Guidelines for Grant and Contract Management
Glossary
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.
advance account -- an account that is set up in the University's accounting system (FAS) prior to the award documents being received from the funding agency. An advance account is open as of the beginning date of the anticipated award period. See also Guideline 401.
allowable overdraft -- the University has agreed to extend credit to the investigators in certain circumstances when the award has been fully spent or before new or renewed budget authority has been received. Specific procedures must be followed in order for any overdraft to be considered allowable.
amendment -- any change to a contractual agreement needing official signature.
authorized signature -- the signature of a University official who is designated to give assurances, make commitments, and execute such documents on behalf of the University of Chicago as may be required by federal and state agencies and other organizations which provide financial assistance to the University; 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 University policies.
budget -- the amount of spending authority awarded by outside funding sources that the University has a legal claim to collect.
clinical trial -- A clinical trial is operationally defined as a prospective study involving human subjects that is designed to answer specific questions about the effects or impact of particular biomedical or behavioral interventions. See Clinical Trials. See also Non-Federal Indirect Cost Rates for the current clinical study indirect cost rate (applies only to studies involving humans). Also see Guideline 302, "Negotiating Non-Federal Contracts," and attached Clinical Trial Agreement, 302A.
continuing or continuation support -- on-going support provided by an agency which has been awarded for more than one funding period. A continuation proposal is normally submitted at the end of each budget period in order to receive the next increment of funding. Continuation proposals may be competing (i.e., they are placed in competition with other proposals for funding) or non-competing (they may be referred to as renewal proposals).
contract -- a written, legal agreement between an institution and an awarding agency normally involving the expectation of an economic benefit on the part of the contractor and the generation of a tangible product, service, or other consideration in return for sponsored support. These might include testing or evaluation of proprietary products, development or construction of equipment, rights to data, patents, copyrights, technical reports or evaluation, consulting services. This definition is taken from a memorandum dated June 16, 1983 from Alexander Sharp, Vice President for Business and Finance, entitled "Definitions of Gifts, Grants, and Contracts."
cost sharing -- a requirement of some funding agencies that an institution share in the costs of a project. Funding for these costs may come from another source, from the University's own funds, or from a reduced indirect cost rate. Personnel effort on a project without salary recovery is considered cost sharing.
direct costs -- costs which are directly related to the project.
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.
extension in time -- see definition, no cost extension.
Form 70 Request for a Restricted Funds Accounts - Ledger 5 and6 -- This form is a Comptroller's Office form which is used by departments in order to request Restricted Funds to set up an account. The form is routed through the Divisional Dean's Office, the Office of Research Administration and/or Development for review and approval prior to being forwarded to the Comptroller's Office for processing. See also Guideline 401.
gift -- funds are classified as gifts if the following characteristics exist: (1) funds are given voluntarily without expectation of any tangible compensation. Under ordinary circumstances, the funds are awarded irrevocably; (2) funds are given for unrestricted use or for general support restricted to a specific area or purpose. Beyond a possible designation of use, the donor does not impose contractual requirements on the award; (3) any subsequent reporting on the use of the funds to the donor is not a condition of the receipt of the funds. See Foundation Relations
grant -- Like a gift (see definition, gift), grants are given voluntarily, without expectation of tangible compensation; however, one or more of the following characteristics exists: (1) the award is directed at satisfying specific grantor requirements. Toward this end, a proposal submission or award letter may contain terms specifying the scope of work or line of inquiry, performance targets, timeframe, level of personnel, etc.; (2) a line item budget detailing expenditures by activity, function, and project period must be adhered to as a condition of funding. Deviations from the approved budget may require the approval of the grantor; (3) The award involves issues requiring University review including the use of human subjects or laboratory animals, assignment of patents or copyrights, ownership of data or equipment, allocation of University space, or research involving recombinant DNA, radioactive or biohazardous materials; (4) a specific period of performance is proscribed, or termination is at the discretion of the grantor; (5) unexpended funds must be returned to the grantor at the end of the grant period; (6) there are provisions for audits by or on behalf of the grantor; (7) the grantor requires a detailed financial report and/or technical report at intervals during the grant period or upon completion of the grant program.
grants.gov (G.g) -- the central portal that the federal government is implementing for grant submissions. Grants.gov at The University of Chicago
group project -- a center/program project for which a proposal is submitted with identifiable and separate budgets.
indemnity -- an undertaking to reimburse someone for specified liabilities incurred as a result of specified actions or inactions (such as hurt, loss or damage).
indirect costs -- costs which are not directly charged to a project but are associated with the cost of doing research, training or other sponsored activities (e.g., costs for general operations such as utilities, building operations, library services, purchasing, etc.). All indirect cost rates are negotiated with the federal government or the agency providing the award.
intellectual property -- "intangible property" that is the product of intellectual creativity. Examples include copyrights, trademarks, patents, and trade secrets. Although each is a separate area of law, governed by different federal and state laws concerning ownership, all are designed to provide some protection against others from misappropriating the products and ownership of intellectual creativity. See the University's document on New Information and Intellectual Property at the University. See also Intellectual Property, Data Rights & Data Retention
kickback -- any money, fee, commission, credit, gift, gratuity, thing of value, or compensation of any kind which is provided, directly or indirectly, to a contractor, contractor's employee, subcontractor or subcontractor's employee for the purpose of improperly obtaining or rewarding favorable treatment in connection with a contract. This definition is taken from a memorandum dated May 4, 1987 from Joyce Freedman, Assistant Vice President for Research, entitled, "Anti-Kickback Act of 1986" (see guideline 210).
matching funds -- funds raised from other sources to increase the level of support provided by the granting agency. The granting agency will provide additional funds equal to the private matching funds raised for the project. Normally, this is done on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Federal funds may not be used for matching on another federal project. Unlike cost sharing, neither personnel effort against the project nor reduction in indirect costs can be used for the matching component. Some Federal agencies require matching in order to receive an award.
material transfer agreement -- Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a legal agreement entered into by a provider and a recipient of research material. The sharing of research products (including, for example, software, cell lines, transgenic animals, monoclonal antibodies) is critical to continuing progress in science, and it is the University's intention to facilitate the exchange of material among academic research institutions. Such material may have commercial value. To protect this value, and the interests of all parties involved, these transfers are managed by means of a Material Transfer Agreement. This protects the rights of the different parties with regard to publication, freedom of research, confidentiality, and intellectual property
memorandum of agreement -- a contractual arrangement between the University of Chicago and a corporate sponsor which stipulates the terms and conditions under which specific work is performed; these terms and conditions include scope of work, period of performance, payments, patents, publication, advertising, use of experimental compounds or drugs, human subjects, idemnification, and reports. See Guideline 302, "Negotiating Non-Federal Contracts," attached memoranda of agreement, sections 302A and 302B.
modified total direct costs (MTDC) -- indirect costs on federally sponsored projects are generated against modified total direct costs, which are: total direct costs less equipment, internal patient care charges, University of Chicago Computing Organizations computer charges, scholarships, fellowships, and other student aid, subgrants and subcontracts over $25,000 ($5,000 would be excluded from the direct cost base in a subcontract of $30,000) , and Physical Sciences Division central shop charges.
narrative report -- a report submitted by an investigator on the progress and/or status of a project supported by sponsored funds. Narrative reports are part of the conditions of many sponsored agreements; may be submitted as an interim report, with continuation proposals, requests for supplemental funding, or at the termination of a sponsored project.
no cost extension -- a request to extend the period of performance for a project, without additional funding.
overdrafts -- an individual account in which the expenditures and encumbrances have exceeded the budget. An account is considered to be in overdraft if there is a negative balance available, regardless of the cause.
oversight committee -- a University committee charged with the responsibility of reviewing the protocol of every research project as it relates to specific health and safety concerns. It is not the responsibility of an oversight committee to judge the scientific merit of the proposed research, only to verify that the research being conducted poses minimal health and safety risks. Projects which use animals or humans as subjects, use University students as research subjects, involve a biohazardous agent or radioactive material, or use a radioactive isotope on a human subject must have the approval of one of the University's oversight committees.
pre-award costs -- costs which are incurred before the beginning dates of an award or budget period but can be associated with the research project.
principal investigator -- an academic staff member whose project is being sponsored. A principal investigator is responsible for directing the research and for insuring that all terms and conditions of a sponsored agreement are met.
proposal -- a set of documents containing a descriptive narrative of an idea and a budget to be submitted to a funding agency for sponsored support. Some agencies require that proposals are submitted on preprinted forms while others have no specific format.
protocol -- the methodology used in conducting a sponsored project
rebudgeting -- changes made to the sponsored agreement's awarded budget.
restricted funds -- funds awarded to the University of Chicago from outside sources for restricted purposes. The majority of restricted funding is given in the form of research support for faculty members at the University. The sources are: (1) the federal government, in the form of grants and contracts (ledger 5 in the University's Accounting System [FAS]) and (2) private donors, foundations, and corporations in the form of gifts, grants, and contracts (ledger 6 in the University's Financial Accouting System [FAS]). This definition is taken from a document dated June 1986 developed by Joyce Freedman, then Associate Comptroller, entitled "Training Guide: Grant and Contract/Financial Management."
sponsored project -- an activity that is funded from outside the University, from federal or non-federal sources.
sponsored research agreement -- see memorandum of agreement.
supplement -- an increase in the amount of funding by the sponsor to an existing award. Supplemental funding increases the award and extends the award period.
technical report -- see definition, narrative report.
