PI Handbook

PI Handbook blog site provides  information and resources for University of Nevada faculty and staff preparing or managing all types of sponsored projects. Users may subscribe to the PI Handbook RSS feed to receive new content, tips, tools and up-to-the-minute information regarding sponsored projects.

Effective with grant awards with an initial Issue Date on/after December 23, 2011, the salary limitation is limited to Executive Level II of the Federal Pay Scale, $179,700.
NIH competing grant awards with categorical budgets reflecting salary levels at or above the new limit that have an initial Issue Date on/after December 23, 2011 will reflect adjustments to the current and all future years so that no funds are awarded or committed for salaries over the limitation.

See Announcement

PIs will especiall be interested in the “Making the Move to Research.gov” section.

January 2012 marks a new step forward in the National Science Foundation’s modernization of FastLane and transition to Research.gov. Financial administrators on projects funded by NSF must now access financial services through Reseach.gov and revised policy requires that institutions prepare and submit Federal Financial Reports (FFR) using the website’s FFR service.

Accessing Financial Functions on Research.gov

All financial users with the following access permissions – Cash Request User, Grantee EFT User, FFR Preparer and FFR Certifier – must use Research.gov to access NSF financial services. This means that you will log into Research.gov using your FastLane credentials to request cash transfers; modify and certify banking information for Electronic Funds Transfers (EFTs); and view your organization’s NSF financial reporting activity, cash requests and EFT updates. All financial users who try to access financial services through FastLane will be transferred directly to Research.gov to login.

Using the Research.gov FFR Service

Revised NSF policy requires that grantees prepare and submit quarterly Federal Financial Reports (FFRs) through Research.gov beginning with reports that are due on February 1, 2012. For further information, review Article 9 of the NSF Agency Specific Requirements to the Research Terms & Conditions posted at www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/rtc/nsf_212.pdf.

The process of preparing and submitting FFRs in Research.gov is similar to FastLane and has been available on Research.gov since November 2008. You can access the FFR service from the home page, after logging into Research.gov.

Making the Move to Research.gov

2013  will bring more change to Research.gov, including the introduction of a new award payment service and a new service for submission of annual, final, and interim progress reports. The financial services change may not impact you today, but now is the  time to start or continue your own transition to Research.gov.

What can you do? Try the following steps and make Research.gov a part of your daily work:

• Login using your FastLane credentials
• Bookmark Research.gov
• Use Research.gov as your “portal” to Financial Services
• Stay tuned for future changes

Research.gov Help Desk

For assistance, please contact the Research.gov Help Desk, 7 AM – 9 PM Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays).  You can contact the Research.gov Help Desk by emailing rgov@nsf.gov  or by calling 1.800.381.1532.

NIH and the National Science Foundation have each recently issued notices warning recipients of Recovery Act funding that previously automatic no-cost extensions will not be granted and that projects need to end by Sept. 30, 2013, unless the agency has given prior approval. This is necessary because the Office of Management and Budget has said projects funded with Recovery Act money should be completed by this date, or agencies will have to take steps to “reclaim funds that remain unspent.”

In its Dec. 13 notice, NIH noted that for projects that already have end dates beyond Sept. 30, 2013, “NIH staff administering these grants will also reach out to recipients to discuss possible strategies for accelerating progress and expenditures. Revised award terms will vary depending on the award terms provided in the current notice of award.”

In a nearly identical notice also issued on Dec. 13, NSF outlined the requirements for expenditures by Sept. 30, 2013, but also indicated that it may seek a waiver from OMB’s mandates. For any awards “anticipated to continue past September 30, 2013, NSF grantees must contact the program officer identified in the award notice in writing that an extension of the expiration date is vital for the completion of the project,” NSF said. “All requests must be received on or before June 1, 2012, regardless of the current project expiration date. Prior written approval to extend beyond September 30, 2013 will only be considered” based on OMB criteria and “only if NSF receives a waiver from OMB,” NSF said.

