Announcements and Updates
National Institutions of Health Regional Seminar in Baltimore, MD on June 26-28
The National Institutes of Health will hold the annual NIH Regional Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration from June 26-28, 2013 in Baltimore, Maryland. The session will provide access to more than 35 NIH and HHS experts representing NIH program, policy, review, and grants management. Sessions of interest include NIH AREA (R15) Program Update, NIH Peer Review Process, Grant Writing for Success, Budget Building Blocks for Investigators, and Working with NIH Program Officials. Registration is now open. For more information and links to complete agendas, visit http://grants.nih.gov/grants/regionalseminars/Baltimore_2013/index.html.
NSF-DUE Presentation at Miami-Dade College – April 26, 2013
Miami Dade College (Kendall Campus) is hosting an NSF presentation titled “Funding Opportunities for Undergraduate STEM Education”, presented by Zhanjing (John) Yu, Program Director with the National Science Foundation’s Division of Undergraduate Education on April 26, 2013 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.. Details about the session are available here .
SRA International Sequestration Resource Center Website
SRA International, a non-profit organization serving members of the research administration community, has established the Sequestration Resource Center on its web site as a resource for the research administration community to provide the latest news and federal agency information related to sequestration. To visit the site, please go to http://www.srainternational.org/sra03/template/tntbAB.cfm?id=5632 .
DHHS Funding Agencies Issue Information Regarding Impacts on Sequestration
The Department of Health and Humans Services and its operating divisions have issued a communication that, while they are taking steps to mitigate effects imposed by sequestration, grants and cooperative agreement awards may be impacted. Specifics are unknown at this time, but impacts could include not issuing continuation awards, negotiating reductions in scope of work, or rescoping, delaying, or canceling plans for new grants. Individual NIH Grant Management Officers will contact awardees on a case-by-case basis with additional details, if fiscal year 2013 funds on a particular award are going to be affected. The budget cuts imposed by sequestration do not affect awards made with FY 2012 resources.
NIH Public Access Policy
The NIH has issued a notice related to changes to Public Access Policy compliance efforts with anticipated start dates on or after July 1, 2013 (NOT-OD-13-042 and NOT-OD-12-160). Three new podcasts have been issued to help grantees understand the NIH Public Access Policy. For information, visit http://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2013/01/31/new-podcasts-on-nih-public-access-policy/. Note: The weekly list of NIH notices and funding opportunities is available at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/WeeklyIndex.cfm?WeekEnding=02-15-2013
NSF Project Reporting and Proposal Submission Update
NSF is changing the FastLane proposal and project report submission process. Effective March 18, 2013, Principal Investigators will be required to use Research.gov to meet all NSF reporting requirements, including final, annual and interim project reports. (Please see Dear Colleague Letter at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13041/nsf13041.jsp?org=NSF ). Also on March 18, FastLane will begin an automated compliance check for required sections of proposals as detailed in the new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide.
NIH Requires Use of RPPR for All SNAP Progress Reports (NOT-OD-13-035)
The use of the eRA Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) module for submitting SNAP reports will be required for awards with start dates on or after July 1, 2013 (i.e., report due dates on or after May 15, 2013). For more information, please see NOT-OD-13-035.
NSF Issues Revised Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide, effective January, 2013
The new version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), (NSF 13-1), has been issued; it is effective for proposals submitted on or after January 14, 2013. The document incorporates the Grant Proposal Guide, which provides guidance on proposal preparation and submission, and the Award & Administration Guide, which contains requirements for managing NSF awards. The new PAPPG version includes revisions to clarify and improve the function of NSF Merit Review Criteria, changes to instructions for preparation of biosketches, and other modifications and clarifications. Additional information and resources related to the Merit Review criteria are available on the NSF website by clicking here. Frequently Asked Questions related to FastLane and the changes to the PAPPG can be accessed at the NSF website by clicking here .