Sponsor

NSF Requires Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training for Faculty and Sr. Personnel

Anonymous — Tue, 08 Aug 2023 01:52:03 +0000

NSF Requires Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Training for Faculty and Sr. Personnel Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 08/07/2023 - 19:52

The National Science Foundation (NSF) now requires Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training for faculty and other senior personnel. This new requirement applies to proposals submitted on or after July 31, 2023.

NSF encourages researchers to explore training resources available through the Online Ethics Center. University of Colorado Boulder Researchers should complete RCR training through CITI. Updated modules related to mentor training and data management went live in July 2023. More information is available in the NSF PAPPG, Chapter IX.B.1.

NSF is emphasizing mentor training for faculty. There are several free resources to improve mentor/mentee communication.

Website resources – Mentor Focus

Online Ethics Center - https://onlineethics.org/cases/resources-research-ethics-education/topics-mentoring

Labs That Work For Everyone (University of Illinois)- https://labsthatwork.web.illinois.edu/labs-that-work-for-everyone/

Mentorfirst.org - https://mentorfirst.org/

Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER)- https://cimerproject.org/

Workshops for faculty

Scientific Communication Advances Research Excellence (SCOARE) faculty workshop (two days with three-hour sessions)

Compass Leadership and Management training program (Geared toward faculty who have just started their lab or are about to, 6 weeks of meetings 2x a week).

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Department of Energy Conflict of Interest Policy

Anonymous — Fri, 17 Jun 2022 20:12:52 +0000

Department of Energy Conflict of Interest Policy Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 06/17/2022 - 14:12

The Department of Energy (DOE) recently issued Financial Assistance Letter (FAL) 2022-02, an interim financial and organizational conflicts interest policy for grant awardees, and Financial Assistance Letter (FAL) 2022-04, current and pending support disclosure requirements. The new policy and requirements establish standards for a reasonable expectation that the design, conduct, and reporting of projects funded wholly or in part under DOE financial assistance awards (e.g., grant, cooperative agreement, or technology investment agreements) will be free from bias resulting from financial conflicts of interest or organizational conflicts of interest.

Per these FALs, Senior or Key Personnel who are currently supporting or planning to participate in projects funded by DOE are required:

To disclose the investigator’s significant financial interests (and those of the Investigator’s spouse and dependent children) to CU Boulder’s Conflicts of Interest & Commitment (COIC) Office.
Update their disclosures at least annually during the period of award for projects funded by the DOE and also within thirty days of discovering or acquiring (e.g., through purchase, marriage, or inheritance) a new significant financial interest.
Complete COI training prior to engaging in projects related to any DOE financial assistance award and at least every four years. Watching the training video required for DEPA submission meets this requirement. In addition, training videos are available on the Research & Innovation Office website.
Follow new requirements for current and pending documents in proposal submissions (see FAL 2022-04 and DOE funding opportunity announcements).
Update current and pending disclosures made to DOE according to award terms and conditions, including as part of reporting requirements.

Disclosures to CU Boulder’s COIC Office should be made through the Disclosure of External Professional Activities (DEPA) form.

If you have any questions regarding the DEPA, please contact CU Boulder’s COIC Office at coi@colorado.edu or 303-492-3024.

For questions related to proposal requirements, contact your OCG Proposal Analyst.

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NASA FINESST Proposals for Fellowships due before 5 pm MT Feb. 11, 2022

Anonymous — Wed, 08 Dec 2021 16:39:21 +0000

NASA FINESST Proposals for Fellowships due before 5 pm MT Feb. 11, 2022 Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 12/08/2021 - 09:39

NASA FINESST Proposals for Graduate Student Fellowships are due before 5 p.m. on February 11, 2022.

Guidance of the submission process can be found on OCG’s webpage for Fellowships and Student Research Grants. The PI is responsible for ensuring the student has prepared the appropriate documentation and must release the NSPIRES application prior to 5 p.m. OCG will not submit applications that are received after OCG’s standard business hours.

