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EMU Research

Glossary

Abstract: A brief description of a project consisting of a concise summary of project goals, methodology, may also include staffing, and total cost of the project.

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.

Allowable Costs: OMB Uniform Guidance defines allowable costs as those that are:

  • Reasonable
  • Allowable and allocable to the project
  • Given consistent treatment by use of generally accepted accounting principles.
  • Conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth by the sponsored agreement or OMB Uniform Guidance.

Amendment: Any change to a contractual agreement needing official signature.

Applicant: Usually refers to the institution submitting the proposal. In most cases it does not refer to the individual researcher who wrote the proposal or who will serve as Principal Investigator.

Application: A request for financial support of a project or activity usually submitted in a specified format and in accordance with a sponsor's guidelines and instructions.

Approved Budget: The financial expenditure plan, including revisions, that has been approved by the sponsor and supports the award's activities for a stated period of time.

Audit: A formal examination of an organization's accounts. An audit may also include examination of compliance with applicable terms, laws, and regulations.

Authorized Signature: The signature of a university official who is designated to give assurances, make commitments, and execute such documents on behalf of Eastern Michigan University 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 sponsored research proposals or sub-award agreements can be honored; and ensures that all sponsored research agreements conform to federal regulations, agency guidelines, and university policies. The Director of the Office of Research Development and Administration (ORDA) is the Authorized Official for all Sponsored Program commitments.

Award: Funds provided from an external sponsor for support of a project at Eastern Michigan University. This term is used for both original award and supplements; it can mean moneys or equipment.

Budget: An estimate of expenditures to be incurred in the performance of an award or statement of work.

Budget Category: A portion of the budget designated for certain kinds of expenditures, e.g. salaries, materials and supplies, travel, equipment.

Budget Justification: The section of a proposal that explains why the funds listed in the budget pages are being requested.

Budget Period: The interval of time, usually 12 months, into which the project period is divided for budgetary and funding purposes.

Conflict of Interest: A certification assuring the Federal agency that the institution has established administrative policies for promoting objectivity in research.

Classified Research: Research sponsored by a federal government entity, or often the defense industry, that involves restrictions imposed by agreement or otherwise on the distribution or publication of the research findings, results following completion for a specified period or for indefinite duration, or access to facilities and information necessary to complete the work of the project.

Clinical Trial: a contract to test drugs, devises, or other controlled substances for FDA approval or for-profit corporations. This contract usually involves the use of human or animal subjects.
Competing Continuation (Renewal): A request for continued financial support from a sponsor to continue the work of a previously funded project. Competing continuations compete with new applications for a sponsor's funds. SEE ALSO: Noncompeting Continuation

Consortium: A consortium is two or more institutions working in collaboration on the same research award, either funded directly by the supporting agency or one prime institution sub-awarding out the funds to other members of the consortium.

Consultant: An independent contractor who specifically provides professional advice. They usually have a separate skill or expertise not available within the College, and the need for their services commonly does not extend beyond a limited period of time in which to complete a specifically defined project. This differs from an Employee Consultant, see Employee Consultant for its definition. If it is unclear whether a situation requires an Employee Consultant or Independent Contractor, complete the Independent Contractor Approval Request form located on the Purchasing Department's website.

Contract: For purposes of this manual, a contract is an agreement to acquire services that primarily benefit the sponsor. For an award to be considered a contract, it normally must contain all of the following elements:

  • Detailed financial and legal requirements must be included with a specific statement of work to be performed.
  • A specific set of deliverables and/or reports to the sponsor is required.
  • Separate accounting procedures are required.
  • Legally binding contract clauses must be included.
  • Benefits of the project accrue first to the sponsor, then to the university, then to the nation.

Contributed Effort: Effort expended on a sponsored research award that the sponsor does not compensate for; a form of cost-sharing.

Cooperative Agreement: A funding mechanism which can be used by federal agencies when a program requires more agency involvement and restrictions than a grant but requires less agency supervision than a contract.