Other government agencies are expected to issue similar notices to grantees who received Recovery Act funding.
Link to NIH notice:
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-12-014.html

Link to NSF notice: http://nsf.gov/recovery/acceleration.pdf

Link to OMB memorandum: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/memoranda/2011/m11-34.pdf

NSF’s  entire suite of Award Terms and Conditions (see full listing below) has been revised to implement two new requirements, which are either mandated by regulation or legislation.  Each set of terms and conditions is accompanied by a comprehensive summary of the changes made to that document.

The revised Terms and Conditions will apply to all new NSF awards and funding amendments to existing NSF awards issued on or after February 1, 2012.  In addition to clarifications and other changes made to the conditions, significant changes include:

• Travel*, has been updated to incorporate revised circumstances under which use of a foreign-flag air carrier is permissible.  The Article provides information on recent modifications to the “Open Skies” Agreement with the European Union, and includes a link to the General Services Administration website for additional information.

• Academic Technology Transfer and Commercialization of University Research**, is a new Article which requires higher education institutions that have NSF research support and at least $25,000,000 in total Federal research grants in the most recently completed Federal fiscal year to submit to NSF the URL that contains information on their transfer of technology and commercialization of research results efforts.  This change has been mandated by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act.

Revisions have been made to the following documents:

• NSF Agency Specific Requirements (ASR) to the Research Terms and Conditions (RTC);
• Grant General Conditions (GC-1);
• Cooperative Agreement Financial & Administrative Terms and Conditions (CA-FATC);
• Cooperative Agreement Supplemental Financial & Administrative Terms and Conditions for Managers of Large Facilities
• Cooperative Agreement Supplemental Financial & Administrative Terms and Conditions for Managers of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCS)
• International Research Terms and Conditions
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Grant General Conditions; 
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Grant General Conditions; and
• Administration of NSF Conference or Group Travel Grant Special Conditions (FL 26).

* This article does not apply to the SBIR/STTR Phase I grant conditions.

** This article only applies to the ASR and CA-FATC grant conditions.

These Award Terms and Conditions have been posted to the NSF website and are available electronically at: http://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/award_conditions.jsp?org=NSF.   

If you have any questions on these changes, please contact the DIAS/Policy Office on (703) 292-8243 or by email to policy@nsf.gov.

The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) has a You Tube Channel that provides tips and information on topics of interest to those involved administrating research. A short video presentation on a selected topic is uploaded each Tuesday.  This week’s topic: Differences Between Subrecipients and Vendors.  Check out the channel at: http://www.youtube.com/user/NCURA1959

A new All About Grants Podcast produced by the NIH Office of Extramural Research (OER) features Dr. Pat Brown, Director, OLAW, who explains what must be included in your grant application if you use vertebrate animals in your research. Listen to Writing Your Vertebrate Animal Section (MP3) or read the transcript (HTML).

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-11-077.html

Notice Number: NOT-OD-11-077

This Notice provides clarification to the guidance about the NIH Fiscal Operations Plan for FY 2011 and implementation of the Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act of 2011 (P.L. 112-10) that was announced in NOT-OD-11-068.

NIH recently made significant cutbacks in staffing for eRA Commons.

This could lead to slower response to inquiries for general assistance and user support; longer downtimes and scheduled system outages; delays in system upgrades and improvements; and possible lags in fixing problems.

The following are suggestions to help avoid potential problems:

• Consult the eRA Commons Frequently Asked Questions.
• Submit your application a week prior to the deadline.
• Send in annual reports as soon as possible.
• Review eRA news and information posted online regularly.
• Subscribe to eRA listservs at http://era.nih.gov/about_era/get_connected.cfm
• Allow several days for eRA to respond to emails and anticipate longer hold times for phone calls to the helpline.

NIAID funding news article:  http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/newsletter/2011/pages/0427.aspx#a04

NIH is changing the policy concerning appeals of thei initial peer review process. This notice provides further information.

The Office of Extramural Research (OER) presents conversations with NIH staff members in their podcast “All About Grants”.  They provide  “insights on grant topics from those who live and breathe the information”.  Topic catagories include preparing successful grant applications, understanding how a grant application is reviewed, keeping up with what’s hot, being an NIH investigator and suggested topics. Subscriptions to the podcast are available through RSS or in iTunes.

