The term award also includes Technology Investment Agreements (TIA). A TIA is a special type of assistance instrument used to increase the involvement of commercial firms in the Department's RD&D programs. A TIA may be either a type of cooperative agreement or a type of assistance transaction other than a cooperative agreement, depending on the intellectual property provisions. A TIA may be either expenditure based or fixed support.

Department of Energy means the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), including the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).