***reposted from UMBC AI***

As part of the 2nd Annual HDR Machine Learning Challenge, UMBC's iHARP project, along with other NSF HDR Institutes, is hosting a kick-off virtual hackathon on December 18th (2 - 5 PM EST) that will take palce in Gathertown.

They invite students, researchers, and practitioners of ALL levels to join in. See flyer here. Interested students and faculty can register here to receive participant details. Teams/Groups are welcome! 

UMBC's IHARP team looks forward to seeing you in Gathertown for the virtual hackathon on December 18.

DATE:           12/09/2025

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

FROM:          Michael T. Walsh, Director, Office of Sponsored Programs

RE:               OSP Winter Break Deadlines: Dec. 24, 2025 - Jan. 2, 2026

________________________________________________________________

This is a special announcement concerning the OSP schedule for reviewing/approving proposals with deadlines to Federal, State, and Other Agencies that occur during UMBC's Winter Break this year. 

Please note the following:

1.     UMBC's Winter holiday break is currently scheduled to begin at COB (5 PM) on Tuesday December 23rd (first full day of holiday vacation is thus Wednesday December 24th)  and goes through Thursday January 1^st, 2026.   

2.  All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Wednesday December 23rd    and Friday January 2, 2026 must be fully routed, ready for submission, and released to the OSP office for final review and submission by the close of business on Thursday December 18, 2025; and

3. All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Monday January 5th and Wednesday January 7th, 2026  will be due to OSP by 9 AM on Monday, December 22, 2025.

This schedule is consistent with our current policy, which requires the submission of complete proposals to OSP at least three (3) FULL business days before the agency submission deadline. Since UMBC is closed during the Winter Break, OSP will also be closed and OSP personnel will not be available during the Winter Break for consultation or proposal submission(s). 

The campus closure during Winter Break traditionally has imparted a heavy workload on OSP staff. Therefore, we will enforce our current policy more consistently, with little maneuverability.   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. 

In keeping with the deadline enforcement policy of ORCA (Division of the Vice President for Research & Creative Achievement), any proposal not fully routed and ready for submission by 9:00 a.m. of the deadline date will not be submitted to the agency.  If the deadline occurs over Winter Break, please refer to the deadline presented in #2 above.

Thank you for your understanding...and best wishes for a great Holiday season and Winter Break.

Best Regards,

Dr. Michael T. Walsh

Director

UMBC Office of Sponsored Programs

The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is releasing a Policy Notice for its 2024 Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The PAPPG documents the agency's proposal and award process, which govern the management of grants and cooperative agreements.

NSF will defer release of the 26-1 version of the PAPPG, previously developed and planned for publication in Fiscal Year 2026, to ensure alignment with forthcoming Uniform Grant Guidance updates. NSF will issue policy revisions via supplemental Policy Notices in the interim.

Please refer to the full notice linked above for specific changes. 

If you have questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs. 

Updated Application Policies: NIH Administrative Burden Reduction Effort – Removal of Requirements for Letters of Intent and Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500,000 or More in Direct Costs

Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-019

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-019.html

Purpose

This Notice alerts the extramural research community of two important updates related to application submission policies.

Letters of Intent

Effective immediately NIH will no longer request or accept Letters of Intent (LOIs) as part of the application process. NIH has occasionally requested LOIs within Section IV of the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to help Institute, Center, and Office (ICO) staff estimate the potential peer review workload and recruit reviewers. An LOI was never required, binding, nor considered during the peer review process.

Given NIH's centralization of peer review processes to improve efficiency and strengthen integrity through the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), the LOI is no longer serving the same purpose to estimate ICO workload. To further increase efficiency and minimize applicant burden, NIH is removing the LOI from the application process.

LOIs that have been submitted will not be acknowledged nor reviewed by the respective ICO or CSR. Potential applicants are encouraged to review NOFO instructions carefully as they are subject to change.

Unsolicited Applications Requesting $500,000 or More in Direct Costs

Effective immediately, NIH will no longer require applicants requesting $500,000 or more in direct costs (excluding consortium F&A costs) in any one budget period to contact the funding Institute or Center (IC) before application submission. In line with this change, applicants are no longer required to include a cover letter identifying the Program Official contact which notes that the IC has agreed to accept assignment of the application.

All active NOFOs containing this requirement are superseded by this Notice and will be updated going forward. In addition, the NIH Application Guide and Grants Policy Statement will be updated in their next iteration to remove this requirement.

Please refer to the full notice linked above for further details.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.

NIH's Implementation of Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2026

Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-018

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-018.html

Purpose

NIH is adopting the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support as per the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) memorandum on Policy Regarding Use of Common Disclosure Forms. This Guide Notice provides details for the Common Forms, NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement, and instructions required for use for application due dates and Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submissions on or after January 25, 2026.

 Please refer to the full notice linked above for further details.

 Should you have any questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.

Research Security Training Requirements for NIH

Notice Number: NOT-OD-26-017

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-26-017.html

Purpose

This notice notifies the extramural community of the NIH implementation of the Research Security Training (RST) requirements outlined in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-167).

In accordance with Section 10634 of Act, each covered individual (for NIH this is defined as senior/key personnel) listed on an NIH grant application must certify that they have completed RST within 12 months of the date of application submission. NIH does not collect Current and Pending (Other) Support at the time of application based on our Just-in-Time policy. Therefore, NIH will collect the individual certification at the time of the application submission, through the Biographical Sketch in SciENcv.

The Act also requires applicant institutions to certify that each covered individual who is employed by the institution and listed on the application has completed RST. The Authorized Organization Representative (AOR), via their signature on the face page of the application, will certify the applicant institution's compliance with this requirement.

Applicants and recipients may utilize any training that addresses cybersecurity, international collaboration, foreign interference, and rules for proper use of funds, disclosure, conflict of commitment, and conflict of interest. NSF, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Defense (DOD), have provided four online RST modules as a resource to the extramural community. Subsequently, the SECURE Center developed an updated and condensed version of the four modules. The condensed RST module is designed to meet the government-wide RST requirement in Section 10634 of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 (42 U.S.C. § 19234). To that end, NIH also recognizes completion of the condensed module as compliant with the respective RST requirements.

Effective Date: At this time, the research security training requirement is optional. Completion of RST and the individual and institutional certifications will be effective for applications submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2026.

Please refer to the full notice linked above for further details.

Should you have any questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs.