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06/25/2009 |
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Training Opportunity for Department Administrators and Staff |
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Did you know that many Department Administrators and staff attend the workshops at the annual conference for the National Council of University Research Administrators? The 51st Annual Meeting: One World Connected through Research will be held October 21-24 in Washington, DC at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel. Sessions offered this year include Department Administrator Basics, Clinical Trials, and NIH Proposal Development, just to name a few. Attendance provides the opportunity to enhance the skill set used to facilitate and support faculty research endeavors, provide the best possible guidance for compliance on federal, state, and institutional levels on all administrative research matters, as well as obtain valuable input from colleagues. Host hotel rooms are booking at a record pace so reserve your spot today!
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02/20/2009 |
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NSF Implements Mentoring Requirement on Submissions Received On or After April 6, 2009 |
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Researchers submitting proposals to the National Science Foundation after April 6, 2009, must include a maximum one-page description of mentoring activities when the proposal includes post-doctoral researchers. Mentoring activities are described in a separate section in the 15-page "project description." NSF said the change was mandated as part of the America Competes Act and is contained in the revised NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. Link to revised NSF Policy
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01/28/2009 |
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Error-Correction Window Extended for All Electronic Applications with Submission Deadlines through the End of February 2009 |
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NIH/AHRQ/CDC/FDA will extend the electronic application error correction window to five days for those opportunities with submission dates through February 2009. This change is being made in response to applicant concerns about Grants.gov system performance. This extension should allow applicants sufficient time to correct system identified errors or warnings following on-time submission. Applicants that submit on-time (i.e., by 5:00 p.m. local time on application due date) and receive a Grants.gov tracking number can correct their system identified errors and warnings in the 5 business days following the submission deadline. All changes made within the correction window must be in response to system identified errors/warnings and documented in the PHS 398 Cover Letter component of the application. NIH may reject any application that includes additional changes. Applicants are encouraged to apply early to reduce the stress of last minute submission. Click here to view the full text announcement.
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01/28/2009 |
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Announcing a Delay in Transition to Electronic Submission of Applications for Individual National Research Service Awards (Fs) and Confirming Plans to Transition Individual Research Career Development Awards (Ks) |
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The NIH/AHRQ/CDC/FDA transition to electronic submission of applications for Individual National Research Service Awards (Fs) originally scheduled to occur April 8, 2009 has been postponed due to Grants.gov-related delays. Until a new transition date is confirmed, these applications should continue to be submitted on paper PHS416-1 application forms.
Plans to require electronic submission of applications for Individual Research Career Development Award Programs (“K”s) - with the exception of K12s – have not changed. This change is effective with the February 12, 2009 submission date. Applications previously submitted in paper that are being resubmitted as amended applications must submit electronically. Click here for more details about the “K” transition.
Click here for the full text announcement.
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01/16/2009 |
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CHANGE IN NIH SALARY CAP |
Effective 1/1/2009 the Executive Level I salary level increased to $196,700.
Click here to view the full announcement.
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01/05/2009 |
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CHANGE IN MILEAGE REIMBURSEMENT RATES |
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Effective 1/1/2009, all Drexel University and Drexel University College of Medicine employees should use the revised IRS business mileage reimbursement rate of 55 cents per mile, down from 58.5 cents in 2008.
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12/09/2008 |
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New NIH Policy on Resubmissions |
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Beginning with applications intended for the January 25, 2009 due date, all original new applications (i.e., never submitted) and competing renewal applications will be permitted only a single amendment (A1). Applicants who fail to receive funding after two submissions may resubmit but only if the application is fundamentally revised to qualify as new. A new application is expected to be substantially different in content and scope with more significant differences than are normally encountered in an amended application. Note that there is no time limit for the submission of the original and subsequent A1. Original new and competing renewal applications that were submitted prior to January 25, 2009 will be permitted two amendments (A1 and A2). For these “grandfathered” applications, NIH expects that any A2 will be submitted no later than January 7, 2011, and NIH will not accept A2 applications after that date. This policy applies to all applications, including applications submitted under the NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs, Career Development Awards, Individual Fellowships, Institutional Training Grants, Resource Grants, Program Projects, and Centers. Currently no amendments are permitted for applications received in response to a Request for Applications (RFA) unless it is specified in the Funding Opportunity Announcement, in which case only one amendment will be permitted.
