Re[2]: Grant v. Contract -- definitions Pat Hawk 10 Feb 1999 15:57 EST
If you really want to "go to the source" on federal definitions of grants and contracts, you should look at the Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreement Act (31 USC 6301 et seq.). It describes what's a grant and what's a contract. This is where A-21, FAR, and any other Federal documents derive their definitions. If you look closely at most Federal award documents, you'll probably see a reference to this US Code citation. Briefly, FGCA says a contract is something where the principal purpose of the instrument is to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the Federal Government, and an assistance agreement (either grant or cooperative agreement) is something where the principal purpose of the relationship is to transfer something of value to the State or local government or other recipient to carry out a public public purpose of support or stimulation that isn't principally for the direct benefit or use of the Federal Government. The difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement is that the coop. agreement has substantial Federal involvement. Pat Hawk Sponsored Projects Administrator Research Services and Administration University of Oregon xxxxxx@orsa.uoregon.edu (new e-mail address) ______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________ Subject: Re: Grant v. Contract -- definitions Author: Research Administration Discussion List <xxxxxx@hrinet.org> at GATEWAY Date: 2/10/99 12:17 PM At 11:37 AM 2/10/99 -0800, Rochelle Athey wrote: >Can anyone point me toward a document that outlines the differences >between a grant and a contract? Definitions of both would be handy. > >Thanks, > >Rochelle Athey >Sponsored Programs Director >Cal Poly State University Foundation >xxxxxx@calpoly.edu > PL 95-224. This defines a FEDERAL grant or cooperative agreement as "Assistance", and a contract as "Procurement". These differences mean that federal grants follow completely different rules (A-110) than federal contracts (FAR). We consider ourselves lucky that the cost principles (A-121 and FAR 31.3, respectively, are identical. I describe this difference to my faculty as: In a grant you plan to get to F by way of A,B,C,D, and E, -- but if things dont work out, you may have to go via B1 and C2, and in fact, may find that the only destination that is viable is F3. In a contract you commit to get to F only by way of A,B,C,D, and E, -- and if things don't work out, STOP WORK AND RENEGOTIATE! Don't forget that the Comptroler of the Currency, back in the 1940's stated, "A grant is a contract," the point being that the terms of a federal grant can be enforced at law as a contract. Beyond that, there's little guidance. The central research administrator MUST look at each as an "agreement" -- that's my general term, and using it works. On the whole, if it is called a "grant", the PI has more flexibility than if it is called a "contract", and there is folk myth among faculty members that somehow, a grant is better than a contract. On the other hand, lots of agreements use both "grant" (sometimes "grant-in-aid") and "contract" internally, referring to the agreement at hand. (Lots of my state agencies do that -- VERY confuising to the faculty member.) As a central administrator, remember that your job is to make sure the agreement meets the needs at hand, and that its language can be enforced in court. Chuck ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ====================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================