Research Advocate skip to main | skip to sidebar Research Advocate News from the Research Administration and Compliance Office at the University of California, Berkeley March 21, 2022 NSF Required Use of Research.gov The National Science Foundation will now start requiring the use of Research.gov for the preparation and submission of proposals in response to many (but not yet all) program descriptions. Follow the steps in the notification on Research.gov to determine if your proposal for a specific program description must be prepared and submitted in Research.gov. Note that FastLane is targeted to be removed as a submission option from all funding opportunities when the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) goes into effect in January 2023. Grants.gov will remain a submission option for most NSF proposals. Labels: Sponsored Projects March 15, 2022 Reminder: Use of UEI Instead of DUNS on Federal Applications Beginning on March 19, 2022, SAMS Domestic will implement the newest version of the SF-424 forms on all applications. The SF-424 will be updated from V3.0 to V4.0, which will require applicants to enter their SAM.gov UEI instead of the DUNS. When submitting federal applications after this date, make sure to check agency form requirements as appropriate. To learn more about the UEI transition, see DUNS to Unique Entity ID (SAM) Transition on SAM.gov. Labels: Sponsored Projects March 03, 2022 NSF Current and Pending Support Webinar Available The National Science Foundation Policy Office hosted a webinar covering Current and Pending Support in January 2022. The webinar recording is now available in the NSF Policy Office Outreach Resource Center. Labels: Research Administration and Compliance, Sponsored Projects January 24, 2022 NIH RPPR Guidance after 1/25/22 National Institutes of Health requirements for the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) have changed as of January 25, 2022. Other Support In the past, when submitting an RPPR, Other Support only had to be uploaded for senior/key personnel whose support had changed. However, after January 25, 2022, each of the senior key personnel on the project will need to submit an Other Support Form in the NIH recommended format. If there have been no significant changes in the individual's Other Support from what was reported to NIH previously, this should be clearly stated on the Other Support Form. If someone has something new to report, they should report this new support. As of January 25, 2022, PDs/PIs and other senior key personnel will be required to electronically sign their respective Other Support form as a PDF prior to submission verifying that the information is true and accurate. Other Support submissions at Just-in-Time and in the RPPR must be submitted as a flattened PDF (eRA Commons instructions), after all signatures are obtained. (A typed name is not an electronic signature and is not considered acceptable.) Biographical Sketches The biosketch format page also has been updated for application due dates and RPPR submissions on/after January 25, 2022. PIs should use this new format when submitting an RPPR. See Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions and Samples for details on the required biosketch format. Note: The following changes have been made: Section B Positions and Honors has been renamed Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors. For the non-Fellowship Biosketch, Section D. has been removed. For the Fellowship Biosketch, Section D has been updated to remove Research Support. As applicable, all applicants may include details on ongoing and completed research projects from the past three years that they want to draw attention to within the personal statement, Section A. Labels: Research Administration and Compliance, Sponsored Projects January 05, 2022 Statement of Economic Interests (700-U) Form Revised for 2022 The State of California has issued a revised 700-U Statement of Economic Interests for Principal Investigators for immediate use. The revised form, dated 2021/2022, is available in the DocuSign integration with Phoebe and on the Conflict of Interest Committee website and is the only version that will now be accepted. The form and requirements are the same as the previous version. Note that the limit for gifts of travel is $520 for calendar years 2021 and 2022. Please contact [email protected] with any questions. State of California law requires disclosure of financial interest in the sponsor of a research project; the donor of a research gift; and, under certain circumstances, the provider of materials under a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) when that sponsor, donor, or provider is a non-governmental source. See State of California Financial Disclosure for more information. Labels: Conflict of Interest, Research Administration and Compliance, Sponsored Projects October 29, 2021 New Forms and Instructions for NIH applications The National Institutes of Health has issued New NIH FORMS-G Grant Application Forms and Instructions Coming for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2022 (NOT-OD-22-169). For a transition period, both FORMS-F and FORMS-G application packages will be active simultaneously. Applicants must choose the appropriate application package for their due date when presented with both FORMS-F and FORMS-G application packages on the same FOA. See the tables in New NIH FORMS-G Grant Application Forms and Instructions Coming for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2022 (NOT-OD-22-169) and in Reminder: FORMS-G Grant Application Forms & Instructions Must be Used for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2022 - New Grant Application Instructions Now Available (NOT-OD-22-018) for additional guidance. Note: All FORMS-F application forms packages will be updated with a close date of January 24, 2022. Application due dates remain unchanged. Applicants must refer to the FOA for key date information. September 3, 2021 Research Advocate: NIH Guidance: Forms-G Required on or After January 25, 2022 Labels: Sponsored Projects October 14, 2021 NIH: Trainee Childcare Costs and Move to Passphrases The National Institutes of Health recently issued two messages: 1. Announcement of Childcare Costs for Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Institutional Research Training Awards NIH will now begin providing childcare cost support to full-time predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees appointed on NRSA institutional research training awards. This is anticipated for awards made beginning in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2022. The NRSA childcare costs apply to each full-time predoctoral or postdoctoral NIH-NRSA-supported institutional research training award appointment. Each trainee is eligible to receive $2,500 per budget period for childcare costs provided by a licensed childcare provider. 