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11/24/2008 |
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NSF Announces Change in AY Salary Policy |
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The National Science Foundation has released a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG, NSF 09-1) that will be effective for proposals received on or after January 5, 2009. A Summary of Significant Changes is posted with the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf09_1/gpg_index.jsp ) In this revision, NSF has addressed the need for greater flexibility in charging salary by changing its compensation policy “to no more than two months of [senior project personnel] regular salary in any one year.” The prior limitation to summer salary has been eliminated. NSF requires that “any compensation … in excess of two months must be disclosed in the proposal budget, justified in the budget justification, and must be specifically approved by NSF in the award notice.”
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02/13/2008 |
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Grant.gov Transition to Adobe Forms: |
Grants.gov in conjunction with federal agencies has started transitioning from PureEdge to Adobe forms within grants.gov application packages. This transition to the news forms will be taking place over the next six months. Grants.gov plans to be 100% Adobe format by 6/30/2008. To make the transition a smooth one for users, the new Adobe forms will have the look and feel of the PureEdge. Some improvements have been made to the forms as well. Date fields will have calendars that can be pulled down, mandatory fields will be highlighted in yellow, and the overall functionality of them forms has been improved.
When will it all take place:
Right now:
o Agency Specific Timelines are Being Identified
o Agencies Have Started Posting in Adobe Upon Successful Testing
Coming Up:
o April 1, 2008: New PureEdge Opportunity Cut-off
o April 1, 2008: Open PureEdge Opportunities will be migrated to Adobe
o June 30, 2008: PureEdge Application Submission Cut Off
o July 1, 2008: All grants.gov submissions will be in Adobe
o July 3-5, 2008: Remaining Open PureEdge Opportunities Migrated to Adobe by grants.gov
o December 30, 2008: PureEdge System Retired
To date:
5 Agencies are posting 100% in Adobe
11 Agencies are posting in PureEdge and Adobe
9 Agencies have not yet started posting in Adobe
What this means for you: Since not all applications will be PureEdge or Adobe, it is best to ensure that you have both installed on your computer.
Go Here to Install PureEdgeViewer: Grants.gov
Go Here to Install Adobe 8.1.1 Reader: Adobe
Note: You MUST use Adobe 8.1.1 when submitting an application to grants.gov using the adobe forms. They will not work properly with another version of Reader or with Adobe Professional.
After you Install Reader: You aren’t done! To make sure Adobe doesn’t upgrade past 8.1.1 you need to take the following steps:
1. Open up Reader
2. Go to Help, then “Check for Updates”
3. This will show you what updates are available.
4. Select “Preferences”
5. Uncheck “Automatically check for Adobe Updates”
6. Press “OK”
How does it work:
Go here for grants.gov’s tutorial on how to complete a grant application using Adobe Reader: Adobe Tutorial
Other Resources:
From Grants.gov:
Adobe and PureEdge FAQs: Adobe PureEdge FAQ
From NIH:
Information on their transition: NIH Transition Information
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01/15/2008 |
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Change in Grants.gov forms coming soon. |
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Sometime before June 2008, you will need to open Grants.gov files using Adobe Reader 8.1.1, NOT Professional or Acrobat. You will still need programs to create .pdf files so it is important to get all of your Adobe programs in sync. If an application is sent to Grants.gov using something other than the correct version of Reader to fill out the form, you will not know until an error message is received from Grants.gov. There is no way to convert PureEdge to Adobe, nor can you convert a wrong Adobe file to the correct one. ORCA will keep you up to date on these changes as they happen.
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11/29/2007 |
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GRANTS.GOV GOOF-UP.
Always expect last minute problems. |
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The Chronicle of Higher Education cited a November 2nd story in the Boston Globe where a $300,000 grant application to the U.S. Department of Education was rejected because it was submitted to Grants.gov 46 minutes late. The applicant had over 40 years of experience providing educational programs to students and was enraged by the "bureaucratic technicality". John Kerry (D-Mass) complained unsuccessfully to the U.S. Dept of Ed where it was explained that the sponsor "did not have the discretion to waive the deadline nor the ability to alter Grants.gov requirements". It is well known there are problems with Grants.gov and the safest way to avoid such problems is to submit the application days ahead of the actual deadline so there is time to fix any difficulties or errors.
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10/10/2007 |
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NSF REVISES MERIT REVIEW TO ENCOURAGE TRANSFORMATIVE RESEARCH |
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Effective October 1, 2007, the Grant Proposal Guide, as well as funding opportunities issued after that date, will incorporate revised new intellectual merit criterion with the goal of enhancing NSF support for transformative research. This change will specifically include review of the extent to which a proposal explores potentially transformative concepts, such as creating entirely new fields or disrupting accepted theories and perspectives. While the concept of transformative research is not new to NSF, it is hoped that the revised criteria for merit review will infuse support of potentially transformative research throughout NSF.
