Dan Kelly and Tiffany Hubbard speak on “Federal Grants v. Contracts, Understanding the Differences” during the Society of Research Administrators International (SRAI) Virtual Annual Meeting.
Panelists will describe and identify critical differences in grants, cooperative agreements, procurement contracts, cooperative research and development agreements (CRADAs), and other federal funding instruments (including Other Transaction Agreements) awarded to universities and other research institutions. Topics will include bases for awards, subawards and subcontracts, general compliance obligations, differences in requisite accounting and other management systems (including property and equipment), and the protection of IP.
Event Recap
Northeastern University and McCarter & English Present to a Packed House at iSRA’s Virtual Annual Meeting in October
Dan Kelly and Tiffany Hubbard joined forces with senior colleagues at Northeastern University (Rob Leahy, Senior Research and Sponsored Programs Counsel and Rick Alves, Agreements and Contracts Manager/Research Administration) to lead one of the most well- attended sessions at October’s virtual Annual Meeting of the Society of Research Administrators International (iSRA) on the topic of Federal Grants v. Contracts – Understanding the Differences.
The popular session focused on the critical differences in grants, cooperative agreements, procurement contracts, cooperative research and development agreements, and other federal funding instruments (including Other Transaction Agreements) awarded to universities and other research institutions. This collaboration between McCarter and Northeastern further explored the bases for awards, subawards and subcontracts, general compliance obligations, differences in requisite accounting and other management systems (including property and equipment), and the protection of IP. Attendees schooled in the world of federal grants are increasingly receiving contracts; they appreciate the important need to have a firm understanding of the differences between the two in order to avoid running into problems and pitfalls. It is highly important that research administrators, in particular, understand distinctions and compliance obligations under federal grants and contracts – which can differ depending upon whether the institution is an educational institution, a hospital, other nonprofit institutions and for profit institutions.
The meeting, held remotely this year due to COVID-19, is iSRA’s largest educational event, gathering 1,500 interested professionals. iSRA is the premier global research society (with members from over 40 countries) supporting members with education, professional development and comprehensive research management information. Members include research management, pre and post-award grant and contract administration, regulatory compliance, technology transfer and clinical trial management professionals.
Dan Kelly is a partner at McCarter & English. He brings over 30 years of experience to the firm’s government contracts group, combining both counseling and acting as an advocate on behalf of clients doing business in the government marketplace. Dan’s practice extends to a broad spectrum of industries and federal and state authorities for whom they supply research, products, and services, including emerging and established businesses working under prime and subcontracts, SBIRs, CRADAs, OTAs, and grants for DoD and civilian agencies. Dan serves on the Board of Directors for the Boston Chapter of the National Contract Management Association (NCMA) and as vice president for the New England Chapter of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA). He is prolific speaker and writer on all matters involving federal funding.
Tiffany Hubbard brings over 10 years of experience to her programmatic counseling of clients on how best to navigate their federal grants and contract obligations. Her unique practical experience is born from a prior career where she was responsible for the research compliance program and research subjects program for a large community hospital (responsible for drafting and managing program policies, monitoring federal grant and contract compliance, conducting internal audits and responding to federal agency and accreditation audits) giving her a distinct vantage point for approaching client needs.