MEMO FROM THE OFFICE OF SPONSORED PROGRAMS (OSP)

Re: Possible Federal Government Shutdown (September 2023)

There is currently a real possibility that a U.S. Federal Government shutdown may occur by the start of the federal fiscal year (October 1^st).  There is still hope that a positive resolution to the situation can be agreed upon by our Congressional leaders in the coming days (or weeks) ahead. Nevertheless, we wanted to provide an "FYI" to the campus to notify them that a shutdown is being considered and is plausible and could have some impacts on grants and contracts that the institution has with the Federal Government.

Every shutdown is different and this one could also be unique. However, if past is precedent, then we may have at least a basic idea of what to expect during what we hope will be a brief shutdown. A few examples below reveal what we might see if there is a shutdown:

• In the past Grants.gov continued to take proposal submissions, even though some of the e 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 published deadline. 

• NSF Fastlane (now NSF Research.gov) did shutdown during the last shutdown in 2018 which lasted 35 days. Fastlane allowed for late proposal submissions due to the shutdown, but provided very little turnaround time--and thus very little "leniency"--once the shutdown ended and systems resumed normal operation.  Therefore, the Office of Sponsored Programs is recommending that we continue with "business as usual" submitting proposals by their due dates to ensure maximum opportunity for eventual award.

• A shutdown will result in the delayed receipt of new awards, increments, modifications, and extensions from the affected Federal agencies.

By referencing a summary of experiences of past government shutdowns, the Council on Government Relations (COGR) has compiled a list of items institutions should consider in preparation for a shutdown. This list is not official guidance, nor is it completely exhaustive; however, it does offer some good examples and insights into how to prepare your institution in the event that a shutdown does occur.

Historically, the impacts from a shutdown are typically agency-specific {and in some instances, they might even be award-specific).  Below is a link to agency-specific information that is available at this time (as of Tuesday September 26, 2023}:

                                 White House Contingency Plans

OSP, OCGA, and ORCA will continue to monitor the news and situations that are constantly developing in regards to the possible shutdown.  We will provide updates and guidance throughout the legislative process as they become available. At this time, the Office of Sponsored Programs is recommending we continue with business as usual.

Our goal is to help inform UMBC's research and Creative Achievement community with what the next necessary steps and procedures might be.  And we sincerely hope that the required federal funding bills are soon passed or that a Continuing Resolution (CR) is obtained to at least stabilize the current funding volatility.

Best Regards,

Michael T. Walsh

Director, OSP

***reposted from OSP***

SciENcv is an NCBI tool for creating biosketches and financial support documents necessary for NIH or NSF grant proposals. This workshop is tailored to principal investigators and staff involved in proposal development who have no or limited experience with SciENcv.

NCBI has Account Tools to assist in the creation and production of these documents for both agencies. Through practical, task-oriented activities, participants will gain hands-on experience and general understanding of the document-creation process. We will also be highlighting the new and improved SciENcv interface for creating NSF Biosketches, which NSF grant submitters will be required to use starting October 23, 2023.

In this workshop you will learn:

• How to create and export an NIH or NSF biosketch and other award support documents using SciENcv
• What information is needed to become a delegate and their function
• How to use My Bibliography to create and store a reference list

A Q&A period will be held at the end of this workshop to discuss questions and issues of interest for the participants. However, please note that we will not address specific NIH and NSF policy changes or cover post-award processes.

Visit the link in this post to register by October 4th!

SciENcv is an NCBI tool for creating biosketches and financial support documents necessary for NIH or NSF grant proposals. This workshop is tailored to principal investigators and staff involved in proposal development who have no or limited experience with SciENcv.

NCBI has Account Tools to assist in the creation and production of these documents for both agencies. Through practical, task-oriented activities, participants will gain hands-on experience and general understanding of the document-creation process. We will also be highlighting the new and improved SciENcv interface for creating NSF Biosketches, which NSF grant submitters will be required to use starting October 23, 2023.

In this workshop you will learn:

• How to create and export an NIH or NSF biosketch and other award support documents using SciENcv
• What information is needed to become a delegate and their function
• How to use My Bibliography to create and store a reference list

A Q&A period will be held at the end of this workshop to discuss questions and issues of interest for the participants. However, please note that we will not address specific NIH and NSF policy changes or cover post-award processes.