CO-Principal Investigator (CO-PI): One investigator sharing equal responsibility for the direction of a sponsored research award. Some sponsors prefer the term 'Collaborating Investigator' or 'Investigator'. Federal sponsors officially recognize only one individual (per Award) as a Principal Investigator (PI) or Project Director (PD).
Copyright: A narrow form of intellectual property protection. It protects only the fixed expression of an idea, not the idea itself. The Eastern Michigan University Copyright Policy governs copyright ownership of the works created by EMU faculty and other employees.

Cost Share: University and non-sponsor resources provided in support of sponsored research awards; includes contributed effort and matching funds.

Cost Transfer: Transactions that move non-payroll funds from one account to another.

Deliverable: A generalized term for a product that is created in fulfilling the terms of a sponsored research award.

Direct Costs: Clearly identifiable costs related to a specific award. General categories of direct costs include but are not limited to salaries and wages, fringe benefits, supplies, contractual services, travel and communication, equipment, and occasionally computer use.

Discretionary Funds: Money that has not been earmarked for specific items and can be allotted at the discretion of an administrator.

Donated Property: Property provided by an outside party for specific activities related to sponsored research awards and/or research activities of the university; title to the property passes to the College at essentially no cost.

Donation: Transfer of equipment, money, goods, services, and property with or without specifications as to its use. Sometimes donation is used to designate contributions that are made with more specific intent than is usually the case with a gift, but the two terms are often used interchangeably.

Effort: The amount of time, usually expressed as a percentage of the total salary, that a faculty member or other employee spends on a 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.

Endowment: A fund usually in the form of an income-generating investment, established to provide long-term support for faculty/research positions.

Equipment: Generally, an article of non-expendable tangible personal property having a useful life of more than two years and an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more per unit. Equipment is not a replacement part or component returning a piece of equipment to its original condition. If a component increases the capability of the original equipment and has an acquisition cost of $5,000 or more, it is considered a capital equipment item.

Expanded Authority: Ability of the Office of Research Development and Administration (ORDA) to approve certain changes to a federally sponsored research award without going through the prior approval process. Expanded authorities are approved only for specific changes to awards funded by designated Federal agencies. SEE ALSO: Prior Approval

Expiration Date: The date signifying the end of the performance period, as indicated on the Notice of Award (NOA). May also be the date after such an agency's forms should not be used.

Extension: An additional period of time that may be given by the sponsor to an organization for the completion of work on an approved sponsored research award. A no-cost extension (NCE) allows previously allocated funds to be spent after the original expiration date and usually triggers a new Notice of Award from the sponsor.

External Funding: Funding for research, training or public service programs provided by federal or private sources outside the College.

Facilities and Administration Costs (also known as F&A, Indirects, or IDC): F&A costs are those that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity. F&A costs are broad categories of costs. "Facilities" is defined as depreciation and use allowances, interest on debt associated with certain buildings, equipment and capital improvements, operation and maintenance expenses, and library expenses. "Administration" is defined as general administration and general expenses, departmental administration, sponsored projects administration, student administration and services, and all other types of expenditures not listed specifically under one of the subcategories of Facilities (including cross allocations from other pools).

Facilities and Administration Cost Rates: The rates used to recover the Facilities and Administration Costs of a sponsored research award. Negotiated, approved rates are to be used for all agreements with the federal government and for most non-federal projects, as allowable. Information on current Facilities and Administration Cost rates is available from the Office of Research Development and Administration (ORDA).

Financial Status Report (FSR): Required reporting of expenditures on sponsored research awards during a specific period of time.

Fiscal Year: Any twelve-month period for which annual records are kept. The fiscal year as defined by Eastern Michigan University is July 1 through June 30. The Federal fiscal year is October 1 through September 30.

Foreign Travel: Foreign travel includes travel outside of the United States and its territories and possessions (Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Canal Zone). Per college policy, travel to Canada is considered Foreign Travel.

