Allocable Costs: Costs that benefit the grant or contract to which they are being charged. A cost that benefits more than one project and cannot be allocated is unallowable.

Allowable Costs: Costs that are reasonable, allocable and consistently applied. Certain types of costs (e.g., alcoholic beverages) are not allowable and may not be charged to a contract or grant.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance is a clearinghouse of all federal programs available. The CFDA number is used to indicate that the funding comes from a federal source.

Continuation Award: An award approved in principal for multiple years, but committed to funding only one year at a time. At the end of each budget period, the sponsor assesses progress on the project (via progress reports, etc), and if the sponsor finds the progress satisfactory, an award is made for the next budget period. Continuation awards do not compete with new project proposals.

Cost Sharing: Cost Sharing is defined as any project cost not borne by the sponsor. Cost-sharing often comes in the form of a financial contribution made by an institution (agreed to by the dean of the college) to a project supported primarily by a grant or contract. Cost sharing can come in the form of cash match or in-kind match. Cash match is an actual cash contribution. In-kind match is a non-cash contribution (e.g., the value of equipment or the value of goods and services directly benefiting the project and specifically identifiable to it). There are three types of cost sharing: mandatory cost sharing; voluntary committed cost sharing; and voluntary uncommitted cost sharing.

• Mandatory Cost Sharing is cost sharing required by a sponsor as a condition of making an award. The requirement is usually expressed in terms of a percentage of the total project cost or as a fixed dollar amount. Mandatory cost sharing must be identified and reported to the sponsor.

• Voluntary Committed Cost Sharing is cost sharing the University may offer in a proposal to make a proposal competitive or to show the resources necessary to complete a project. The offer becomes a part of the award. Voluntary Committed cost sharing must be identified.

• Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing is cost sharing that is not committed or budgeted for in a sponsored agreement. It does not need to be identified or reported. Voluntary Uncommitted Cost Sharing commonly results from a cost overrun on a project, or from effort which exceeds the amount committed and budgeted in the agreement.

Direct Costs: Direct costs are those costs which can be identified specifically with a particular project. Typical direct costs include, but are not limited to: salary, travel and supplies.

Facilities and Administrative Costs (also called IDC—indirect costs): F&A costs are those costs incurred in conducting or supporting externally-funded activities, but not directly attributable to a specific project. F&A costs include, but are not limited to: general administration, and sponsored programs administration.

Memorandum of Understanding: An instrument used when two or more agencies enter into a joint project in which each agency contributes its own resources, or in which there is no exchange of goods or services between the agencies.

Modification: A document that modifies any aspect of an existing award. Examples include, but are not limited to: a change in principal investigator, or an approval of a carryforward request.

No-Cost Extension: An extension of the period of performance beyond the expiration date. This allows the PI time to finish a project. Usually, no additional costs are provided.

Project Director/Principal Investigator: The individual responsible for overseeing the sponsored project.

Sponsor: The organization that funds a project.

Subaward: A document written under the authority of a sponsored project, which transfers a portion of the substantive effort to another institution or organization.