Welcome to the Northern Plains Area Grants and Agreements Service Section. This page includes useful grants and agreements information, links and staff contact information. We’re here to help and encourage you to contact us if you have questions or need additional information. On this Page: Agreements Decision Tree Accepting Funds from Non-ARS Entities Competitive Grants (funds to ARS) Competitive Grants (no funds to ARS) Incoming Agreements (Trust Fund or Reimbursable Cooperative Agreements) Specific Cooperative Agreements (outgoing funds) Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement Standard Cooperative Agreement (StCA) Customer Service Plan

Staff:

• Marcie Currie-Goss - Grants Management Specialist
  Phone: (970) 492-7022
  Fax: (970) 492-7031
  E-mail: Marcie.Currie-Gross@ars.usda.gov

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Grants and Agreements Documents
(All documents are in MS Word or Adobe Acrobat)

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1. Decision Tree to Determine Appropriate Agreement Type

	Purpose	Relationship / Benefit to ARS Programs	ARS Involvement During Performance
Use a Contract When:	Acquiring Service or Property	Direct Benefit/Use	No Involvement
Use a Grant When:	Transferring Anything of Value	To Support or Stimulate a Public Purpose	No Involvement
Use an Assistance Type Cooperative Agreement (ACTA) When:	Transferring Anything of Value	To Support or Stimulate a Public Purpose	Substantial Involvement
Use a Specific Cooperative Agreement  (SCA) When:	ARS is Paying and Mutual Interest and Contributions toward Research Effort exists	Direct Benefit to ARS in-house research	Substantial Involvement
Use a Research Support Agreement (RSA) When:	Procuring Service/Supplies Directly from a College or University	Direct Benefit to ARS in-house research	Substantial Involvement
Use a Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement (NFCA) When:	Describing Research Work with No Obligation of Funds	Direct Benefit to ARS in-house research	Substantial Involvement
Use a Technology Transfer Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) When:	Receiving Funds under Federal Technology Transfer Act	Direct Benefit to ARS in-house research	Substantial Involvement
Use a Reimbursable or Trust Fund Agreement When:	ARS Receives Funds to Perform Research Work	Direct Benefit to ARS in-house research	Substantial Involvement

Each project involving cooperation must be assessed individually to ascertain the agreement instrument most appropriate for the project. 

Please contact either Jim or Marcie for assistance and examples of Statements of Work for Grants, Assistance Type Cooperative Agreements, Specific Cooperative Agreements, Research Support Agreements, Trust Fund Cooperative Agreements, or Reimbursable Agreements.

Please contact Dr. Bryan Kaphammer for assistance related to Cooperative Research and Development Agreements (CRADA’s) at Bryan.Kaphammer@ars.usda.gov or 970-492-7028.

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2.  Accepting Funds from Non-ARS Entities

• Memos from Dwayne Buxton, Deputy Administrator (Adobe Acrobat)
• NPA Policy Memorandum 06-003 (Adobe Acrobat)

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3. Competitive Grant Proposals involving funds coming into ARS (i.e., NIFA, NIH, etc.)

• ARS scientist is responsible for the research project
• ARS scientist shares responsibility with another person, usually a Non-ARS person
• Process  (Adobe Acrobat)
• NIFA Guidelines - FY 2007  (Adobe Acrobat)
• Tips for Success:  Competitive Grant Proposal Evaluation Criteria
• SF424 R&R Cover Page Info (Adobe Acrobat)
• ARS-425 Template  (Contact Marcie Currie-Gross)
• Letter of Intent Examples (Contact Marcie Currie-Gross)
• Letter of Support Example 1
• Letter of Support Example 2

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4.  Competitive Grant Proposals for Research, No Funds to ARS activity (all funds to the Cooperator)

• ARS scientist shares responsibility for the project with another person, usually a Non-ARS person
• ARS scientist has no responsibility for completion of the project, serves as an Ad Hoc advisor to the Principal Investigator
• Process
• ARS-425 Template
• Letter of Intent Examples (Contact Marcie Currie-Gross)
• Letter of Support Example 1
• Letter of Support Example 2

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5.  Incoming Agreements - Trust Fund or Reimbursable Cooperative Agreements (incoming funds to ARS)

• Process
• Incoming Agreement Template
• Statement of Work example 1
• Statement of Work example 2

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6.  Specific Cooperative Agreements (outgoing funds to a cooperating organization / institution: i.e., university)

• Process
• SCA Template
• SCA Add of Funds - Expand SOW Amendment Template
• Statement of Work example
• Budget example   (MS Excel)
• Blank REE-454 budget page  (MS Excel)
• SCA Performance Report Requirements

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7.  Non-Funded Cooperative Agreement (formerly known as an Individual Memorandum of Understanding)

• Process
• NFCA ARIS/AIMS Template
• Contact the Agreements Section for an example

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8.  Standard Cooperative Agreement (StCA)

A special purpose agreement between ARS and another party that defines a mutually beneficial relationship relative to the use of land, labor, equipment, facilities, livestock, or other resources.

• There is no direct transfer of funding from one party to the other.
• The agreement provides that the cooperator shall be compensated for losses suffered due to damage to the property of the owner which is used by ARS employees. ployees.
• Contact the Agreements Section for an example (Contact Marcie Currie-Gross)
• The Agreements Specialist is responsible for signing the StCA

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Customer Service Plan

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The NPA Agreements Section is committed to assisting the Northern Plains Area scientists and administrative support staff in preparing and implementing cooperative agreements that support the mission of ARS and to make the various agreements related processes and data entry programs as expeditious as possible.  All awarded agreements will be legally and fiscally sound and in compliance with established extramural policies and procedures.

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The user-friendly URL for this page is: http://www.ars.usda.gov/npa/grants

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