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NIH Requirements and Changes Effective January 25, 2022

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 16:23:34 +0000

NIH Requirements and Changes Effective January 25, 2022 Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 12/06/2021 - 09:23

NIH eRA Commons ID Requirements on/after 1/25/2022

For all due dates on or after 01/25/2022, per NOT-OD-21-109 NIH, will require all individuals listed on the R&R Senior/Key Personnel form to have an eRA Commons ID.

This new requirement applies to all Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors proposed in NIH applications.
CU Boulder will not create Commons IDs for non-CU personnel. Non-CU personnel can set up Commons IDs with their employing entity or, if unrelated to an entity non-CU personnel must complete all the required registrations as though they are an organization following the unaffiliated guidance detailed here. NIH recommends starting the registration process for unaffiliated individuals at least six weeks prior to a deadline to allow plenty of time to address unforeseen issues along the way.
Missing Commons ID will cause an ERROR beginning 1/25/2022 at submission and will prevent proposal submission.
POC for Questions: Proposal Analyst assigned to your department

NIH Forms G Updates – Proposals Due on/after 1/25/2022

NIH will require use of FORMS-G forms/applications for grant application due dates on or after 01/25/2022. NIH’s High-Level Form Change Summary is available here. OCG’s NIH FORMS-G Checklists are currently forthcoming, with an expected release of the updated checklists planned before the new year on the OCG Forms webpage.

POC for Questions: Proposal Analyst assigned to your department

A summary of some the changes and links to details include:

Biosketch

Use of new Biosketch templates will be required, with the following changes to the requirements:

Two options for creating a NIH Biosketch: SciENcv (recommended by CU) or Word template. Instructions, FAQ, samples and the current Word templates are available here.
Section A: Applicants may choose to include details on ongoing and completed research projects from the past three years that they want to draw attention to. Formatting samples provided in NIH’s sample biosketch.
Section B: Section B has been renamed ‘Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors’. List in reverse chronological order all current positions and scientific appointments both domestic and foreign, including affiliations with foreign entities or governments.
- For foreign appointments, supporting documentation will need to be provided at the Just-In-Time (JIT) phase as detailed under Other Support.
Section D: “Research Support” removed for non-Fellowship Biosketches. Included on Fellowship Biosketches as “Scholastic Performance”.

Other Support

Use of new Other Support templates will be required, with the following changes to the requirements:

The updated Other Support template pages, FAQ, samples, and instructions are available here. SciENcv is still not able to be used for Other Support creation but is forthcoming from NIH. Use of the Word template is required.
For details on what to include (all resources made available to a researcher in support of or related to research endeavors), see Disclosing Other Support requirements for NIH.
In-Kind Contributions Section: Separated from funded projects. Provide Active and Pending In-Kind contributions for all senior/key personnel. Enter in-kind entries grouped together based on the "Status of Support" and in order of Active and Pending Support from top to bottom. If there is no associated effort level, zero effort can be listed but an estimated dollar value must be listed; effort and dollar value cannot both be zero.
Signature and Submission: The completed Other Support form must be converted to a PDF, electronically signed by the researcher (to certify that the information disclosed is accurate, current, and complete), flattened and combined with all Other Support documents into a single document for submission. Typed names and wet signatures are not accepted.
Supporting Documentation: For Other Support submissions that include foreign activities and resources, and/or had included foreign appointments in their Biosketch, researchers are required to submit copies of contracts, grants or any other agreement specific to senior/key personnel foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution as supporting documentation. If they are not in English, recipients must provide translated copies. This supporting documentation must be provided as part of the Other Support PDF following the Other Support Format page.
Immediate Notification of Undisclosed Other Support: If you discover that other support has not been disclosed to NIH, please alert your OCG Proposal Analyst or Grant Officer so that NIH will be updated immediately.