Current federal funding beginning fiscal year October 1, 2011 has been distributed under an budget not approved by the federal government, therefore funding has continued under a series of Continuing Resolutions (CR) in order to avoid a federal shutdown.  The most recent CR will end at midnight, April 8, 2011 and without an approved budget or new CR, the federal government will shut down.

This shutdown may impact federally funded sponsored projects, however in most instances, currently awarded existing projects may proceed as usual and work can go forward, unless the sponsoring agency issues a stop-work order. UNR’s Office of Sponsored Projects would receive a project-specific notification and will inform the Principal Investigator if this occurs.  

New awards or award modifications which are pending (no-cost extensions, renewals, etc.) are likely to be put on hold by the sponsor.  

OMB has compiled the plans from the agencies. 

Agency specific information:

NSF:  and National Science Foundation Assistance and Contract-Related Policy and Systems Issues During the Funding Hiatus

NIH:

NIFA:

NASA:

Please contact your Office of Sponsored Projects if you have any questions about specific awards.

The continuing resolution (CR) to fund Federal government operations expires at midnight EDT on Friday, April 8, 2011.  Given the uncertainties related to the National Institute of Health’s appropriation, we are planning for a potential lapse in Federal government funding.  As part of the NIH plans, we are providing the following information to answer questions you may have on the impact such a lapse in appropriation will have on your grant/cooperative agreement or the availability of NIH’s systems and services.

RESUMING OPERATIONS

In the event of a lapse in funding, you are encouraged to stay tuned to the national media to determine when the Federal Government will resume operations.  Depending on the length of a funding lapse, once NIH non-excepted staff are authorized to resume operations it will take time for full operations to be resumed.  Depending on the length of the funding lapse, the eRA system may require at least one business day after operations resume.   We ask for patience when trying to contact NIH staff once operations resume since there will be a backlog of information to process.

CONTACT WITH NIH STAFF

E-mail, Phone, Fax, and Postal Mail Contacts:  In the event of a funding lapse, NIH extramural employees will be prohibited from working (remotely or in the office).  Consequently, there will be no access to voice mail, e-mail, fax, or postal mail during this period.  Mail requiring someone to sign/accept may not be received.  All other postal mail, fax, and voice mail communications will not be acted upon until after operations resume.    It is recommended that you delay sending such communications until after operations resume.

Help Desk Support:  In the event of a funding lapse, all help desks, central e-mail boxes, and web ticketing systems for questions related to NIH grants policy and electronic grants systems may not be available, including the eRA Helpdesk and Grants Information Services.  

SUBMISSION OF GRANT APPLICATIONS

In the event of a funding lapse, applicants are strongly encouraged not to submit paper or electronic grant applications to NIH during the period of the lapse.  Adjustments to application submission dates that occur during a funding lapse will be announced once operations resume.  For any applications submitted immediately prior to or during a funding lapse, here is what will likely happen.

1.  For electronic submissions through Grants.gov:   Grants.gov would be open and can accept electronic applications.  However, applications would not be processed by NIH until the eRA Commons is back on-line. 
2. Paper Submissions:   Staff may not be available to receive paper applications during a funding lapse. 

The safest course would be to wait to submit any application to NIH until after operations resume and a communication concerning adjusted submission dates is announced.

PEER REVIEW AND COUNCIL MEETINGS

Initial Peer Review Meetings:  In the event of a funding lapse, the NIH would not be able to conduct initial peer review meetings – whether in-person or through teleconferences or other electronic media – during a lapse in Federal funding. Also during that time, the NIH staff would not be able to send or receive email messages, or update website information, and NIH computer systems that support review functions would not be operational.  When operations resume, those meetings will be re-scheduled and the pending applications will be processed and reviewed as soon as possible. 

Also, the results, including final impact scores and summary statements, of some peer review meetings that took place prior to the orderly shutdown of operations may not be available until operations resume.  Therefore, applicants with applications going through the peer review process should stay tuned to the national news to determine when operations of the government resume, and then check the NIH website for information on any review meetings that may have been extended or re-scheduled.  The results of meetings held prior to a potential funding lapse will be released as soon as possible after resumption of operations.

