Commonly Used Acronyms

For Sponsored Research

Commonly used acronyms and definitions related to sponsored research at the University of Florida.
Acronym	Definition of Term	Acronym	Definition of Term
AAALAC	American Association for Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care	NIH	National Institutes of Health
BOG	State of Florida Board of Governors The 17-member governing board that serves as the governing body for the State University System of Florida, which includes all public universities in the state of Florida.	NOA	Notification of Acceptance
CAS	Cost Accounting Standards Founded on principles that costs will be consistently treated as a direct or indirect (F&A) costs.	NSF	National Science Foundation
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations An annually updated code to define general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the US federal government.	OCO	Operating Capital Outlay The appropriation category used to purchase equipment, fixtures, and other tangible personal property of a non-consumable and nonexpendable nature. Examples include equipment, fixtures, and other tangible personal property of a non-consumable nature and has a normal expected life of one year or more.
COI	Conflict of Interest UF Conflict of Interest (COi) policy contains a description of what is a COi under the Code of Ethics, which is set forth in the Florida Statutes. The policy discusses how to obtain a COi exemption from the Code for Research and license agreements.	OE	Operating Expense Expenses necessary in conducting the research project. May include, salary and fringe benefits, equipment, travel, supplies. These are the direct costs necessary to implement the project.
Co-PI	Co-Principal Investigator/Co Investigator Key personnel, also responsible for conduct of the project and compliance.	OMB	Office of Management and Budget Largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States. The 0MB oversees the federal government procurement, financial management and regulatory policy. The 0MB circular outlines the uniform administrative requirements for grants and other agreements with institutions of higher education, hospitals, etc.
DHHS	U.S. Department of Health & Human Services	OPPMAN	Opportunities Manager The UF Office of Research, Division of Research Development search tool to find funding opportunities.
DSP	Division of Sponsored Programs~UF, Office of Research Reviews, negotiates, executes all sponsored research at UF. Reviews all proposals and agreements related to externally funded sponsored programs. Approves proposed budgets.	OPS	Other Personal Services UF at-will temporary employment positions.
DUA	Data Use Agreements An agreement required under the Privacy Rule and must be entered into before there is any use of data which contain protected health information (PHI). UF Privacy Office can help with writing and approving a DUA.	OR	Office of Research
EIES	Engineering & Industrial Experiment Station Also known as FLEXStation, this UF programs provides economic impact and workforce development to Florida companies, communities and citizens, as well as applied research and development services to Florida industry to facilitate product and project development and technology commercialization.	OTL	Office of Technology Licensing Facilitates and administers the licensing of university discoveries to the market.
Export Controls	An "export" occurs whenever controlled technology, technical data, software, materials, equipment, technical assistance or defense services are disclosed in any medium or manner outside of the United States, or to a foreign person no matter where located. Export controls are regulated by US laws.	PHS	Public Health Service
F&A	Facilities & Administration (F&A) (formerly Indirect Costs) The University negotiates F&A rate with the US Department of Health and Human Services and reflects the cost of real, auditable expenses incurred in the conduct of research. These costs support the operation of facilities and administration and are not easily tied to a specific project. These costs support the conduct of research regardless of source of funding.	PI	Principal Investigator The individual ultimately responsible for the conduct, preparation and administration of the project, contract, or other agreement. This individual is responsible for the project to be compliant with applicable laws, regulations and institutional policy.
FAC	Florida Administrative Code Administrative rules and regulations of Florida state agencies.	Pivot^TM	A search tool providing access to a comprehensive listing of funding opportunities globally.
FAR	Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) is the principal set of rules over government procurement.	RCR	Responsible Conduct in Research
FDP	Federal Demonstration Partnership is an association of federal agencies, academic research institutions with administrative, faculty and technical representation, and research policy organizations that work to streamline the administration of federally sponsored research.	RFA	Request for Application A notice in which an organization announces that grant funding is available and allows individuals/organizations to present bids on how the funding could be used. The RFA identifies funds set aside by one or more agencies for awarding grants. Specifies the programs eligible for funding under grants.
FMC	Federal Management Circular FMC 74-4,specifies the use of predetermined indirect cost rates in grants and contracts with State and local governments authorized by law or Comptroller General decision, and if the fixed or predetermined indirect cost rate with a following year adjustment to reflect actual cost incurred.	RFP	Request for Proposal Solicits proposals with specified guidelines and a target due date. Competitive. The RFP specifies what the organization is looking for and has an established evaluation criteria for assessing proposals.
FOA	Funding Opportunity Announcement A publically available document by which a Federal agency publicizes intent to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements usually within a framework of a competition for funds. Also referred to as program announcements; request for applications (RFA); notices of funding availability; solicitations.	RFQ	Request for Quotation An invitation to bid for a contract to provide a specific product or service.
IACUC	Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee A federally mandated committee, qualified through the experience and expertise of its members that oversee its institution's animal program, facilities, and procedures.	SUS	State University System
IDC	Indirect Costs Also known as F&A Rates - Facilities and Administrative rates. The University negotiates a F&A rate with the US Department of Health and Human Services and reflects the cost of real, auditable expenses incurred in the conduct of research. These costs support the operation of facilities and administration and are not easily identified with a specific project. These costs support the conduct of research regardless of source of funding.	SWF	Salaries, Wages and Fringe
Human Subject Research	According to the federal regulations (45 CFR 46 102.f) a Human Subject means a living individual about whom an investigator conducting research obtains: 1. Data through intervention or interaction with individual 2. Identifiable private information	TDC	Total Direct Costs Costs associated with executing the research project. Includes salaries, materials and supplies, travel, etc.
IFAS	Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences A federal-state-county partnership dedicated to developing knowledge in agriculture, human and natural resources, and the life sciences, and enhancing and sustaining the quality of human life by making that information accessible.	UF	University of Florida
IRB	Institutional Review Board Institutional review for all human subject research. At UF there are 4 Boards: IRBOl oversight for all Health Science Center projects in Gainesville; IRB02 represents oversite to social, behavioral, educational research and other studies that involve survey research; IRB03 represents oversight of Jacksonville Health Science Center; and WIRB for industry sponsored funding.	UFF	University of Florida Foundation, Inc. Also known as UF Advancement, this is the fundraising and private gift fund management unit for the University of Florida.
LOI	Letter of Intent Sponsored research may require a letter in advance of submission of a proposal. The LOI includes the names of Pis, potential partners, the proposed title, and a brief summary of the research. The LOI is not binding.	UFIRST	University of Florida Integrated Research Support Tool Online workflow software to process, track and report on all sponsored research.
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding A non-binding formal agreement to establish official partnerships. Details the terms and responsibilities for each party. Although not legally binding, the MOU demonstrates serious intent.	UFRF	University of Florida Research Foundation, Inc. Established in 1986 to promote, encourage and provide assistance to the research activities of the University faculty, staff, and students. This the not-for- profit organization provides a venue by which discoveries, inventions, processes and work products of the University of Florida faculty, staff and students can be created and transferred from the laboratory to the public. Funds generated by such discoveries are used to enhance research at the University of Florida.
MTDC	Modified Total Direct Costs Is the base to which indirect costs (F&A) are calculated. AT UF, this is the Total Direct Cost (TDC) minus equipment, patient care, tuition, participant support costs, rental costs of off-site facilities, scholarships, fellowships, and the portion of each subaward in excess of $25,000.