·       Adjusted Timeline for Requiring Two-Factor Authentication to Access eRA Modules Using Login.Gov or InCommon Federated Accounts

·        Notice Number: NOT-OD-21-172

·        https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-172.html

Purpose

The deadline and approach to requiring two-factor authentication (also known as multi-factor authentication) to increase the security when accessing eRA modules (eRA Commons, Commons Mobile, ASSIST, Internet Assisted Review) are changing. NIH is providing more time to make the transition. Instead of requiring all users to transition to Login.gov by a fixed deadline of September 15, eRA will begin a phased approach beginning September 15,2021 for enforcing the two-factor authentication requirement for the NIH recipient community as described below. In this phased approach to enforcement, all scientific account holders should take action now, while administrative account holders will be required to move to two-factor authentication in early calendar year 2022.

NIH is also implementing an additional option to securely login to eRA systems using InCommon Federated accounts (when organizations participate in the InCommon Federation and authenticate their own users). Beginning September 15, 2021, users will also now have the option to use an InCommon Federated account only if their institution supports NIH’s two-factor authentication standards and the user has it enabled for their InCommon Federated Account. Use of InCommon Federated accounts without two-factor authentication will no longer be permitted.

When two-factor authentication becomes required for a user, according to the timeline below, they will now be able to use Login.gov and/or an InCommon Federated account that supports NIH’s two-factor authentication standards. Note that eRA cannot yet support two-factor authentication for users that have more than one eRA account; specific guidance for users with multiple accounts is provided below.

Adjusted Timeline and Approach

Starting on September 15, 2021, eRA will begin a phased approach for requiring the use of two-factor authentication for user accounts. The new timing of enforcing the requirement depends on the type of user account and a new triggering event.

The Type of User Account:

This phased approach pertains to all scientific account holders but excludes administrative accounts until early 2022 (also see eRA Commons User Roles)

The Triggering Event:

All PIs and key personnel associated with an application or Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) will be required to transition to the use of two-factor authentication 45 days after the submission of their competing grant application (Type 1 or 2) or their RPPR.

Forty-five days after this triggering event, these users will not be able to access eRA systems until they set up and use a two-factor authentication service provider - Login.gov and/or an InCommon Federated account (that supports NIH’s two-factor authentication standards).

eRA will send reminder messages during the 45-day period to individual users who are required to transition to the new two-factor authentication requirement.

To access full notice, please click link below:

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-172.html

Please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs if you have any questions.

·         Update: Notification of Upcoming Change in Federal-wide Unique Entity Identifier Requirements

·         Notice Number: NOT-OD-21-170

·         https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-170.html

Purpose

The purpose of this notice is to update the applicant and recipient communities of the federal-wide transition from the DUN and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to a new government-owned Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). By April 2022, the federal government will stop using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM). SAM will become the central repository for the new UEI that will be incorporated into an institution’s SAM registration.

Implementation Update

The transition from DUNS to UEI is ongoing. By April 2022, the Federal government will stop using the DUNS number to uniquely identify entities registered in the System for Award Management (SAM).

Beginning mid-FY2021, all entities registered in SAM will automatically be issued a UEI. Note: Entities registering in SAM prior to April 2022 must still obtain a DUNS from Dun and Bradstreet prior to SAM registration.

Implementation:

Beginning October 2021, entities registered in eRA Commons will begin to see their UEI populated in the Institutional Profile File (IPF). No action is required by the entity.

Beginning October 2021, recipients’ UEI will be populated on Page One of the Notice of Award. The recipient UEI will also be transmitted in award data reported to the HHS Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) and USASpending.gov.

For applications due on or after January 25, 2022, applicants must have a UEI at the time of application submission. Application forms and packages required for application submission will be updated to reflect UEI instead of DUNS. See NOT-OD-21-169 for more information.

To access full notice, please click link below:

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-170.html

Please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs if you have any questions.

·         New NIH "FORMS-G" Grant Application Forms and Instructions Coming for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2022

·         Notice Number: NOT-OD-21-169

·         https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-169.html

Purpose:

This notice informs the applicant and recipient communities of changes to grant application forms and application guide instructions for due dates on or after January 25, 2022.

The following application forms include substantive form changes (i.e., new/deleted/modified fields). All other forms include only an OMB expiration date change.

• SF424 R&R
• R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded)
• R&R Budget and Associated Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form
• Project/Performance Site Location(s)
• PHS 398 Training Budget and Associated Subaward Budget Attachment(s) Form
• PHS Additional Indirect Costs
• PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form
• PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information
• SBIR/STTR Information

Key changes:

• As part of the federal-wide transition from the DUN and Bradstreet (D&B) Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number to the new government-owned Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), applicants will be required to have a UEI to apply for federal grants or cooperative agreements. The System for Award Management (SAM) will become the central repository for the new UEI that will be incorporated into an institution’s SAM registration. Although agencies are not required to fully transition until April 2022, NIH, AHRQ, and FDA will transition for due dates on or after January 25, 2022 to align with standard application and review cycles. See NOT-OD-21-170 for more information.
• NIH will require the use of the updated Biographical Sketch and Other Support format pages for submissions on or after January 25, 2022. See NOT-OD-21-073, NOT-OD-21-110, and NOT-OD-21-122 for more information.
• Targeting due dates on or after January 25, 2022, all Senior/Key personnel listed on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) form will be required 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. See NOT-OD-21-109 for more information.