Individuals who had agreed to serve on NIH review panels (”study sections”) that were scheduled to meet during a funding lapse would not be able to access the Internet Assisted Review (IAR) site or other NIH web-based systems during that time. Reviewers who were scheduled to travel for a review meeting on a day when operations are down would not be able to board a plane or train, and will be sent instructions on how to handle their reservations.  Reviewers who are attending an NIH review panel on the day of orderly shutdown would be able to change their travel plans and return home.  Therefore, peer reviewers should stay tuned to the national news to determine when operations of the NIH will resume, and then check the NIH website for information on meetings that have been re-scheduled.   As soon as possible after operations resume, the NIH Scientific Review Officer in charge of the review meeting will contact those reviewers with more detailed information.

Advisory Council Review: The NIH would not be able to conduct Advisory Council review meetings – whether in-person or through teleconferences or other electronic media – during a funding lapse.  Also during that time, the NIH staff would not be able to send or receive email messages, or update website information, and NIH computer systems that support review functions will not be operational.  Therefore, no applications would be processed for Council review or be taken to Council meetings during that time.  When operations resume, those pending applications will be processed, and meetings will be re-scheduled as soon as possible. 

Applicants with applications pending Council review during that time should check the NIH website for information after operations resume.  Advisory Council members should stay tuned to the national news to determine when operations of the government will resume, and then check the NIH website for information on Council meetings that have been re-scheduled.   As soon as possible after operations resume, the NIH Executive Secretary in charge of the Council meeting will contact those Council members with more detailed information.

AWARDED GRANTS

Currently Active Grant Awards:  In the event of a funding lapse, all work and activities performed under currently active NIH grant awards may continue.  However, see below for limits on performing many of the reporting requirements associated with NIH grant funding. 

Progress Reports: 

1. Electronically Submitted Progress Reports:  For any SNAP progress reports and/or annual progress reports for multi-year funded grants due during the funding lapse, the eRA Commons would not be accessible.  Users would need to wait until the eRA Commons is back on-line before these progress reports can be submitted. 
2. Paper Submitted Progress Reports:  No NIH staff would be available to receive paper progress reports.   Therefore, institutions are encouraged to delay mailing all paper progress reports due during the funding lapse until after operations resume.  

Notice of Awards (NoAs):  No NIH grant awards will be processed in the event of a funding lapse.  For any awards processed before a funding lapse that have an issue date during the funding lapse, the awards will not be sent to the grantee on the issue date.  Once operations resume, all pending NoAs will be sent.  This will not affect the start date nor the issue date of these awards; it just affects the date the award document is actually sent to the grantee and available for access in the eRA Commons.  In the absence of actually receiving the NoA, institutions may use pre-award costs authority at their own risk. 

No-cost Extension Notifications:   The eRA Commons would not be accessible during a funding lapse.  Further, no-cost extension notification cannot be submitted via the Commons once the expiration date of the grant has passed.  For any grants due to expire during a funding lapse that plans to be given a no-cost extension, if the extension notification is not submitted before the eRA Commons is shutdown, then a paper notification to the IC will be required after operations resume. 

General Access to eRA Commons and Other OER-Supported Systems:  The eRA Commons will not be accessible in the event of a funding lapse.  Therefore, no user would be able to access the Commons for viewing electronically submitted applications, accessing Internet Assisted Review, or processing such actions as Commons Registration, FSRs/FFRs, xTrain documents, Closeout documents, and/or FCOI notifications etc.  Further there would be no ability to access Commons for query or other purposes.  There also would be no access to the Interagency Edison or Electronic Council Books systems.

Prior Approval Requests and Other Communications:  NIH extramural employees would have no access to voice mail, e-mail, fax, or postal mail in the event of a funding lapse.  All prior approval requests and other communications would not be received until operations resume.  It is recommended that you delay sending such communications until after operations resume.

