The types of activities funded by NSF and the purposes of NSF funding vary. Consequently, the degree of NSF responsibility for and the management control of such activities also varies. NSF traditionally uses grants for fundamental research and other support activities. The key factor in determining the appropriate award terms and conditions is the type of project which is to be funded, not the type of performing organization which will be the recipient of the award or the NSF program recommending the award.

210 DEFINITIONS

a. An AUTHORIZED ORGANIZATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE is the administrative official who on behalf of the proposing organization is empowered to make certifications and assurances and can commit the organization to the conduct of a project that NSF is being asked to support as well as and to adhere to various NSF policies and grant requirements.

b. ASSISTANCE AWARDS are awards which entail the transfer of money, property, services or other thing of value from the Federal government to a State or local government or other recipient to accomplish a public purpose of support or stimulation. In the case of the NSF, assistance awards involve the support or stimulation of scientific and engineering research, science and engineering education or other related activities. NSF is authorized to use grants or cooperative agreements for this purpose.

c. A GRANT* is a type of assistance award and a legal instrument which permits an executive agency of the Federal government to transfer money, property, services or other thing of value to a grantee when no substantial involvement is anticipated between the agency and the recipient during the performance of the contemplated activity. Grants are the primary mechanism of NSF support. NSF awards the following types of grants:

1. A STANDARD GRANT is a type of grant under which NSF agrees to provide a specific level of support for a specified period of time. There is with no statement of NSF intent to provide additional future support without submission of another proposal.

2. A CONTINUING GRANT is a type of grant under which NSF agrees to provide a specific level of support for an initial specified period of time, with a statement of intent to provide additional support of the project for additional periods provided funds are available and the results achieved warrant further support.

3. A COST REIMBURSEMENT GRANT is a type of grant under which NSF agrees to reimburse the grantee for work performed and/or costs incurred by the grantee up to the total amount specified in the grant. Such costs must be allowable in accordance with the applicable cost principles (e.g., OMB Circular A-21 Cost Principles for Educational Institutions or A-122 Cost Principles for Non-Profit Organizations). Accountability is based primarily on technical progress, financial accounting and fiscal reporting. Except under certain programs and under special circumstances, NSF grants and cooperative agreements are normally cost reimbursement type awards.

4. A FIXED AMOUNT AWARD is a type of grant used in certain programs and situations under which NSF agrees to provide a specific level of support, without regard to actual costs incurred under the project. The award amount is negotiated using the applicable cost principles or other pricing information as a guide. This type of grant reduces some of the administrative burden and record keeping requirements for both the grantee and NSF. Except under unusual circumstances, such as termination, there is no governmental review of the actual costs subsequently incurred by the grantee in performance of the project. There typically is a requirement for the grantee to certify that the approximate number of person-months or other activity called for in the grant was performed. Payments are based on meeting specific requirements of the grant and accountability is based primarily on technical performance and results.

d. A COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT* is a type of assistance award which may be used when the project being supported requires substantial agency involvement during the project performance period. Substantial agency involvement may be necessary when an activity: is technically or managerially complex; requires extensive or close coordination with other Federally supported work; or helps assure suitability or acceptability of certain aspects of the supported activity. Examples of projects which might be suitable for cooperative agreements are systemic reform efforts, research centers, policy studies, large curriculum projects, multi-user facilities, projects which involve complex subcontracting, construction or operations of major in-house university facilities and major instrumentation development.

e. A GRANTEE* is the organization or other entity that receives a grant and assumes legal and financial responsibility and accountability both for the awarded funds and for the performance of the grant-supported activity. NSF grants are normally made to organizations rather than to individual PI/PD(s). Categories of eligible proposers may be found in GPG Chapter I.

f. PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT DIRECTOR (PI/PD) is the individual designated by the grantee, and approved by NSF, who will be responsible for the scientific or technical direction of the project. The term "Principal Investigator" generally is used in research projects, while the term "Project Director" generally is used in science and engineering education and other projects.

* For purposes of this Manual, except where explicitly noted, the term "grant" is interchangeable with the term "cooperative agreement", and the term "grantee" is interchangeable with the "recipient" of a cooperative agreement.

220 NSF-GRANTEE RELATIONSHIPS

221 Basic Requirements

a. Grants will be used by NSF when the accomplishment of the project objectives requires minimal NSF involvement during performance of the activities. Grants establish a relationship between NSF and the grantee in which:

1. NSF agrees to provide up to a specified amount of financial support for the project to be performed under the conditions and requirements of the grant. NSF will monitor grant progress and assure compliance with applicable standards.

2. The grantee agrees to the performance of the project, to the prudent management of the funds provided and to carry out the supported activities in accordance with the provisions of the grant. (See GPM 230, "Grant Instrument", for the documents which comprise an NSF grant.).

b. Cooperative agreements will be used by NSF when the accomplishment of the project objectives requires substantial NSF technical or management involvement during performance of the activities.

