GLOSSARY
Working with and trying to understand all the names and acronyms the Federal Government uses, can be quite overwhelming and confusing. I have put together a list, along with a brief description of some of the more common verbiage you may come across when applying for and administering federal awards.
A
ALLOWABLE COST
An allowable cost is a cost that the government will "allow" you to either directly or indirectly be reimbursed for such cost. On the flip side, there are some specifc costs the government will not pay for. See "unallowable cost"
ARPA-E
Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy "ARPA-E". It is funded by The Department of Energy "DoE". The grants are normally larger amounts. You must negotiate an indirect rate and prepare an incurred cost submission.
ASAP
ASAP stands for the Automatic Standard Application for Payments. It is a web-based payment system used by the Department of Energy (DoE) to fund their grantees. This is where you draw funds from.
B
BAA
Broad Agency Announcements "BAA" is a competitive process the government uses to give notice and gather proposals for basic and applied research.
BARDA
BARDA stands for Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. It provides NIH with an integrated, systematic approach to the development and purchase of the necessary vaccines, drugs, therapies, and diagnostic tools for public health medical emergencies such as pandemic influenza or emerging infectious diseases, and national health security such as chemical, biological, radiological nuclear accidents, incidents and attacks. These are normally larger funding vehicles through NIH. You must must submit a negotiated rate and an annual incurred cost submission.
C
CONTRACT CLOSEOUT
When a contracting officer formally closes the contract with your organization. It’s important to note that until this happens, your organization continues to be subject to the terms and conditions of the award.
COST REIMBURSABLE AWARD
A type of award in which the government reimburses you for incurred costs. All of the following government awards are almost always cost-reimbursable: SBIR/STTR, Phase II, ARPA-E, BARDA, BAA, R01, U01, R21, and IDIQ
D
DARPA
DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. They fund very cutting edge and super innovative ideas serving the interest of national security. The awards they make are normally very large.
DCAA
The Defense Contract Audit Agency "DCAA" is the audit agency responsible for auditing federal awards. Primarily for the DoD, however some Federal Agencies outsource work to the DCAA.
DFAS
DFAS is the Division of Financial Advisory Services. NIH awards that need negotiated indirect rates are negotiated by this Division of NIH.
DOD
The Department of Defense "DOD" Houses sub agencies such as Army, Navy, Air Force, Department of Homeland Security, DARPA, etc. Here, Program Officers decide whose technology is exciting to them (as opposed to a peer review process). Then, a Contracting Officer negotiates the terms and conditions of the award, while the DCAA performs an in person audit to make sure the awardee has an acceptable accounting system for doing business with the Government.
DOE
(Department of Energy) Our clients tend to receive awards from the DoE via through SBIR/STTR awards, as well as ARPA-E awards. These awards can be contracts, grants or cooperative agreements.
E
ERA COMMONS
An NIH online interface where grantees, applicants, and federal staff at NIH can access and share information related to research grants.
F
FAR
(Federal Acquisition Regulation) The FAR System governs the process by which the government purchases goods and services. This process consists of need recognition and acquisition planning, contract (or grant) formation, and contract/grant administration.
FAR 52.216-7
Allowable Cost Clause is a cost-reimbursable award. Recipients are obligated to maintain project cost accounting records for billing and reporting purposes in accordance with the FAR, as well as the unique supplemental FAR regulations published by each agency. Recipients will be subject to government audit after the money is spent.
FBO
(Federal Business Opportunities) Areas in which the government would like to invest or has interest.
FAR 31
FAR’s discussion of which indirect expenses are allowable and which are not.
FFR STANDARD FORM 425 FEDERAL FINANCIAL REPORT
The quarterly report used by grantees to self-report how grant spending reconciles to amounts billed to the government. Incidentally, this is where NIHgrantees usually commit unintentional fraud.
FINANCIAL CAPACITY AUDIT
An extensive balance sheet analysis that the DCAA conducts and uses to determine your underlying financial solvency and how much work your organization has the ability to perform.
FLOOR CHECK
A surprise audit conducted by the DCAA. The sole purpose is to make sure that you are following the government’s strict timekeeping rules. In it, the DCAA will visit your facility and randomly select employees to audit. These employees need to answer questions about timekeeping procedures and demonstrate that their time sheets reflect these procedures.
FEDERAL AWARD
There are essentially two types of federal awards. Grants and Contracts. Grants are assistance type awards and are administered under 2 CFR 200 of the Code of Federal Regulations, whereas contracts are acquisition/procurement type awards which fall under the FAR (Federal Acquisition Regulation). They are very different from each other. See also "Federal Grant" and Federal Contract"
FEDERAL GRANT
Federal grants are a type of federal award where the government is providing assistance to the grantee. The ultimate benefit lies with the grantee. The government uses grant type awards to fund research and development under the SBIR/STTR programs, as well as to support all sorts of it's concerns. Federal grants are less restrictive than federal contracts and may be subject to Uniform Guidance audits.
FEDERAL CONTRACT
Federal contracts are a type of federal award where the government is acquiring goods or services from a supplier for the ultimate benefit of the government. The government uses contract type awards to fund research and development under the SBIR/STTR programs, as well as for all sorts of it's purchasing needs. Federal contracts are more stringent than federal grants and may be subject to DCAA audits and other audits.
G
GAAP
(Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) is the accounting bible for how financial statements are to be created in the U.S.
H
HHS
The HHS (Department of Health and Human Services) has blanket oversight over all NIH activity.
I
IDIQ
IDIQ is a federal government contracting acronym meaning indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity and provides for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period of time
INCURRED COST
A paid expense.