Access to HHS Payment Management System (PMS):   In the event of a funding lapse, the HHS PMS will be open; however, no Federal staff would be available to assist or process any requests.  Therefore, drawdowns (payments) on accounts can be processed as long as no Federal staff action is required to finalize the payment.  For most NIH grantees, this means drawdowns should be possible.  However, if a particular grant is on a reimbursement basis for withdrawing funds or otherwise restricted, then these requests could not be processed until after Federal Government operations resume.

ANIMAL WELFARE

The Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) business processes are funded by annual appropriations and are not designated as excepted activities under the Antideficiency Act. No activities associated with the OLAW mission would continue in the event of a lapse of funding.

In the event of a funding lapse, assured institutions are encouraged to delay sending all Assurance documents, preliminary or final reports of noncompliance or IACUC suspensions as required under the Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals IV.F.3, or other correspondence due during the funding hiatus period until after operations resume. OLAW would extend deadlines for all reporting activities as necessary to compensate for the period of the lapse in funding and the unavailability of the website and OLAW operational support.

Institutions are reminded that their obligation under their Animal Welfare Assurance to ensure ongoing local support and oversight, and to address and correct all situations that affect animal welfare and compliance with the PHS Policy continues during this period.

The Office of Extramural Research (OER) presents conversations with NIH staff members. Designed for investigators, fellows, students, research administrators, and others, they provide insights on grant topics from those who live and breathe the information. In mp3 and updated every other week. Users can subscribe via RSS, or iTunes. http://grants.nih.gov/podcasts/All_About_Grants/index.htm

Here’s info on the most recent podcast on writing the human subjects section of the application:

“Continuing the podcast series on grant writing, the next topic we tackle is the human subjects section. Do you need to include this section in your application? Should you include this section if you are using human tissue samples without their personally identifying information? Listen to “Human Subjects Risk and Protection” for answers to these questions and more.”

In general, recipients of federal grants are allowed a certain degree of latitude to rebudget in and within certain budget categories

2 CFR 215:25 (OMB A-110) covers revisions of budget and program plans. Grant recipients are required to report deviations from budget and program plans and request prior approvals for budget and program plan revision for the following:

For non-construction awards

(1) Change in the scope or the objective of the project or program (even if there is no associated budget revision requiring prior written approval)

(2) Change in a key person specified in the application or award document

(3) The absence for more than three months, or a 25% reduction in time devoted to the project, by the approved project director or principal investigator

(4) The need for additional Federal funding

(5) The transfer of amounts budgeted from indirect costs to absorb increases in direct costs, or visa versa, if approval is required by the Federal awarding agency

(6) The including, unless waived by the Federal awarding agency, of costs that require prior approval in accordance with 2 CFR Part 220 (OMB A-21)

(7) The transfer of funds allotted for training allowances (direct payment to trainees) to other categories of expense

(8) Unless described in the application and funded in the approved awards, the subaward, transfer or contracting out of any work under any award. This provision does not apply to the purchase of supplies, material, equipment or general services

Except for the requirements listed in 1-4, Federal awarding agencies have the option to waive cost-related and administrative prior written approvals required 2 CFR Part 220. The award terms and conditions will note any waivers of pre-approval or any additional requirements of pre-approval.

What constitutes a change in scope?

A grantee has full responsibility for the conduct of the project or activity and the results. Performance of the project should be monitored to assure adherence to performance goals, time schedules or other requirements as appropriate to the project or the terms of the grant. Neither the phenomena under study nor the objectives of the project proposed in the proposal or agreed upon in subsequent modifications should be changed without sponsor approval. If approved, an amendment to an award typically follows. The following changes should be reported to the Federal program officer:

Changes to methodology or procedures

Delays or adverse conditions that will materially affect the ability to attain the objectives of the project or meet time schedules as they may have been proposed

Any events of unusual interest that occur during the course of the project

Source: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide

NSF has updated the GRFP Administrative Guide for Fellows and Coordinating Officials (NSF 11-031, replacing NSF 09-62) and is changing how institutional awards are handled – both at NSF and at the grantee institution. Below are highlights of those clarifications and changes. The updated Guide applies to the 2011-2012 fellowship year forward. The new Funding Model will begin with the 2011-2012 fellowship funding cycle and 2010-2011 institutional reporting requirements.

