Common use of Renewal Awards Clause in Contracts

Renewal Awards. A renewal award (grant or cooperative agreement) allows a grant or cooperative agreement to adapt, within the five-year maximum period of performance, to changing contexts, lessons learned during implementation, and performance by related activities within a project that affect the overall effectiveness of the initial award. A renewal award provides a specific level of support for an initial specified period of time or an initial set of programmatic activities and milestones, with a statement of intent in the NOFO of the possibility of a subsequent award to provide additional support for the project for succeeding periods, activities, or milestones. The Agency may renew these awards provided funds are available, the results achieved warrant further support, and the recipient meets any other renewal conditions specified in the award. Renewal awards are also known as “continuation grants.” A renewal award allows for the continuation of an award beyond its initial period, but not to exceed the total period of performance specified in the original award. Renewal awards may also allow for the continuation of an award beyond initial activities or initial milestones. A renewal award requires the recipient to reapply at a specified point(s) during performance to continue the award. As part of the re-application, the Agency may revise the award and define further activities within the general program description of the award. Determining whether a renewal award is appropriate Use of a renewal award allows an activity to be approved for a multi-year period (up to five years), or for additional activities or milestones within the five-year period. This approach allows for adaptability of an activity, through redirection and establishment of new targets. However, this approach may be more labor intensive for both the Operating Unit and the recipient as the award has to be renewed for the additional period or activities. The AO should consider whether the benefits of this approach to a particular activity outweigh the additional administrative burden; for example, when performance targets cannot be established at the initial award but will be set on an annual basis. This approach may help the Agency and recipients to respond to contextual changes and lessons learned in, for example, highly fragile, high-risk, or conflict-sensitive environments.