Research Administration Commonly Used Acronyms

Please Note: Acronyms that are followed by an asterisk (*) are specific to Harvard University.

  • AAALAC: American Association of Animal Laboratory Accreditation Council
  • AAAS: American Association for the Advancement of Science
  • AAMC: Association of American Medical Colleges
  • AAU: Association of American Universities
  • ABRF: Association of Bimolecular Resource Facilities
  • ACH: Automated Clearinghouse
  • ACM: Association of American Medical Colleges
  • ACO: Administrative Contracting Officer
  • ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
  • AFAA: Air Force Audit Agency
  • AFARS: Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
  • AFOSR: Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • AFRL: Air Force Research Laboratory
  • AHRQ: Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality
  • AIA: America Invents Act
  • ANPRM: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
  • AOR: Authorized Organizational Representative
  • APLU: Associate of Public & Land-grant Universities
  • ARDA: Advanced Research & Development Activity
  • ARL: Army Research Lab
  • ARO: Army Research Office
  • ARPA: Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • ARRA: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
  • AS: National Academy of Sciences
  • ASAP: Automated Standard Application for Payments
  • ATP: Advance Technology Program
  • B2B: Business to Business
  • B2P: Buy to Pay*
  • BAA: Broad Agency Announcement
  • BPN: Business Partner Network
  • CAP: Corrective Action Plan
  • CAS: Cost Accounting Standards
  • CASB: Cost Accounting Standards Board
  • CBD: Commerce Business Daily
  • CBO: Congressional Budget Office
  • CCH: Commerce Clearing House
  • CCR: Central Contractor Registration
  • CDA: Confidential Disclosure Agreement
  • CFDA: Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
  • CFO: Chief Financial Officer
  • CFR: Code of Federal Regulations
  • CFS: Committee on Fundamental Science
  • CFWD: Carryforward
  • CICA: Competition in Contracting Act
  • CLIN: Contract Line Item Number
  • CMIA: Cash Management Improvement Act
  • CNO: Chief of Naval Operations
  • CO: Contracting Officer
  • COA: Chart of Accounts
  • COFAR: Council on Financial Assistance Reform
  • COG: Councils of Governments
  • COGR: Council On Governmental Relations
  • COMPETES: Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology Education and Science (PL110-69)
  • COMS: Committee on Microbiological Safety
  • COS: Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council
  • COSEPUP: Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy
  • COTR: Contract Officer Technical Representative
  • CPSR: Contractor Procurement/Property System Review
  • CRA: Cooperative Research Agreement
  • CRADA: Cooperative Research and Development Agreement
  • CRS: Congressional Research Service
  • CSR: Center for Scientific Review
  • CTSA: Clinical & Translational Science Award
  • CUHS: Committee on the Use of Human Subjects in Research
  • CVR: Cross Validation Rules
  • D&B: Dun and Bradstreet
  • DA: Department Administration Costs
  • DA: Department of the Army
  • DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • DATA: Digital Accountability and Transparency Act
  • DC: Direct Costs
  • DCAA: Defense Contract Audit Agency
  • DCASRs: Defense Contract Administration Services Regions
  • DCE: Direct Cost Equivalent
  • DEAR: Department of Energy Acquisition Regulations
  • DEC: Determination of Exceptional Circumstances
  • DED: Department of Education
  • DFAR: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation
  • DFARS: Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
  • DHEW: Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
  • DHHS: Department of Health and Human Services
  • DHS: Department of Homeland Security
  • DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DIPEC: Defense Industrial Plant Equipment Council
  • DIS: Defense Investigative Service
  • DNA: Defense Nuclear Agency
  • DOC: Department of Commerce
  • DOD: Department of Defense
  • DODGARS: Grant and Agreement Regulations (DOD)
  • DOE: Department of Energy
  • DOL: Department of Labor
  • DOT: Department of Transportation
  • DS-2: Disclosure Statement
  • DSMB: Data Safety Monitoring Board
  • DURC: Dual Use Research Concern
  • EAR: Export Administration Regulations
  • EARS: Electronic Approval and Routing Systems
  • ebXML: Electronic Business Extensible Markup Language
  • EC: Electronic Commerce
  • Ecrt: Harvard Effort Certification system*
  • EDA: Economic Development Administration
  • EDGAR: Education Department General Administration Regulations
  • EDI: Electronic Data Interchange
  • EEOC: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  • EFT: Electronic Funds Transfer
  • EH&S: Environmental Health and Safety Department
  • EO: Executive Order
  • EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
  • ERA: Economic Regulatory Administration
  • ERA: Electronic Research Administration
  • ETA: Employment and Training Administration
  • EVS: Equipment Visibility System
  • F&A: Facilities and Administrative (Rate or Cost)
  • FAA: Federal Aviation Administration
  • FAC: Federal Audit Clearing House
