A grant is an award of financial assistance, the principle purpose of which is to transfer funding from a federal agency to a recipient to carry out a public purpose. NASA's Science Mission Directorate selects recipients for grant awards for the purpose of conducting research investigations and communicating broadly the knowledge gained. Grants may be awarded to universities and other private institutions, but not to NASA centers or a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) like JPL. Grants are issued by the NASA Shared Services center (NSSC).