[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 7, Volume 15]
[Revised as of January 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 7CFR3401.8]

[Page 315-317]
 
                          TITLE 7--AGRICULTURE
 
  CHAPTER XXXIV--COOPERATIVE STATE RESEARCH, EDUCATION, AND EXTENSION 
                   SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 
PART 3401_RANGELAND RESEARCH GRANTS PROGRAM--Table of Contents
 
                            Subpart A_General
 
Sec. 3401.8  Grant awards.

    (a) General. Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, 
the awarding official shall make research project grants to those 
responsible, eligible applicants whose proposals are judged most 
meritorious in the announced program areas under the evaluation criteria 
and procedures set forth in this part. The date specified by the 
Administrator as the beginning of the project period shall be no later 
than September 30 of the Federal fiscal year in which the project is 
approved for support and funds are appropriated for such purpose, unless 
otherwise permitted by law. All funds granted under this part shall be 
expended solely for the purpose for which the funds are granted in 
accordance with the approved application and budget, the regulations of 
this part, the terms and conditions of the award, the applicable Federal 
cost principles, and the Department's ``Uniform Federal Assistance 
Regulations'' (parts 3015 and 3019 of this title).
    (b) Grant award document and notice of grant award--(1) Grant award 
documents. The grant award document shall include at a minimum the 
following:
    (i) Legal name and address of performing organization or institution 
to whom the Administrator has awarded a rangeland research project grant 
under the terms of this part;
    (ii) Title of project;
    (iii) Name(s) and address(es) of principal investigator(s) chosen to 
direct and control approved activities;
    (iv) Identifying grant number assigned by the Department;
    (v) Project period, which specifies how long the Department intends 
to support the effort without requiring recompetition for funds;
    (vi) Total amount of Departmental financial assistance approved by 
the Administrator during the project period;
    (vii) Legal authority(ies) under which the research project grant is 
awarded to accomplish the purpose of the law;
    (viii) Approved budget plan for categorizing allocable project funds 
to accomplish the stated purpose of the research project grant award; 
and

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    (ix) Other information or provisions deemed necessary by the 
Department to carry out its granting activities or to accomplish the 
purpose of a particular research project grant.
    (2) Notice of grant award. The notice of grant award, in the form of 
a letter, will be prepared and will provide pertinent instructions or 
information to the grantee that is not included in the grant award 
document.
    (c) Categories of grant instruments. The major categories of grant 
instruments by which the Department may provide support are as follows:
    (1) Standard grant. This is a grant instrument by which the 
Department agrees to support a specified level of research effort for a 
predetermined project period without the announced intention of 
providing additional support at a future date. This type of research 
project grant is approved on the basis of peer review and recommendation 
and is funded for the entire project period at the time of award.
    (2) Renewal grant. This is a document by which the Department agrees 
to provide additional funding under a standard grant as specified in 
paragraph (c)(1) of this section for a project period beyond that 
approved in an original or amended award, provided that the cumulative 
period does not exceed the statutory limitation. When a renewal 
application is submitted, it should include a summary of progress to 
date under the previous grant instrument. Such a renewal shall be based 
upon new application, de novo peer review and staff evaluation, new 
recommendation and approval, and a new award instrument.
    (3) Continuation grant. This is a grant instrument by which the 
Department agrees to support a specified level of effort for a 
predetermined period of time with a statement of intention to provide 
additional support at a future date, provided that performance has been 
satisfactory, appropriations are available for this purpose, and 
continued support would be in the best interests of the Federal 
government and the public. It involves a long-term research project that 
is considered by peer reviewers and Departmental officers to have an 
unusually high degree of scientific merit, the results of which are 
expected to have a significant impact on the productivity of the 
Nation's rangelands, and it supports the efforts of experienced 
scientists with records of outstanding research accomplishments. This 
kind of document normally will be awarded for an initial one-year period 
and any subsequent continuation research project grants also will be 
awarded in one-year increments, but in no case may the cumulative period 
of the project exceed the statutory limit. The award of a continuation 
research project grant to fund an initial or succeeding budget period 
does not constitute an obligation to fund any subsequent budget period. 
A grantee must submit a separate application for continued support for 
each subsequent fiscal year. Requests for such continued support must be 
submitted in duplicate at least three months prior to the expiration 
date of the budget period currently being funded. Such requests must 
include: an interim progress report detailing all work performed to 
date; an Application for Funding; a proposed budget for the enuring 
period, including an estimate of funds anticipated to remain unobligated 
at the end of the current budget period; and current information 
regarding other extramural support for senior personnel. Decisions 
regarding continued support and the actual funding levels of such 
support in future years usually will be made administratively after 
consideration of such factors as the grantee's progress and management 
practices and within the context of available funds. Since initial peer 
reviews were based upon the full term and scope of the original 
rangeland research application for funding, additional evaluations of 
this type generally are not required prior to successive years' support. 
However, in unusual cases (e.g., when the nature of the project or key 
personnel change or when the amount of future support requested 
substantially exceeds the application for funding originally reviewed 
and approved), additional reviews may be required prior to approval of 
continued funding.
    (4) Supplemental grant. This is an instrument by which the 
Department

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agrees to provide small amounts of additional funding under a standard, 
renewal, or continuation grant as specified in paragraphs (c)(1), 
(c)(2), and (c)(3) of this section and may involve a short-term (usually 
six months or less) extension of the project period beyond that approved 
in an original or amended award, but in no case may the cumulative 
period of the project, including short term extensions, exceed the 
statutory time limitation. A supplement is awarded only if required to 
assure adequate completion of the original scope of work and if there is 
sufficient justification of need to warrant such action. A request of 
this nature normally does not require additional peer review.
    (d) Obligation of the Federal government. Neither the approval of 
any application nor the award of any research project grant shall commit 
or obligate the United States in any way to make any renewal, 
supplemental, continuation, or other award with respect to any approved 
application or portion of an approved application.