  • FAIN: Federal Award Identification Number
  • FAPIIS: Federal Awardee Performance & Integrity Information System
  • FAR: Federal Acquisition Regulation
  • FARS: Financial Accounting and Reporting System
  • FASA: Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act
  • FASAB: Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
  • FASEB: Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
  • FBO: Federal Business Opportunities
  • FCC: Federal Communications Commission
  • FCOI: Financial Conflict of Interest
  • FCST: Federal Council for Science and Technology
  • FDA: Food and Drug Administration
  • FDP: Federal Demonstration Partnership
  • FDP: Federal Demonstration Project
  • FDP: Florida Demonstration Project
  • FEA: Federal Enterprise Architectures
  • FECAI: Federal Electronic Commerce Acquisition Instructions
  • FEDIX: An on-line federal data base serving most federal agencies for on-line searches
  • FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
  • FFATA: Federal Financial Accountability & Transparency Act
  • FFMIA: Federal Financial Management Improvement Act
  • FFR: Federal Financial Report
  • FHWA: Federal Highway Administration
  • FICC: Federal Interagency Coordinating Council
  • FIMA: Financial Management System
  • FIPSE: Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education
  • FISAP: Fiscal Operations Report & Application to Participate
  • FMC: Federal Management Circular
  • FN: Foreign National
  • FOB: Free-on-board
  • FOIA: Freedom of Information Act
  • FR: Federal Register
  • FS&T: Federal Science and Technology Budget
  • FTC: Federal Trade Commission
  • FTE: Full Time Equivalent
  • FTS: Federal Telecommunications System
  • FWA: Federal Wide Assurance
  • FY: Fiscal Year
  • GA: General Administration (Costs)
  • GAAP: Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
  • GAGAS: Generally Accepted Government Accounting Standards
  • GAO: General Accounting Office
  • GASB: Governmental Accounting Standards Board
  • GATT: General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
  • GL PCR Tool: General Ledger Payroll Cost Redistribution Tool*
  • GL: General Ledger*
  • GMAS: Grants Management Application Suite*
  • GMO: Grants Management Office
  • GMRA: Government Management Reform Act
  • GOCO: Government Owned Contractor Operated
  • GPG: Grant Proposal Guide (NSF)
  • GPO: Government Printing Office
  • GPRA: Government Performance and Results Act
  • GSA: General Services Administration
  • GUIRR: Government-University-Industry Research Roundtable
  • HART: Harvard Analytics and Reporting Tool*
  • HBCU: Historically Black College and University
  • HCFA: Health Care Financing Administration
  • HEGIS: Higher Education General Information Survey
  • HHS: Department of Health and Human Services
  • HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act
  • HRSA: Health Resources and Services Administration
  • HSARPA: Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency
  • HUD: Department of Housing and Urban Development
  • IACUC: Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee
  • IAEGC: Inter-Agency Electronic Grants Committee
  • IBC: Institutional Bio-safety Committee
  • IBS: Institutional Based Salary
  • ICAA: International Collaborations and Activities Approval
  • ICC: Interstate Commerce Commission
  • IDC: Indirect Costs
  • IDIQ: Indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (type of contract)
  • IG: Inspector General
  • IHE: Institution of Higher Education
  • IPA: Intergovernmental Personnel Act
  • IPASS: Interagency Panel on Advanced Science & Security
  • IPR: Intellectual Property Rights
  • IR&D: Independent Research and Development
  • IRAB: FDP Initiative to Reduce Administrative Burden
  • IRB: Institutional Review Board
  • IRIS: An on-line search system for research opportunities developed by the University of Illinois
  • ITAR: International Traffic in Arms Regulations
  • ITMRA: Information Technology Management Reform Act
  • JAG: Judge Advocate General
  • JCS: Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JIT: Just in Time
  • LoB: Line of Business
  • LOC: Letter of Credit
  • LSA: Labor Surplus Area
  • M&O: Maintenance and Operations
  • M&O: Management and Operations Contractors
  • MBDA: Minority Business Development Agency
  • MBE: Minority Business Enterprise
  • MECA: Midwest Conference on College Cost Accounting
  • MOU: Memorandum of Understanding
  • MTA: Material Transfer Agreement
  • MTC: Modified Total Cost
  • MTDC: Modified Total Direct Costs
  • NACCA: National Conference on College Cost Accounting
  • NACIE: National Advisory Council on Innovation & Entrepreneurship (2010)
  • NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  • NASULGC: National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges
  • NCATS - National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NIH, 2011)
  • NCC: National Coordinating Committee
  • NCE: No Cost Extension
  • NCI: National Cancer Institute
  • NCRR: National Center for Research Resources
  • NCST: National Council of Science and Technology
  • NCURA: National Council of University Research Administrators
  • NECA: Northeast Conference on College Cost Accounting
  • NEH: National Endowment for the Humanities
  • NGA: Notice of Grant Award
