Glossary of Common Terms & Acronyms

ACH 

Automated Clearing House number.  ACH is the primary system that agencies use for electronic funds transfer and online payments. Financial institutions have unique, designated ACH numbers to carry out such transfers.  

AOR 

Authorized Organization Representative.  Role type within the Grants.gov system.  This role can create a workspace and be a workspace owner.  The AOR can also view organization information, assign the Workspace Manager role, add or remove participants from their workspace, and submit applications. 

Biosketch 

Biographical Sketch. A biosketch includes information about personnel included in the grant application and addresses the person’s education, research and professional experience, publications and/or other examples of synergistic activities, and collaborations and affiliations.   

BOM 

Bill of Material.  Listing of all materials needed for completion of the project.  

Budget Justification 

Required document for SBIR/STTR applications whereby applicants provide supporting documentation and evidence for cost estimates provided in the R&R Budget Form. 

CAGE 

Commercial and Government Entity.  After completing the SAM registration, applicants will receive a CAGE code via email.  It is a 5-digit unique identifier assigned by the Defense Logistics Agency.   

Commercialization Plan 

Required with all SBIR/STTR applications.  Commercialization plans offer a clear and concise description of the proposed work's market potential and the planned path to commercialization.  It should address the market opportunity, intellectual property, the company and/or team developing the technology, and the estimated revenue. 

CRADA 

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement.  Principal mechanism used by Federal laboratories to engage in collaborative efforts with non-Federal partners. 

DEI

Diversity, equity, and inclusion and or matters pertaining to the promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

DLA 

Defense Logistics Agency.  This agency will provide the CAGE code via email once applicants have successfully registered with SAM.gov. 

DMP 

Data Management Plan.  Document that outlines how data will be handled during and after a research project.  

DOE 

U.S. Department of Energy 

E-Biz POC 

Electronic Business Point of Contact.  The E-Biz POC is typically an organization’s chief financial officer or authorizing official.  There is one E-Biz POC per UEI when registering with SAM.   

EERE 

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy 

EIN 

Employer Identification Number.  An employer identification number (EIN) is a nine-digit number assigned by the IRS. It's used to identify the tax accounts of employers and certain others who have no employees.  

FFRDC 

Federally Funded Research and Development Center  

FLC 

Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.  Formally chartered, nationwide network of over 300 federal laboratories, agencies, and research centers, that fosters commercialization, best practice strategies, and opportunities, for accelerating federal technologies out of the labs and into the marketplace.  

FOA 

Funding Opportunity Announcement:  Publicly available document by which a Federal agency makes known its intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds. 

FOIA 

Freedom of Information Act.  Federal Act which provides the public the right to request access to records from any federal agency. 

FTR 

Federal Travel Regulations.  These guidelines are provided by the U.S. General Services Administration for federally-funded travel and include restrictions and/or suggestions on per diem and other travel costs.   

GSA 

U.S. General Services Administration 

IDC 

Indirect Costs. Indirect costs represent the expenses of doing business that are not readily identified with a particular grant, contract, project function or activity, but are necessary for the general operation of the organization and the conduct of activities it performs.  Costs such as rent, the phone bill, utilities, general management and accounting expenses are examples of indirect costs. 

IP 

Intellectual Property.  Intellectual property includes creations of the mind such as musical, literary, and artistic works; inventions; and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce, including copyrights, trademarks, patents, and related rights. Under intellectual property law, the holder of one of these abstract “properties” has certain exclusive rights to the creative work, commercial symbol, or invention by which it is covered. 

LOI 

Letter of Intent.  A Letter of Intent is required prior to submitting an SBIR or STTR application. 

MPIN 

Marketing Partner Identification Number. Number created by the applicant in the process of SAM registration.  Your MPIN can be used to log into other government databases and applications.  

NAICS  

North American Industry Classification System.  Standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy.  Applicants will need either SIC or NAICS code for SAM registration.  

OSC 

Other Significant Contributor.  Refers to personnel included in the grant application who may be serving as an advisor or mentor to the applicant and is committed to the scientific development or execution of the project but who is not committing any specified, measurable effort to the project.  

PAMS 

Portfolio Analysis and Management System.  Office of Science’s web-based system for managing proposals submitted to SC in response to funding announcements, as well as for managing the peer reviews of those proposals.  PAMS is also the system that applicants will access to submit their LOIs. 