URLs

Clarification that Hyperlinks and URLs are not allowed outside of the References Cited and Biosketch documents. Biosketches only allow a URL to a full list of the individual’s published work that must be a government (.gov) website.

Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information

Updated instructions:

Updated instructions for Delayed Onset Study/ies - must also include information regarding how the study will comply with the single IRB (sIRB) policy if sIRB is applicable.
Additional instructions regarding mentor or co-mentor statement related to Clinical Trials Research Experience.

Human Specimens and/or Data

Clarified instructions for providing an explanation for any use of human specimens and/or data not considered to be human subjects research.

Senior/Key Personnel and Other Significant Contributors (OSCs)

All Senior/Key Personnel and OSCs listed on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) form will be required to have an eRA Commons ID.

R&R Detailed Budget – Other Direct Costs

Seven additional blank lines/fields have been added to the Other Direct Costs section of the R&R detailed budget, allowing for more specific identification of costs that will better align with the Budget Justification.

Fellowships

Changes to how to request Childcare Costs as part of the proposal.

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NASA Memo: Revised Procedures for Entering NASA Facilities During Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

Anonymous — Thu, 19 Aug 2021 15:29:32 +0000

NASA Memo: Revised Procedures for Entering NASA Facilities During Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 08/19/2021 - 09:29

On August 16, 2021, NASA provided a memorandum to the NASA Contractor Community, including University of Colorado Boulder’s Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) and researchers, outlining safety protocols for entering NASA facilities, consistent with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the White House Safer Federal Workforce Task Force.

Under the revised procedures, any contractors, who will work onsite at NASA facilities are required to complete a Certification of Vaccination Status, beginning Monday August 16. The procedures also provide guidance for wearing masks at NASA facilities. CU Boulder employees working on NASA funded contracts are considered contractors.

The memo states the procedures apply to “remote” contractors; however, this does not apply to any CU Boulder personnel working on NASA contracts unless they work onsite at a NASA facility. This interpretation has been confirmed with Dr. Azhar Rafiq in NASA’s Office of the Chief Health and Medical Officer.

OCG is monitoring any changes to NASA and White House Safer Federal Workforce Task Force guidance that may affect CU Boulder’s research community and will communicate change as needed. If you have questions, please contact Alexa Van Dalsem, Deputy Director, OCG.

Additional information can be found at the following links:

NASA Contractor Related COVID-19 Information

Safer Federal Workforce guidance

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NIH: Important Required Changes to Biosketch and Other Support Forms and Content

Anonymous — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 18:06:36 +0000

NIH: Important Required Changes to Biosketch and Other Support Forms and Content Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 03/25/2021 - 12:06

NIH recently finished a major overhaul to Biosketches and Other Support documents.

Changes will be in effect for all proposals and progress reports (RPPRs) due on/after 05/25/2021.

Full details are available in NOT-OD-21-073. Below are highlights of significant changes.

Biosketch:

Word format or SciENcv template required.
New Biosketch detailed instructions and template link.

Education/Training Changes:

Education/Training: include education and training information in chronological order.

Section “A. Personal Statement” Changes:

Statement can now include ongoing/completed research projects from the past 3 years.

Section “B. Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors” Changes:

‘Positions and Honors’ has been renamed ‘Positions, Scientific Appointments, and Honors’.
List in reverse chronological order all positions and scientific appointments both domestic and foreign, including affiliations with foreign entities or governments. This includes titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time/part-time/voluntary.

Section D removed except for Fellowship Applicants:

For the non-Fellowship Biosketch, Section D has been completely removed.
For the Fellowship Biosketch, Section D has been updated to remove ‘Research Support’ and has been renamed “D. Scholastic Performance”.

Other Support:

Word format template required (SciENcv is still in development).
New Other Support detailed instructions and template link.

