5 The Notice of Award

The Notice of Award (NoA) is the legal document issued to notify the recipient that an award has been made and that funds may be requested from the designated HHS payment system or office. The NoA is issued for the initial budget period and each subsequent budget period in the approved project period. The NoA reflects any future-year commitments. A revised NoA may be issued during a budget period to affect an action resulting in a change in the period or amount of support or other change in the terms and conditions of award. NIH will not issue a revised NoA to reflect a recipient's post-award rebudgeting. Until an IC has issued the NoA for the initial award, any costs incurred by the applicant for the project are incurred at its own risk (see Cost Considerations-Allowability of Costs/Activities-Selected Items of Cost-Pre-Award (Pre-Agreement) Costs for NIH policy on the allowability of pre-award costs).

Notice of Award Page One

Effective October 1, 2020, HHS implemented a standardized page one of the NoA that serves as the first page of every HHS NoA for all discretionary awards. The standardized page one incorporates the following data elements:

  • HHS Operating Division

  • Federal Award Identification Number

  • Federal Award Date

  • Recipient Information

    • Recipient Name

    • Congressional District of Recipient

    • Payment System Identifier (also known as Entity Identification Number)

    • Employer Identification Number

    • Data Universal Numbering System

    • Recipient's Unique Entity Identifier

    • Project Director or Principal Investigator

    • Authorized Official

  • Federal Agency Information

  • Awarding Agency Contact Information

  • Program Official Contact Information

  • Federal Award Information

  • Award Number

  • Unique Federal Award Identification Number

  • Statutory Authority

  • Federal Award Project Title

  • Assistance Listing Number (formerly / also known as CFDA Number)

  • Assistance Listing Program Title (formerly / also known as CFDA program title)Name

  • Award Action Type

  • Is this Award R&D?

  • Summary Federal Award Financial Information

  • Budget Period Start and End Date

  • Total Amount of Federal Funds Obligated by this Action

  • Direct Cost Amount

  • Indirect Cost Amount

  • Authorized Carryover

  • Offset

  • Total Amount of Federal Funds Obligated this Budget Period

  • Total Approved Cost Sharing or Matching, where applicable

  • Total Federal and Non-Federal Approved this Budget Period

  • Project Period Start and End Date

  • Total Amount of the Federal Award, including Approved Cost Sharing or Matching, this Project Period

Remainder of the NIH NoA

Additionally, the remainder of the NIH NoA sets forth pertinent information about the grant in Section I (Award Data), Section II (Payment Information), and Sections III and IV (Applicable Terms and Conditions of Award). This additional information, includes, but not limited to, the following:

Note: If applicable, section III of the NoA will also reference an institution's participation in the current phase of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP).

As specified in the NoA, all awards issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) meet the definition of "Research and Development" at 2 CFR Part 200. As such, auditees should identify NIH awards as part of the R&D cluster on the Schedule of Expenditures of Federal Awards (SEFA). The auditor should test NIH awards for compliance as instructed in Part V, Clusters of Programs. NIH recognizes that some awards may have another classification for purposes of indirect costs. The auditor is not required to report the disconnect (i.e., the award is classified as R&D for Federal Audit Requirement purposes but non-research for indirect cost rate purposes), unless the auditee is charging indirect costs at a rate other than the rate(s) specified in the award document(s).

A recipient indicates acceptance of an NIH award and its associated terms and conditions by drawing or requesting funds from the designated HHS payment system or office. If the recipient cannot accept the award, including the legal obligation to perform in accordance with its provisions, it should notify the GMO immediately upon receipt of the NoA. If resolution cannot be reached, the GMO will void the grant. NIH's determination of applicable terms and conditions of award or a GMO's denial of a request to change the terms and conditions is discretionary and not subject to appeal (post-award appeal rights are discussed in Administrative Requirements-Grant Appeals Procedures). Once the award is accepted by the recipient, the contents of the NoA are binding on the recipient unless and until modified by a revised NoA signed by the GMO.