PI 

Principal Investigator: Key individual designated by applicant to direct the project.  The PI must be knowledgeable in all technical aspects of the grant and capable of leading the research effort.  

PIER Plan 

Promoting Equitable and Inclusive Research Plan.  Document that outlines the activities and strategies applicants will incorporate to promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in their research projects. PIER Plans will be evaluated as part of the merit review process and will be used to inform funding decisions. 

PM

Program Manager

Project Narrative 

A project narrative is a required component of an SBIR/STTR grant application. Although the specific requirements for project narratives often differ by grant programs, in general a project narrative defines a project's scope and purpose, demonstrates the applicant’s ability to carry out the required work and/or research, and provides a plan for project execution. Effective project narratives are succinct, organized, and written in clear, direct language. 

Proprietary Information 

As defined by U.S. Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards and Technology, proprietary information consists of material and information relating to or associated with a company's products, business, or activities, including but not limited to financial information; data or statements; trade secrets; product research and development; existing and future product designs and performance specifications; marketing plans or techniques; schematics; client lists; computer programs; processes; and know-how that has been clearly identified and properly marked by the company as proprietary information, trade secrets, or company confidential information. The information must have been developed by the company and not be available to the Government or to the public without restriction from another source. 

PTAC 

Procurement Technical Assistance Center.  PTACs can provide assistance to small businesses with SAM registration and annual renewals.   

R&D 

Research and Development. 

R&R 

Research and Related.  Numerous forms in the SBIR/STTR application package include “R&R” at the beginning of the document name.  

RI 

Research Institution.  For the purposes of this guide, Research Institution refers to the collaborating entity on an STTR or "both" type of application only.  In the instance of an SBIR application, a collaborating research institution is referred to as a subcontractor.   

SAM 

System for Award Management.  The official U.S. Government system for numerous forms of financial interactions and contracting.  SAM.gov registration is required for all SBIR/STTR applicants and is the system that will provide the UEI needed for the application. 

SBA 

U.S. Small Business Administration 

SBC 

Small Business Concern.  Refers to the applicant’s business organization or firm.  

SBDC 

Small Business Development Centers. SBDCs provide aspiring and current small business owners a wide variety of free business consulting and low-cost training services.  SBDCs are hosted by leading universities and state economic development agencies and funded in part through a partnership with SBA. 

SBIR 

Small Business Innovation Research Program:  Competitive awards-based program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in Federal Research/Research and Development (R/R&D) with the potential for commercialization.  

SC

U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science.

Senior / Key Person 

A Senior or Key Person(s) are defined as all individuals who contribute in a substantive, meaningful way to the scientific development or execution of the project, whether or not salaries are requested. 

SIC 

Standard Industrial Classification.  System by which businesses are classified on the basis of industries. Applicants will need either SIC or NAICS code for SAM registration. 

SCORE 

Senior Core of Retired Executives.  Federally funded program that can offer assistance with federal and grant accounting requirements to small businesses.   

SOW 

Statement of Work.  Description of work that will be completed under a grant agreement. 

Subaward 

Used synonymously with the term subcontract. An award provided by a pass-through entity to a subrecipient for the subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal award received by the pass-through entity. It does not include payments to a contractor or payments to an individual that is a beneficiary of a Federal program.  STTR applicants are required to submit a subaward budget for the collaborating RI with their applications.  Subaward budgets may be required in other instances as well when applying for SBIR/STTR awards.   

STTR 

Small Business Technology Transfer Program:  Competitive awards-based program requires small businesses to formally collaborate with research institutions to bridge the gap between performance of basic science and commercialization of resulting innovations. 

TA 

Technical Assistance 

TIN 

Taxpayer Identification Number.  Identification number used by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the administration of tax laws.  

TTM 

Technical Topic Manager  

TTO 

Technology Transfer Opportunity topics.  Most often topics that are generated by DOE’s FFRDCs and create opportunities for small businesses to collaborate with FFRDCs on research that the agency has conducted for DOE.   

UEI 

Unique Entity Identifier.  ID provided to small businesses upon successful registration with SAM.gov and necessary for SBIR/STTR applications. 

WFO 

Work for Others agreement.  Mechanism for contracting with an FFRDC to conduct specific work for a firm but the contracting firm retains al IP and data rights created by the FFRDC under the WFO. 

Workspace Manager 

Role within Grants.gov.  The Workspace Manager can create a workspace and be a workspace owner.