A cooperation agreement can be a highly specialized research award, in which federal employees are among the relatively few experts in this field. In this case, the award can be defined as a “cooperation agreement,” since federal officials and non-federal recipients will conduct the joint research in one way or another. While the federal agency remains involved in the delivery, the task should never be postponed so that it is carried out for the Agency. The FGCAA expressly prohibits federal authorities from using co-operative contracts to acquire real estate or services for direct use or use by the federal government. This distinction distinguishes cooperative contracts from “purchase contracts” or “acquisitions” related to FAR. This distinction is also essential to limit the protest actions made available to disappointed bidders for cooperation agreements. In the case of cooperation agreements, it is likely that the OMB PRA will need to be reviewed and approved if the NIJ plays an important role in the design, development of methodology and analysis of data collection. Given that the amount of NIJ participation at the time of submission may not be clear, applicants proposing research involving more than nine (9) advisorys should consider that an authorization of the PRA OMB is necessary and take this information into account when developing the application, including the proposal , the research plan, the timetable and the budget. A practical understanding of the different financial instruments. From pre-award decision to post-award management, you will explore key elements of both grants and cooperation agreements, including the active participation of the federal agency itself. You also have the option to ask your own questions during the Q-A part of the webinar.
The distinction between subsidies and cooperation agreements concerns the existence or absence of substantial participation. In research activities, significant involvement is likely when a federal collaborator assists, directs, coordinates or actively participates in the project. This essential participation is most common, either through the management (1) of the allocation of resources between sub-projects, sites or institutions, or through active participation (2) in the conduct of research. Normal supervision and trust are not a significant interest. If you are interested in more detailed information on grants and cooperation agreements, there are still a few resources: both cooperation contracts and grants “transfer everything that is valuable from the federal granting agency or passport to the non-federal agency to fill a public service.” The Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977 (P.L. 95-224, 31 USC 6301 and following) establishes the fundamental distinctions between purchase contracts, grants and cooperation contracts. This cooperation is programmatic and can offer benefits (for example. B technical and specialized expertise) that would otherwise not be available to the recipient. Ultimately, cooperation agreements provide support and establish relationships between organizations and the sponsor, in which both parties pursue commonly declared goals or activities.
In a cooperation agreement, NIJ is a partner of interest in research efforts. In many ways, cooperative agreements are similar to federal grants. Under the Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977 (FGCAA), the main objective of the two relationships is to transfer the value of federal organizations to public, local and private organizations.
