Archived Announcements
With the NIH application due dates approaching in late September and early October, we wanted to take this opportunity to remind the research community of the latest required researcher disclosure requirements in proposals:
Biographical Sketch (“Biosketch”) –
- The newest Biosketch format is preferred immediately and required to be used for applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) submitted on or after January 25, 2022 (NOT-OD-21-073 and NOT-OD-21-110).
- The Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors section of the Biosketch must include, in reverse chronological order, all current positions and scientific appointments both domestic and foreign, including affiliations with foreign entities or governments. This includes titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary).
- Regardless of whether you use the old or new formats, only current positions and scientific appointments are required in the Biosketch. Applicants may choose to include past appointments that they wish to highlight.
- The Personal Statement may now include including ongoing and completed research projects from the past three years that you want to draw attention to (previously captured under Section D. Research Support).
- Biosketches can be created using SciENcv, or using NIH’s blank format page in Word.
- If you forgot to include an item in the Biosketch after submission, contact your SPA Project Officer as soon as possible.
- Refer to NIH’s Biosketch FAQs, Columbia’s supplementary FAQs, and contact your SPA Project Officer should you have any questions.
Disclosing a Foreign Component –
- If any significant scientific element or segment of your project will be performed outside the United States, either by you or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds will be expended, your project has a “foreign component” that requires disclosure and prior approval by NIH. See NIH’s full definition of Foreign Component.
- You must answer Field 6 of the Research and Related (R&R) Other Project Information form to indicate whether your project involves activities outside the U.S. or partnerships with international collaborators.
- If you indicate “Yes” to Field 6, you must include a "Foreign Justification" attachment in Field 12, Other Attachments.
- If a project develops a foreign component during the course of the project, prior approval must be obtained. Contact your SPA Project Officer in this situation.
- See NIH’s Foreign Component FAQs.
We will be hosting several webinars in the coming months to provide the latest information on Biosketches and Other Support. Stay tuned for a subsequent announcement.
As always, all questions should be directed to your SPA Project Officer.
Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) invites you to our next Research Administration Forum. The Forum is an interactive opportunity for you to hear the latest policy updates from central Columbia offices, and ask questions concerning the sponsored project lifecycle.
We are excited to introduce you to Dr. Jeannette M. Wing, the newly appointed Executive Vice President for Research, who will kick off our meeting. Jeannette will speak briefly about her background, and strategic ideas in her new role as EVPR.
Also included on the agenda will be the latest updates concerning NSF and NIH. A more detailed agenda will be issued as we get closer to the event. Registration is now open!
Date: Wednesday, October 13th, 2021
Time: 11:00 am - 12:30 pm EDT
RegisterHERE.
Feel free to ask me any questions about this event at [email protected].
NIH recently released new clarifications for the Other Support format pages and Biographical Sketches. Key clarifications include:
- Signatures are not required on the Other Support format pages until January 25, 2022, regardless of whether you use the old or new formats.
- Completed support from the last three years is no longer required in Other Support. Only include active and pending projects.
- Awardees must report significant changes in Other Support in RPPRs, such as a change in status of previously reported current or pending projects, or access to a new resource/in-kind contribution.
- Only unique, high-value materials and data received within the past three years, that are still in use, must be included as in-kind contributions in Other Support.
- Only current positions and scientific appointments are required in the Biosketch. Applicants may choose to include past appointments that they wish to highlight.
- Consulting agreements must be included in Other Support only when the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel will be conducting research as part of the consulting activities. Non-research consulting activities are not Other Support.
- Include estimates for the amount paid, rather than time and effort reflected in calendar months, for consulting that is disclosed in Other Support.
- Rather than simply updating a previously submitted Other Support form, we strongly recommend that you create a new form from scratch, to ensure that you are able to implement all changes.
To assist you further, we created additional FAQs based on questions collected from researchers and administrators at Columbia University. They are meant to supplement NIH's FAQs. In addition, we will be hosting monthly webinars to walk you through the forms. Stay tuned for a separate communication with the webinar schedule.