Changes include:

The format page has been re-organized to separate funded projects from in-kind contributions. In-kind contributions not intended for use on the proposal being proposed must be reported; in-kind contributions intended for use on the project being proposed should be included in the proposal’s Facilities and Other Resources or Equipment documents and not as part of the Other Support.
In addition to Current and Pending Support, Other Support now requires inclusion of “Completed Support” completed within the past three years. Person months should not to be included for Completed Support.
Signature block added for Principal Investigator or Other Senior/Key Personnel to certify the accuracy of the information submitted. Each PI or Senior/Key Person must electronically sign their respective Other Support form as a PDF prior to submission.
Supporting Documentation: For Other Support submissions that include foreign activities and resources, recipients are required to submit copies of contracts, grants or any other agreement specific to senior/key personnel foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution as supporting documentation. If they are not in English, recipients must provide translated copies. This supporting documentation must be provided as part of the Other Support PDF following the Other Support Format page.

Reminder:

Other Support includes all resources made available to a researcher in support of and/or related to all of their research endeavors, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value and regardless of whether they are based at the institution the researcher identifies for the current grant.

Undisclosed Other Support Discovered:

If there is an omission in your submitted other support document, notify OCG immediately.

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Subrecipient Commitment Form Updated to Address New Sponsor Requirements

Anonymous — Mon, 04 Jan 2021 21:02:13 +0000

Subrecipient Commitment Form Updated to Address New Sponsor Requirements Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 01/04/2021 - 14:02

Important updates have been made to the Subrecipient Commitment Form to address new requirements from the Department of Defense and NIH. This new form replaces all older versions of the form effective immediately for all outgoing sub awards from CU Boulder.

Updates to the Subrecipient Commitment Form

NAICS Code field added for the Small Business Office.

Conflict of Interest (Section 7) includes certification and expectations specific to NIH funded projects that requires subrecipients to report and/or submit all disclosures of significant financial interests to CU Boulder’s Conflict of Interest and Commitment Office.

Department of Defense NIST SP 800-171 Assessment Certification (Section 8) added to comply with the interim rule issued by the Department of Defense, effective November 30, 2020.

This provision and clause require that all subcontractors must have and maintain a current assessment score (less than three years old, using the DCMA assessment methodology) in the Supplier Performance Risk System (SPRS). Prior to issuing any subcontract, CU Boulder must confirm that a current assessment score is in SPRS.

CU Boulder is in compliance with DFARS 252.204-7019 and DFARS 252.204-7020.

Updates to the Subrecipient Statement of Collaborative Intent

Department of Defense NIST SP 800-171 Assessment Certification has been added to the Statement of Collaborative Intent (Letter of Commitment) for Subagreements from institutions participating in the FDP Expanded Clearinghouse.

What is the Subrecipient Commitment Form?

The Subrecipient Commitment Form provides a checklist of documents and certifications required by sponsors for all outgoing subawards from CU Boulder. The form must be signed by the authorized official at the subrecipient’s institution. The form requires the subrecipient to certify that the appropriate programmatic and administrative personnel involved in this application are aware of agency policy in regards to subawards and are prepared to establish the necessary inter-institutional agreements consistent with those policies.

Questions?

Contact ocgsubs@colorado.edu

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NSF Format Requirements for Current and Pending Effective for Post-award Actions and Reports

Anonymous — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:34:27 +0000

NSF Format Requirements for Current and Pending Effective for Post-award Actions and Reports Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 10/22/2020 - 09:34

For the past several months the Office of Contracts and Grants has been relaying communication from the National Science Foundation about the move toward use of SciENcv for creation of biographical sketches and current and pending support forms for new proposals submitted on or after October 5, 2020. In the past few weeks, since implementation of this new requirement we have received automated responses also requiring this format from the NSF system for post-award actions and reports.

Post-award Actions

Though requirements for submitting biographical sketches and/or current and pending support form in SciENcv format are not reflected in NSF’s official communications regarding the new formats, we want to make campus aware that we are seeing these requirements across a broader range of situations than originally described.

