Glossary: Terms & Abbreviations
To help our investigators and other team members through the application and proposal process, we've put together a list of abbreviations, acronyms and terms you might come across. These might include agency names or common funding programs.
Vocabulary of Research Terms
- A
- ACUC
Animal Care and Use Committee (also called IACUC elsewhere) - campus committee that reviews protocols for animal subject research
AHRQ
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
AOR
Authorized Organization Representative
AREA
Academic Research Enhancement Award - NIH grant program
- ACUC
- B
- BAA
Broad Agency Announcement
- BAA
- C
- CA700U
California Form 700U Statement of Economic Interest
CCLI
Course, Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement - NSF grant program
CDC
Center for Disease Control - federal agency
CFDA
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
CFR
Code of Federal Regulations
COI
Conflict of Interest
CSR
Center for Scientific Review – NIH component responsible for review of scientific merit of all applications submitted to NIH
CSREES
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service - funding arm of USDA
- CA700U
- D
- DARPA
Defense Advanced Research Project Agency
DHHS
Department of Health and Human Services (also HHS) - federal agency
DoD
United States Department of Defense
DoE
United States Department of Energy
DoED
United States. Department of Education
DoJ
United States Department of Justice
- DARPA
- E
- EPA
Environmental Protection Agency - federal agency
Equipment
The federal definition of “equipment” means an article of nonexpendable, tangible personal property having a useful life of more than one year that has a cost (including tax, shipping, and installation) of more than $5000. Anything under this threshold is considered Supplies.
eRA
Electronic Research Administration
- EPA
- F
- F&A
Facilities and Administrative costs – also called indirect costs or IDC
FAR
Federal Acquisition Regulation
FICA
Federal Insurance Contributions Act – the combined taxes withheld for Social Security and Medicare
FIPSE
Fund for the Improvement of Post-Secondary Schools – US Dept. of Education grant program
Fringe Benefits
Employee benefits paid by the employer (FICA, Worker’s Compensation, Withholding Tax, Insurance, etc.).
FOA
Funding Opportunity Announcement
FY
Fiscal Year. Any twelve-month period. The SJSU Research Foundation fiscal year is July 1 through June 30; the federal fiscal year is October 1 through September 30.
- F&A
- G
- GSA
U.S. General Services Administration
- GSA
- H
- HBCU
Historically Black College and University
HIPAA
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act – The 1996 government regulation that governs the protection of individually identifiable health information.
HSI
Hispanic-Serving Institution
HUD
Department of Housing and Urban Development – federal agency
- HBCU
- I
- IACUC
Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
IC
Independent contractor
ICR
Indirect Cost Recovery – what we collect in F&A
IDC
Indirect costs – also called F&A or Facilities and Administrative costs
IHE
Institute of Higher Education
IP
Intellectual property
IRB
Institutional Review Board – campus committee that reviews protocols for human subject research
- IACUC
- L
- LOI
Letter of Intent
- LOI
- M
- MRI
Major Research Instrumentation – NSF grant program
MSI
Minority Serving Institution
MTDC
Modified Total Direct Cost
- MRI
- N
- NCURA
National Council of University Research Administrators – professional society
NDA
Non-disclosure Agreement
NEA
National Endowment for the Arts
NEH
National Endowment for the Humanities
NIA
National Institute on Aging (NIH)
NIBIB
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
NICHD
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NIH)
NIDA
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH)
NIDCD
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
NIEHS
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIH)
NIH
National Institutes of Health
NIJ
National Institute of Justice
NINDS
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH)
NOAA
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOI
Notice of Intent
NSA
National Security Agency
NSF
National Science Foundation
- NCURA
- O
- OCR
Office for Civil Rights OIG: Office of the Inspector General (or just IG)
OER
Office of Extramural Research (NIH)
OMB
Office of Management and Budget – US government office that sets rules for receiving and administering federal grants
ORI
Office of Research Integrity (HHS office)
- OCR
- P
- PA
Program Announcement
PAPPG
Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide – National Science Foundation’s guidelines for proposal and award processes
PD
Program Director sometimes also used to refer to the principal investigator
PHS
Public Health Service
PI
Principal Investigator – individual who directs the project or program to be supported by the award
PO
Program officer or project officer
PPC
Proposal Preparation Checklist
PRAF
Proposal Routing and Approval Fo
- PA
- R
- R&D
Research and Development
R01
NIH Research Program Grant
R03
NIH Small Grant Program
R21
NIH Exploratory Research Grant
REU
Research Experience for Undergrads – NSF grant program
RFA
Request For Application; Request for Funding Assistance
RFP
Request For Proposal
RFQ
Request for Quotation
RISE
Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement – NIH grant program
ROI
Return on Investment
RPPR
Research Performance Progress Report
- R&D
- S
- SAM
System for Award Management
SBA
Small Business Administration
SBIR
Small Business Innovation Research
SCORE
Support of Continuous Research Excellence – NIH grant program
SOW
Statement of Work – needed for subcontracts
SPIN
Sponsored Programs Information Network – RF Subscription: Funding opportunity search service
SRA
Society of Research Administrators – professional society
STEAM
An educational approach to learning that uses Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry, dialogue, and critical thinking.
STEM
Curriculum based on four specific disciplines — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.
STTR
Small Business Technology Transfer Program
SWAMP
Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program
- SAM
- T
- TDC
Total Direct Cost – cost base for applying an F&A rate
Time & Effort
Official reports on the time and/or effort someone expends working on an externally funded project. Also called Effort Reporting
TIN
Taxpayer Identification Number
- TDC
- U
- USAID
United States Agency for International Development
USDA
United States Department of Agriculture
USDE
United States Department of Education
- USAID