Contact Us
A sponsored project is defined as an activity that is sponsored, or funded, by an external organization, such as a federal, state or private organization or agency.
The characteristics of a sponsored project include:
- A specific scope of work or a set of specific goals
- Financial accountability and/or reporting; the funds must be separately budgeted and accounted for
- A specific period of performance
- Deliverables, including a final technical report
- A disposition of property, e.g. equipment
Only full-time faculty (including lecturers) are eligible to be a Principal Investigator (PI) or Co-Principal Investigator (Co-PI) on proposals submitted through Bentley University.
Sponsored awards may be made by using a variety of mechanisms, each with varying levels of expectation and involvement on the part of the sponsor.
Federal Grants
- Project conceived by investigator (e.g. faculty member)
- Principal Investigator defines details and retains scientific freedom
- Agency support in the form of Assistance
- Agency maintains cognizance
- Funds are provided through unilateral funding mechanism
Federal Contracts
- Project conceived by agency
- Agency exercises direction or control
- Agency procures services
- Agency closely monitors
- Funds are provided through an agreement signed by both parties
Non-Federal Agreements
- Sponsors: Foreign, State and local governments, industry, foundations, other non-profit research institutions
- Project conceived by investigator and refined through discussions with sponsor to create a consensus proposal
- Principal Investigator defines details but sponsor helps shape direction and objectives
- Principal Investigator retains scientific freedom
- Agency exercises direction and closely monitors progress
- Funds are provided through an agreement signed by both parties
- Agreement defines rights and obligations of both parties with regard to conduct of research and rights to use the research outcomes and deliverables
F&A refers to two broad categories of indirect costs: facilities and administrative. Each category is made up of subcategories, or cost pools.
- Facilities includes the depreciation of buildings and equipment, interest on debt associated with capital assets, operations and maintenance of physical plant and library expenses
- Administrative includes general administration and other general expenses of the institute, departmental administration, sponsored projects administration, student administration and services and other types of indirect costs not listed as facilities.
Bentley University charges F&A costs on sponsored program budgets only on salaries and wages. For details, read the negotiated rate agreement.
Since the benefit associated with each function cannot be precisely measured, the costs are assigned or allocated according to methods prescribed in federal regulations, primarily the "Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) Part 200 – Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, or “Uniform Guidance” as described in “Subpart E-Cost Principles.”
Information such as the university’s DUNS number, etc. can be found on the Bentley Institutional Fact Sheet.
The IRB is a committee formed to ensure the safe and ethical treatment of human participants in research at Bentley. Federal and university regulations stipulate that all faculty, staff and student research projects involving human subjects are reviewed and approved by the IRB prior to their initiation. More information can be found on their website.
Consultants on a sponsored project are individuals or entities that provide services within normal business operations to many different customers. These services are secondary to the operation of the project. For example, a project may need to hire an evaluator, in order to receive an unbiased analysis of the project’s results. Consultants will be budgeted as a “Contracted Service”. When budgeting for a consultant, it is important to incorporate all of his/her, or the company’s, charges. Include the consultant’s hourly rate, number of hours estimated, travel costs, materials and supplies costs, etc. in this cost category. Federal agencies often have limitations on a consultant’s daily rate. Please note that consultants are not subject to project compliance. Therefore, the university’s awarded terms and conditions will not flow down to the individual or company.
Sub-recipients are contributors to the programmatic portion of the project. Their performance will be measured against whether the objectives of the project are being met. Sub-recipients are subject to project compliance. Therefore, sub-recipients must adhere to the university’s awarded terms and conditions. Sub-recipients should provide a detailed budget (i.e. salary, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, materials and supplies, consultants, indirect costs, etc.). Please note: If there is a sponsor restriction on F&A then subcontractors must also adhere to said restriction in their budgets.
Grants.gov
This site allows anyone to search federal grant listings of 26 federal grant-making agencies and sign up for e-mail notification of newly posted grants.
Site: http://www.grants.gov
Federal Register
Contains a detailed listing of federal grants offered by various government agencies. Use search device to find grants pertaining to a specific field of interest.
Site: https://www.federalregister.gov/topics/grant-programs
FedBizOps/Commerce Business Daily
The CBD lists government contract awards. Includes a search engine to find grants relating to specific field of interest.
