Applicant means the entity that has submitted a proposal in response to an OAO Request For Proposal (RFP).

Authorized Departmental Officer (ADO) means the Secretary or any employee of the Department with delegated authority to issue or modify award instruments on behalf of the Secretary.

Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) means the President or Chief Executive Officer of the applicant organization or the official, designated by the President or Chief Executive Officer of the applicant organization, who has the authority to commit the resources of the organization to the project.

Award means financial assistance that provides support to accomplish a public purpose. Awards may be grants, cooperative agreements, or other assistance agreements.

Award agreement means the agreement between OAO and the awardee which sets forth the terms and conditions under which the OAO funds will be made available. Award agreement is used as a general term to describe grant agreements, cooperative agreements, and other assistance agreements.

Award closeout means the process by which the award operation is concluded at the expiration of the award period or following a decision to terminate the award.

Award period means the timeframe of the award from the beginning date to the ending date as defined in the award agreement.

Awardee means the entity designated in the grant agreement, cooperative agreement, or other assistance agreement as the legal entity to which the award is given.

Baseline monitoring is the minimum, basic monitoring that will take place on an ongoing basis throughout the lifetime of every award.

Beginning date means the date the award agreement is executed by the awardee and OAO and from which costs can be incurred.

Community-based organization means a nongovernmental organization with a well-defined constituency that includes all or part of a particular community.

Cooperative agreement means the award of funds to an eligible awardee to assist in meeting the costs of conducting a project which is intended and designed to accomplish the purpose of the program as identified in the RFP, and where substantial involvement is expected between OAO and the awardee when carrying out the activities included in the agreement. This agreement may also be referred to more generally as an award.

Department means the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Disallowed costs means the use of Federal financial assistance funds for unauthorized activities or items as stipulated in the applicable Federal cost principles (2 CFR part 220, 2 CFR part 225, and 2 CFR part 230).

Ending date means the date the award agreement is scheduled to be completed. It is also the latest date award funds will be provided under the award agreement, without an approved time extension.

Participant means an individual or entity that participates in awardee-led activities funded under the award agreement. Furthermore, a participant is any individual or entity who has applied for, otherwise participated in, or received a payment, or other benefit as a result of participating in an activity funded by an OAO award.

Partnering means a joint effort among two or more eligible entities with the capacity to conduct projects intended and designed to accomplish the purpose of the program.

Program leader means the program supervisor within OAO.

Project means activities supported under an OAO award.

Project Director (PD) means the individual designated by the awardee in the proposal and award documentation, and approved by the ADO who is responsible for the direction and management of the award.

Project Officer (PO) means an individual within OAO who is responsible for the programmatic oversight of the award on behalf of the Department.

Request for Proposals (RFP) means an official USDA funding opportunity. At OAO discretion, funding opportunities may be referred to as request for proposals, request for applications, notice of funding availability, or funding opportunity.

Review panel means an evaluation process involving qualified individuals within the relevant field to give advice on the merit of proposals submitted to OAO.

Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture and any other officer or employee of the Department of Agriculture to whom authority may be delegated.

Terminate funding means the cancellation of Federal assistance, in whole or in part, at any time before the ending date.