'B' Terms

Bar to Award
Grant application, cooperative agreement or contract proposal concerns, issues or special problems which must be resolved before an award can be made.

For example: A Vertebrate Animal SRG concern(Code 44 or 46) "is an issue involving animal welfare requiring resolution prior to award, such as inappropriate animal model or number; unnecessary pain or distress; lack of veterinary care; inappropriate anesthetic or inappropriate use of tranquilizing drugs or restraining devices; or method of euthanasia that is inconsistent with the recommendations of the AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia without adequate justification. If the SRG has insufficient information from the application to make a determination, then it is a concern."

"If there are SRG concerns related to the VAS, these must be resolved prior to award." (NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-10-027)

Bar to Fund(ing)
A bar to the expenditure of Federal Funds until concerns are resolved.

For example, under specific circumstances, there is the option to make a restricted award (Code 48) with specific terms and conditions of award that withhold funds for the human subjects research aspects until unacceptable ratings are resolved (NIH Policy Manual Chapter 7410).

See also the NIH Human Subjects Bar to Funding webpage.

See: Restricted Award
Bases of Budgeting
Methods for calculating budget figures. Not all methods are mutually exclusive. For example, the federal budget includes both net and gross figures and reports both obligations and cash or cash equivalent spending. As a general rule, budget receipts and outlays are on a cash or cash equivalent basis; however, interest on public issues of public debt is recorded on an accrual basis.

Quoted from GAO's "A Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process".

See Also: Cash or Cash Equivalent Basis ;  Accrual Basis
Basic Agreement
A basic agreement is a written instrument of understanding, negotiated between an agency or contracting activity and a contractor, that (1) contains contract clauses applying to future contracts between the parties during its term and (2) contemplates separate future contracts that will incorporate by reference or attachment the required and applicable clauses agreed upon in the basic agreement. A basic agreement is not a contract.

Quoted from §16.7 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Basic Ordering Agreement
A basic ordering agreement is a written instrument of understanding, negotiated between an agency, contracting activity, or contracting office and a contractor, that contains (1) terms and clauses applying to future contracts (orders) between the parties during its term, (2) a description, as specific as practicable, of supplies or services to be provided, and (3) methods for pricing, issuing, and delivering future orders under the basic ordering agreement. A basic ordering agreement is not a contract.

Quoted from §16.7 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Basic, Applied, and Developmental Research Codes B/A/D  
An Award Code applied to grants in IMPACII to characterize the percentage of research dollars applied to Basic, Applied, and Development (B/A/D) research. The sum of Basic + Applied + Develpmental percentages must sum to equal 100.
Bayh-Dole Act of 1980
The Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-517; 35 U.S.C. 200-212, implemented by 37 CFR 401), affords grantees the right to elect title and retain ownership to inventions they develop with funding under an NIH grant award. Under the regulations, grantees are required to report all subject inventions to the awarding agency, as well as include an acknowledgement of federal support in any patents.

Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Best And Final Offer BAFO  
This term has been replaced by "Final Proposal Revision".
See: Final Proposal Revision
Bias
In a scientific research study or clinical trial, a flaw in the study design or the method of collecting or interpreting information. Biases can lead to incorrect conclusions about what the study or clinical trial showed.

Quoted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.

Big SOW
See: Consolidated Services Contracts
Bilateral Agreement
A general science agreement between the U.S. and a foreign country. Grant applications from institutions in countries that have been recommended for approval by the scientific review group are given special funding consideration by Council.

Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Bioengineering Consortium
After many years of service to the NIH Bioengineering community, the NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) has completed its mission. Bioengineering has now become an important activity supported at nearly every NIH institute and center, and much of what BECON had done has now been well integrated across the NIH. Many of the bioengineering funding announcements and technical reports at the BECON website have migrated to the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering - http://www.nibib.nih.gov/. In particular,

For NIH Bioengineering Research Funding Announcements and Information - http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Funding/Bioengineering.

For NIH Nanotechnology Research and Information - http://www.nibib.nih.gov/Research/NIHNano.

For other BECON-related information, please contact the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering at info@nibib.nih.gov.

Thank you for your interest in BECON and your support of bioengineering at NIH.

