables may include formal project reports. Financial reports are required.
Grant Cycle	Events occurring from time of application submission to receipt of award. At NIH, there are three overlapping grant cycles per year (i.e. three grant deadlines per year).
Grant Mechanism	General purpose of a grant program and guidelines for submitting proposals and managing awarded grants.
High risk/high impact (HR/HI)	A category of applications identified by a scientific review group as having a high degree of uncertainty in approach but also a high potential for impact. NIH tracks how many of these applications are identified and funded.
IACUC	Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (at AECOM this is called the Animal Institute and the Institute for Animal Studies). Oversees all use of vertebrate animals for research and teaching and establishes policies for ethical animal use and ensures that such use is compliant with federal, state and local regulations.
Indirect Costs	Facilities and Administration costs: those costs related to institutional infrastructure, both physical and administrative, that are necessary for research to be conducted (space, utilities, custodial services, security, library services, animal facilities, information systems, shared research facilities, institutional review board, institutional animal care and use committee, biosafety, payroll, purchasing, grant management). These costs are not itemized in grant applications. Typically, indirect costs are calculated as a percentage of all or part of the direct costs. See Direct Costs and F&A costs.
Investigator-initiated research	Research funded as a result of an investigator, on his or her own, submitting a research application. Also known as unsolicited research. Unsolicited applications are reviewed by chartered CSR review committees. See also its opposite: Targeted research.
IRB	Institutional Review Board (at AECOM, this is called the Committee on Clinical Investigation: CCI). Oversees all research involving human subjects.
IRG	Initial Review Group (current term: Scientific Review Group). Conducts first stage of NIH peer review; second stage is by the "Council".
Just-in-Time	A series of measures aimed at streamlining the NIH grant application and review process. In general, certain kinds of information (e.g. Other Support) are required at time of a grant award rather than at the time of application submission.
Key personnel	Individuals who contribute in a substantive way to the scientific development or execution of a project, whether or not they receive compensation from the grant supporting that project. The principal investigator and collaborators are included in this category.
Matching Funds	See Cost Sharing.
Mechanism	see Activity code
Modular Grant	Streamlined NIH format for grant applications requesting less than $250,000 per year. Intent is to restrict IRG review to scientific aspects of applications.
National Research Service Award (NRSA)	Awards to both individuals and institutions to provide research training in specified health-related areas.
NIH Acronyms	Organization, Institutes, etc.
NIH Commons Demo Facility	Demo Facility allows you to try most of the capabilities of the NIH eRA Commons in a sample environment.
NIH eRA Commons	Systems that enable the electronic transmission of information between NIH and our partners in the research community. See https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/
NIH Guide	NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts. Weekly listing of Program Announcements and Requests for Applications.
Non-competing	Within the NIH system, refers to applications that do not undergo competitive peer review. Commonly used to refer to "Non-competing continuation" applications (aka Progress Reports) requesting funds for next budget period in a multi-year grant. PHS 2590 form is used.
Notice of grant award	The legally binding document that notifies the grantee and others that an award has been made, contains or references all terms and conditions of the award, and documents the obligation of Federal funds. The award notice may be in letter format and may be issued electronically.
Not recommended for further consideration (NRFC)	A judgment made by a scientific review group for applications when the merit of the proposed research is not significant and substantial enough to warrant a further review. The study section does not recommend funding; the application cannot be funded by an institute.
Overhead	See Indirect Costs.
PA	Program Announcement. At NIH, PAs have an indefinite longevity, have no funds set aside and usually use standard grant application deadlines.
PAR	Program Announcement with special receipt, referral and/or review considerations.
PAS	Program announcement with set-aside funds.
Payline	Percentile rank-based funding cutoff point determined at the beginning of the fiscal year by balancing the projected number of applications coming to an NIH institute with the amount of funds available.
PDF	Portable Document Format. Common format for electronic transfer and web posting of text and graphics. Requires Adobe Reader program to view, entire Acrobat program to create/edit.
Peer Review	Review of applications for support from the NIH by groups composed of scientists from the extramural research community (as opposed to review by federal/NIH employees).
Percentile Rank	Based on priority score, the application's rank relative to others reviewed by its IRG at the same and past two review meetings. For NIH institutes, an application's percentile rank is the main indicator of merit and basis for determining whether it gets an award.
Priority Score	A number assigned to an application by an Initial Review Group (IRG). The score is a quantitative indicator of perceived scientific and technical merit that ranges from 100 to 500. Individual IRG members assign scores from 1.0 (highest merit) to 5.0 (lowest merit). Votes are cast in 0.1 intervals. The priority scores are the average of member votes multiplied by 100.
Program Announcement	See PA.
Progress Report	See Non-Competing.
Rank	See Percentile Rank.
Rebudgeting	Making changes to proposed expenditures for different budget categories (e.g. decreasing budget for Supplies and increasing budget for Travel). For federal funding, such changes are usually permissible under "Expanded Authorities". Use rebudgeting form. Any effect of the changes on indirect cost recovery should be discussed with AECOM Grant Accounting.
Request for Applications	See RFA.
Request for Proposals	See RFP.
Resubmission	Sending NIH an application for initial peer review after it has been reviewed by a study section and revised by the applicant. Each resubmission is given a code, e.g., A1, A2. NIH limits you to two resubmissions.
RFA	Request for Applications. At NIH, RFAs are one time solicitations for grant applications, have funds set aside, and have special application deadlines.
RFP	Request for Proposals. Often used synonymously with RFA. However, at NIH, RFPs refer to contracts, not grants.
Scientific review administrator (SRA)	A federal scientist who presides over a scientific review group and is responsible for coordinating and reporting the eview of each application assigned to it. The SRA serves as an intermediary between the applicant and reviewers and prepares summary statements for all applications reviewed.
Scientific review group (SRG)	(Formerly known as Initial Review Group). A chartered committee that performs the first level of peer review; now generally called a scientific review group (also known as a study section).
Signing Official (SO)	An SO, or Signing Official, has institutional authority to legally bind the institution in grants administration matters. The individual fulfilling this role may have any number of titles in the grantee organization. The label "Signing Official" is used in conjunction with the NIH eRA Commons. The SO can register the institution, and create and modify the institutional profile and user accounts. The SO also can view all grants within the institution, including status and award information. An SO can create additional SO accounts as well as accounts with any other role or combination of roles. For most institutions, the Signing Official (SO) is located in its Office of Sponsored Research or equivalent
Small Business Grants	Funding mechanisms used by federal agencies to encourage research and development in the private sector. NIH SBIR and STTR mechanisms may involve awards to researchers in academia but special conditions apply.
Sub-Contract	Arrangement whereby part of a research project is carried out by a different organization/legal entity; aka Consortium.
Success Rate	Indicates the percentage of reviewed RPG applications that receive funding computed on a fiscal year basis. It is determined by dividing the number of competing applications funded, by the sum of the total number of competing applications reviewed and the number of funded carryovers. Note that applications that have one or more amendments in the same fiscal year are only counted once. Success rate computations exclude SBIR/STTRs.
Targeted research	Research funded as a result of an institute set aside of dollars for a specific scientific area. Institutes solicit applications using research initiatives (RFAs for grants, RFPs for contracts). Targeted research applications are reviewed by chartered peer review committees within institutes. See also the opposite: Investigator-initiated research.