Site: https://www.fbo.gov/
Department of Education
Site includes links that lists grant programs available from the Department and also regulations and rules for those applying for grants.
Site: http://www.ed.gov
National Science Foundation
Site includes links which list funding opportunities and also the procedures in applying for NSF grants.
Site: http://www.nsf.gov
National Endowment for the Humanities
Site supports search for grants in history, literature, philosophy and other areas of the humanities.
Site: http://www.neh.gov
National Institutes of Health
Provides information regarding all grants and funding opportunities available through the individual organizations that make up the NIH.
Site: http://www.nih.gov/
Office of Naval Research
Funding opportunities and Board Agency Announcements for the United States Navy and Marine Corps are available on this website.
Site: http://www.onr.navy.mil/
U.S. Department of State
Site includes links that lists grant opportunities currently offered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. On the home page select Organization, then Bureaus and Offices, then Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Site: http://www.state.gov
The Foundation Center
The college maintains a small collection of resources that may be borrowed. Resources included are:
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copies of previously funded proposals to federal and private agencies awarded to Bentley faculty members.
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books and articles on successful grant seeking
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books and articles on funding sources for different types of projects
Prospective Principal Investigators are invited to forward Susan Richman an abstract of their project(s) for assistance in searching for appropriate governmental funding sources.
Current opportunities for federal grants are available at http://grants.gov
The Office of Sponsored Programs forwards frequent descriptions of funding opportunities to faculty and staff. Should you wish to receive these by email, please contact Susan Richman.
In conjunction with the Principal Investigator, the college administers all external awards received by the college on behalf of a faculty member. The PI and the designated administrator both sign off on all expenditures. The college's administrator oversees compliance with the agency's regulations and procedures. In general, this administrator files any financial reports that may be required while the faculty member is responsible for meeting program reporting requirements.
At the time of award, the PI or project director should contact Jen Vernaglia, the Assistant Controller in the Office of Financial Operations. The Assistant Controller will discuss the college's oversight of such activities as time and effort reporting, approval of expenditures, and timely submission of reports.
The college adheres to the administrative principles (such as those set forth in Office of Management and Budget circulars A-133 and A-21, as applicable) and to additional requirements of individual granting agencies (such as the National Science Foundation's Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide – PAPPG, or the Education Department general Administration Regulations). It also follows additional regulations of individual programs and awards.
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AAAH |
American Association for the Advancement of Humanities |
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AAALAC |
American Association of Animal Laboratory Accreditation Council |
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AAAS |
American Association for the Advancement of Science |
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AAC |
Association for American Colleges |
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AACD |
American Association of Counseling and Development |
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AACUO |
Association for Affiliated College and University Offices |
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ACE |
American Council on Education |
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ACLS |
American Council for Learned Societies |
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ACF |
Administration for Children and Families |
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ACO |
Administrative Contracting Officer |
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ACS |
American Cancer Society |
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ACYF |
Administration for Children, Youth and Families |
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ADA |
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 |
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ADAMHA |
Administration on Drug Abuse, Mental Health and Alcoholism |
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AFDC |
Aid to Families with Dependent Children |
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AFOSR |
Air Force Office of Scientific Research |
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AFRI |
Agriculture and Food Research Initiative |
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AHA |
American Heart Association |
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AHRQ |
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality |
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AID |
Agency for International Development |
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AOA |
Administration on Aging |
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AOR |
Authorized Organizational Representative |
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ARI |
Army Research Institute |
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ARO |
Army Research Office |
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ASAP |
As soon as possible |
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AUTM |
Association of University Technology Managers |
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AVA |
American Vocational Association |
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AY |
Academic Year |
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BAA |
Broad Agency Announcement |
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BIA |
Bureau of Indian Affairs |
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BLS |
Bureau of Labor Statistics |
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CAS |
Cost Accounting Standards |
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CASB |
Cost Accounting Standards Board |
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CASE |
Council for the Advancement and Support of Education |
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CBD |
Commerce Business Daily |
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CDA |
Confidential Disclosure Agreement |
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CDC |
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
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CFDA |
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance |
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CFR |
Code of Federal Regulations |
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CIES |
Council for the International Exchange of Scholars |
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CPB |
Corporation for Public Broadcasting |
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CO |
Contracting Officer |
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COB |
Close of business |
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COI |
Conflict of Interest (financial) |
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COP |
Certificate of Proposal |
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COGR |
Council on Governmental Relations |
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CRADA |
Cooperative Research and Development Agreement |
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CSR |
Center for Scientific Review (NIH) |
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CSREES |
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service |
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CURI |
College and University Resource Institute |
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CWS |
College Work Study |
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DA |
Departmental Administration |
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DARPA |
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency |
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DC |
Direct Costs |
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DCA |
Division of Cost Allocation (DHHS) |
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DCAA |
Defense Contract Audit Agency |
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DCE |
Direct Cost Equivalent |