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10/01/2007 |
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UPDATED PHS GRANTS GUIDES NOW AVAILABLE |
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Service Grants.gov Application Guide SF424 (R&R) and the corresponding Grants.gov SBIR/STTR Application Guide have been updated to include additional guidance on subaward budgets and the 2 day application viewing window.
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07/05/2007 |
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NIH and Multiple Principal Investigators |
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Since February 2007, the NIH has allowed applicants and their institutions to list more than one Principal Investigator on a grant application. This initiative was designed for team science projects that do not fit into the single-PI model. One basic principle of this model is that each PI is equally responsible and accountable for the research project. However, one (1) contact PI must be designated. This designee is responsible for communication between the PIs and the NIH program official.
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06/14/2007 |
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Does it really help to include cost sharing in proposals? |
The Federal Grants News for Colleges and Universities, May 2007 edition, quoted the NSF proposal guide, "cost sharing is solely at the discretion of the applicant and WILL NOT be a factor in the grant making decision".
A leading panel of educators commented on the following question raised during a live broadcast aired in 2007 by The National Council of University and Research Administrators. "Does showing cost sharing in a proposal help to get a grant approved? In other words, is the sponsor more likely to award the funding if the organization shows cost sharing?" The response from the panelist was: "It depends. If required, the answer is yes. In this instance not providing cost sharing would disqualify the proposal. If NO cost share is required, the evidence has shown that IT HAS NO IMPACT."
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05/22/2007 |
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NOW MORE THAN EVER...get your proposal applications to ORCA 5 business days before the deadline. |
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Grants.gov is currently implementing a phased system deployment of the new Adobe application forms. Deployment is scheduled for completion September 30, 2007 at which time Grants.gov will no longer accept PureEdge application packages. As with the implementation of the PureEdge Application System last year, we expect to encounter untold problems and delays. It is always important to honor the ORCA 5 day lead time for proposal submission so that your ORCA program administrator has adequate time for review and submission prior to the solicitation deadline, but during this time, adequate ORCA submission lead time will be critical. To learn about the differences between the Adobe and the PureEdge forms go here: AdobePEFAQs.pdf.
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05/10/2007 |
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NIH Progress Reports. |
NIH progress reports for R series awards, such as R01s may be submitted electronically using the Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process, eSNAP.
These changes can be submitted online at any time provided you are a registered user in eRA Commons. To register contact your Program Administrator. Visit our eSNAP
quickguide.
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04/27/2007 |
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NSF Investments for FY 2008 |
Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation-proposed funding at $52 million
Cyberinfrastructure-proposed funding at $644 million
International Polar Year-proposed funding at $ 59 million
National Nanotechnology Initiative-proposed funding at $ 390 million
Networking and Information Technology R&D-proposed funding at $994 million
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04/16/2007 |
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NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide |
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NSF announces the new NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 07-140) which will be effective for proposals submitted on or after June 1, 2007. This document supercedes all prior versions of the GPG and GPM and can be accessed here.
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04/05/2007 |
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NIH Roadmap for Medical Research |
Since its inception, the NIH Roadmap for Medical Research has been an “incubator space” for programs that, due to their cross-cutting relevance warrant concerted attention from NIH as a whole. Please see link for 2008 initiatives.
http://nihroadmap.nih.gov/2008initiatives.asp
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03/27/2007 |
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Overdue Final Progress Reports stops funding... |
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According to NSF, an overdue Final Progress Report stops funding actions for the PI and Co-PIs on the award. FastLane will allow submission of most post-award actions with a warning, but will not allow submission of PI/Co-PI change or withdrawal of Co-PI requests.
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02/22/2007 |
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ERS Paperless Effort Reporting System Training... |
Attendance is required for all department coordinators and college/school reviewers.
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01/22/2007 |
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Add ORCA@drexel.edu to your address book... |
Add ORCA@drexel.edu to your address book.
So you can receive automated emails from ORCA informing users of:
- New Content
- Time Critical Information
- Seminar Registration Confirmations
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12/27/2006 |
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Good news... |
Updated sponsored project submission transmittal forms now available.
These new forms contain the required NIH certification as well as the credit distribution information for each investigator. Please begin using these immediately. For your convenience, the forms can be found here.
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11/09/2006 |
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GRANTS.GOV News... |
DO NOT REGISTER for Grants.gov
Drexel University is already registered. Please get all completed applications to your Program Administrator at least 5 working days before the deadline for review.
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