Like grants, cooperative agreements are funding mechanisms used by the Federal Government. The main difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement is that a cooperative agreement involves “substantial staff involvement” from a federal agency.
In cooperative agreements, federal staff involvement may include:
- Participating in protocol design, data collection, and data analysis and interpretation
- Approving a stage of a clinical trial or other collaborative project before the next stage starts
- Coordinating or providing training to grantee staff
It is important for applicants to carefully review Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) in which cooperative agreements are expected to ensure they understand all the program requirements. Likewise, award terms in funded cooperative agreements should be closely reviewed, because there are often more prior approval requirements and conditions than found in typical grant awards.
For more information, see the National Institutes of Health (NIH) site and the Department of Energy site.