MEMORANDUM

DATE:              3/11/2022

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

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

RE:                  OSP Spring Break: March 21– March 23, 2022

________________________________________________________________

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 Spring Break this year. 

Please note the following:

1. All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Monday,  March 21st and Wednesday,  March 23^rd 2022 must be fully routed by Wednesday, March 16^th, and be released to the OSP office in a “ready to submit” form for final review and submission no later than 9 AM on Friday, March 18, 2022;

This schedule is consistent with our current policy, which requires the submission of complete proposals to OSP at least three (3) business days before the agency submission deadline. Since UMBC is closed during Spring Break, OSP will also be closed. 

Proposals received after the OSP deadlines specified above will be reviewed on a first-come/first-serve basis and submitted only if time permits.  In keeping with the deadline enforcement policy of OVPR, any proposal not fully routed and ready for submission by 9:00 AM of the deadline date will not be submitted to the agency. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Best Regards,

Dr. Michael T. Walsh

Director

·         Final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing

·         Notice Number: NOT-OD-21-013

·         National Institutes of Health

·     https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-013.html

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued the final NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing (DMS Policy) to promote the management and sharing of scientific data generated from NIH-funded or conducted research. This Policy establishes the requirements of submission of Data Management and Sharing Plans (hereinafter Plans) and compliance with NIH Institute, Center, or Office (ICO)-approved Plans.

Under the new policy, which will go into effect on 25 January, all NIH grant applications for projects that collect scientific data must include a ‘data management and sharing’ (DMS) plan that contains details about the software or tools needed to analyse the data, when and where the raw data will be published and any special considerations for accessing or distributing that data.

PLEASE REVIEW GUIDE NOTICE FOR FULL DETAILS.

·         Notice of Special Interest (NOSI): Administrative Supplements to Recognize Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship

·         Notice Number: NOT-OD-22-057

·         National Institutes of Health

·         https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-057.html

NIH has announced the availability of a new administrative supplements to support Diversity Mentorship.  Qualified investigators can now submit proposals in response to the Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity (COSWD)-led Notice of Special Interest (NOSI) NOT-OD-22-057: Administrative Supplements to Recognize Excellence in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Mentorship. Proposals are due by April 7, 2022.

PLEASE REVIEW GUIDE NOTICE FOR FULL DETAILS.

·         Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements 

·         Notice Number: NOT-OD-22-076

·         National Institutes of Health

·         https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-076.html

New salary levels for the federal executive pay scale were released earlier this year, raising the limitation for Executive Level II to $203,700. Recipients of active awards that were restricted to the previous level can rebudget if adequate funds are available.

Once the Department of Health and Human Services Appropriation for FY 2022 is enacted, NIH will publish the annual Notice of legislative mandates to provide information on any statutory provisions that limit the use of NIH grant funds in FY 2022.

PLEASE REVIEW GUIDE NOTICE FOR FULL DETAILS.

NIH Operates Under a Continuing Resolution

Notice Number:  NOT-OD-22-045

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-045.html

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including National Institutes of Health (NIH), operates under the Further Extending Government Funding Act (Public Law 117-70) signed by President Biden on December 3, 2021. This Act (CR) continues government operations through February 18, 2022 at the FY 2021 enacted level, with no reduction.

Continuing the procedures identified under NOT-OD-21-058 and consistent with NIH practices during the CRs of FYs 2006 - 2021, NIH Institutes and/or Centers may, at their discretion, issue non-competing research grant awards at a level below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award. Upward adjustments to awarded levels will be considered after FY 2022 appropriations are enacted, but NIH expects institutions to monitor their expenditures carefully during this period. All legislative mandates that were in effect in FY 2021 (see NOT-OD-21-056) remain in effect under this CR, as well as the salary limitation set at Executive Level II of the Federal Pay Scale (see NOT-OD-21-057) and the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award predoctoral and postdoctoral stipend levels and tuition/fees as described in NOT-OD-21-049.

Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) for FY 2022

https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2022/01/11/revised-nih-grants-policy-statement-for-fy-2022/

The revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS) has been published, replacing the April 2021 version as standard terms and conditions of award. This revision applies to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2021.

Extending Existing Guidance for Preparing Applications During COVID-19

https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2022/01/11/extending-existing-guidance-for-preparing-applications-during-covid-19/

For Spring 2022 due dates, NIH recently extended the guidance that while grant applications should not include contingency or recovery plans for problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, investigators may address effects due to the pandemic on productivity or other scoreable issues in the personal statement of the biosketch. Reviewers will be instructed to take these pandemic-related circumstances into account when assessing applicants’ productivity and other score-driving factors. If needed, NIH staff will request and assess plans to resolve specific problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic prior to funding.