All questions should be directed to your SPA Project Officer. Below is a listing of applicable resources:
NIH’s FAQs and Instructions:
- NIH Other Support (main page containing forms and instructions)
- NIH Other Support FAQs
- NIH Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions and Samples (main page containing forms and instructions)
- NIH Biographical Sketch FAQs
- SciENcv
Columbia resources:
- Columbia’s FAQs on NIH Other Support and Biosketches
- NIH Researcher Disclosure Requirements
- Science & Security website
The following FAQs related to the NIH Other Support format pages were collected from researchers and administrators at Columbia University. See https://research.columbia.edu/FAQs_NIH_OtherSupport. They are meant to supplement NIH's FAQs. Please refer to NIH’s websites for additional information and guidance on this topic:
- NIH Other Support (main page containing forms and instructions)
- NIH's FAQs: Other Support and Foreign Components
Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to your SPA Project Officer.
The following announcement was issued by NSF on 6/23/2021. Questions should be sent to your SPA Project Officer.
Dear Colleagues:
We are pleased to announce that a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 22-1) has been issued.
The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after October 4, 2021. Significant changes include:
- 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.
You are encouraged to review the by-chapter summary of changes provided in the Introduction section of the PAPPG.
NSF plans to conduct a webinar covering these changes. Visit the NSF policy outreach website to sign up for notifications about this and other outreach events.
While this version of the PAPPG becomes effective on October 4, 2021, in the interim, the guidelines contained in the current PAPPG (NSF 20-1) continue to apply.
If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the DIAS/Policy Office at [email protected].
Regards,
Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution and Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance & Award Management
The slides from today’s town hall on the revised NIH other support format pages are available here (included in the NIH Researcher Disclosure Requirements webpage).
Key takeaways:
- You may continue to use the current biosketch and other support format pages, however, the new formats will be required for applications, JIT requests, and RPPRs due on or after 1/25/2022.
- Regardless of which format you use, applicants and recipients remain responsible for disclosing all research endeavors.
- Other Support: As a reminder (see NIH announcement NOT-OD-19-114, July 10, 2019), regardless of the format used, you must ensure to include: completed projects (past three years); consulting that involves the conduct of research; and in-kind contributions.
We will continue to schedule future town halls and develop tools to assist you. For immediate questions, please contact your SPA Project Officer.
The slides from today’s town hall on the revised NIH biographical sketches and other support format pages are available here (included in the NIH Researcher Disclosure Requirements webpage). For those of you who attended previous town halls, minor revisions were made to the slides to reflect the latest information from NIH, issued after last week’s May 5 town hall. This latest slide deck should be used regardless of which session you may have attended in the past.
Key takeaways:
- You may continue to use the current biosketch and other support format pages, however, the new formats will be required for applications, JIT requests, and RPPRs due on or after 1/25/2022.
- Regardless of which format you use, applicants and recipients remain responsible for disclosing all research endeavors.
- Other Support: As a reminder (see NIH announcement NOT-OD-19-114, July 10, 2019), regardless of the format used, you must ensure to include: completed projects (past three years); consulting that involves the conduct of research; and in-kind contributions.
Another town hall focusing on the NIH Other Support format pages is scheduled for Wednesday, May 19, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm (can register using a Columbia-affiliated email address). We will continue to schedule future town halls and develop tools to assist you. For immediate questions, please contact your SPA Project Officer.
Tomorrow we’ll be resuming our town halls on the new NIH biosketches and other support format pages. We will provide the latest information and guidance.
We added another session to cover both the biosketches and other support forms on Monday, May 10, from 10am – 11:30am (see schedule below). This will be a shortened version covering both topics. In addition, we will have pre-recorded videos available later in the month.
You can register for any of the sessions below using a Columbia-affiliated email address. If you have immediate questions about the forms, please contact your SPA Project Officer. You can send policy-related questions to me prior to the webinars, and to assist us in the creation of FAQs.
Webinars
Changes to the NIH Biosketch
Wednesday, May 5, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Wednesday, May 5, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
NEW – both Biosketch and Other Support
Monday, May 10, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Wednesday, May 19, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Resources:
NIH has issued a follow-up notice to NOT-OD-21-073 on the upcoming changes to the biographical sketch and other support format pages. Per the new announcement NOT-OD-21-110, “NIH expects* applicants and recipients to use the updated biosketch and other support format for applications, Just-in-Time (JIT) Reports, and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) as of May 25, 2021. NIH will require* the use of the updated format pages for the previously mentioned submissions for anything on and after January 25, 2022.”