Visit the link in this post to register by October 4th!

On today's episode, Dr. Ian Anson speaks with Dr. Susan Sterett, Professor in the School of Public Policy at UMBC, about her recent book (link below).

Litigating the Pandemic: Disaster Cascades in Court (UPenn Press)

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About The Series

Deadlines:

OTD must be notified of your intent to submit a proposal by Friday, September 22, 2023. 

The final deadline for proposal submissions is Friday, October 13, 2023. Please be advised that several preliminary steps must be completed prior to final submission. Finalists must be available to present their proposals to the review committee on Friday, November 3, 2023. Awardees will be notified by the end of the year, with an anticipated starting date of January 8, 2024.

Contact: Interested applicants should contact Wendy Martin, Director, OTD at wmartin@umbc.edu  to request the Proposal Process and Executive Summary Checklist and the Cover Form

·         NIH Final Updated Policy Guidance for Subaward/Consortium Written Agreements

·         Notice Number: NOT-OD-23-182

·         Previous Notice Number: NOT-OD-23-133

·         https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-23-182.html

Purpose

·        In response to audits conducted by the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and by the Government Accountability Office (GAO), NIH published a Notice in the Federal Register (88 FR 36603) on June 5, 2023, outlining its plans to update the NIH Grants Policy Statement, section 15.2, to require that foreign subrecipients provide copies of all lab notebooks, all data, and all documentation that supports the research outcomes as described in the progress report, to the primary recipient no less than once every six months. NIH has received extensive feedback and is issuing this Notice to respond and to issue a final revised Notice.

This notice updates the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS), Section 15.2, which outlines the requirements for consortium/subaward agreements on NIH-funded grants. These updates will be incorporated into the GPS in the FY24 publication. This updated guidance is effective October 1, 2023. A Federal Register Notice announcing the updates will be posted in the coming weeks.

Updated Policy Guidance

Effective January 1, 2024, section 15.2 will be updated to include the following clarifications (changes are bold and italicized):

15.2 ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER REQUIREMENTS

The following highlights several areas within the consortium relationship that the recipient needs to address with consortium organizations receiving subawards under a grant to ensure compliance with NIH requirements. The requirement for a written agreement addressing these and other areas is specified in this section.  NIH will not support any agreement that does not meet the minimum requirements outlined in the written agreement section below (15.2.1). NIH reserves the right to request copies of the written agreement and relevant supporting documentation as needed, as part of its oversight responsibilities. Failure to provide requested documentation may lead to remedies for noncompliance and potential enforcement actions (see 8.5, Specific award conditions and remedies for noncompliance).

NIH expects recipients to ask potential subrecipients, at the application stage, to submit language in their letters of support indicating their awareness of these requirements and the subrecipient’s willingness to abide by all requirements should an award be issued.

Note that most of these requirements only apply to a recipient’s consortium relationships with sub-recipients. When the relationship is with a vendor that is providing routine goods and services within normal business operations that are ancillary to the operation of the research program, the public policy requirements listed below do not apply. The vendor must also be providing similar goods and services to many different purchasers and provide them in a competitive environment.

15.2.1 Written Agreement

The recipient must enter into a formal written agreement, signed, and agreed to by both parties, with each consortium participant/subrecipient that addresses the negotiated arrangements for meeting the scientific, administrative, financial, and reporting requirements of the grant, including those necessary to ensure compliance with all applicable Federal regulations and policies and facilitate an efficient collaborative venture. If a subrecipient is unwilling to accept the requirements outlined in this section, by signing a written agreement, then an agreement cannot be issued. At a minimum, this agreement must include the following:

Note: All current requirements remain in place, with the addition of:

·        For foreign subrecipients, a provision requiring the foreign subrecipient to provide access to copies of all lab notebooks, all data, and all documentation that supports the research outcomes as described in the progress report, to the primary recipient with a frequency of no less than once per year, in alignment with the timing requirements for Research Performance Progress Report submission. Such access may be entirely electronic.

Please refer to the full Notice for further details as this is only an excerpt of the new requirement. 

Should you have any questions, please contact OSP.