Availability of FORMS-G Application Packages
FORMS-G application packages will be posted as follows

• New funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) will be posted with FORMS-G application packages beginning October 25, 2021.
• New FOAs posted before October 25, 2021 with initial due dates on or after January 25, 2022 will be posted without application forms until updated forms are available. Application packages will be added to these FOAs by November 25, 2021.
• All active Parent and IC-issued FOAs with due dates on or after January 25, 2022 will be updated to add FORMS-G application packages between October 25, 2021 and November 25, 2021.

Click to see High-level Summary of Form Changes in FORMS-G Application Packages for a full list of form changes.

To access full notice, please click link below:

https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-169.html

Please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs if you have any questions.

• A new section covering requests for reasonable and accessibility accommodations regarding the proposal process or requests for accessibility accommodations to access NSF’s electronic systems, websites and other digital content;
• A table entitled, NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support. This table identifies where pre- and post-award current and pending support disclosure information must be provided. Proposers and awardees may begin using this table immediately;
• Increasing the page limit for the biographical sketch from two to three pages; 
• Updates to the current and pending support section of NSF proposals to require that information on objectives and overlap with other projects is provided to help NSF and reviewers assess overlap/duplication;
• Adding planning proposals and Career-Life Balance supplemental funding requests as new proposal types;
• Updates to travel proposals will require that AORs certify that prior to the proposer’s participation in the meeting for which NSF travel support is being requested, the proposer will assure that the meeting organizer has a written policy or code-of-conduct addressing harassment.

Welcome to a New Opportunity--ORCID!  The acronym ORCID stands for Open Researcher & Contributor IDentification.  ORCID is an international, non-profit organization -- sustained by fees from member organizations -- that provides digital identifiers (termed an ORCID ID) for researchers. 

An ORCID ID will notably provide and account for a record of a researchers’ professional activities.  ORCID IDs are free for individuals, and participating organizations (like UMBC) around the globe can collect and use the ORCID IDs of their affiliated researchers in research administration workflows. ORCID aims to increase and expand possible connections amongst a multitude of researchers, with the hope of developing and contributing--among other numerous merits and benefits-- to potentially greater interdisciplinary cooperation and collaboration in research.

ORCID will provide a unique and personally distinct digital identifier (and ORCID ID) that you own and control (you will keep this ID even if you opt to leave UMBC). You will then be able to connect that ID with your own professional information (i.e., publications, professional affiliations, past/current/pending grants, peer review, etc.).  The ID can be used to share your information with other systems, which can be particularly useful when completing required administrative information on grant proposals for a variety of extramural sponsors.

ORCID at UMBC

In March 2021, UMBC became a member of ORCID!  The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) highly encourages all Principal Investigators (PIs) and Research Administrators to learn about and actively engage in ORCID at UMBC as it should provide for a greater and more accurate reflection of a researcher’s career portfolio that can be actively utilized to complete mandatory grant proposal forms and documentation.

Having this essential information in one central location should alleviate some of the administrative burdens (and potential errors) in data collection for each proposal and report, thus increasing the efficiency and timeliness in submitting some of the information for proposal review and submission.  Participation in ORCID by UMBC personnel will also help to develop and firmly expand research knowledge and outreach throughout the UMBC campus as well as fostering further relationships and connectivity throughout the University System of Maryland as well.

ORCID: ESSENTIAL DIRECT LINKS:

·       Instructions for Setting Up your ORCID ID Record/Profile at UMBC: https://library.umbc.edu/orcid.php

·       For more UMBC information regarding ORCID, including sample ORCID profiles, please click on the following: https://lib.guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=1047837

·       What Is ORCID? (VIDEO)

https://lib.guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=1047837#s-lg-box-24151378

·       For a more general introduction to ORCID, please refer to the following link: https://orcid.org/

eRA Information: Reminder to “Flatten” PDFs for Just-in-Time and RPPR Before Uploading to eRA Commons

In preparation for the required use of the new biosketch and other support format templates for due dates on or after January 25, 2022, NIH is encouraging applicants and recipients to start using updated templates for applications, Just-in-Time Reports, and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2021. For specifics on these changes, please see Guide Notices NOT-OD-21-073 and NOT-OD-21-110.

Because of these changes, we want to remind you of the requirements for uploading PDF documents to eRA Commons. It is important that all PDFs are flattened before upload. PDF files uploaded to Just-in-Time and RPPR in the following sections are now required to be flattened PDFs:

          ·       JIT Other Support File section

          ·       RPPR Participants section D.2.b New Senior/Key Personnel

          ·       RPPR Participants section D.2.c Changes in Other Support

If a PDF for these submissions on or after May 25, 2021 is not flattened before the upload to eRA Commons, this may lead to an error.

PDFs that have fillable fields, electronic signatures, text boxes or images inserted, become layered, with each of these elements representing a layer. Flattening a PDF merges these separate elements into one flat layer.

There are a number of methods to flatten a PDF, the easiest of which is to print it as a PDF (also see instructions).

To do this, go to File>Print, select the printer option from the menu that has a PDF option. Click the Print button and name the file.

Figure 1: A print dialog box with the Printer field set to Adobe PDF

In this process, you are exporting the layered PDF to the printer and saving it as a simple (flattened) PDF.

Depending on the software available to you, your options may vary from the one shown above. Other options are available with an Internet search.

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