A
Authority: The Forest Service must have appropriate authority derived from legislation prior to entering into any grant, cooperative agreement, or other agreement, which could result in the use, obligation, or other commitment of any Forest Service resources.
B
Building capacity: Increasing the knowledge, skills, or ability to accomplish work by acquiring or sharing resources (such as equipment or materials), funding, or people through their knowledge, skills, and expertise.
C
Certification: The process of ensuring Grants and Agreements Specialists meet knowledge, training, and competency based requirements.
Collaboration: A process where groups that disagree, often significantly, come together to identify common interests, define common problems, and seek solutions that reach beyond what any one of them could accomplish on their own. A collaborative relationship may be documented through formalized paperwork, but often it is not.
Collection Agreement: An agreement used to accept money, equipment, property, or products by the Forest Service from a non-federal party to carry out a purpose authorized by law. These agreements may involve both trust fund collections (advances) and reimbursements.
Co-location: The sharing of buildings and facilities with other federal agencies or partners.
Co-application: When a federal agency applies for grants with non-federal organizations.
Conditional gift: A gift made for a specific purpose or with conditions on its use.
Conflict of interest (or appearance of conflict of interest): Any action taken by a Forest Service employee on behalf of a partner that could be construed by another partner or the public as an entitlement to obtain special consideration or advantage in current or future transactions with the agency.
Contributed funds: A voluntary transfer of cash with consideration for a specific project as authorized under the Cooperative Funds Act of June 30, 1914 (16 USC 498) and the Granger- Thye Act of April 24, 1950 (16 USC572).
Contribution: To give something to a common purpose, to have a share in any act or effect, or to discharge a joint obligation. Contributions may take the form of money, materials, supplies, or labor. A contribution is not to be confused with a gift or a donation.
Cooperative Agreement: A legal instrument under Federal Assistance used by the Forest Service to document a transaction where the Forest Service is substantially involved with the project. (See Substantial Involvement.)
Cost-sharing agreements: Mutual benefit arrangements in which the Forest Service and partner(s) share mutual interests and benefit in the same qualitative way from the agreement. Cost-sharing agreements include Participating Agreements, Challenge Cost Share Agreements, and Research Joint Venture Agreements.
D
Deliverable: Product, service, or property that is a requirement of a contract or agreement .
Direct cost: Expenses that can be specifically attributed to the delivery of a Forest Service program or a program's output and accomplishments. Direct costs include, but are not limited to, personnel costs; material, supplies, and equipment costs; and other costs such as office space, computer equipment, and utilities.
Donation: Cash voluntarily provided to the Forest Service when such transfer is made without any consideration. (See Gift.)
F
Federal Financial Assistance: A relationship between a federal agency and a non-federal recipient where the purpose is the transfer of money, property, services, or anything of value to the recipient for public benefit, is referred to as “federal financial assistance.” Assistance includes, but is not limited to grants, loans, loan guarantees, scholarships, mortgage loans, insurance, and other types of financial assistance, including cooperative agreements and technical assistance. A grant or cooperative agreement is the legal instrument used to document a financial assistance transaction.
Fiduciary role: A legal duty where one is bound to act in another's best interest, such as a board officer acting in the interest of the organization the officer serves, or a trustee acting on behalf of a beneficiary.
Force account work: Work accomplished by permanent or temporary Forest Service personnel.
Forest Plan: A plan developed for each National Forest describing in general terms the locations and guidelines under which certain types of uses or projects can take place.
Forest Service funding: Funds appropriated to the Forest Service, or received by the Forest Service.
Friends association: A nonprofit group organized outside of the Forest Service.
G
Gift: A voluntary, gratuitous transfer of property. It can include any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, cash, security, land, facility, personal property, forbearance, or other item having monetary value. It includes services such as transportation, local travel, lodging, and meals, whether provided in-kind, such as the purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has been incurred.
Grant: A legal instrument under Federal Assistance used by the Forest Service to document a transaction where the Forest Service is not substantially involved with the project. (See Substantial Involvement.)
Grants and Agreements (G&A) Specialists: A Forest Service employee certified to have the responsibility to award, administer, and close-out grants, Cooperative Agreements, and other agreements.
I
Indirect costs: Joint or common expenses that are necessary for the operation of the Forest Service, but not specifically identifiable with or traceable to a specific program or output. Often referred to as “overhead,” indirect costs are incurred as part of general management and administrative support of an organization, and can include office and personnel expenses, computers, and utilities.
In-kind contributions: Contributions made to the total cost of a project where the contributor incurs no cash expense. In-kind contributions may be valued at what it would have cost if the contributor had paid for the item or service itself.
Instrument: A document or formalized arrangement used to accomplish a specific type of work and define rights, duties, entitlements, and/or liabilities. Examples include grants, permits, Memoranda of Understanding, Challenge Cost Share Agreements, Cooperative Agreements, and other agreements.
Interested party/prohibited source: An entity or individual who is or seeks to be engaged in a contractual, financial, or business relationship with the Forest Service, and who has a legally recognized private interest that may be substantially affected by the proposed activity. Interested parties include Forest Service permittees, vendors, bidders and potential bidders on Forest Service Timber sales, licensees, and organizations engaging in activities regulated by the Forest Service. This concept applies to gifts of real or personal property and donated funds.
