The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

1. (1) Act means the Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 102.
2. (2) Conflict of interest means a member of the peer review group or close relative or professional associate of the reviewer has a financial or other interest in an application or proposal that is known to the reviewer or the government official managing the review and would cause a reasonable person to question the reviewers impartiality if he or she were to participate in the review.
3. (3) Awarding official means the Oversight Committee and any other officer or employee of the Institute to whom the authority to make an award has been delegated; except that where the Act specifically authorizes another official to make awards in connection with a particular program, the awarding official shall mean that official and any other officer or employee of the Institute to whom the authority to make an award has been delegated.
4. (4) Budget period means the interval of time (usually 12 months) into which the project period is divided for budgetary and reporting purposes.
5. (5) CPRIT and Institute mean the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
6. (6) Close relative means a parent, spouse, domestic partner, or son or daughter.
7. (7) Contract proposal means a written offer to enter into a contract that is submitted to the appropriate agency official by an individual or other entity, which includes, at a minimum, a description of the nature, purpose, duration, and cost of the project, and the methods, personnel, and facilities to be utilized in carrying out the project. A contract proposal may be unsolicited by the Institute or submitted in response to a request for proposals.
8. (8) Development means the systematic use of knowledge gained from research to create useful materials, devices, systems, or methods.
9. (9) Entity means any entity recognized by law, including a sole proprietorship, partnership, firm, corporation, holding company, joint stock company, receivership, or trust, as well as any program, enterprise, non-profit corporation public or private research or academic institution.
10. (10) Executive Director means the Executive Director of the CPRIT and any other official or employee of the CPRIT to whom the authority involved has been delegated.
11. (11) Executive-level employee means the Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, General Counsel, Chief Prevention Officer, Chief Scientific Officer and other similarly situated employee with decision-making authority. It also means any individual employed by the Institute who is compensated, as of the last date of state employment or at the time a determination regarding conflict of interest is made, at or above the amount prescribed by the General Appropriations Act for step 1, salary group 17, of the position classification salary schedule, including an employee who is exempt from the state's position classification plan.
12. (12) Grant as used in this chapter includes cooperative agreements.
13. (13) Grant proposal or grant application means any application to receive funding from the Institute.
14. (14) Grant recipient or awarded grant means any entity, natural or legal, and any person who has been awarded or received grant funds from the Institute.
15. (15) Institute means the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas or CPRIT.
16. (16) Institute employee means any individual within the employ of the Institute, including any individuals performing duties for the Institute pursuant to a contract of employment.
17. (17) Oversight Committee member means any person appointed to and serving on the Oversight Committee of the Institute, or any person who sits on that board by operation of statute or by designation.
18. (18) Peer review group, also referred to as scientific review group, means a group of primarily non-government experts qualified by training and experience in particular scientific or technical fields, or as authorities knowledgeable in the various disciplines and fields related to the scientific areas under review, to give expert advice on the scientific and technical merit of grant applications or contract proposals, or the concept of contract projects, in accordance with the rules of the Institute.

19. (19) Personal or private interest in an entity exists, notwithstanding the provisions of Texas Government Code Chapter 572, when an Oversight Committee member or the member's spouse:

    1. (A) Owns or controls, directly or indirectly, less than a 5% interest in a business entity or other organization receiving money from the Institute. Interests subject to this provision include sharing in profits, proceeds, or capital gains. Examples of ownership or control, include but are not limited to owning shares, stock, or otherwise, and are not dependent on whether voting rights are included;
    2. (B) Is a member of the board of directors, other governing board or any committee of the entity;
    3. (C) Serves as an elected or appointed officer of the entity;
    4. (D) Is an employee of the entity or is negotiating future employment with the entity;
    5. (E) Represents in business or law; this prohibition includes close relatives; or
    6. (F) Could reasonably foresee that an action taken by the Institute or its Oversight Committee could result in a financial benefit to the individual of 100% or more.
20. (20) Principal investigator means a single individual designated by the grantee in the grant application and approved by the Institute, who is responsible for the scientific and technical direction of the project.
21. (21) Professional associate of the reviewer means any colleague, scientific mentor, or student with whom the peer reviewer is currently conducting research or other significant professional activities or with whom the member has conducted such activities within three years before the date of the review.
22. (22) Project approach means the methodology to be followed and the resources needed in carrying out the project.
23. (23) Project concept means the basic purpose, scope, and objectives of the project.
24. (24) Project period means that time period during which the project may be supported.
25. (25) Request for proposals means an Institute solicitation to prospective offerors to submit a proposal to fulfill specific agency requirements based on terms and conditions defined in the request for proposals. The request for proposals shall contain information sufficient to enable all offerors to prepare proposals, and is as complete as possible with respect to: nature of work to be performed; descriptions and specifications of items to be delivered; performance schedule; special requirements clauses, or other circumstances affecting the contract; format for cost proposals; and evaluation criteria by which the proposals will be evaluated.
26. (26) Research means a systematic investigation, study or experiment designed to contribute to general knowledge relating broadly to public health by establishing, discovering, developing, elucidating or confirming information about, or the underlying mechanisms relating to, the biological functions, diseases, or related matters to be studied.
27. (27) Research and development contract project means an identified, circumscribed activity, involving a single contract or two or more similar, related, or interdependent contracts, intended and designed to acquire new or fuller knowledge and understanding in the areas of cancer research and/or to use such knowledge and understanding to develop useful materials, devices, systems, or methods.
28. (28) Scientific review group has the same meaning as peer review group, which is defined in paragraph (18) of this section.
29. (29) Solicited contract proposal means a response to a solicitation that, if accepted, would bind the offeror to perform the resultant contract. Responses to invitations for bids (sealed bidding) are offers called "bids" or "sealed bids;" responses to requests for proposals (negotiation) are offers called "proposals."
30. (30) Unsolicited contract proposal means a written proposal for a new or innovative idea that is submitted to an agency on the initiative of the offeror for the purpose of obtaining a contract with the state and that is not in response to a request for proposals, Broad Agency Announcement, Program Research and Development Announcement, or any other Institute-initiated solicitation or program.

Source Note:The provisions of this §702.3 adopted to be effective July 13, 2009, 34 TexReg 4640.