INCURRED COST SUBMISSION
The Incurred Cost Submission also know as ICE (Incurred Cost Electronically) is essentially a true up report that shows your actual incurred costs burdened with you actual actual rates.
INDIRECT COST
Expenses that are not directly caused by the project, but are necessary expenses that benefit all projects such as electricity, administration, rent, or phones.
INDIRECT RATE
A proportion of the Indirect Cost that the government will assume.
INDIRECT RATE - ACTUAL
The indirect rate that your business is currently running at. It is very important to know this rate at all times so that you know if you are overrunning or underruning your rate. In fact, the FARs require you to monitor your rates.
INDIRECT RATE - CAPPED
The government sometimes cap your rates. Meaning that you can't bill in excess of that rate. If you underrun the rate you may need to refund the excess / credit back the government for the differnece.
INDIRECT RATE - FINAL
The final rate approved by the government.
INDIRECT RATE - OVERRUN
When your actual indirect rate exceeds your provisional rate or capped rate. You may be able to bill the government for the excess. If not, you must fund this or run the risk of insolvency. Sometimes the government will let you use the overrun to meet a matching requirement.
INDIRECT RATE - PROPOSED/BUDGETED
An indirect rate that was used to prepare the proposal. If you do not have a negotiated rate, some agencies will require you to use that rate for the remainder of the award. So be careful as to what rate you put into the cost proposal/budget.
INDIRECT RATE - PROVISIONAL
An indirect rate established for billing purposes, while you wait for the rate to be finalized.
INDIRECT RATE - UNDERRUN
When your actual indirect rate is less than your provisional rate or capped rate. You could be potentially over billing the government in this situation. You may also need to refund the excess / credit back the government for this.
INDIRECT RATE PROJECTION AUDIT
A review of the underlying projections used in establishing your provisional billing (and bidding) rates.
INSPECTOR GENERAL (IG)
The internal affairs department of the federal government in charge of policing all government agencies for misconduct, waste, fraud and theft.
J
K
L
M
N
NIH
(National Institutes of Health) NIH devotes 10% of its funding to research within its own facilities, and 80% to research grants to extramural researchers. The extramural funding consists of about 50,000 grants to more than 325,000 researchers at more than 3,000 institutions.
NOTICE OF GRANT AWARD (NGA)
(Notice of Grant Award) The three to four page document that contains the award’s technical specifications, period of performance, budget and terms and conditions.
O
OMB
(Office of Management and Budget) The Government office that oversees accounting and budgets of all the federal government’s agencies.
P
PMS
(Payment Management System) is the cloud-based payment system used by the NIH.
PRE-AWARD SURVEY
A review of the adequacy of your accounting system. This audit is done on a pass/fail basis. If you don’t pass, you don’t receive the award. It is important to note that a “fail” may have long lasting consequences and hinder your ability to be reconsidered. It is your sole responsibility to ensure that your accounting system is “acceptable.”
PROGRESS PAYMENT AUDIT
When the DCAA judgmentally selects an invoice that you submit and traces all direct costs back to their originating source documents, such as timesheets, vendor invoices, expense reports, etc.
Q
CCR
Contractor Central Registration "CCR" was the primary supplier database for the U.S. federal government. The CCR collected data from suppliers, validated and stored this data, and disseminated it to various government acquisition agencies. On July 30, 2012, the CCR transitioned to the System for Award Management (SAM) e-procurement system.
R
REPORT
Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools – Reports, data and analyses of NIH research activities, including information on NIH expenditures and the results of NIH supported research.
RO1
The Research Project grant is the oldest and original NIH grant mechanism; it supports health-related research and development. RO1 can be investigator-initiated or in response to a program announcement or request for application (RFA)
S
SAM
System for Award Management. Prior to July 30, 2012, Contractor Central Registration (CCR) was the primary supplier database for the U.S. federal government. The CCR collected data from suppliers, validated and stored this data, and disseminated it to various government acquisition agencies. Then, the CCR transitioned to the System for Award Management (SAM) e-procurement system.
SBA
(Small Business Administration) The government agency in charge of the SBIR/STTR program.
SBIR
(Small Business Innovative Research) Coordinated by the SBA, this government program reserves a percentage of extramural research budgets for small businesses. Of the eleven federal agencies in the program, the DoD is the largest agency with $1 billion in SBIR grants annually.
SF-425
(Standard Form 425) is also known as the Federal Financial Report.
STTR
(Small Business Technology Research) Similar to the SBIR and also coordinated by the SBA. The main difference is that small businesses must partner with non-profit research institutions, such as a university.
CCR
Contractor Central Registration "CCR" was the primary supplier database for the U.S. federal government. The CCR collected data from suppliers, validated and stored this data, and disseminated it to various government acquisition agencies. On July 30, 2012, the CCR transitioned to the System for Award Management (SAM) e-procurement system.
T
U
UNIFORM GUIDANCE
Contractor Central Registration "CCR" was the primary supplier database for the U.S. federal government. The CCR collected data from suppliers, validated and stored this data, and disseminated it to various government acquisition agencies. On July 30, 2012, the CCR transitioned to the System for Award Management (SAM) e-procurement system.
UNIFORM GUIDANCE AUDIT
Contractor Central Registration "CCR" was the primary supplier database for the U.S. federal government. The CCR collected data from suppliers, validated and stored this data, and disseminated it to various government acquisition agencies. On July 30, 2012, the CCR transitioned to the System for Award Management (SAM) e-procurement system.
V
VIPERS
(Vendor Invoicing Payments Electronic Reporting System) is a cloud-based government payment system used by the DoE when a Contract or Cooperative Agreement has been awarded.
W
WAWF
(Wide Area Workflow) also known as iRAPT. A secure DoD web-based system for electronic invoicing, receipt and acceptance