  • NIAID: National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
  • NIE: National Institute of Education
  • NIEHS: National Institute of Environmental Health Services
  • NIH: National Institutes of Health
  • NIJ: National Institute of Justice
  • NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology
  • NLRB: National Labor Relations Board
  • NoA: Notice of Award
  • NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • NPR: National Performance Review
  • NPRM: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
  • NPS: National Park Service
  • NRC: National Research Council
  • NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  • NRL: Naval Research Laboratory
  • NSA: National Security Agency
  • NSB: National Science Board
  • NSC: National Security Council
  • NSDD: National Security Decision Directive 189 (issued 1985)
  • NSF/STIS: An on-line search system of the National Science Foundation
  • NSF: National Science Foundation
  • NSP: Not Separately Priced
  • NSTC: National Science Technology Council
  • NTIS: National Technical Information Service
  • NTSB: National Transportation Safety Board
  • O&M: Operations and Maintenance Costs
  • OAIR: Outside Activities and Interests Reporting
  • OCR: Office of Civil Rights
  • OES: Office of Employment Security
  • OET: Office of Employment Training
  • OFAC: Office of Foreign Assets Control
  • OFCC: Office of Federal Contract Compliance
  • OFFM: Office of Federal Financial Management
  • OFM: Office of Financial Management
  • OFR: Office of the Federal Register
  • OGC: Office of the General Counsel
  • OHRP: Office of Human Research Protection
  • OIG: Office of Inspector General
  • OIRA: Office of Information & Regulatory Affairs (OMB)
  • OLAW: Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
  • OMB: Office of Management and Budget
  • ONR: Office of Naval Research
  • OPERA: Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration
  • OPM: Office of Personnel Management
  • OPRR: Office for Protection from Research Risks
  • ORA: Office of Research Administration
  • ORI: Office of Research Integrity
  • OSEP: Office of Special Education Programs
  • OSHA: Occupational Safety and Health Administration
  • OSP: Office for Sponsored Programs
  • OSTP: Office of Science and Technology Policy
  • OT: Office of Transportation
  • OTT: Office of Technology Transfer (NIH)
  • OVPR: Office of the Vice Provost for Research
  • PAPPG: Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide
  • PCAST: President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology
  • PCC: Policy Coordination Council
  • PCO: Procuring Contracting Officer
  • PDF: Portable Document Format
  • PETA: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
  • PHI: Protected Health Information
  • PHS: Public Health Service
  • PIGABS: Principal Investigator Grant Administration Burden Survey (done by FDP)
  • PII: Personally Identifiable Information
  • PKI: Public Key Infrastructure
  • PMS: Payment Management System
  • PRD: Presidential Review Directive
  • PRHP: Post-retirement Health Plans
  • PROG: Peer Review Oversight Group
  • PTE: Pass-through Entity
  • PTO: Patent and Trademark Office
  • R&R: Research and Related
  • RAC: Recombinant DNA Committee
  • RBM: Research Business Models
  • RCR: Responsible Conduct in Research
  • RDMS: Relational Database Management System
  • RDNA: Recombinant DNA Research
  • RF: Research Finance*
  • RFA: Request for Applications
  • RFP: Request for Proposal
  • RFQ: Request for Quotation
  • RMAS: Risk Management and Audit Services*
  • ROI: Return on Investment
  • RPPR: Research Performance Progress Report
  • S&W + B: Salaries and Wages plus Benefits
  • S&W: Salaries and Wages
  • S2S: System to System
  • SAM: System for Award Management
  • SAMHSA: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration
  • SBA: Small Business Administration
  • SBIR: Small Business Innovation Research
  • SBU: Sensitive But Unclassified
  • SECA: Southeast Conference on College Cost Accounting
  • SEOG: Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants
  • SEVIS: Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (INS for tracking foreign students)
  • SF: Standard Form
  • SFA: Student Financial Aid
  • SNAP: Streamline Non-competing Application Process
  • SOI: Statement of Intent
  • SOW: Statement of Work
  • SPA: Sponsored Project Administration
  • SPIN: An on-line search system for research opportunities developed by the University of New York (SUNY) System
  • SPOC: Single Point of Contact
  • SRA: Society of Research Administrators
  • SRO: Sponsored Research Office
  • STEM: Science Technology Engineering & Mathematics
  • STEP: Science, Technology and Economic Policy Board
  • STP: Science and Technology Policy
  • T&A: Time and attendance
  • TBSR: Total Business Systems Review
  • TDC: Total Direct Costs
  • UBIT: Unrelated Business Income Tax
  • UCA: Utility Cost Adjustment
  • UG: Uniform Guidance
  • USA: United States Army
  • USAF: United States Air Force
  • USAID: United States Agency for International Development
  • USC: United States Code
  • USCG: United States Coast Guard
  • USDA: United States Department of Agriculture
  • USDE: United States Department of Energy