As used in this part:

Ad hoc reviewers means experts or consultants, qualified by training and experience in particular scientific or technical fields to render expert advice on the scientific technical merit of the grant applications in those fields, who review on an individual basis one or several of the eligible proposals submitted to this program in their area of expertise and who submit to the Department written evaluations of such proposals.

Applicant is the organizational entity that, at the time of award, will qualify as a small business concern and that submits a grant application for a funding agreement under the SBIR Program.

Authorized departmental officer (ADO) means the Secretary or any employee of the Department who has the authority to issue or modify grant instruments on behalf of the Secretary. The ADO is also referred to as the Funding Agreement Officer.

Authorized organizational representative (AOR) means the president, director, or chief executive officer or other designated official of the applicant organization who has the authority to commit the resources of the organization.

Budget Period means the interval of time into which the project period is divided for budgetary and reporting purposes.

Commercialization is the process of developing marketable products or services and producing and delivering products or services for sale (whether by the originating party or by others) to Government or commercial markets.

Department means the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Essentially equivalent work occurs when:

Substantially the same research is proposed for funding in more than one grant application submitted to the same Federal agency;

Substantially the same research is submitted to two or more different Federal agencies for review and funding consideration; or

A specific research objective and the research design for accomplishing an objective are the same or closely related in two or more proposals or awards, regardless of the funding source.

Funding agreement is any contract, grant, or cooperative agreement entered into between any Federal agency and any small business concern for the performance of experimental, developmental, or research work, including products or services funded in whole or in part by the Federal Government.

A grant is a financial assistance mechanism providing money, property, or both to an eligible entity to carry out the approved project or activity, and substantial programmatic involvement by Government is not anticipated.

Grantee means the small business concern designated in the grant award document as the responsible legal entity to whom the grant is awarded under this part.

Innovation is something new or improved, having marketable potential including:

Development of new technologies;

Refinement of existing technologies; or

Development of new applications for existing technologies.

Intellectual property means the separate and distinct types of intangible property that are referred to collectively as “intellectual property,” including but not limited to: Patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets, SBIR technical data (as defined in this section), ideas, designs, know-how, business, technical and research methods, other types of intangible business assets, and all types of intangible assets either proposed or generated by a small business concern as a result of its participation in the SBIR Program.

Joint venture is an association of concerns with interests in any degree or proportion by way of contract, express or implied, consorting to engage in and carry out a single specific business venture for joint profit, for which purpose they combine their efforts, property, money, skill, or knowledge, but not on a continuing or permanent basis for conducting business generally. A joint venture is viewed as a business entity in determining power to control its management.

NIFA means the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Outcomes are the measure of long-term, eventual, program impact.

Outputs are the measures of near-term program impact.

Peer review group means experts or consultants, qualified by training and experience in particular scientific or technical fields to give expert advice on the scientific and technical merit of grant applications to those fields, who assemble as a group to discuss and evaluate all of the eligible proposals submitted to this program in their area of expertise.

Principal investigator/project director is the one individual designated by the applicant to provide the scientific and technical direction to a project supported by the funding agreement.

Professional Employer Organization is an organization that provides an integrated approach to the management and administration of the human resources and employer risk of its clients, by contractually assuming substantial employer rights, responsibilities, and risk, through the establishment and maintenance of an employer relationship with the workers assigned to its clients.

Program solicitation is a formal request for proposals whereby an agency notifies the small business community of its research or research and development needs and interests in broad and selected areas, as appropriate to the agency, and requests proposals from small business concerns in response to these needs and interests.

Project period means the total length of time that is approved by the Department for conducting the research project as outlined in an approved grant application.

Prototype is a model of something to be further developed, which includes designs, protocols, questionnaires, software, and devices.

Research or research and development (R/R&D) means any activity which is:

A systematic, intensive study directed toward greater knowledge or understanding of the subject studied;

A systematic study directed specifically toward applying new knowledge to meet a recognized need; or

A systematic application of knowledge toward the production of useful materials, devices, and systems or methods, including design, development, and improvement of prototypes and new processes to meet specific requirements.

Research project grant means the award by the Department of funds to a grantee to assist in meeting the costs of conducting for the benefit of the public an identified project which is intended and designed to establish, discover, elucidate, or confirm information or the underlying mechanisms relating to a research topic area identified in the annual solicitation of applications.

SBIR Participants are business concerns that have received SBIR awards or that have submitted SBIR proposals/applications.

SBIR Technical Data is defined as all data generated during the performance of an SBIR award.

SBIR Technical Data Rights are the rights a small business concern obtains in data generated during the performance of any SBIR award that an awardee delivers to the Government during or upon completion of a Federally-funded project, and to which the government receives a license.

Small business concern (SBC) means a concern that, on the date of award for both Phase I and Phase II funding agreements:

Is organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States, which operates primarily within the United States, or which makes a significant contribution to the United States economy through the payment of taxes or use of American products, materials or labor;

Is in the legal form of an individual proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, corporation, joint venture, association, trust or cooperative, except that where the form is a joint venture, there can be no more than 49 percent participation by foreign business entities in the joint venture;

Is at least 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in, the United States, except in the case of a joint venture, where each entity in the venture must be 51 percent owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens of, or permanent resident aliens in the United States; and

Has, including its affiliates, not more than 500 employees. The term “affiliates” is defined in greater detail in 13 CFR 121.103. The term “number of employees” is defined in 13 CFR 121.106.

Socially and economically disadvantaged small business concern is defined in 13 CFR part 124-8(A) Business Development/Small Disadvantaged Business Status Determinations, § 124.103 (Who is socially disadvantaged?) and § 124.104 (Who is economically disadvantaged?).

United States means the 50 states, the territories and possessions of the Federal Government, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau.

Women-owned small business concern means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women, or in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock is owned by women, and women control the management and daily business operations.