Principal Investigator (PI) – The person designated as the project/program manager, usually the same person who applies for the grant.
Competitive Award – Funding provided by agencies that have a formal proposal submission/review process and submission deadline date is usually designated.
Unsolicited Award – Funding provided by agencies for specified or flexible use. Agency may or may not require a proposed budget or description of use of funds.
Period of Performance – The duration of the award for the intended project; specific begin and end dates are provided.
Direct Costs – Costs that can be identified specifically with a particular project and charged to the budget created for that project.
Allowable Costs – An expenditure approved for the funded project as determined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the sponsor’s requirements and/or Fairmont State policies. Only allowable funds may be requested in grant budgets and charged to the grant account. Allowable costs are reasonable, allocable to the project, given consistent treatment by the use of general accepted accounting principles, and conform to any limitations or exclusions set forth by the sponsored agreement or OMB-Uniform Guidance (2 CFR 200).
Facilities & Administrative (F&A) Costs (F&A) (aka Indirect Costs) – Costs incurred for common or joint objectives generated from certain grant awards.
Buy-Out – When all or part of an employee’s salary is paid by a grant. The amount paid by award funds is considered a savings to the institution. The Buy-Out amount is the total savings minus any costs to replace the employee (i.e., an adjunct instructor).
Institutional Review Board (IRB) – Fairmont State committee responsible for review and approval of research activities conducted on any institutional site or on behalf of the institution at external sites.
Research – A systematic investigation, including research development, testing and evaluation, designed to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge.
Office of Management & Budget (OMB) – The United States’ federal agency responsible for budget development and execution, management, and regulatory policy. Provides policy and oversight for federal grants management.