1. Cooperative agreements will specify the extent to which NSF will be required to advise, review, approve or otherwise be involved with project activities.

2. Although active NSF involvement may be necessary under cooperative agreements, recipients still have primary management responsibility for conduct of their projects. To the extent that NSF does not reserve responsibility for coordinating or integrating the project activities with other related activities or does not assume a degree of shared responsibility for certain aspects of the project, all such responsibilities remain with the recipient. As appropriate, NSF may provide advice, guidance or assistance of a technical, management, or coordinating nature and require NSF approval of specific decisions, milestones, procedures or subawards. While NSF will monitor cooperative agreements, it will not assume overall control of a project or unilaterally change or direct the project activities. All cooperative agreements will state the nature and extent of expected NSF involvement to ensure that the responsibilities of each party are fully understood.

222 Acceptance of Assistance Agreements

a. Grant Acceptance. Grantees are free to accept or reject the grant. Normally, action to obtain Federal funds constitutes acceptance of a grant once it is made. However, in some cases, NSF may require written acceptance.

b. Cooperative Agreement Acceptance. All cooperative agreements must be signed by an Authorized Organizational Representative at the recipient organization before the agreement becomes binding.

230 GRANT INSTRUMENT

The following documents comprise an NSF grant:

a. the grant letter, including any special conditions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto;

b. the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support;

c. the proposal referenced in the grant letter;

d. the applicable NSF conditions referenced in the grant letter (see GPM 240, "NSF Grant Conditions," for listing); and

e. any NSF program announcement/ or solicitation or other document incorporated by reference in the grant letter.

240 NSF GRANT CONDITIONS

a. NSF Grant Conditions. Each NSF grant letter specifically

identifies certain conditions which are applicable to and become part of that award. When these conditions reference a particular GPM section, that section becomes part of the grant requirements through incorporation by reference.

b. Basic Conditions. The following types of basic conditions may be made a part of an NSF grant, as appropriate.

1. General Conditions.

(a) Grant General Terms and Conditions (GC-1) are used in most NSF grant awards;

(b) Federal Demonstration Project General Terms and Conditions (FDP-II) and Agency Specific Requirements (Modifications to the General Terms and Conditions) are used in most grants to participants in the FDP only; and

(c) Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II Grant General Conditions are used in Phase II grants under the SBIR program.

2. Standard Conditions. These types of conditions may either supplement or modify the applicable General Conditions described above.

(a) Administration of NSF Conference or Group Travel Award Grant Special Conditions (FL 26) are used for conference or travel grants.

(b) Construction Conditions (A-2) are used for grants which include rearrangements/alterations/renovation over $10,000 (construction).

(c) Fixed Amount Award Grant Conditions (FAA) are used in NSF fixed amount grants. (Note: these conditions may establish different financial and other requirements which are not generally used in cost reimbursement type grants.).

(d) Cooperative Agreement Conditions (CA-1) are used under NSF cooperative agreements.

c. Availability. The latest version of each set of these general and standard conditions, as well as other standard conditions, is available on STIS. These conditions are also available from the NSF Forms and Publications Unit (for address see GPM 130, "Proposal Submission and Merit Review").

250 NSF GRANT PERIODS

251 Definitions

a. EFFECTIVE DATE is the date specified in the grant letter on or after which, except for fixed amount awards, expenditures may be charged to the grant. Effective dates used by NSF are normally either the 1st or the 15th day of the month. If no effective date is specified, then the date of the grant letter is the effective date. (See, however, GPM 602.2, "Pre-Award Costs.")

b. EXPIRATION DATE is the date specified in the grant letter after which expenditures may not be charged against the grant except to satisfy obligations to pay allowable project costs committed on or before that date. The expiration date is normally the last day of a month.

c. GRANT PERIOD is the period of time between the effective date and the expiration date of an NSF grant shown as the duration.

252 Significance of Grant Period

a. Except in fixed amount awards, an NSF grant gives authority to the grantee to commit and expend funds for allowable costs (see Chapter VI) in support of the project up to the grant amount specified in the grant letter at any time during the grant period.

b. Except as provided in GPM 602.2, "Pre-Award Costs", GPM 602.3, "Post-Expiration Costs", or GPM 617, "Publication, Documentation and Dissemination", expenditures may not be charged prior to the effective date or subsequent to the expiration date under an NSF cost reimbursement grant.

253 Changes in Grant Periods

253.1 Effective Date

The effective date of a grant will not be changed unless it is justified by exceptional circumstances. Any request to change the effective date must contain such justification and be signed by the PI/PD and endorsed by an Authorized Organizational Representative. Two copies of the request should be transmitted to the NSF Grants Officer. If approved, the NSF Grants Officer will issue an amendment to the grant. No other commitments regarding effective dates are valid.

253.2 Expiration Date

The expiration date may be changed as a result of approval of a request for continued support of a continuing grant, for a no-cost grant extension, or, in some cases, by renewed support of a standard grant or supplemental support. If approved, the NSF Grants Officer will issue an amendment to the grant.