Bioethics
Preferred Name: Biomedical Ethics

The branch of ethics that studies moral values in the biomedical sciences.

Quoted from the NCI Thesaurus.

Biographical Sketch
See: Biosketch (Biographical Sketch)
Bioinformatics
The science of using computers, databases, and math to organize and analyze large amounts of biological, medical, and health information. Information may come from many sources, including patient statistics, tissue specimens, genetics research, and clinical trials.

Quoted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.

Biological Materials License BML  
Biological Materials Licenses grant to the licensee the right to make, use and sell commercially useful biological materials that are not in the public domain and for which patent protection cannot or will not be obtained. This type of license typically is nonexclusive and facilitates the commercial development of biological materials developed in NIH laboratories.

Visit the NCI Technology Transfer Center website for further information.

Biologics License Application BLA  
The Biologics License Application (BLA) is a request for permission to introduce, or deliver for introduction, a biologic product into interstate commerce (21 CFR §601.2).

Visit the FDA's Biologics License Applications (BLA) Process (CBER) webpage for additional information.

Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative BISTI  
A consortium of representatives from each of the NIH institutes and centers that serves as the focus of biomedical computing issues at the NIH. The mission of the Biomedical Information Science and Technology Initiative (BISTI) is to make optimal use of computer science and technology to address problems in biology and medicine by fostering new basic understandings, collaborations, and transdisciplinary initiatives between the computational and biomedical sciences.
Biomedical Research and Development Price Index BRDPI  
The annual inflationary index for the cost of conducting biomedical research. The BRDPI was developed for the NIH to measure real annual changes in the prices of items and services required for research and development (R&D) activities.

For additional information, visit the NIH Office of Budget's Price Indexes webpage.

Biomedical Research Integrated Domain Group BRIDG  
The cite>Biomedical Research Integrated Domain Group (BRIDG) Model is a collaborative effort engaging stakeholders from the Clinical Data Interchange Standards Consortium (CDISC), the HL7 BRIDG Work Group, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the US National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The goal of the BRIDG Model is to produce a shared view of the dynamic and static semantics for the domain of basic, pre-clinical, clinical, and translational research and its associated regulatory artifacts. This domain of interest is further defined as:
  • The data, organization, resources, rules, and processes involved in the formal assessment of the utility, impact, or other pharmacological, physiological, or psychological effects of a drug, procedure, process, subject characteristic, biologic, cosmetic, food or device on a human, animal, or other subject or substance plus all associated regulatory artifacts required for or derived from this effort, including data specifically associated with postmarket surveillance and adverse event reporting.
Biosketch (Biographical Sketch)
A Biosketch is your curriculum vitae presented in a specified NIH format. Your curriculum vita (CV) is not acceptable where a Biosketch is requested. You must use the NIH Biosketch form which is available online as a fill-in PDF file or Word document. You upload this form through your online application.
Biostatistics
The science of collecting and analyzing biologic or health data using statistical methods. Biostatistics may be used to help learn the possible causes of a cancer or how often a cancer occurs in a certain group of people. Also called biometrics and biometry.

Quoted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.

Biotechnology Resource Grant Program P41  
To support biotechnology resources available to all qualified investigators without regard to the scientific disciplines or disease orientations of their research activities or specifically directed to a categorical program area.

For additional information, visit the NCI Grant Activity Codes/Mechanisms webpage.

Black or African American
A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. Terms such as "Haitian" or "Negro' can be used in addition to "Black or African American."

Source: NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-01-053 — NIH Policy on Reporting Race and Ethnicity Data: Subjects in Clinical Research.

Blanket Purchase Agreement BPA  
  1. A blanket purchase agreement (BPA) is a simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing "charge accounts" with qualified sources of supply (see FAR subpart 16.7 for additional coverage of agreements).
  2. BPAs should be established for use by an organization responsible for providing supplies for its own operations or for other offices, installations, projects, or functions. Such organizations, for example, may be organized supply points, separate independent or detached field parties, or one-person posts or activities.
  3. The use of BPAs does not exempt an agency from the responsibility for keeping obligations and expenditures within available funds.

