CRA (Other exams) key terms

A written contract between an institution and an external sponsor setting out the scope of work, budget, payment terms, intellectual property rights, and reporting obligations for a funded project.

The portion of an award or proposal that describes the specific activities, deliverables, timeline, and performance expectations the funded team has committed to complete.

The individual with primary responsibility for the scientific or technical conduct of a sponsored project, including oversight of personnel, spending, and compliance with sponsor and institutional requirements.

A researcher who shares substantive responsibility for the design or execution of a sponsored project and is typically named in the proposal and budget with committed effort.

A defined checkpoint in a project schedule at which a specific deliverable or level of progress must be achieved, often tied to sponsor review or incremental funding decisions.

A tangible output, report, dataset, prototype, or other product that the awardee has promised to provide to the sponsor by a specified date.

The formal document issued by a sponsor that authorizes a project to begin, states the award amount and period of performance, and incorporates the applicable terms and conditions.

The start and end dates during which costs may be charged to an award and project work is authorized, sometimes distinct from the budget period.

A sponsor's published notice describing a competition, including eligibility, review criteria, required proposal components, deadlines, and the amount and duration of support available.

A solicitation issued by a sponsor inviting competitive applications for funding under stated requirements, evaluation criteria, and submission instructions.

The complete application package submitted to a sponsor, typically including narrative, budget and justification, biographical information, and required institutional approvals.

A narrative that explains and supports each cost category in a proposed budget, showing how the amounts were calculated and why they are necessary for the project.

Expenses that can be specifically identified with a particular sponsored project, such as salaries, supplies, equipment, and travel, and that are allowable and allocable to that project.

Costs incurred for common objectives that cannot be readily assigned to a single project, recovered through a negotiated rate applied to a base such as modified total direct costs.

The negotiated percentage used to recover indirect costs, comprising facility-related and administrative components, applied to a defined cost base over a specified period.

A formal agreement between an institution and a federal cognizant agency establishing the indirect cost rates and bases that will apply to sponsored agreements for specified periods.

The portion of project costs not borne by the sponsor, contributed by the institution or a third party and often required as a condition of the award.

A charge that meets sponsor and institutional tests for necessity, reasonableness, allocability, consistency, and documentation, and is therefore chargeable to an award.

A cost that is assignable to a project in proportion to the benefit received, supported by documentation showing how the charge was distributed among activities.

The process of assigning charges to the correct project, department, or cost category based on documented benefit, using methods such as effort percentages or usage records.

The documented process of certifying the proportion of an employee's time devoted to each sponsored project and other activities, supporting salary charges to awards.

A reallocation of an expense from one account to another after it was initially recorded, which requires justification, timeliness, and documented approval.

Written permission from a sponsor that must be obtained before undertaking certain actions, such as budget revisions, changes in scope, or significant personnel changes.

Moving funds between cost categories within an approved budget, which may be allowed by the awardee within stated limits or may require sponsor approval.

An approved extension of the project end date without additional funds, allowing remaining work and unspent balances to be used during the added time.

A significant alteration to the aims, activities, or objectives of a funded project, which generally requires sponsor approval before implementation.

The transfer of unspent funds from one budget period to the next within an award, permitted only if the sponsor's terms allow it or approval is granted.

The interval, usually twelve months, for which a specific amount of funding is authorized and within which costs must be incurred and reported.

Research involving living individuals in which investigators obtain data through intervention or interaction, or use identifiable private information, requiring review and approval.

A committee that reviews and oversees research involving human subjects to protect participants' rights and welfare and ensure compliance with applicable regulations and institutional policies.

The voluntary agreement of a research participant, obtained after being given complete information about the study's purpose, procedures, risks, benefits, and alternatives.

Periodic reassessment of an ongoing human subjects study by the reviewing board, at intervals appropriate to the level of risk, to confirm that approval should continue.

A committee responsible for reviewing and approving protocols involving vertebrate animals, ensuring humane care, appropriate justification, and regulatory compliance.

An institution's formal commitment to a funding agency that it will comply with applicable animal care standards and maintain appropriate oversight of animal research.

A situation in which financial or personal interests could compromise, or appear to compromise, professional judgment in designing, conducting, or reporting research.

A situation in which outside activities, such as consulting or additional employment, interfere with an individual's primary obligations to the institution.

A required report of an investigator's significant financial interests, submitted to the institution for review and, where applicable, management or elimination of conflicts.

A documented set of measures, such as disclosure, monitoring, or recusal, adopted to mitigate a conflict of interest while allowing the research to proceed.

Fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism in proposing, performing, or reviewing research, or in reporting results, excluding honest error or differences of opinion.

The practice of research according to accepted professional standards, including honesty in data handling, fair authorship, proper mentoring, and compliance with applicable rules.