NSF Notices: New Automated Proposal Compliance Checks | Update on Rollouts in Research.gov

MU Grants Community,

Please take note of the following information from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Should you have questions about the applicability of this guidance to current or anticipated projects, please contact your OSPA Pre-Award or Post-Award staff.

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New Automated Proposal Compliance Checks in FastLane

On July, 24, 2015, the next set of automated proposal compliance checks will be released in FastLane. The checks will trigger warning messages if the following proposal sections do not exist for proposals submitted in response to a Program Solicitation for the applicable funding mechanism type (Conference, Equipment, Ideas Lab, Facility/Center, and Fellowship):

• References Cited
• Biographical Sketch(es)
• Budget Justification: Primary Organization 
• Budget Justification: Sub recipient Organization 
• Current and Pending Support
• Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources

OSPA Certificate Series for Specialized Grants Training | Post-Award and Regulatory Sessions

After a bit of summer break, the OSPA Certificate Series is back! Finishing out the Post-Award Track Training, the following sessions are open for registration:  

Subawards and Consulting Agreements

Utilizing case studies, analyze the difference between subrecipients/subawards and vendors/consulting agreements as they pertain to sponsored projects. Discuss the subaward process throughout in the award cycle, from the documentation needed before a subrecipient can be named in a proposal submitted to a sponsor to closing out the subaward. Discuss the consulting agreement process throughout the award cycle, from issuing the consulting agreement to receipt of deliverables and payment.

Cost Sharing

Define cost sharing and the different types, including mandatory, voluntary committed, and voluntary uncommitted. Understand compliance requirements related to cost sharing. Discuss third-party and unallowable cost share and the related impacts on facilities and administrative (F&A) cost recovery. Utilizing case studies, identify different types of cost sharing, discuss proper documentation and reporting, and examine issues of noncompliance.

Effort Verification Reporting (EVR), Cost Transfers, and Payroll Correcting Entries (PCE)

Utilizing case studies, review EVR, PCE, and cost transfer examples and their application to sponsored projects. Discuss compliance requirements for each of these activities. Identify common issues and risks of noncompliance.

Grant Fact Sheet Update: OSPA's New Permanent Address

Please note a slight change to OSPA’s new permanent address. Due to incompatibility with some federal grant application systems, we will no longer use the ZIP suffix code of 8330. Instead, the full ZIP+4 for all official purposes is 65211-0001. Please access the current version here, noting the following change:

Grant Connections | June Meeting Notes

Notes from the June Grant Connections meeting are included below for your review and reference. Though meeting notes are disseminated to the full Grants Community listserv, we encourage your continued (or new!) attendance. Your contributions to discussion and the selection of topics are crucial to the ongoing success of the meetings.  We hope to see you at the next meeting on Wednesday, July 29.

 

 

Sponsor Notices: NIFA | NSF | NIH

MU Grants Community,

Please take note of the following federal agency announcements. Should you have questions about the applicability of this guidance to current or anticipated projects, please contact your OSPA Pre-Award or Post-Award staff.

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United States Department of Agriculture | National Institute of Food and Agriculture

NIFA issued guidance regarding an updated acknowledgement statement for USDA support by NIFA. NIFA’s Office of Grants and Financial Management will add this same statement to award terms as appropriate.

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National Science Foundation 

On July 24, 2015, NSF will take a next step in its transition from FastLane to Research.gov by releasing the following ten additional notifications and requests in Research.gov and retiring them from FastLane: 

• Long-term Disengagement of the PI/PD or co-PI/co-PD (>3 months) 
• Pre-Award Costs in Excess of 90 Days 
• Significant Changes in Methods/Procedures 
• Significant Changes/Delays or Events of Unusual Interest 
• Changes in Objectives or Scope 
• Reallocation of Funds Provided for Participant Support Costs 
• Change in Person-Months Devoted to Project 
• Withdrawal of PI/PD or co-PI/co-PD 
• Rearrangements/Alterations in excess of $25,000 (construction) 
• Conflicts of Interest

Grant Fact Sheet Update: OSPA's New Address | 2015-16 GRA Stipends, Medical Insurance Rates

 MU Grants Community, 

A new version of the Grant Fact Sheet, dated 07/07/2015, is available on the OSPA website. Please access the current version here, noting the following changes:

1. Applicant Organization Mailing Address (p. 1)
OSPA has established permanent offices at Mizzou North on Business Loop 70W and will not return to its former Jesse Hall location. Effective immediately, please use the Mizzou North address listed on the Grant Fact Sheet when providing official Applicant Organization contact information.

