Dear Colleagues, 

Like many of you, we have been following the rapid developments coming out of the new administration over the past couple of weeks. A number of federal agencies are continuing to update their policies and solicitations in response to recent White House executive orders. Several of you have shared questions about potential impact on your Research and Creative Achievement (RCA) activities.

We recognize that many of our UMBC colleagues and investigators are concerned and are looking for guidance. At this time, we are still assessing the impact on our funded programs and what steps we may need to take to follow these directives.

We are in close contact with other institutions in USM, as well as with national organizations to determine the best course of action to respond to the executive orders and the directives by the federal agencies. 

As an institution, we are closely monitoring the executive orders and agency directives and are working on understanding the potential impact on our RCA community. We will navigate these challenges together and will provide more information as it becomes available. Here is some guidance we can provide you at this time:

Pre-submission and pre-award:

• Our Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) will continue to submit proposals as submission systems at federal agencies are operational. 
• As proposal deadlines approach, please check program websites and solicitations for any updates on due dates or requirements to ensure that your proposal is compliant.
• Sponsor proposal review timelines may be extended. Please continue to review specific sponsor guidelines regularly to ensure you have the most up-to-date information. 
• Consider signing up for alerts from the agencies you apply to. 

Existing awards:

• Please continue with business as usual. The terms and conditions of your active grant remain enforceable for the current funding period as long as the award is in good standing. This includes the ability to invoice and receive reimbursement. If there is a change to your award, OSP will notify the unit business office and principal investigator. Agencies are required to notify us if there will be changes to your funding once the contract is in place.
• Try to remain in contact with your program officers but be aware that some of them may have a pause on communications.
• Monitor policy updates from the federal agency overseeing your grant for any updates on funding or compliance requirements. See also the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) resource page linked below.
• If PIs or RAs receive any award modifications or other notices, please forward them to the OSP as soon as possible (cc your unit business office), so that these can be reviewed and processed quickly.
• Notify OSP (and cc your unit business office) if you receive a "Stop Work" notice from a federal sponsor for an award. A stop work order typically means that all project work needs to stop immediately and no expenses can be incurred on the project as of the effective date of the stop work notice. In this case, principal investigators should work with their unit business office (department administrator), who will work with the post-award support staff and your unit’s OSP manager to determine the appropriate next steps.
• Closely monitor obligated budget balances to avoid deficits while awaiting future obligations. Anticipated future funding remains subject to availability of funds and should not be considered guaranteed.
• Make sure to meet existing deadlines for technical reports or other deliverables.
• If you have questions about your awards, please contact your unit business office, who should be in contact with your unit’s assigned OSP grants and contracts manager.

COGR resource page on executive orders and agency directives

The Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) has developed the 2025 Administration Transition Information and Resources webpage that compiles recent executive orders, agency directives, and other information that is relevant to upcoming and current federal contracts and grants.

Sincerely,

Karl V. Steiner

Vice President for Research and Creative Achievement

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

UMBC has also created a website to serve as a central hub of relevant campus resources and information. Campus communications related to the Trump administration’s orders and actions will be housed there, as well as an updated list of resources related to federal actions that may impact UMBC. 

The National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Region II is pleased to be hosting a virtual Brown Bag Presentation on Wednesday, December 18, 2024, 12-1pm:

Grant Spending Documentation & Processes: Post-Award Internal Controls

This session will:

• Give examples of internal controls and why they are vital to compliance with sponsor terms and overarching Federal regulations.
• Compare and contrast internal controls around grant spending and documentation at emerging research institutions and research-intensive institutions.
• Strategize ways in which internal controls may be tightened at their own institutions.

Presenters:

Gillian Silver

2023 Mentee in Region II’s Mentor Me Program

Director, Office of Research Administration

Morgan State University

Mary Louise Healy

Assistant Dean for Research Administration, KSAS

Johns Hopkins University

Cost: FREE!

Link:https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83418644929

Meeting ID: 834 1864 4929

Questions: Contact Catherine Parker at caparker@umd.edu or Cynthia Kane at cjk418@lehigh.edu

DATE:           12/5/2024

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

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

RE:               OSP Winter Break Deadlines: Dec. 24, 2024 - Jan. 1, 2025

________________________________________________________________

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.     As of Friday 12/5/24, UMBC's Winter holiday break begins at COB (5 PM) on Monday December 23rd (first full day of holiday vacation is thus Tuesday December 24^th) and goes through Wednesday January 1^st.  UMBC opens for business on Thursday January 2^nd.

2.  All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Friday December 20, 2024 and Wednesday January 1, 2025 must be fully routed, ready for submission, and released to the OSP office for final review and submission by the close of business on Wednesday December 18, 2024; and

3. All proposals with submission deadlines occurring between Thursday January 2^nd and Monday January 6th, 2025 (the first 3 business days after the break) will be due to OSP by 9 AM on Thursday December 19, 2024.

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 (Divison 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

With the ever-changing landscape of data management and dissemination as well as the need for Persistent Identifiers (PID) such as ORCID the Library is here to help! 

Please see the below message from Michelle Flinchbaugh ( flinchba@umbc.edu ).  

New This Year! 

• A Library Data Scientist can do data analysis and visualization for NIH PIs. See Research Data Services below.
• UMBC now has open access agreements with some publishers: UMBC Open Access Agreements.
• Pending the approval of the President, UMBC now has an Open Access Policy.

ScholarWorks@UMBC

The Library will add works to ScholarWorks@UMBC for you. If you've previously sent a list of publications, or link to a list of publications, you don't need to do anything. Each year, we'll automatically add your new works, contacting you for anything we need. 

If we've not yet gone through your works, please send me any of the following: