Certifications and assurances
The standard statements an applicant signs with a federal application — on non-discrimination, drug-free workplace, lobbying, debarment status and more. They are signed before award and they bind the organisation for the life of it.
Part of the GrantTrove grant funding glossary — one entry for every field the catalogue stores.
Also called Assurances · Standard forms
In detail
They are usually filed as standard forms and treated as boilerplate, and they are not boilerplate: signing that no principal is debarred, when one is, is a false certification with consequences well beyond the grant.
Some assurances commit an organisation to policies it does not yet have. Signing first and writing the policy later is the common sequence and the wrong one.
Against eligibility
Eligibility says what class of organisation may apply, and it is published in the notice. Certifications are commitments an applicant makes about itself. An organisation can be eligible and unable to sign honestly, which is a different kind of block and one no eligibility field can express.
How GrantTrove stores it
- `elig_entity_types` and the other eligibility columns carry the notice’s published rule, with `elig_note` for wording that does not fit the vocabulary.
- We hold nothing an applicant would certify, and make no assertion about any organisation’s standing.
Common questions
Are certifications negotiable?
No. They are conditions of applying.
What if we lack a required policy?
Write it before signing. Signing first is the sequence that creates the problem.
Do they apply after award?
Yes, for the life of the award.