Glossary

2 A B C D E F G H I K M N O P R S T U X

F

Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA)

A law enacted in 1972 to ensure that advice by the various advisory committees formed over the years is objective and accessible to the public.

Fiscal Year

The fiscal year is the accounting period for the federal government which begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2013 begins on October 1, 2012 and ends on September 30, 2013. Congress passes appropriations legislation to fund the government for every fiscal year.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Requires dissemination, upon request, of Government documents while ensuring protection of proprietary and other privacy act information. Go to FOIA.

Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

A publicly available document by which a Federal Agency makes known its intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements, usually as a result of competition for funds. Funding opportunity announcements may be known as program announcements, requests for applications, notices of funding availability, solicitations, or other names depending on the Agency and type of program. Funding opportunity announcements can be found at Grants.gov/FIND and in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.