What is a cooperative agreement and how is it different from a grant agreement?
A cooperative agreement and a grant agreement are types of funding instruments used to obligate Federal funds. Both grant and cooperative agreements are used to support a public purpose. However, a cooperative agreement is utilized when substantial involvement is anticipated between the federal awarding agency and the recipient during the contemplated grant activity. Because the administration of the HSIPR program will be a highly collaborative effort, FRA anticipates funding most projects through cooperative agreements. FRA will determine, based upon a project’s complexity and level of development, whether a cooperative agreement or a grant agreement will be used to provide funding. Question: What is a Letter of Intent (LOI)? How will an LOI be used within the HSIPR program? Answer: An LOI is a contingent commitment to allocate funding to corridor programs, based upon mutually agreed on milestones and fulfillment of certain conditions by grantees. For the HSIPR program, the issuance o