NIH also extended the special exception for post-submission material to applications submitted for the August/October 2022 Council rounds. For applications submitted for the August/October 2022 Council rounds (beginning with applications submitted for the January 25, 2022 due date), the NIH, AHRQ, and NIOSH will accept a one-page update with preliminary data as post-submission materials for applications submitted under all activity codes, ONLY if the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) used for submission allowed preliminary data in the application. One page of preliminary data will be accepted for single component applications or for each component of a multi-component application.

The deadline for submitting all post-submission materials, including preliminary data, will be 30 days before the study section meeting, unless specified otherwise in the FOA. Because applications for emergency competitive revisions and urgent competitive revisions undergo expedited review, post-submission materials will not be accepted for those applications.

NIH Pre- and Post-Award Disclosures

https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2022/01/11/nih-pre-and-post-award-disclosures/

Not sure whether a particular activity should be reported in the biosketch, other support, or annual project reports? Check out this new resource – NIH Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support.

Link here is to the consolidated table.

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/NIH-Disclosures-Table.pdf

REPOST and REMINDER:

Expanding Requirement for eRA Commons IDs to All Senior/Key Personnel

Notice Number: NOT-OD-21-109

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-109.html

Targeting due dates on or after January 25, 2022, NIH, AHRQ, FDA, and ORD/VA will require all individuals listed on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form to have an eRA Commons username (Commons ID). Extension of the existing eRA Commons ID requirement to include all senior/key personnel will facilitate better data collection for individuals contributing to federally funded research as well as assist in disambiguating data on applications and facilitating the identification of conflicts of interest in peer review.

Clarification and Guidance for Applicants Preparing Applications for the Spring 2022 Due Dates During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Notice Number:  NOT-OD-22-046

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-22-046.html

The purpose of this Notice is to extend the guidance provided earlier (NOT-OD-21-180) for applicants preparing applications for the August/October 2022 Council round, beginning with the January 25, 2022 due date.

Reviewers will continue to receive instructions to assume that constraints arising from the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., lab occupancy restrictions, declines in patient accrual, etc.) will be resolved during the project period and thus should not affect their scores.

Therefore, NIH grant applications should NOT include contingency or recovery plans for problems resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, applicants may address effects due to the pandemic on productivity or other scoreable issues in their Personal Statement in the NIH Biosketch. Reviewers will be instructed to take these pandemic-related circumstances into account when assessing applicants' productivity and other score-driving factors.

As with previous instructions, if needed, NIH staff will request and assess plans to resolve specific problems arising from the COVID-19 pandemic prior to funding.

Please refer the full notice(s) for further details.

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

The UMBC Faculty Handbook states, “In order for a faculty member to qualify for Fellowship Leave, the fellowship or grant proposal must have been submitted through the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) Administration even if the proposal does not require an institutional signature. This will allow the office to record the fact that such a proposal has been submitted and to record also if and when an award is made.” - (Section 11.1.2: UMBC Faculty Handbook). 

This section of the UMBC Faculty Handbook has created confusion since OSP does not track fellowships that are not payable to the institution.  This is consistent with how our sister USM institutions handle such fellowships.  OSP does not review awards that are thus made to the individual.

We therefore encourage, where possible, that fellowships should be made payable to the institution. Pursuing this method with fellowships ensures compliance with any terms and conditions of the sponsor and allows for tracking through OSP, Kuali, and the Office of Contract and Grant Accounting. 

Please note that any fellowship payable to the institution must be submitted to OSP at the proposal stage through Kuali.  Fellowships payable to the individual should not be routed through OSP nor provided to OSP.

The Office of the Vice President of Research has requested the language in section 11.1.2 of the UMBC Faculty Handbook be clarified.

We are very pleased to formally announce that Rebecca O’Brien has been selected as the new Assistant Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs.  Rebecca, who was previously employed by both Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland, College Park, joined the UMBC Office of Sponsored Programs as a Grants and Contracts Manager in October 2017. 

Rebecca provides almost 15 years of experience in Research Administration to the AD position. She is a graduate of St. Mary's College, has a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from College Park, and has earned a Graduate Certificate in Research Administration from the University of Maryland, Baltimore.  Notably, she has also received/earned the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) designation.

Rebecca has provided integral expertise to OSP's Kuali implementation and training efforts throughout these past few years, as well as coordinating several special OSP projects and assignments.  Her invaluable experience and knowledge will be most welcomed in her new position as OSP Assistant Director.