2. Replace eRA Commons Password with Passphrase, Starting Sometime in November While eRA has been transitioning users of eRA Commons, Commons Mobile, ASSIST and IAR to two-factor authentication using either Login.gov or an InCommon Federated Account that supports NIHs two-factor authentication standards, users will still need to maintain their eRA Commons username and password for the time being. So eRA account credential maintenance will continue, at least for now, but not to worry, gone are the days of having to continually change your password every 120 days. NIH is moving from passwords to passphrases a set of random words or a sentence at least 15 characters long effective sometime in November (date to be confirmed). Passphrases will only need to be updated annually. This change is part of a new NIH password policy designed to make passwords easy for users to remember but hard for others to guess. The new policy aims to improve user experience and enhance cybersecurity. Once this new change is in effect, Commons users will be prompted to change their password to a passphrase when trying user credentials with an expired or forgotten password. Users are advised to avoid words that can be easily guessed, such as family names. Labels: Sponsored Projects September 03, 2021 NIH Guidance: Forms-G Required on or After January 25, 2022 The National Institutes of Health published the following guidance in Goodbye FORMS-F, Hello FORMS-G on the Extramural Nexus blog. Applicants applying to NIH funding opportunities with due dates on or after January 25, 2022 must use updated application forms and instructions identified with a Competition ID of FORMS-G. Key changes in the FORMS-G update include: Transition from DUNS to a unique entity identifier (UEI) issued by SAM.gov as the official identifier for doing business with the federal government (NOT-OD-21-170.) See Goodbye DUNS, Hello UEI. Updated biosketch and other support format pages (NOT-OD-21-110.) Updated country and state dropdown lists across all forms. Increased character limit to 100 characters for Department and Division fields. Expanded requirement for a Commons ID to all senior/key personnel (NOT-OD-21-109.) Increased number of Other direct cost budget lines from 3 to 10. Added Childcare Costs section to Fellowship Supplemental Form (NOT-OD-21-074.) Added question regarding Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) to the SBIR/STTR Information form (NOT-OD-21-082.) Application guides for FORMS-G application packages will be posted to the How to Apply Application Guide page no later than October 25, 2021. Related resources New NIH FORMS-G Grant Application Forms and Instructions Coming for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2022 (NOT-OD-21-169) High-level Summary of Form Changes in FORMS-G Application Packages Labels: Sponsored Projects August 31, 2021 NIH Biosketch and Other Support Clarifications The Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) has engaged with the leadership of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding questions that COGR member institutions have raised concerning NIHs Biosketches and Other Support FAQs. In response, NIH has updated these FAQs to make the following clarifications: Faculty consulting activities must be reported as Other Support only when the consulting activity involves research and fall[s] outside of an individuals appointment with their home institution. When consulting activities constitute Other Support, they should be reported as estimates of the amount paid, as opposed to an estimate of time and effort. Consulting activities do not count towards the 12 calendar months of effort. NIH will not require the disclosure of completed support (including completed in-kind support) as Other Support, only current and pending support. (FAQs I.B.3 & I.C.5). Institutions need only go back three years in reporting as Other Support materials that were received from external collaborators. (FAQ I.C.7). NIH has provided separate guidance on when data and resources should be acknowledged in grants. [See, FAQs Communicating and Acknowledging Federal Funding.] Information may not be redacted from contracts, agreements, or other supporting documents that are submitted to NIH. (FAQ I.D.8). [Note that this FAQ differs from some prior NIH verbal statements on this topic.] If a researcher has a foreign appointment, affiliation, and/or employment with a foreign institution, they must provide supporting documentation of that relationship, even if they do not have a formal agreement in place. (FAQ I.D.9). Labels: Sponsored Projects August 26, 2021 NIH Grant Applications Fall 2021 The National Institutes of Health has issued Clarification and Guidance for Applicants Preparing Applications for the Fall 2021 Due Dates During the COVID-19 Pandemic (NOT-OD-21-180). The notice states: The NIH remains firmly committed to supporting the biomedical research enterprise as the nation implements the Presidents Guidelines for Re-Opening America Again. The purpose of this Notice is to clarify the guidance provided earlier (NOT-OD-21-026), for applicants preparing applications for the May 2022 Council round, beginning with the Septe…