253.3 No-Cost Extension

a. Grantee Authorized Extension. Grantees may authorize a one-time extension of the expiration date of the grant of up to 12 months if additional time beyond the established expiration date is required to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work within the funds already made available. This one-time extension may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using the unliquidated balances. The grantee shall notify the NSF Grants Officer in writing, providing supporting reasons for the extension and the revised extension date, at least ten days prior to the expiration date specified in the grant to ensure accuracy of NSF's grant data. For extensions provided by organizations, no amendment will be issued.

b. NSF-Approved Extension.

1. If additional time beyond the extension provided by the grantee is required and exceptional circumstances warrant, a formal request must be submitted to NSF. Two copies of the request, signed by the PI/PD and an Authorized Organizational Representative, must be received by the cognizant NSF program office at least 45 days before the expiration date of the grant. The request must explain the need for the extension and include an estimate of the unobligated funds remaining and a plan for their use. As indicated above, that unobligated funds may remain at the expiration of the grant is not in itself sufficient justification for an extension. The plan must adhere to the previously approved objectives of the project.

2. Any approved no-cost extension will be issued by an NSF Grants Officer in the form of an amendment to the grant specifying a new expiration date. Grantees are cautioned not to make new commitments or incur new expenditures after the expiration date in anticipation of a no-cost extension.

260 ADDITIONAL FUNDING SUPPORT

261 Types of Additional Funding Support

Additional funding of a project beyond the original grant period will be in the form of renewed support, continued support or supplemental support.

262 Renewed Support (Standard Grants)

a. Renewed support is defined as additional funding for a support period subsequent to that provided by a standard grant. Standard grants may be renewed one time by amendment of the original grant instrument provided that the cumulative duration does not exceed five years. Subsequent renewals (if any) will be in the form of a new grant with a new grant number. Costs incurred under the old grant cannot be transferred to the new grant. Residual funds remaining in the old grant cannot be transferred to the new grant.

b. A proposal for renewed support of a project is evaluated in competition with all other pending proposals. Instructions for preparation of renewal proposals are contained in the GPG, Sections II and VI.

263 Continued Support (Continuing Grants)

a. Funding increments for projects being supported under continuing grants, as defined in GPM 210, receive high priority within NSF and normally are not considered in competition with proposals for new grants or for renewed support of standard grants.

b. Unless otherwise provided for in the original grant letter, each increment of a continuing grant will be funded at the level indicated in that letter without a formal request, provided the required annual progress report has been received and subject to NSF's judgment of satisfactory progress and availability of funds. NSF makes every attempt to honor continuing grant commitments. However, in order to adjust to changes in the general level of funds for a particular field of science or engineering or to major new opportunities in that field, NSF may reduce continuing grant increments below the levels indicated in original grant letters. This requires full written justification by program staff and management review and approval. In the absence of major unanticipated fiscal year constraints, reductions are rare.

c. In order to obtain a committed funding increment and ensure continuity of funding, one copy of the NSF Form 1328, Annual NSF Grant Progress Report, addressed to the cognizant program office, with a copy to the Authorized Organizational Representative, must be received by NSF at least three months before the end of the period currently being funded. Requests should be prepared in accordance with the instructions contained on the form. Processing of the planned funding increment will not be initiated until the required progress report is submitted. The certification on the NSF Form 1328 must be signed by the PI/PD. This form is contained in the GPG and is also available on STIS.

264 Supplemental Support

a. In unusual circumstances, small amounts of supplemental funding and up to six months of additional support may be requested to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work. Such requests for supplemental funding support should be submitted to the cognizant NSF Program Officer at least two months prior to the need for the additional funds and must be adequately justified. Program Officers may make decisions regarding whether or not to recommend a small supplement without merit review of the supplemental request. Requests for larger supplements may require merit review.

b. A request for supplemental support should include:

1. A brief justification of need; and

2. A signed budget, (NSF Form 1030, Summary Proposal Budget,) highlighting the use by budget category of the additional funding as distinguished from the original funding provided in those categories of cost. Two copies of the request should be submitted.

c. NSF will not approve requests for supplemental support for such purposes as defraying the costs of increases in salaries, wages or staff benefits or for additional indirect cost reimbursement, whether caused by a change in the indirect cost rate or by changes in direct cost expenditures which affect the indirect cost base. (See GPM 602.1, "Maximum Obligation," and GPM 635, "Grantee Reimbursement for Indirect Costs.")

d. If approved, the NSF Grants Officer will amend the grant to provide additional funding for the current support period. The amendment letter will specify both the amount of supplemental funding and the cumulative amount awarded through the expiration date, which normally will remain unchanged.

e. Only in exceptional cases will more than one supplement be approved.

f. Special NSF programs such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates may provide their funding through supplements to other NSF grants. In such instances, the guidance in this section may not be applicable.