GRFP Funding Model:  Summary of Changes

-Direct involvement of the sponsored program/research administration in the financial reporting (addition of a Financial Official, FO), in cooperation with the Coordinating Official (CO)

-Progress towards providing GRFP funding to all institutions earlier and incrementally, based on the availability of funds

-Reducing the number of reports and multiple submissions

-Submission/resubmission of a program-level Grants Roster eliminated

-Program-level Expense Report, which was submitted as preliminary and final, incorporated into the Annual Report

-Annual Report consists of expenses, fellow outcomes, and fellow highlights

-Incorporating real-time award accounting into the GRFP FastLane Financial Summary Module

GRFP Guide:  Summary of Updates

-Incorporated annual program solicitation changes

-Added annual program cycle deadlines; acronyms, definitions, terms, links and contacts; satisfactory progress; responsible conduct of research; acknowledgment of NSF support; additional opportunities of interest; and appendices sections

-Clarified fellowship service expectations; deferrals; status definitions; tenure beyond degree completion; cost-of-education (COE) allowance; fellow and institutional responsibilities; and award management

-Discontinued Fellows Abroad and one-time International Research Travel Grant options – new opportunities for international research experiences to be announced

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is aware that personal issues can affect career advancement and productivity. The agency has announced that, beginning with applications submitted for the May 25, 2011 and subsequent receipt dates, the biosketch instructions will include a modification of the personal statement section to remind applicants that they can provide a description of personal issues that may have reduced their career productivity.

 This modification will permit program directors, principal investigators, and other senior and key personnel to describe personal circumstances that may have reduced productivity. Peer reviewers and others will then have more complete information on which to base their assessment of qualifications and productivity relevant to the proposed role on the project. The revised instructions for the personal statement should appear in applications toward the end of March.

 Details on other NIH policies designed to accommodate illness, disability, and family care responsibilities are available on the Women in Biomedical Careers and Office of Extramural Research websites.

 –GrantWeek from the Grants Resource Center (02/23/2011 Edition)

On September 29, 2010 NIH released a notice regarding the required use of updated electronic application forms in 2011 for applicants  to NIH, AHRQ, CDC, FDA and NIOSH. Deadlines after May 7, 2010 all applicants will be required to use the ADOBE-FORMS-B1 forms. There are exceptions that could require applicants must use ADOBE-FORMS-B1. These include: Individual Research Career Development Award Programs (Ks), Institutional Training and Career Development Programs (Ts and Ds), or Individual National Research Service Awards (Fs). Additionally upadted forms will be incorporated into new and existing FOAs. All new FOAs that are posted with ADOBE-FORMS-B1 must use the B1 package. Click here to find out how to tell if you have the right electronic forms for your NIH Application.

Effort Reporting Essentials

This is required training for all current and new employees who have a role (pre reviewers, certifiers, department coordinators, etc.) in the Effort Reporting System or who are involved in the process of determining salary expenditures from sponsored project accounts. This may include, but is not limited to, employees in these categories: graduate research assistants, post-docs, lab managers, principal investigators, and departmental and college administration.

Effort Reporting Essentials is offered as an in-person class or online through web campus. Registration for the in-person session can be made here: http://www.cis.unr.edu/Training/Events.aspx The request form to take the session via web campus is found here: http://www.unr.edu/ospa/request_training.html

Grants Management Training

This is required for all current and new employees who are involved with charging expenditures that benefited a sponsored project. This includes costs that are direct charged to sponsored accounts and those that are charged to institutional accounts as cost share. This includes, but is not limited to, employees in these categories: principal investigators, lab managers, and departmental and college administration.

Best Practices in Grants Management is offered as an in-person class or online through web campus. Registration for the in-person session can be made here: http://www.cis.unr.edu/Training/Events.aspx. The request form to take the session via web campus is found here: http://www.unr.edu/ospa/request_training.html