NIH and NSF Recent Updates and Need to Know Items

This page serves to provide important NSF and NIH updates and guide/policy notices relevant to UB faculty and staff for proposal submissions and award administration.

Modified December 14, 2020

On this page:

Other Support (including Foreign Support and Commitments) Guidance

NIH has released clarifying guidance regarding the reporting of Other Support, emphasizing the need to report support for all of an investigator’s research endeavors, including foreign support, in-kind support, and support received through another professional appointment (e.g., a VA appointment or a Visiting Professor appointment). Other support information is requested by NIH for Just-in-Time (JIT) and annual progress reports (RPPRs).

Recent NIH Guide Notices of Interest

Notice ID Number

Issue Date

Pre/Post award concern

Notice Title

NOT-OD-21-088 23-Mar-2021 Post Continued Extension of Certain Flexibilities for Prospective Basic Experimental Studies With Human Participants
NOT-OD-21-110 28-Apr-2021 Both Implementation of Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page
NOT-OD-21-073 12-Mar-2021 Both Upcoming Changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format Page for Due Dates on or after May 25, 2021
NOT-OD-21-058 29-Jan-2021 Both Notice of Fiscal Policies in Effect for FY 2021
NOT-OD-21-057 29-Jan-2021 Both Guidance on Salary Limitations for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2021

NOT-OD-21-041

11-Dec-20

Post

Clarification on Prohibition on Expending NIH Grant Funds for Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services

NOT-OD-21-030

27-Nov-20

Post

Prohibition on Expending NIH Grant Funds for Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services

NOT-OD-21-026

4-Nov-20

Pre

Guidance for Applicants Preparing Applications During the COVID-19 Pandemic

NOT-OD-21-013

29-Oct-20

Both

New Policy for Data Management and Sharing

NOT-OD-21-009

21-Oct-20

Both

NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution

NOT-OD-20-179 30-Sept-20 Pre Extending the Special Exception to the NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Post-Submission Material Policy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: August/October 2021 Councils

NOT-OD-20-178

1-Oct-20

Post

Requirement for Trainee Diversity Report to be Submitted Electronically for Institutional Research Training, Career Development, and Research Education Awards Beginning in Early FY 2021

NOT-OD-20-174

16-Sep-20

Pre

Reminder: NIH Policy on Use of Hypertext in NIH Grant Applications

NSF Biosketches

Revised format effective October 5, 2020

There are now two approved formats for creating NSF biographical sketches: 1) SciENcv or 2) NSF Fillable PDF.  Proposals that do not use one of these formats will be returned without review.

NSF Current and Pending Support

Revised format effective October 5, 2020

There are now two approved formats for creating NSF Current and Pending Support documents: 1) SciENcv or 2) NSF Fillable PDF.  Proposals that do not use one of these formats will be returned without review.

Current and Pending Support includes all resources made available to an individual in support of and/or related to all of his/her research efforts, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value. Current and pending support also includes in-kind contributions (such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees, students. In-kind contributions not intended for use on the project/proposal being proposed also must be reported.

Revision to Project Reporting System in Research.gov

Effective October 5, 2020

The NSF enhanced the Project Reporting System in Research.gov to implement the revised Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The RPPR is a uniform format for reporting performance progress on Federally funded research projects and research related activities. NSF awardees use the RPPR to prepare and submit annual and final project reports to NSF.

Important Notice 147, Research.gov Implementation Update

September 22, 2020

NSF is taking proactive steps to incrementally move the preparation and submission of all proposals from FastLane to Research.gov with a tentative target date for completion by 2022. In the coming months, NSF will begin making changes to specific funding opportunities to require the use of Research.gov for the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF. NSF funding opportunities will clearly specify whether submission via Research.gov is available or required.