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DEA |
Drug Enforcement Administration |
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DEAR |
Department of Energy Acquisition Regulations |
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DEPSCoR |
Defense Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research |
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DFAR |
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations |
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DHHS |
Department of Health and Human Services |
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DOC |
Department of Commerce |
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DOD |
Department of Defense |
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DOE |
Department of Energy |
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DOEd |
Department of Education (US ED) |
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DHS |
Department of Homeland Security |
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DOI |
Digital Object Identifier |
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DOJ |
Department of Justice |
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DOL |
Department of Labor |
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DOT |
Department of Transportation |
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DRC |
Departmental Review Committee of the IRB |
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DRC |
Disclosure Review Committee (financial conflict of interest) |
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EDA |
Economic Development Administration |
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EDGAR |
Educational Department General Administration Regulations |
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EDI |
Electronic Data Interchange |
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EEO |
Equal Employment Opportunity |
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EFT |
Electronic Funds Transfer |
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EO |
Executive Order |
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EPA |
Environmental Protection Agency |
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EPSCoR |
Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research |
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ERIC |
Education Resources Information Clearinghouse |
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eRA |
Electronic Research Administration |
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ERS |
Economic Research Service |
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ESEA |
Elementary and Secondary Education Act |
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ETA |
Employment and Training Administration |
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F&A |
Facilities and Administrative Costs (formerly 'Indirect Costs') |
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Fed Biz Opps |
Federal Business Opportunities |
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FAR |
Federal Acquisition Regulations |
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FDA |
Food and Drug Administration |
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FDP |
Federal Demonstration Partnership |
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FIE |
Federal Information Exchange |
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FIPSE |
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education |
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FMC |
Federal Management Circular |
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FOA |
Funding Opportunity Announcement |
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FOIA |
Freedom of Information Act |
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FR |
Federal Register |
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FSR |
Financial Status Report |
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FTE |
Full-time Equivalent |
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FY |
Fiscal Year |
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FYI |
For your information |
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GA |
General Administration |
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GAAP |
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles |
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GAO |
Government Accounting Office |
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GCA |
Grant/Contractor Administrator |
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GEPA |
General Education Provisions Act |
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GPRA |
Government Performance and Results Act |
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GPO |
Government Printing Office |
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GSA |
General Services Administration |
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HBCU |
Historically-Black Colleges and Universities |
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HEA |
Higher Education Amendment |
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HEARS |
Higher Education Administrative Resource Service |
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HENA |
Higher Education and National Affairs |
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HHS |
Department of Health and Human Services |
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HRSA |
Health Resources and Services Administration |
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HSARPA |
Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency |
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HSI |
Hispanic-Serving Institution |
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HUD |
Department of Housing and Urban Development |
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IACUC |
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee |
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IBP |
Institutional Biosafety Committee |
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I/C |
Indirect Cost Rate (now 'Facilities and Administrative Cost Rate') |
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IC |
Institutes and Centers (NIH) |
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IDC |
Indirect Costs (now 'Facilities and Administrative Costs') |
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IG |
Inspector General |
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IHE |
Institution of Higher Education |
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IP |
Intellectual Property |
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IPR |
Intellectual Property Rights |
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IPRC |
Intellectual Property Review Committee |
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IRB |
Institutional Review Board |
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IR&D |
Independent Research and Development |
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IREX |
International Research and Exchanges Board |
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LAR |
Laboratory Animal Resources |
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LEA |
Local Education Agency |
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LOI |
Letter of Intent |
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MTA |
Material Transfer Agreement |
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MTDC |
Modified Total Direct Costs |
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MOA |
Memorandum of Agreement |
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MOU |
Memorandum of Understanding |
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NA |
Not applicable |
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NAS |
National Academy of Sciences |
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NASA |
National Aeronautics and Space Administration |
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NASULGC |
National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges |
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NATO |
North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
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NCCAM |
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NIH) |
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NCE |
No-cost extension |
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NCES |
National Center for Educational Statistics |
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NCHRP |
National Cooperative Highway Research Program |
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NCI |
National Cancer Institute (NIH) |
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NCMHD |
National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIH) |
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NCRR |