Quoted from §13.303-1 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Blinded Study
A type of study in which the patients (single-blinded) or the patients and their doctors (double-blinded) do not know which drug or treatment is being given. The opposite of a blinded study is an open label study.

Quoted from the NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms.

Block Grant
Block grants are given primarily to general purpose governmental units in accordance with a statutory formula. Such grants can be used for a variety of activities within a broad functional area. Examples of federal block grant programs are the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, and the grants to states for social services under title XX of the Social Security Act.

Quoted from GAO's Glossary of Terms Used in the Federal Budget Process.

See: Mandatory Grant
Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network BMT CTN  
The Blood and Marrow Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN) is supported by a U10 grant from the NHLBI and NCI, with the NHLBI as the lead institute. This network is managed jointly among NHLBI and NCI/CTEP program officers. The BMT CTN was established in October of 2001 to conduct large, multi-institutional clinical trials addressing important issues in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). The participating BMT CTN investigators collaborate to implement and complete well-designed clinical trials of high scientific merit, offering trial participation to patients in all regions of the United States.
Board of Scientific Advisors BSA  
Advises the Director and Deputy Director, NCI, and the Director of each NCI Division on a wide variety of matters concerning scientific program policy, and progress and future of direction of extramural research programs and makes recommendation on research priorities conducted or supported by the NCI, This includes the evaluation of NCI awarded grants, cooperative agreements and contracts and concept review of those activities which it considers meritorious and consistent with the NCI's programs. the advisory role of the Board is scientific and doesn't include deliberation on matters of policy.

For additional information, visit the NCI DEA BSA webpage.

Board of Scientific Counselors - Basic Sciences BSC  
The Board shall advise the Director of CCR, and the Director and Deputy Director, NCI, on a wide variety of matters concerning scientific program policy and progress and future direction of research programs in the areas of basic sciences including experimental immunology, immunobiology, tumor immunology and biology, biochemistry, molecular immunoregulation, cellular oncology, cell biology, genetics, molecular biology, tumor cell biology, tumor virus biology, experimental pathology, molecular oncology, molecular virology, cellular and molecular biology, human carcinogenesis, viral carcinogenesis, biology, chemoprevention, carcinogenesis and tumor promotion, experimental carcinogenesis, basic carcinogenesis, biological chemistry, experimental immunology, biochemical physiology, medicinal chemistry, nutritional and molecular regulation, immune cell biology, leukocyte biology, molecular pharmacology, and mathematical biology. The members of this board are appointed to 4-year terms by the NCI Director.

For additional information, visit the NCI DEA Board of Scientific Counselors - Basic Sciences webpage.

Board of Scientific Counselors - Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology BSC  
The Board shall advise the Directors of CCR and DCEG, and the Director and Deputy Director, NCI, on a wide variety of matter s concerning scientific program policy and progress and future direction of research programs in the areas of dermatology, metabolism, surgery, pathology, pediatrics, clinical pharmacology, clinical research, oncology, radiation oncology, radiation biology, biomarkers and prevention research.

For additional information, visit the NCI DEA Board of Scientific Counselors - Clinical Sciences and Epidemiology webpage.

Breast Cancer & the Environment Research Program BCERP  
The National Institute of Environmnetal Health Science (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) co-fund the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program (BCERP), which supports the enhancement of our knowledge regarding environmental and genetic factors underlying breast cancer risk over women's lifespans. Through the integration of experimental models and human studies, the BCERP Transdisciplinary Research Projects are studying how environmental exposures during specific times (windows of susceptibility), such as puberty or during pregnancy, may increase breast cancer risk. The BCERP Coordinating Center serves as a hub for communication about priority research topics and scientific findings from the program that can inform prevention.

The BCERP is the next phase of a program that began with the Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Centers (BCERC) in 2003.

Also see the NCI DCCPS Epidemiology and Genomics Research Program's Breast Cancer and the Environment Research Program webpage and the BCERP.org webpage.

Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium BCSC  
A NCI-sponsored collaborative network of mammography registries with linkages to tumor registries and pathology data. The Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) was established in 1994 in response to a legislative mandate from the 1992 Mammography Quality Standards Act (MQSA)to evaluate the performance of mammography in community practice and related screening and breast cancer outcomes. Several SEER investigators participate in the Consortium.
Bridge Award
Bridge awards provide continued but limited interim support (bridge funding) for meritorious investigators who just miss the funding cutoff and have minimal support from other sources. The continued funding will permit the PD/PI additional time to strengthen a resubmission application. A Bridge award recipient usually will receive an R56 award for a single year. Investigators may not apply for R56 grants. Applications for conversion to an R56 will be selected by IC staff from reviewed applications that fall at or near the payline margins.

Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Broad Agency Announcement BAA  
Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) - in addition to the definition found in FAR §2.101, a BAA is a method used by the NIH to solicit proposals for research and development projects. Under a BAA, the NIH may award a contract and any instrument it is authorized to use including but not limited to a grant, cooperative agreement or other transaction. The NIH shall only award the type(s) of instrument(s) stated in the announcement.

For NIH policy and guidance regarding Broad Agency Announcements (BAA), see NIH Policy Manual 6035.

Budget
The financial plan for the project or program that the Federal awarding agency or pass-through entity approves during the Federal award process or in subsequent amendments to the Federal award. It may include the Federal and non-Federal share or only the Federal share, as determined by the Federal awarding agency or pass through entity. The approved budget specified in the NoA may be shown in detailed budget categories or as total costs without a categorical breakout. Expenditures charged to an approved budget that consists of both Federal and non-Federal shares are deemed to be borne by the recipient in the same proportion as the percentage of Federal/non-Federal participation in the overall budget.

Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Budget Caps
See: Limitation (Budget)
See Also: Salary Cap/Limitation
Budget for Entire Proposed Period of Support Form
PHS 398 Fillable Form Page 5 — These forms are to be used only with paper submissions using the PHS 398.

These are fillable PDF forms which will cause an error in the electronic submission of an SF424 (R&R) application.

See Also: Cummulative Budget Section
Budget Period
The interval (usually 12 months) into which the grant project period is divided for funding and reporting purposes.

Quoted from the NIH OER Glossary & Acronym List.

Budgetary Overlap
Budgetary overlap occurs when duplicate or equivalent budgetary items (e.g., equipment, salary) are requested in an application but are already provided for by another source.

Quoted from NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-03-029.

See: Overlap of Support
Bundling
  1. Means a subset of consolidation that combines two or more requirements for supplies or services, previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts (see paragraph 2. of this definition), into a solicitation for a single contract, a multiple-award contract, or a task or delivery order that is likely to be unsuitable for award to a small business concern (even if it is suitable for award to a small business with a Small Business Teaming Arrangement) due to—
    1. The diversity, size, or specialized nature of the elements of the performance specified;
    2. The aggregate dollar value of the anticipated award;
    3. The geographical dispersion of the contract performance sites; or
    4. Any combination of the factors described in paragraphs 1.i, .ii, and .iii of this definition.
  2. "Separate smaller contract" as used in this definition, means a contract that has been performed by one or more small business concerns or that was suitable for award to one or more small business concerns.
  3. This definition does not apply to a contract that will be awarded and performed entirely outside of the United States.

Quoted from §2.101 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

Business Official BO  
An eRA Commons Account Role, the Business Official (BO) role is used with xTrain; which is a service to electronically manage appointments for awarded Training Grants.
Business/Cost Proposal Evaluation
FAR Subpart 15.304 (c)(1), requires that the Government evaluate cost or price in every source selection. In addition, FAR requires the Government to evaluate and address in every source selection the quality of an offeror's proposal through consideration of one or more non–cost evaluation factors such as technical excellence, past performance, compliance with the solicitation requirements, personnel qualifications, management capability and prior experience. Evaluation of the above factors is required in all source selection decisions, and depending on the nature of the requirement itself, these could be combined with other non-cost award factors such as past performance and the extent of participation of small disadvantaged business concerns.

Quoted from §E.3 of NIH Policy Manual Chapter 6315-1.

Bypass Budget
The Bypass Budget, which is specified in the National Cancer Act, describes the NCI's priorities and planning and guides NCI efforts in discharging its responsibilities as mandated.

Quoted from the NCI Thesaurus.

For additional information, visit the NCI Budget and Appropriations webpage.