Here is a quick rundown of the functionality of the extramural funding systems of some of the major Federal sponsors.  If you have any questions please contact OSP and if we don’t have the answer we will do our best to find out in this highly fluid situation.   Of course we are all hoping for a quick resolution.

NSF

Reseasrch.gov and Fastlane are down for the duration of the shutdown.  Basically you should continue to work on any funded NSF projects but other than that NSF is shutdown.  Presumably once the shutdown is over they will allow for submission of any proposals that had submit dates during the shutdown.  This is usually on extremely short turn around so we advise that you still have any proposals completed and ready to upload to Fastlane on short notice.

https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/postshutdown.jsp

NIH

So far there is very limited information out of NIH.  During the 2013 shutdown it was advised not to submit proposals during the shutdown but we have not been able to find specific information for 2018.  On the DHHS page is says that no action will be taken on extramural awards during the shutdown.  I would suggest going ahead and having any grants.gov workspace packages completed.  At this time it appears Grants.gov and NIH Commons are up and running.  Work should continue on already funded NIH awards.

https://www.hhs.gov/about/budget/fy-2018-hhs-contingency-staffing-plan/index.html

NOAA

NOAA’s Grants Online system is not functioning during any shutdown.  Unfortunately NOAA has not made any statements about proposal submission. If you have a proposal due during the shutdown we would advise going ahead and completing the proposal in Grants.gov Work Space so we can attempt to submit during the deadline.  Work should continue on already funded NOAA awards.

https://rgw.arizona.edu/sites/default/files/noaa_2018_shutdown.pdf

NASA

Again, specific advice on NASA proposals is a bit hard to come by.  Best guess is that they will follow the same as the notice for government proposers which is that deadlines missed during the shutdown will be extended (see link below).  In November NASA submitted an updated plan for shutdowns but it does not include proposal submission.   That plan is also linked below. Work should continue on currently funded NASA awards. NSPIRES does appear to be functioning.

https://science.nasa.gov/researchers/sara/grant-solicitations/roses-2017/possible-government-shutdown

https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/171130_revised_shutdown_plan.pdf

This is what we know as of 8:00 this morning (1/22/2018).  As we receive new information we will update this group.  For any questions please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.

While we continue to hope that there will be a positive resolution to this situation it is certainly possible  we may be facing a partial shutdown of the Federal Government.  While we know what has happened in the past, we do not know if things will be the same this time. In the past Grants.gov continued to take submissions, even though some of the Federal agency systems that receive proposals from Grants.gov were not operational. However, to ensure that proposals were counted as submitted on time they still needed to be submitted to Grants.gov by the deadline.  NSF Fastlane did shutdown last time and allowed for late submissions due to the shutdown, but basically gave very little turnaround time once they were back up.  Therefore, the Office of Sponsored Programs is recommending that we continue with business as usual submitting proposals by their due dates.  If this changes we will communicate any changes.

If there is shutdown new awards and increments will undoubtably be delayed.

Below is a link to agency specific information that is available at this time, but I have checked some of the links and they do not all link to documents at this time.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/agency-contingency-plans/

I want to assure you that OSP and OVPR will continue to monitor the situation and stay in communication.

Thank you,

Stan Jackson

Director, OSP

Why Project Outcomes Matter in your Interim and Final RPPR

The next time you are filling out your interim or final Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) for your NIH grant, pay special attention to writing the project Outcomes section (Section I). That’s because any project outcomes submitted on or after Oct. 1, 2017 will be made available to the general public via NIH’s Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORTER).

You may wonder why the scientific community needs to report on outcomes and why we are making the outcomes available to the public. Reviewing reported outcomes is part of our stewardship of the public’s investment in research. Publicly posting grant outcomes provides transparency and lets the taxpayer understand what they have paid for (We informed you that outcomes would be made public in Guide Notices NOT-OD-17-085, NOT-OD-17-037 and NOT-OD-17-022). Therefore, it is important for grantees to write the outcomes for the public appropriately. Keep the description of outcomes concise and crisp, written for the layman in clear and comprehensible language. Do not include any proprietary or confidential information or trade secrets. Aim for Grade 10, so that even a 15 to 16-year-old will be able to understand the results of your research (see our pointers on using plain language to communicate the value of your research).