Reports

We received email communication about changes to NSF reporting requirements. These changes include:

Addition of question to the Edit Participants Screen: Has there been a change in the active other support of the PI/PD(s) since the last reporting period?
If Principal Investigators (PIs)/Project Directors (PDs) and co-PIs/co-PDs select “Yes” to the above question, they will be required to upload their most up-to-date Current and Pending Support document.
The Current and Pending Support document must be in an NSF-approved format, which are SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae or an NSF fillable PDF. NSF will not accept any other format nor accept reports without this requirement being met.
Addition of the following three questions to the "Impact" and "Changes/Problems" tabs:
- What was the impact on teaching and educational experiences? (Impact tab);
- What percentage of the award’s budget was spent in a foreign country? (Impact tab); and
- Has there been a change in primary performance site location from that originally proposed? (Changes/Problems tab).

Current and Pending Support Format Training Resources

OCG’s SciENcv Instructions

OCG Webinar SciENcv Biosketches, ORCID id and Current Pending

NSF Current and Pending Support Video Tutorial

NSF-specific Bookshelf Resource (includes screenshots and step-by-step instructions)

For questions about these new requirements and post-award actions, contact your Grant Officer. For questions about new reporting requirements, email ocgreports@colorado.edu.

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NSF proposals on or after Oct. 5 must use new Biosketch and Current and Pending forms

Anonymous — Wed, 09 Sep 2020 21:47:58 +0000

NSF proposals on or after Oct. 5 must use new Biosketch and Current and Pending forms Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/09/2020 - 15:47

All NSF proposals submitted or due on or after October 5 must use the required Biosketch and Current and Pending forms. OCG has put together a number of resources to help with these upcoming changes:

For Biosketches and Current and Pending, NSF will only allow upload of approved, validated formats, which are available through SciENcv in My NCBI. Instructions for signing up and creating your document can be found at SciENcv Instructions; direct access to SciENcv is at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/
CU is a member of the ORCiD US Community consortium. ORCiD is a unique identifier, and provides a framework to manage your research contributions and related activities across the scholarly communication ecosystem (ORCiD US Community). By using ORCiD, it is very easy to keep your SciENcv records updated, so please make sure your ORCiD profile is created or updated. ORCiD Instructions; direct access to ORCiD is at https://orcid.org/signin
Finally, we recorded the last webinar we gave with detailed information about SciENcv Biosketches, ORCID id and Current Pending and it is available on the OCG YouTube Channel.

Please share this information with any colleagues you know who may be preparing to submit to NSF. If you have any questions or need assistance, please reach out to your department's assigned Proposal Analyst in the Office of Contracts and Grants.

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NSF Research.gov Expansion and Upcoming Proposal Submission Changes

Anonymous — Thu, 09 Apr 2020 16:07:01 +0000

NSF Research.gov Expansion and Upcoming Proposal Submission Changes Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/09/2020 - 10:07

NSF has made a number of changes and enhancements to proposal submissions. The following summary highlights these changes and effective dates.

NSF collaborative submissions can now be submitted in Research.gov. Please consult with your OCG Proposal Analyst on how to initiate an application through Research.gov, and how to link collaborative proposals.
Reminder: NSF approved formats for Biosketches and Current and Pending will be required for all submissions starting June 1. At the moment, these approved formats are only available through SciENcv in My NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/
In preparation of required June 1 implementation, OCG Proposal Analysts will begin recommending use of the new NSF formats starting May 1.
Training resources for SciENcv Biosketches can be found at SciENcv Instructions. For a seamless interface between ORCiD ID and SciENcv, please make sure your ORCiD profile is created/updated; instructions for this can be found at ORCiD ID instructions
Resources and guidance documents concerning Research.gov and NSF required templates will be available on OCG’s webpage by late April.

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