*emphasis added.
In addition, NIH states:
“Please note, applicants and recipients remain responsible for disclosing all research endeavors regardless of the version of the forms used. Therefore, if applicants and recipients choose not to use the updated format pages before they are required, applicants and recipients must still capture all the necessary information.”
As of this most recent Notice, NIH has not specified a limited lookback period for disclosures under Section B of the biographical sketch, “Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors. As we have previously advised, for biographical sketches being submitted with NIH institutional training grants due May 25, if you are pressed for space, we encourage you to prioritize disclosure of Scientific Appointments held during the last three years, both domestic and foreign, including any affiliations with foreign entities or governments. A scientific appointment can include participation in study sections, membership in a scientific society, board membership, and some consulting appointments.
All positions, however, should be included. This includes employment history or any kind of institutional appointment, whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary).
We will resume our webinars to train on the new biosketches and other support format pages. You can register below using a Columbia-affiliated email address. Additional webinars are being scheduled now, and we will send a separate email once the schedule is finalized. If you have immediate questions about the forms, please contact your SPA Project Officer. You can send policy-related questions to me at prior to the webinars at [email protected], and to assist us in the creation of FAQs.
Webinars:
Changes to the NIH Biosketch
Wednesday, May 5, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Wednesday, May 5, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Wednesday, May 19, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Resources:
NIH announced the publication of the revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS, rev. April 2021). See:
- NIH Grants Policy Statement (both HTML and PDF format)
- Significant Changes Document, revisions since December 2019
Per NIH’s announcement, “This revision is applicable to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2020. This revision supersedes, in its entirety, the NIHGPS dated December 2019. Previous versions of the NIHGPS remain applicable as standard terms and conditions of award for all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods that began prior to October 1, 2020.”
For more information about these changes, see NIH’s full announcement at https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-21-107.html.
As always, contact your SPA Project Officer should you have any NIH policy-related questions.
In follow-up to the announcement I sent yesterday (see Update on NIH Biosketches and Other Support), we are expecting NIH to release an announcement by the end of this week containing additional guidance on the new Biosketches and Other Support format pages and the possible extension of its deadline. Therefore, in order to save you time, we will be canceling tomorrow’s previously scheduled Biosketch and Other Support webinars. If you registered you will receive a cancellation notice shortly. We would rather wait to continue with the Biosketch and Other Support webinars until NIH’s announcement is released containing critical information.
We will, however, continue with the SciENcv webinar scheduled for Thursday, April 22 at 2pm. All other webinars will remain on the schedule until further notice, which include (note you can only register using a Columbia-affiliated email address):
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Tuesday, April 27, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm
Changes to the NIH Biosketch
Wednesday, May 5, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Wednesday, May 5, 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm
NIH Other Support Format Pages
Wednesday, May 19, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Please feel free to send me any questions concerning these webinars. Thank you.
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Stephanie F. Scott, MS, CRA
Director of Policy and Research Development
Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA)
Dear Colleagues,
As we said in the special training grants biosketch meeting on March 24, and for the broader research community on April 6, we are trying to provide real-time updates as NIH provides clarifications to the new Biosketch and Other Support requirements. We understand that, in response to advocacy by COGR and other associations, NIH will be issuing another Guide Notice soon, and that it will clarify that the new forms are strongly encouraged but not required until January 2022. We also understand that NIH will specify a limited look-back period for the Section B. Positions, Scientific Appointments and Honors of the Biosketch. Although this is not yet confirmed, we encourage you to prioritize disclosure of Scientific Appointments held during the last three years, both domestic and foreign, including any affiliations with foreign entities or governments. A scientific appointment can include participation in study sections, membership in a scientific society, board membership, and some consulting appointments.
All positions, however, should be included. This includes employment history or any kind of institutional appointment, whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary).
We continue to encourage you to register for one of the upcoming Other Support webinars. Even assuming the deadline for new forms is extended, the changes are significant and researchers will need lead time to respond. We are optimistic NIH will provide additional guidance in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please feel free to send any questions to your SPA Project Officer.
On March 12, NIH announced significant changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support format pages. Among other things, these changes will require principal investigators and senior/key persons to:
- provide significantly more information about their activities than before; and
- include translated copies of certain Other Support documentation, e.g., agreements related to non-U.S. appointments; and
- certify the accuracy of all Other Support submissions.
Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) and the Office of Research Compliance and Training (ORCT) will be hosting several town halls to review the new instructions and forms with the Columbia research community. We strongly encourage NIH applicants, researchers and administrators to attend one session on the Biosketches and another on the Other Support format pages. We will also offer sessions on the Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv), NIH’s system to assist you with creating an NIH or NSF Biosketch. SciENcv is optional at this time, but offers many benefits, which you can read about here.
See below to register. Please only use a Columbia-affiliated email address to register (no Gmail, etc.). Other types of email addresses will be rejected and asked to re-register.
Slides from the sessions will be made available afterwards on the dedicated NIH Researcher Disclosure Requirements webpage as part of the Science & Security website.
Please feel free to send questions about these webinars to me at [email protected]. As always, feel free to send questions about these forms to your SPA Project Officer.
Earlier today, NIH released announcement NOT-OD-21-073, concerning upcoming changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format page. It is important for all NIH applicants and awardees, including PIs, senior/key personnel, and grants administrators, to read it in its entirety.
The updated Biographical Sketch and Other Support format pages will be required for applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2021. It is advisable that you bookmark these pages:
- NIH Biosketch format pages and instructions and FAQs
- NIH Other Support format pages and FAQs
Please note: PIs and senior/key personnel will be required to certify that their Other Support information is true, complete and accurate to the best of their knowledge.
Our office is in the process of reviewing the updated forms and instructions. We are scheduling webinars in the coming weeks to provide an overview of these changes. NIH is also planning to release additional resources and training materials in the coming weeks. If you are in the process of creating either a Biosketch or Other Support format page for applications and RPPRs due on or after May 25, 2021, please refer to the FAQs and instructions and contact your SPA Project Officer for any immediate questions. Additionally, we will also be collecting your questions prior to our webinars, and we will be providing guidance along with other materials to assist you. Please send your webinar questions to me at [email protected].
Thank you and please stay tuned for more information.
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Stephanie F. Scott, MS, CRA
Director of Policy and Research Development
Sponsored Projects Administration
NOTE, subsequent announcement sent 3/15/2021:
Earlier today, NIH issued corrected instructions to request childcare costs for recipients of NRSA individual fellowships. See NOT-OD-21-074, which replaces to announcement NOT-OD-21-069 referenced below. NIH also updated its FAQs.
If you have any questions regarding how to make the request in a fellowship application, RPPR, or administrative supplement, please contact your SPA Project Officer. We’ll provide you with any updates.
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ORIGINAL Announcement sent 3/5/2021:
This week NIH announced a new policy to allow for childcare support costs to recipients of NRSA individual fellowships (i.e., F31, F32, etc). These costs must be specifically requested in new, continuation applications or through administrative supplements beginning on or after April 8, 2021. Please read the full announcement at NOT-OD-21-069, the FAQs, and supplementary information below.
Some key takeaways:
- The policy applies to full-time NIH-NRSA supported individual fellowship applicants and awardees. However, additional information is forthcoming later this year regarding expanding the policy to trainees on institutional training grants, anticipated for FY2022.
- Each fellow is eligible to receive $2,500 per budget period for childcare costs. The childcare cost amount is not determined by number of children.
- Childcare costs are permitted for dependent children living in the eligible fellow’s home from birth under the age of 13, or children who are disabled and under age 18.
- Eligible childcare is care that is licensed and/or regulated by state and/or local authorities. See FAQs for more details.
- At a minimum, recipients must obtain and retain documentation verifying that a childcare provider is licensed and/or regulated by state and/or local authorities, and must document that the fellow is eligible to receive the childcare costs and has eligible dependents.
- The childcare cost is restricted for that purpose and cannot be rebudgeted without prior written approval from the NIH awarding IC.
If you have any questions regarding how to make the request in the fellowship application, RPPR, or administrative supplement, please contact your SPA Project Officer. The announcement NOT-OD-21-069, and the FAQs, provide instructions on how to make the childcare support request.
We’ll provide further guidance on these new costs at a later date.