To help the research community understand what is an acceptable report, I wrote up a specific example from my time at the Cleveland Clinic on the outcome of a R01 funded study from 2001-2004 on ‘Heart Rate Recovery and Mortality.’ It wasn’t easy to break it down into non-scientific speak. I ran my first attempt through a readability checker and it reflected a Grade 12 understanding. I tried again and eventually succeeded in getting it down to a Grade 10 level.

Note that NIH will publish outcomes exactly as they are submitted by the grantee. So, it is critical that this item in the report is written for the lay person. While NIH program officials (POs) will review this item in the Final RPPR or Interim RPPR for elements such as relevancy (i.e. it is a description of project outcome and not unrelated comments that the grantee would not want to see on the Internet), they will not edit the text submitted.  POs may contact PIs to submit revised project outcomes, using the capability in eRA Commons to submit additional materials for interim and final RPPRs (see Guide Notice NOT-OD-18-103). But it is imperative that the PI provide the text (in the web form, not as an attachment) exactly as the PI would like it to appear to the general public on RePORTER. What you write in that web form is what the public will see!

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to alert the NIH extramural community that NIH is strengthening enforcement of longstanding closeout requirements, outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.6, Closeout. NIH has consistently reminded recipients of their responsibility to submit timely, accurate final grant expenditure reports, and has communicated the critical need for recipients to reconcile cash transaction reports submitted to the HHS Payment Management System (PMS) with expenditure reports submitted to NIH.  In order to fulfill agency requirements under the Grants Oversight and New Efficiency (GONE) Act and HHS grants policy, NIH will no longer delay the closeout of awards unless the recipient submits a prior approval request to the IC providing an acceptable written justification..  Without prior approval from the awarding IC, NIH will initiate unilateral closeout for all awards that fail to meet closeout requirements within 120 days as required by the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIH GPS) Section 8.6. See below for details.

Background

Recipient Responsibilities

The requirement for timely closeout is generally a recipient responsibility. However, NIH may initiate unilateral closeout if a recipient does not provide timely, accurate closeout reports or does not respond timely to NIH requests to reconcile discrepancies in grant records.

NIH recipients must submit a Final Federal Financial Report (FFR), Final Research Performance Progress Report (F-RPPR), and Final Invention Statement and Certification (FIS) within 120 calendar days of the end of the period of performance (project period), as required in section 8.6 of the NIH GPS. The reports become overdue the day after the 120 calendar day period ends. Cash transaction data continues to be submitted directly to and processed by PMS. It is the recipient's responsibility to reconcile reports submitted to PMS and to the NIH awarding Institute or Center.

NIH Actions

NIH is committed to addressing and reducing grant closeout delays and to enhance compliance with HHS regulations and policies, and the GONE Act.  Therefore, NIH will strictly enforce its closeout policies. When recipients fail to submit timely reports, NIH will initiate unilateral closeout. It is important to note that for financial closeout, if a recipient fails to submit a final expenditure FFR, HHS policy directs NIH to close the grant using the last accepted Federal Cash Transaction Report’s cash drawdown amount. This could be considered a debt or result in disallowed costs.  In addition, failure to correct recurring reporting problems may cause NIH to take one or more actions that may include, but are not limited to, corrective actions, withholding of further awards, suspension or termination.

DATE:  November 15, 2017

TO:    Business Managers/Department Chairs/Center Directors/Faculty

FROM:Stan Jackson

RE:     OSP deadlines over the Winter Break, Dec. 23, 2017 – Jan. 1, 2018

________________________________________________________________

 This is a special announcement concerning the OSP schedule for reviewing/approving proposals with deadlines to federal and other agencies that occur during Winter Break this year. 

 Please note:

 All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between December 23, 2017 and January 1, 2018 must be fully routed, ready for submission, and released to the OSP office by the close of business on December 19, 2017; and: all proposals with submission deadlines occurring between January 2 - 3, 2018 (the first 2 business days after the break) will be due to OSP by the close of business on December 20 & 21, 2017, respectively.

 This schedule is consistent with our current policy, which requires the submission of complete proposals to OSP at least three business days before the agency submission deadline, since OSP will be closed during the Winter Break. 

 The campus closure during Winter Break will cause a heavy workload on OSP staff, so we will enforce our current policy more consistently.  Proposals received after the OSP deadlines specified above will be reviewed on a first come first serve basis and will be submitted only if time permits.  

Thank you for your understanding.