(a) General. Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the awarding official of NIFA or ARS shall make grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose proposals are judged most meritorious in the announced program areas under the evaluation criteria and procedures set forth in this part. The date specified by the Director or Administrator as the effective date of the grant shall be no later than September 30 of the Federal fiscal year in which the project is approved for support and funds are appropriated for such purpose, unless otherwise permitted by law. It should be noted that the project need not be initiated on the grant effective date, but as soon thereafter as practicable so that project goals may be attained within the funded project period. All funds granted by NIFA or ARS under this Part shall be expended solely for the purpose for which the funds are granted in accordance with the approved application and budget, the regulations of this part, the terms and conditions of the award, the applicable Federal cost principles, 2 CFR part 200.

(b) Grant award document and notice of grant award—(1) Grant award document. The grant award document shall include at a minimum the following:

(i) Legal name and address of performing organization or institution to whom the Director or Administrator has awarded a grant under the terms of this Part;

(ii) Title of project;

(iii) Name(s) and address(es) of principal investigator(s) chosen to direct and control approved activities;

(iv) Identifying grant number assigned by the Department;

(v) Project period, specifying the amount of time the Department intends to support the project without requiring recompetition for funds;

(vi) Total amount of Departmental financial assistance approved by the Director or Administrator during the project period;

(vii) Legal authority(ies) under which the grant is awarded;

(viii) Approved budget plan for categorizing allocable project funds to accomplish the stated purpose of the grant award; and

(ix) Other information or provisions deemed necessary by NIFA or ARS to carry out their respective granting activities or to accomplish the purpose of a particular grant.

(2) Notice of grant award. The notice of grant award, in the form of a letter, will be prepared and will provide pertinent instructions or information to the grantee that is not included in the grant award document.

(c) Types of grant instruments. The major types of grant instruments shall be as follows:

(1) New grant. This is a grant instrument by which NIFA or ARS agrees to support a specified level of effort for a project that generally has not been supported previously under this program. This type of grant is approved on the basis of peer review recommendation.

(2) Renewal grant. This is a grant instrument by which NIFA or ARS agrees to provide additional funding for a project period beyond that approved in an original or amended award. When a renewal application is submitted, it should include a summary of progress to date from the previous granting period. A renewal grant shall be based upon new application, de novo peer review and staff evaluation, new recommendation and approval, and a new award action reflecting that the grant has been renewed.

(3) Supplemental grant. This is an instrument by which NIFA or ARS agrees to provide small amounts of additional funding under a new or renewal grant as specified in paragraphs (c)(1) and (c)(2) of this section and may involve a short-term (usually six months or less) extension of the project period beyond that approved in an original or amended award. A supplement is awarded only if required to assure adequate completion of the original scope of work and if there is sufficient justification to warrant such action. A request of this nature normally will not require additional peer review.

(d) Funding mechanisms. The two mechanisms by which NIFA or ARS may elect to award new, renewal, and supplemental grants are as follows:

(1) Standard grant. This is a funding mechanism whereby NIFA or ARS agrees to support a specified level of effort for a predetermined time period without the announced intention of providing additional support at a future date.

(2) Continuation grant. This is a funding mechanism whereby NIFA or ARS agrees to support a specified level of effort for a predetermined period of time with a statement of intention to provide additional support at a future date, provided that performance has been satisfactory, appropriations are available for this purpose, and continued support would be in the best interests of the Federal government and the public. This kind of mechanism normally will be awarded for an initial one-year period, and any subsequent continuation project grants also will be awarded in one-year increments. The award of a continuation project grant to fund an initial or succeeding budget period does not constitute an obligation to fund any subsequent budget period. Unless prescribed otherwise by NIFA or ARS, a grantee must subject a separate application for continued support for each subsequent fiscal year. Requests for such continued support must be submitted in duplicate at least three months prior to the expiration date of the budget period currently being funded. Decisions regarding continued support and the actual funding levels of such support in future years usually will be made administratively after consideration of such factors as the grantee's progress and management practices and the availability of funds. Since initial peer reviews are based upon the full term and scope of the original grant application, additional evaluations of this type generally are not required prior to successive years' support. However, in unusual cases (e.g., when the nature of the project or key personnel change or when the amount of future support requested substantially exceeds the grant application originally reviewed and approved), additional reviews may be required prior to approving continued funding.

(e) Obligation of the Federal Government. Neither the approval of any application nor the award of any project grant commits or obligates the United States in any way to make any renewal, supplemental, continuation, or other award with respect to any approved application or portion thereof.