Extramural Glossary

U Grants

Cooperative agreements

Unacceptable Proposal

A proposal judged to contain deficiencies which are so material as to preclude any possibility of upgrading to a competitive level except through major revisions and additions which would be tantamount to the submission of another proposal.

Unallowable Cost

A cost determined to be unallowable in accordance with the applicable Federal cost principles or other terms and conditions contained in a grant or contract award.

Unconventional Innovations Program UIP  

To spur development of daring technologic improvements in cancer treatment and detection in the 21st century.

Underrepresented Group

Group underrepresented in biomedical research, such as people with disabilities, people from disadvantaged backgrounds, and racial and ethnic groups such as blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders.

Underrepresented Minorities

Includes supplements for high school students, undergraduate students, graduate research assistants, postdoctoral training, and minority investigators.

Underserved

Individuals or groups who lack access to health services information relative to the national average. The underserved population may include residents of rural, remote or inner-city areas; members of certain racial and ethnic groups; socioeconomically disadvantaged persons; or people with disabilities.

Uniform Resource Locator URL  

An internet web site address

United States

The 50 states, the territories and possessions of the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Unobligated Balance

Funds not used by the completion of a project period. Grantees must report unobligated balances over 25 percent of total costs to the grants management specialist. For grants under expanded authorities, carryover of unobligated funds from one budget period to another within an approved project period is generally allowable without prior approval.

Unscored UN  

A designation given by a study section indicating that it judges an application to be in the bottom half of applications . In the Center for Scientific Review peer review process, applications that are judged by a study section to be noncompetitive, that is generally in the lower half of the applications being reviewed and therefore unlikely to be funded. These applications are not given a priority score, although they are reviewed (generally only by the assigned reviewers without a full discussion in front of the assembled review panel) and applicants receive a summary statement.

Unsolicited Grant Application

A grant application that is submitted by an investigator of his or her own volition and not in response to a Request for Applications or a Program Announcement issued by an NIH Institute or Center.

Unsolicited Proposal

Written proposal submitted to an agency of the Federal government by a prospective offeror or contractor in order to obtain a contract with the government that is not in response to a formal or informal request (i.e., without prior formal or informal solicitation) from a procuring activity. (See FAR 15.602).

Unsolicited Research

Research funded as a result of an investigator's submitting a research application on his or her own, i.e., not in response to a program announcement or request for application. Also referred to as investigator-initiated research.