3411.6—Grant awards.
(a) General.
Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the awarding official shall make grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose proposals are judged most meritorious in the announced program areas under the evaluation criteria and procedures set forth in this part. All funds granted under this part shall be expended solely for the purpose for which the funds are granted in accordance with the approved application and budget, the regulations of this part, the terms and conditions of the award, the applicable Federal cost principles, and the Department's federal assistance regulations.
(b) Grant award document—
(1) Grant award document.
The grant award document shall include at a minimum the following:
(i)
Legal name and address of performing organization or institution to whom the Administrator has awarded a competitive grant under the terms of this part;
(iii)
Name(s) and address(es) of Project Director(s) chosen to direct and control approved activities;
(v)
Project period, specifying the amount of time the Department intends to support the project without requiring recompetition for funds;
(vi)
Total amount of Departmental financial assistance approved by the Administrator during the project period;
(viii)
Approved budget plan for categorizing allocable project funds to accomplish the stated purpose of the grant award; and
(ix)
Other information or provisions deemed necessary by the Department to carry out its granting activities or to accomplish the purpose of a particular grant.
(1) New grant.
This is a grant instrument by which the Department agrees to support a specified level of effort for a project that generally has not been supported previously under this program. This type of grant is approved on the basis of peer review recommendation.
(2) Renewal grant.
This is a grant instrument by which the Department agrees to provide additional funding for a project period beyond that approved in an original or amended award, provided that the cumulative period does not exceed the statutory limitation. When a renewal application is submitted, it should include a summary of progress to date from the previous granting period. A renewal grant shall be based upon new application, de novo peer review and staff evaluation, new recommendation and approval, and a new award instrument.
(3) Supplemental grant.
This is an instrument by which the Department agrees to provide small amounts of additional funding under a new or renewal grant as specified in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section and may involve a short-term (usually six months or less) extension of the project period beyond that approved in an original or amended award, but in no case may the cumulative period for the project exceed the statutory limitation. A supplement is awarded only if required to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work and if there is sufficient justification to warrant such action. A request of this nature normally will not require additional peer review.
(1) Standard grant.
This is a funding mechanism whereby the Department agrees to support a specified level of effort for a predetermined time period without the announced intention of providing additional support at a future date.
(2) Continuation grant.
This is a funding mechanism whereby the Department agrees to support a specified level of effort for a predetermined period of time with a statement of intention to provide additional support at a future date, provided that performance has been satisfactory, appropriations are available for this purpose, and continued support would be in the best interests of the Federal government and the public. This kind of mechanism normally will be awarded for an initial one-year period, and any subsequent continuation project grants will also be awarded in one-year increments. The award of a continuation project grant to fund an initial or succeeding budget period does not constitute an obligation to fund any subsequent budget period. Unless prescribed otherwise by CSREES, a grantee must submit a separate application for continued support for each subsequent fiscal year. Decisions regarding continued support and the actual funding levels of such support in future years usually will be made administratively after consideration of such factors as the grantee's progress and management practices and the availability of funds. Since initial peer reviews are based upon the full term and scope of the original application, additional evaluations of this type generally are not required prior to successive years' support. However, in unusual cases (e.g., when the nature of the project or key personnel change or when the amount of future support requested substantially exceeds the grant application originally reviewed and approved), additional reviews may be required prior to approving continued funding.
(e) Obligation of the Federal Government.
Neither the approval of any application nor the award of any project grant shall commit or obligate the United States in any way to make any renewal, supplemental, continuation, or other award with respect to any approved application or portion of an approved application.
(f) Current Research Information Service (CRIS).
For each project funded, instructions will be sent to the grantee for the completion of CRIS Forms AD-416, “Research Work Unit/Project Description-Research Resume” and AD-417, “Research Work Unit/Project Description—Classification of Research.” Grant funds will not be released until the completed forms are received electronically via CRIS.