Interpretive associations: Nonprofit, tax-exempt corporations that develop and publish cooperative environmental education and forest history materials to support the agency's interpretive and educational programs and provide high quality service to its visitors.
L
Liaison: Official liaisons are official Forest Service representatives assigned to non-federal organizations by appropriate agency officials when there is a significant and continuing Forest Service interest in participating in the given non-federal organization.
Line officer: Forest Service employees with the authority to make project decisions. Forest Supervisors and District Rangers are line officers.
M
Marginal burden rate: The indirect cost charged when the Forest Service provides services for another party, including other agencies and partners, through “reimbursable”” type agreements. The marginal rate is applied to projects in which the work provided by the agency is not considered normal and recurring, or not part of a unit's typical annual program of work. (See National Burden Rate.)
Matching contributions: The value of third party in-kind contributions plus that portion of the allowable costs of recipients not provided by the federal government.
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): A written plan between the Forest Service and other parties for carrying out their separate activities in a coordinated and mutually beneficial manner. It is used when there will not be an exchange of funding or resources but there is a need to formally document the relationship.
Micro-purchasing: Any procurement less than $2,500.
Mutual benefit: Mutual benefit exists when both the government and the partner benefit in the same qualitative way from the objectives of the agreement.
Mutual interest: Interests common to both parties that relate to the accomplishment of their respective missions.
N
National burden rate: The method used by the Forest Service to calculate and collect indirect costs incurred when the agency provides services for another party, including other agencies and partners, that are normal or recurring for the agency.
Non-cash contribution: A non-monetary contribution toward the completion of a project.
O
Official capacity: A federal employee is participating officially in an activity or organization if assigned by a superior, working on official time, travel costs are covered, using a government vehicle, in official uniform, on federal premises, or invited to participate as a result of one's official position.
Open-ended agreements: In all cost-sharing arrangements (Participating Agreements, Challenge Cost Share Agreements, and Research Joint Venture Agreements), open-ended agreements can cover long-term projects (but not more than five years) for which the Forest Service has funding available for only the first year (or other period).
Other agreements: Forest Service instruments which are not considered federal assistance relationships within the coverage of the Federal Grants and Cooperative Agreements Act of 1978 (31 USC 6301-6308). This includes the following agreement types: Participating, Challenge Cost Share, Joint Venture, Cooperative Research and Development, and Cost-Reimbursable.
P
Partner (Cooperator): An individual or entity that voluntarily cooperates with the Forest Service on a project and is willing to formalize the relationship by entering into a Memorandum of Understanding or other agreement such as Challenge Cost Share, Collection, Interagency, Participating, Research Joint Venture, Cooperative Research and Development, or Research Cost-Reimbursable Agreements.
Partnership: A voluntary, mutually beneficial arrangement entered into for the purpose of accomplishing mutually agreed upon objective(s). Specific legislative authority must exist to form partnerships where the parties anticipate exchanging funds, property, or other items having value.
Procurement (also procurement transaction): A written legal contract between the Forest Service and a non-federal entity that documents the purchase or lease of property or services by the Forest Service for its direct benefit or use.
Prohibited sources: Individuals, organizations, or businesses with litigation pending with the agency; seeking to obtain a contract, lease, or other business from the agency; conducting operations regulated by the agency; having interests that may be substantially affected by performance or non-performance of an employee's official duties; or that have been suspended or terminated from participating in USDA programs or its agencies.
Public benefit: Activities that accomplish a public purpose.
R
Recipient: An organization receiving Federal Financial Assistance directly from the Forest Service to carry out a project or program.
Reimbursable agreements: Agreements between parties where the performing entity agrees to provide the resources and perform services on behalf of the paying entity. The paying entity pays for the resources and services provided on its behalf by the performing entity. Costs are borne initially by the performing entity, and subsequently those costs are forwarded to the paying entity for reimbursement, in accordance with the terms of the agreement.
S
Signatory official: A Forest Service employee with written authority to execute and be the responsible party for grants, cooperative agreements, and other agreements for programs under their jurisdiction.
Sole source determination: A determination made by a contracting officer that no other organization has the capacity and qualifications to provide the good or service in question except the specific organization identified.
Solicitation: A specific, written document or oral request for money.
Substantial involvement: The Forest Service is substantially involved in a project when the agency reviews and approves one stage of work before the next stage can begin, reviews and approves proposed subgrants and contracts, is involved in the selection of key recipient personnel, and/or directs or redirects the work because of interrelationships with other projects.
T
Technical assistance: Non-financial assistance provided by an employee to a recipient or partner, such as sharing information and expertise. This does not include the transfer of funding
U
Unconditional gift: A gift made with no conditions on its use. It can be used for any authorized purpose by the Forest Service.
V
Volunteer: A person who gives time and talent to advance the mission of the Forest Service and who receives no salary or wages from the Forest Service for the voluntary service. A sponsored volunteer is supervised by another institution or organization or by a unit of state or local government.