Federal Awards

In the federal lexicon, contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements are distinguished by three characteristics

• the source of the idea for the project
• the degree of involvement of the sponsoring agency, and
• the corresponding level of flexibility in carrying out the project.

Contracts: 1) originate from specific goals of a federal agency as described in a solicitation or request; 2) fund well-defined specific efforts, generally affording the recipient less latitude than do grants and cooperative agreements; and 3) use detailed award instruments which are subject to federal acquisition regulations.

Grants: 1) fund investigator-initiated projects; 2) support research, education, training, and facilities; 3) provide more autonomy and greater flexibility than contracts; 4) do not anticipate substantial involvement between the recipient and the sponsor; and 5) typically use a short award document, often referencing standard terms and conditions.

Cooperative Agreements: 1) fund projects conceived by an investigator, but often in response to specific research areas identified by the sponsor; 2) assume the project would not be possible without collaboration between the recipient and the sponsor; 3) anticipate sponsor involvement in and contribution to the technical aspects of the project; 4) allow more flexibility than contracts as do grants; and 5) have less detailed award documents than contracts.

Non-federal Awards

In addition to the federal models, Duke identifies other award mechanisms with distinct characteristics such as foundation grants, corporate agreements, fellowships, and gifts.

Corporate – or Sponsored Research - Agreements: 1) fund basic research related to a corporate R&D focus while guaranteeing that the principal investigator will retain direction of the project; 2) may involve interaction and collaboration between corporate and Duke scientists; 3) often require extensive negotiations between Research Support and corporate representatives on issues such as publication rights and ownership of intellectual property, and; 4) must be formulated in accordance with Duke policies such as University/Industry Guidelines and Invention, Patents and Technology Transfer.

Fellowships: 1) support advanced or continued education for scholars and researchers; 2) provide a stipend as opposed to a salary; and 3) do not require recipients to perform any functions or pursue any research goals for the sponsor.

Gifts: provide general support - without specific terms or conditions - for the research or other activities of a particular individual, unit, or facility