National Center for Research Resources (NIH) |
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NCURA |
National Council of University Research Administrators |
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NEA |
National Education Association |
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NEA |
National Endowment for the Arts |
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NEH |
National Endowment for the Humanities |
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NEI |
National Eye Institute (NIH) |
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NFAH |
National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities |
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NGA |
Notice of Grant Award |
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NHGRI |
National Human Genome Research Institute (NIH) |
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NHLBI |
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH) |
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NIA |
National Institute on Aging (NIH) |
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NIAAA |
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIH) |
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NIAID |
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIH) |
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NIAMS |
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIH) |
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NIBIB |
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIH) |
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NICHD |
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH) |
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NIDA |
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH) |
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NIDCD |
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIH) |
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NIDCR |
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIH) |
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NIDDK |
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders (NIH) |
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NIDDR |
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (US ED) |
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NIEHS |
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH) |
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NIFA |
National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA) |
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NIGMS |
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIH) |
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NIH |
National Institutes of Health |
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NIJ |
National Institute of Justice |
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NIMH |
National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) |
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NINDS |
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) |
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NINR |
National Institute of Nursing Research (NIH) |
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NIST |
National Institute of Standards and Technology |
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NLM |
National Library of Medicine (NIH) |
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NOA |
Notice of Award |
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NOAA |
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
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NPRM |
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking |
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NRA |
National Rehabilitation Association |
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NRC |
National Research Council |
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NRSA |
National Research Service Award |
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NSA |
National Security Administration |
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NSB |
National Science Board |
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NSF |
National Science Foundation |
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OER |
Office of Extramural Research (NIH) |
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OERI |
Office of Educational Research and Improvement |
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OFCC |
Office of Federal Contract Compliance |
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OMB |
Office of Management and Budget |
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ONR |
Office of Naval Research |
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OPRR |
Office of Protection from Research Risks |
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OR |
Office of Research |
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ORM |
Office of Regional Management |
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OSHA |
Occupational Safety and Health Administration |
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OSI |
Office of Science Integrity |
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OSR |
Office of Sponsored Research |
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OSTP |
Office of Science and Technology Policy |
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OTA |
Office of Technology Assessment |
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PA |
Program Announcement |
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PD |
Project Director |
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Portable Document Format |
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PHS |
Public Health Service |
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PI |
Principal Investigator |
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PMID |
PubMed Identifier |
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R&D |
Research and Development |
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R&R |
Research and Related |
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RCR |
Responsible Conduct in Research |
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RFA |
Request for Applications |
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RFP |
Request for Proposals |
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RFQ |
Request for Quotations |
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S&E |
Science and Engineering |
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S2S |
System-to-System |
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SAMHSA |
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration |
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SBA |
Small Business Administration |
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SBIR |
Small Business Innovative Research |
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SEA |
State Education Agency |
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SOW |
Statement of Work |
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SPA |
Sponsored Programs Administration |
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SRA |
Society of Research Administrators International |
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SSA |
Social Security Administration |
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STATE |
United States Department of State |
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STEM |
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics |
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STTR |
Small Business Technology Transfer |
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TCRP |
Transit Cooperative Research Program |
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TDC |
Total Direct Costs |
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UBIT |
Unrelated Business Income Tax |
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USAID |
United States Agency for International Development |
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USC |
United States Code |
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USDA |
United States Department of Agriculture |
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US ED |
United States Department of Education |
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USFS |
United States Forestry Service |
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USGS |
United States Geological Survey |
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USIA |
United States Information Service |
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USIP |
United States Institute of Peace |
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VA |
Veterans Administration |
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WHO |
World Health Organization |
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