Category Archives: Agency Specific

Having Challenges Tracking Down Students and Postdocs at the Time of the RPPR? Here is a Tip to Make It Easier…

Posted on by

Having challenges tracking down students and postdocs at the time of reporting? Establishing a process where you have students and postdocs establish an eRA Commons account at the time they start working on an NIH grant award can save you a lot of time and energy trying to track down people who may no longer be at your institution at the time of your Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submission. You may even want to have them create an ORCID ID as well! (In case you missed it, read the November 2017 Open Mike blog post to learn more about eRA Commons and ORCID integration.) (From NIH ExtramuralNexus, 1/30/2018)

The NIH and Other PHS Agency Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Instruction Guide states that information must be provided or updated for all PIs/PDs and each person who has worked at least one person month per year on the project during the reporting period, including graduate students, undergraduate students, and high school students (p.82-83).

Additional information about ORCID can be found in a NIH ExtramuralNexus post from November 15, 2017 titled “Teaming with ORCID to Reduce Burden and Improve Transparency.”

To register individuals in the NIH eRA Commons, please contact your Sr. Grant Coordinator in the Office of Research Administration with the individual’s name and UA email address.

Recent Changes to NSF Budget Justification – Senior Personnel Salary Support

Posted on by

As a general policy, NSF limits the salary compensation requested in the proposal budget for senior personnel to no more than two months of their regular salary in any one year. (See Exhibit II-7 for the definitions of Senior Personnel.) It is the organization’s responsibility to define and consistently apply the term “year”, and to specify this definition in the budget justification. This limit includes salary compensation received from all NSF-funded grants. (NSF 18-1)

To comply with this requirement, the following language should be included in all NSF budget justifications:  “The PIs are cognizant of the NSF policy that restricts NSF support to two months in any year.  For purposes of this restriction, The University of Akron defines a year as January-December.”

Information about all recent NSF changes to proposals can be found in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG, publication number NSF 18-1) or in the ORA document outlining the most significant NSF Changes-Effective Jan. 29 2018-rev.020218.

 

NSF – Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (NSF INCLUDES)

Posted on by

Internal Limited Submission Deadline to the Office of Research Administration: Friday, February 16, 2018 at 5pm.

NSF Deadline: April 4, 2018

Solicitation: 18-529

NSF INCLUDES (Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science) is a comprehensive national initiative designed to enhance U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discoveries and innovations by focusing on broadening participation in these fields at scale. The vision of NSF INCLUDES is to catalyze the STEM enterprise to collaboratively work for inclusive change, which will result in a STEM workforce that reflects the population of the Nation. The initiative is developing a National Network composed of NSF INCLUDES Design and Development Launch Pilots, NSF INCLUDES Alliances, an NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub, NSF-funded broadening participation projects, other relevant NSF-funded projects, scholars engaged in broadening participation research, and other organizations that support the development of talent from all sectors of society to build an inclusive STEM workforce. The successful implementation of NSF INCLUDES will result in substantial advances toward a diverse, innovative, and well-prepared STEM workforce to support our Nation’s economy and continued U.S. leadership in the global STEM enterprise. It is anticipated that NSF’s investment will contribute to new and improved STEM career pathways, policies, opportunities to learn, and practices for equity and inclusion. The initiative will be supported by the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub (NSF 17-591) that will provide a framework for communication and networking, network assistance and reinforcement, and visibility and expansion for the NSF INCLUDES National Network as a whole.  This solicitation offers opportunities for NSF INCLUDES Alliances.

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 1 proposal (as a lead institution on an Alliance proposal)

For full program details visit the NSF INCLUDES webpage.

For details regarding The University of Akron’s limited submission process, visit the ORA Limited Submission webpage.

How to Register for Grants.gov Workspace Access

Posted on by

Beginning 1/1/2018, all Grants.gov proposals will be submitted through Workspace.  Similar to NSF’s FastLane, investigators will now be able to initiate new proposals online and multiple individuals will be able to work on the proposal forms simultaneously.

You do NOT need to register for Grants.gov Workspace in order to be a University of Akron PI, Co-I, Senior Personnel, etc. However, Grants.gov Workspace registration IS required in order to start workspaces (i.e. proposals), to complete or upload documents, to view in-progress proposals yourself, and to track submitted proposals.

If you with to register for Grants.gov Workspace access, please access the link: Grants.gov Registration and Workspace Access.

Additional information about Workspace as well as helpful resources can be found here: Grants.gov Workspace Information.

For questions or additional information, please contact The University of Akron Office of Research Administration or the Sr. Grant Coordinator assigned to your college or department (look up ORA Staff assignments).

NSF Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information – Updated

Posted on by

As part of the updated NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), effective 1/29/2018, the Collaborators & Other Affiliations required information and template have been updated.  The below information is from the 2018 PAPPG Summary of Significant Changes.

Chapter II.C.1.e, Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information, has been significantly revised to request information regarding collaborators and other affiliations (COA) be provided through use of a standard NSF COA template. Footnotes also have been added to address frequently asked questions relating to the new COA template.

The new COA template and instructions are now available on NSF’s COA page. NSF specifically warns investigators that “some information requested in prior versions of the PAPPG is no longer requested; THIS IS PURPOSEFUL AND WE NO LONGER REQUIRE THIS INFORMATION TO BE REPORTED,” and reminds investigators to not alter the fillable form.

This document is required for all Principal Investigators (PIs), co-PIs and other senior project personnel identified in NSF proposals.  All prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to complete the form well before a proposal deadline.  Once the template has been completed, it may be updated as needed and reused for subsequent NSF proposals.

Please contact ORA or your Sr. Grant Coordinator if you have any questions or concerns about the NSF COA requirement.