2. Graduate Research and Teaching Assistant Stipends updated to 2015-2016 rates (p. 4)

3. Graduate Student Medical Insurance updated to 2015-2016 rates (p. 4)

PeopleSoft Financials Outage: June 30-July 6 | OSPA Temporary Proposal Form

MU Grants Community,

PeopleSoft Financial System applications will be unavailable from Tuesday, June 30, at 5:00 p.m. until Monday, July 6, at 7:00 a.m. for the fiscal year end. As all accesses to the Grants Module are affected, please refer to the attached instructions for utilizing the Temporary Proposal Form for proposal processing during this period. As a reminder, PS Financial Reporting-FSRPT is available for viewing existing data during the outage period; you cannot make changes in Reporting.

Should you have questions, please contact your OPSA pre-award staff.

Grant Connections - June 2015

Wednesday, June 24, 2015
11:00 a.m. – noon
Room 572 of the Bond Life Sciences Center

Agenda

• Hot Topics
• ASSIST Panel Discussion. Application Submission System & Interface for Submission Tracking (ASSIST) is NIH’s online system for preparation, submission and tracking of grant applications through Grants.gov to NIH. NIH recently opened ASSIST to support R01s, U01, and Career Development grant applications in addition to all multi-project grant programs and R03s and R21s. Sheryl Koenig (Bond Life Sciences Center) and Angie Hake and Jill Ferguson (OSPA) will lead a discussion and Q&A. 
• iThenticate. iThenticate is text recognition software that checks a manuscript or proposal against published works to identify both legitimate duplication (e.g., literature citations) and inappropriate use of text (e.g., plagiarism, redundant publication). Jill Ferguson will demo iThenticate and talk about efforts around campus to support its use. 

Mark your calendars! Meetings are scheduled for the following dates.

• July 29, 2015 
• August 26, 2015 
• September 23, 2015 
• October 28, 2015

Grant Connections Organizational Crew (send your suggestions)

• Liz Bent, Grants & Contracts Administrator, CAFNR 
• Marty Carter, Senior Business Operations Associate, School of Medicine 
• Brandi Clements, Grants & Contracts Administrator, College of Education 
• Craig David, Director, OSPA 
• Jill Ferguson, Senior Compliance Manager, OSPA 
• Sheryl Koenig, Grant Proposal Coordinator, Bond Life Sciences Center 
• Julia Rodriguez, Grants & Contracts Administrator, Bond Life Sciences Center 
• Jamie Szabo, Senior Compliance Manager, OSPA 

Please share this with anyone else associated with research who you think might be interested in attending.

Grant Connections | May Meeting Notes

Notes from the May Grant Connections meeting are included below for your review and reference. Though meeting notes are disseminated to the full Grants Community listserv, we encourage your continued (or new!) attendance. Your contributions to discussion and the selection of topics are crucial to the ongoing success of the meetings. Thank you in advance! 

 

F&A Cost Recovery: On- and Off-Campus Rates

Good morning,

The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA) maintains internal policies and procedures for recovery of facilities and administrative (F&A) costs consistent with System-wide BPM-203, F&A Cost Recovery (Grants & Contracts).

In collaboration with MU campus and UM System partners, OSPA has developed an addition to the F&A policy* to provide clear and consistent guidance for determining on- or off-campus classification of sponsored activities. There is also clarification regarding the applicable rates for clinical trials.

The guidance is published to the OSPA website as an addition to the F&A Cost Recovery policy. Should you have questions about the applicability of this policy to current or anticipated projects, please contact OSPA.    

Craig David

Director

Authorized Signer, Grants and Contracts

Phone: 573.882.9570 | Fax: 573.884.4078 | davidcr@missouri.edu
University of Missouri | Sponsored Programs | 310 Jesse Hall, Columbia, MO 65211