Formal Proposal: Any proposal submitted by a college employee to an outside entity that may directly lead to an award. The majority of formal proposals require an institutional endorsement by an official authorized to commit university resources. The Authorized Official for sponsored research projects at EMU is the Director of Office of Research Development and Administration (ORDA).

Foundation: A private organization that makes awards to individuals or organizations for a broad range of projects.

Fringe Benefits: Those costs associated with employing staff that are not part of salary. Fringe benefits include such costs as health insurance, retirement benefits, unemployment insurance, vacation, and federal withholdings.

Funding Cycle/Project Period: Range of time during which proposals are accepted, reviewed, and funds are awarded. If a sponsor has standing proposal review committees (or boards) that meet at specified times during the year, application deadlines are set to correspond with those meetings.

Gift: A unilateral transfer of money, property, or other assets to the recipient for the recipient's ownership and use by a donor who makes no claims on the recipient in connection with the gift. Gifts normally have the following characteristics:

  • The statement of work allows the project director significant freedom to change emphases within the general area of work as the project progresses.
  • No deliverables involved.
  • Separate accounting procedures are not required.
  • Benefits of the project are to accrue to the nation and the world.
  • Sponsor has no audit rights.

Governmental Donated Property: Property donated or transferred to the institution by a municipality, county, state agency, or the federal government.

Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE): Equipment provided to the university by the federal government or government contractor; title may or may not remain with the government.

Grant: A financial assistance mechanism whereby money, or equipment, is provided to carry out an approved set of activities.

Grantee: A grantee is the recipient of a sponsored research award. When the College accepts a sponsored research award, on behalf of an individual, it becomes the grantee.

Human Subject: A Human Subject is a living individual about whom an investigator (whether professional or student) conducting research obtains:

  • Data through intervention or interaction with the individual.
  • Identifiable private information.

Independent Contractor: Someone who specifically provides professional advice, and are not considered employees of the University. They usually have a separate skill or expertise not available within the University. The need for their services does not commonly extend beyond a limited period of time in which to complete a specifically defined project.

Indirect Costs: (See Facilities and Administration Costs)
Informed Consent: The voluntary agreement obtained from a subject (or the subject's legally authorized representative) to participate in research or related activity, before participating in that activity. The consent must permit the individual (or legally authorized representative) to exercise free power of choice without undue inducement or any element or deceit, fraud, force, duress, or other form of coercion or constraint.

International Travel: See Foreign Travel.

Institutional Authorized Officials: Individuals authorized by the Eastern Michigan University Board of Trustees to sign various documents such as a sponsored research award. The Authorized Official for sponsored research projects at EMU is the Director of Office of Research Development and Administration (ORDA).
Institutional Review Board (IRB): A board or committee organized at the University to provide review at the institutional level for ethical concerns in research, such as laboratory animal care and the use of human subjects in research.

Letter of Intent: A letter of intent advises a funding agency that an application will be submitted in response to their solicitation. The letter may contain general program information, unofficial cost estimates, and a request for specific application guidelines, instructions and forms.
Matching Funds: (also called Cash Match) A cash commitment to share the costs of a sponsored research award. Funds raised under a matching funds agreement are usually matched 'dollar for dollar' by the sponsor.

Material Transfer Agreement: Outlines who will retain final ownership of specific equipment purchased from sponsored research funds. Most frequently it refers to the transfer of ownership from a sponsor to Eastern Michigan University, or from Eastern Michigan University to a principal investigator or another institution.

Misconduct in Science: Misconduct in science means fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or other practices that seriously deviate from those that are commonly accepted within the scientific community for proposing, conducting, or reporting research. It does not include honest error or honest differences in interpretation or judgments of data.

Mission: A sponsor's stated purpose, which is designed to address a specified set of problems. Almost all federal research agencies are designated as mission agencies.
Modification: Any change made to an existing sponsored research agreement.

Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC): Modified total direct costs shall exclude equipment, capital expenditures, charges for patient care, tuition remission, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, and fellowships as well as the portion of each subcontract and subaward in excess of $25,000.
No-Cost Extension (NCE): Provides for an additional period of performance to accomplish project goals. May be handled internally in certain circumstances or sought externally from the sponsor.

Noncompeting Continuation (Renewal): A request for financial support to a sponsor to continue the ongoing work of a previously approved project. Noncompeting continuations are not subject to competing review by the sponsor. Noncompeting continuations are, however, reviewed by the sponsor to assure that progress is being made on the project. SEE ALSO: Competing Continuation
Notice of Grant Award (NOA): A legally binding document that serves as a notification to the recipient and others that sponsored funds have been awarded to a grantee to support a specific project or activity.

Patent: An agreement awarded by the government, granting the inventor the right, for a limited period, to exclude others from making, using, or selling the described invention.

Personnel Expenses: Total project costs related to the employment of project staff. This includes salaries and wages, benefits, and other costs associated with the employment of staff.

Principal Investigator (PI): Typically, a faculty member or administrator who submitted a proposal that was accepted and funded by an external sponsor, also referred to as the Project Director (PD). The Principal Investigator has primary responsibility for technical compliance, completion of programmatic work, and responsible spending of a sponsor funds.

Prior Approval: The process by which approval for specific changes to a sponsored research awards are granted from the sponsor and/or the Office of Sponsored Projects. SEE ALSO: Expanded Authority
Program Officer: A sponsor's designated individual officially responsible for the technical, scientific, or programmatic aspects of a particular sponsored research award. Serving as counterpart to the Principal Investigator, the program officer deals with the grantee organization staff to assure programmatic progress.
Project Director: See Principal Investigator.

Project Period: The total time for which support of a project has been programmatically approved. The total project period is comprised of the initial competitive segment, any subsequent competitive segment(s) resulting from a competing continuation award(s), and noncompeting extensions.

Proposal: The term used to describe the complete sponsored research award package, including required forms and budget.
Proprietary Research: Research sponsored by non-governmental entity or individual that involves restrictions on the distribution or publication of the research findings or results following completion, for a specified period or for indefinite duration.

Rebudgeting: Process by which funds available for spending are reallocated between budget categories to allow best use of funds to accomplish project goals.

Research: A systematic investigation, including research development, testing, and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalized knowledge.
Research and Related Activities: All formal investigative efforts (whether funded or unfunded) by faculty, students, and staff that are designed to develop or contribute to generalize knowledge, including analyses of secondary data.

Site Visit: An agency-initiated review of a proposed or funded award conducted at the applicant's institution.

Special Purpose Equipment: Equipment which can be used only for research, scientific, or other technical activities.

Sponsor: An external funding source which enters into an agreement with the College to support research, instruction, public service or other sponsored activities. Sponsors include private businesses, corporations, foundations and other not-for-profit organizations, other colleges and universities, and federal, state and local governments.
Sponsored Research: Research, training, or instructional projects involving funds, materials, other forms of compensation, or exchanges of in-kind efforts from sources external to an institution and funded through awards or agreements.

Sub-Award: (also known as subcontract) An agreement issued under a prime award for the procurement of purchased program-related tasks. Issuances of sub-awards under federal prime awards are subject to compliance with federal law and all sub-awards are subject to the terms and conditions of the prime award and the normal purchasing requirements of Eastern Michigan University.
Supplemental Proposal: The request for additional funding from the project's sponsor to continue activities of an ongoing project.
Terms of Award: All legal requirements imposed on an award by the sponsor, whether by statue, regulation(s), or terms in the award document. The terms of award include both standard and special stated provisions that must be met in carrying out the goals and objects of the grant.

Total Cost: Dollar amount it will take to complete a proposed project. It includes sum of the direct and Facilities and Administration Costs of a project.

Total Direct Costs: The total allowable direct costs incurred by the institution to carry out an approved project or activity.

Unrestricted Funds: Funds having no requirements or restrictions as to use or disposition. Funds awarded under sponsored research awards are considered to be restricted funds.

 

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