Within the limit of funds available for such purpose, the awarding official shall make project grants to those responsible, eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious according to evaluation criteria stated in the solicitation. The beginning of the project period shall be no later than September 30 of the Federal fiscal year in which the project is approved for support. All funds granted 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, and 2 CFR part 200.

(a) The Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) issued guidance on Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR part 200 on December 26, 2013. In 2 CFR 400.1, the Department adopted OMB's guidance in subparts A through F of 2 CFR part 200, as supplemented by 2 CFR part 400, as the Department's policies and procedures for uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements for federal awards. As a result, this regulation contains references to 2 CFR part 200 as it has regulatory effect for the Department's programs and activities.

(b) Several other Federal statutes and/or regulations apply to grant proposals considered for review or to research project grants awarded under this part. These include but are not limited to:

When an application results in a grant, the application and supporting information become part of the record of NIFA transactions, and available to the public upon specific request. Information that the Secretary determines to be of a confidential, privileged, or proprietary nature will be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law. Therefore, any information that the applicant wishes to have considered as confidential, privileged, or proprietary should be clearly marked within the application. The original copy of an application that does not result in a grant will be retained by the Agency for a period of one year. Other copies will be destroyed. Such an application will be released only with the consent of the applicant or to the extent required by law. An application may be withdrawn at any time prior to the final action thereon.

After final decisions have been announced, HEP will, upon request, inform the PD of the reasons for its decision on an application. Verbatim copies of summary reviews, not including the identity of the reviewers, will be made available to respective PDs upon specific request.

(a) Fellowships/Scholarships Entry/Exit Forms (Form NIFA-2010) are available from NIFA upon request. Upon request by HEP, Project Directors awarded Graduate Fellowship (excluding supplemental international and postdoctoral) grants under the program shall complete and submit this form.

(1) Appointment Information shall be submitted to HEP within 3 months of appointment of a Fellow;

(2) The Project Director shall submit an annual update of each Fellow's progress to HEP by September 30 each year. Additional progress reports may be needed to assess continuing progress of Fellows supported by any special international study or thesis/dissertation research allowance and/or institutional adherence to program guidelines.

(3) Exit Information shall be completed and submitted to HEP by the Project Director for each Fellow supported by a grant as soon as a Fellow either: Graduates; is officially terminated from the Fellowship or the academic program due to unsatisfactory academic progress; or voluntarily withdraws from the Fellowship or the academic program. If a Fellow has not completed all degree requirements at the end of the five-year grant duration, HEP may request a preliminary exit report. In such a case, a final exit report shall be required at a later date. When a final exit report for each Fellow supported by a grant has been accepted by HEP, the grantee will have satisfied the requirement of a final performance report for the grant. Additional follow-up reports to track Fellows' career patterns may be requested.

(b) All grantees (supplemental international, graduate, and postdoctoral) shall submit initial project information and annual and summary reports to NIFA' Current Research Information System (CRIS). The CRIS database contains narrative project information, progress/impact statements, and final technical reports that are made available to the public. For applications recommended for funding, instructions on preparation and submission of project documentation will be provided to the applicant by the agency contact. Documentation must be submitted to CRIS before NIFA funds will be released. Project reports will be requested by the CRIS office when required. For more information about CRIS, visit http://cris.nifa.usda.gov.

Grantees should be aware that HEP may, as a part of its own program evaluation activities, carry out in-depth evaluations of assisted activities through independent third parties. Thus, grantees should be prepared to cooperate with evaluators retained by HEP to analyze both the institutional context and the impact of any supported project.