In general, sponsored projects are awarded in one of four forms: Grants, Contracts, Cooperative Agreements, and Fellowships.
A grant is an award of funds included in a written instrument executed by the head of the awarding agency or his/her duly authorized representative. Generally, grants have the following characteristics:
A contract is “an agreement between two or more people to do something, especially one formally set forth in writing and enforceable by law.” In the simplest sense then, a grant, as defined previously, is a form of a contract. Certainly a good research and development contract has all the characteristics of a grant. On a functional level, however, a contract differs from a grant in the following respects: (1) The terms of the contract tend to be spelled out in greater detail, (2) The activities supported by the contract are frequently dictated by the grantor or sponsor rather than being generated by the applicant or grantee, (3) The applicant is generally given less latitude to modify the scope of the agreed upon activities and/or the expenditure of funds provided by the contractor, (4) A greater number of terms of conditions are included in a contract, and (5) There is a greater likelihood that the contractor, through its technical representatives, will be directly involved in the day-to-day conduct of the project.
The principal differences between a grant and/or contract and a cooperative agreement is the way in which the statement of work is spelled out. In the case of a grant, the statement of work is usually defined by reference to your proposal. This may also be the case for a contract. Alternatively, the statement of work may be defined with some degree of specificity in the contract instrument itself. In a cooperative agreement, however, the statement of work tends to be more open-ended; details are filled in during the term of the funded project by mutual agreement between the sponsor and the recipient. A cooperative agreement is necessary in instances where it is difficult, if not impossible, at the outset of a project to anticipate most contingencies and define the full parameters of the activity.
As already suggested, grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements, in most
instances, are awarded to institutions, not individuals. Institutional recipients
are ultimately accountable for the outcomes of the project and for the proper
expenditure of the project funds. Fellowships (and Scholarships), in contrast,
are often awarded to individuals. While universities receive and administer
fellowship awards on behalf of students or faculty, the recipient of a fellowship
frequently enjoys a one-to-one relationship with his/her sponsor and is personally
(though no less) accountable for the appropriate deployment of resources.
