[December 14, 2017] New NIH "FORMS-E" Grant Application Forms and Instructions for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2018 Applicants must use FORMS-E application packages for due dates on or after January 25, 2018 (details in NIH Notice). All NIH "parent" announcements that use standard due dates will be expired and reissued with new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) numbers, FORMS-E application packages and instructions. In addition, all applications involving clinical trials must be submitted to FOAs specifically designed for clinical trials beginning with due dates on or after January 25, 2018 (see NIH Notice). Applications submitted using the wrong forms for their intended due date will not be reviewed. At Rockefeller, NIH applicants must select the updated FORMS-E application package when creating their proposal within InfoEd. More>>
[November 16, 2017] When and how should investigators acknowledge sponsored research support/resources? All products - publications, posters, abstracts, presentations, press releases, reports, other public communications - that have benefited directly or indirectly, fully or partially, from sponsored research funding support and/or resources (through salary, equipment, supplies, travel, etc.) must acknowledge the sources of support in compliance with sponsors’ requirements.
In all instances, if more than one source supported the described work, all sources should be specified. Note that NIH requires the use of an identical statement across all funding mechanisms. See NIH and other acknowledgement templates in our Acknowledgment of Support boilerplate.
Furthermore, many sponsors, such as the NIH, require institutions to include details on the grant/award that supported the project in all their press releases. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 11/17/2017]
[November 8, 2017] Who do I list as the Institutional Official? When applying for the NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) be sure to list Collette Ryder (cryder@rockefeller.edu) as the Institutional Business Official for purposes of verifying salary and research support. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration at OSPA@rockefeller.edu. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 11/8/2017]
[October 19, 2017] Upcoming Grants.gov Changes Eliminate Application Safety Net As of December 31, 2017, Grants.gov will no longer allow downloads of Adobe PDF packages. We sometimes use these packages if we experience issues using Rockefeller University’s InfoEd submission system. Grants.gov has introduced a new Workspace platform for submitting grants, a submission method with which we have no track record.
We most recently needed to rely on an Adobe submission in June, when an application we attempted to submit through InfoEd had errors. InfoEd support was unsure how long the correction to their system would take. Because it was the day of the deadline, we quickly downloaded an Adobe PDF package, manually completed the entire application, and submitted it by the deadline. This particular safety net will no longer be available to us as of December 31.
Therefore, it is imperative that we submit grant applications with enough time to address any potential errors, including time for our vendor to investigate and apply a patch if needed. Ideally we would like to submit applications at least one day prior to the sponsor deadline to allow investigators time to review and correct their submissions. As a reminder, we request that applications be submitted to OSPA for review five business days prior to the deadline.
If you have questions regarding this, please contact your Sponsored Programs Officer. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 10/19/2017]
[September 21, 2017] CAUTION: DOD Application Retrieval is a Manual Process Since the establishment of the electronic application process, investigators and sponsored research offices both have become accustomed to the rapid retrieval of applications by sponsors such as NIH. However, we have recently discovered that the application retrieval process for DoD is a manual one.
After we submit a proposal to the DoD through Grants.gov, the DoD manually retrieves the application and moves it into their eBRAP (electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal) system, and this process can take up to three business days to complete. Only once the application is retrieved by DoD can the applicant view and verify it in eBRAP.
Keep in mind that while DoD’s deadlines are open until 11:59pm, the people retrieving the applications are only on-site until 5pm Eastern Time. Therefore, applications which are not retrieved by DoD by 5pm Eastern Time on the day of the deadline may not be able to be verified in eBRAP until the next day.
Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application at least two business days before the deadline to allow enough time for an adequate review in order to ensure the successful submission of their applications. This viewing window enables applicants to verify that their application is complete and, if not, to work with an institutional Signing Official to reject, modify, and resubmit it. However, any modifications or corrections must be completed PRIOR to the due date.
As a reminder, OSPA requires all application materials be provided five business days prior to the deadline to ensure a full review and allow for corrections prior to submission. More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 9/21/2017]
[July 20, 2017] Are there any tools available to search for potential study sections to review my NIH application? Yes, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) has a new Assisted Referral Tool (ART), which investigators can use to identify CSR study sections that may be appropriate to review their applications. By entering the project title and project summary/abstract from a grant application, a list of relevant CSR study sections will be generated. Alternatively, investigators can find study sections using keywords. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 7/20/2017]
[June 21, 2017] Is the role of “Co-PI” acceptable for NIH applications? Unlike DOD, the NIH does not recognize Co-PI as a role for NIH-supported projects. In order to avoid confusion, applicants are warned not to use this role. The term Co-Investigator would be more appropriate for NIH applications. Note that assigning someone the role of "Co-PI" will not identify the application as a multiple PD/PI application; the PIs on multi-PI projects should still be called PIs, not Co-PIs. Other federal agencies and sponsors may use this Co-PI term for their proposals. For more information, including NIH definitions of Co-Investigator, Collaborator, Consultant, and Other Significant Contributors, see NIAID newsletter article. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 6/21/2017]
[June 14, 2017] What are NIH Special Emphasis Panels (SEPs)? These study sections are held to review applications on special topics (e.g. Requests For Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcement with special review consideration (PARs)) or when a conflict of interest situation occurs (for study section members’ applications). SEPs only include temporary members and their rosters are available 30 days before the review meeting. More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 6/14/2017]
[November 16, 2017] When and how should investigators acknowledge sponsored research support/resources? All products - publications, posters, abstracts, presentations, press releases, reports, other public communications - that have benefited directly or indirectly, fully or partially, from sponsored research funding support and/or resources (through salary, equipment, supplies, travel, etc.) must acknowledge the sources of support in compliance with sponsors’ requirements.
In all instances, if more than one source supported the described work, all sources should be specified. Note that NIH requires the use of an identical statement across all funding mechanisms. See NIH and other acknowledgement templates in our Acknowledgment of Support boilerplate.
Furthermore, many sponsors, such as the NIH, require institutions to include details on the grant/award that supported the project in all their press releases. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 11/17/2017]
[November 8, 2017] Who do I list as the Institutional Official? When applying for the NIH Loan Repayment Program (LRP) be sure to list Collette Ryder (cryder@rockefeller.edu) as the Institutional Business Official for purposes of verifying salary and research support. If you have any questions, please contact the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration at OSPA@rockefeller.edu. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 11/8/2017]
[October 19, 2017] Upcoming Grants.gov Changes Eliminate Application Safety Net As of December 31, 2017, Grants.gov will no longer allow downloads of Adobe PDF packages. We sometimes use these packages if we experience issues using Rockefeller University’s InfoEd submission system. Grants.gov has introduced a new Workspace platform for submitting grants, a submission method with which we have no track record.
We most recently needed to rely on an Adobe submission in June, when an application we attempted to submit through InfoEd had errors. InfoEd support was unsure how long the correction to their system would take. Because it was the day of the deadline, we quickly downloaded an Adobe PDF package, manually completed the entire application, and submitted it by the deadline. This particular safety net will no longer be available to us as of December 31.
Therefore, it is imperative that we submit grant applications with enough time to address any potential errors, including time for our vendor to investigate and apply a patch if needed. Ideally we would like to submit applications at least one day prior to the sponsor deadline to allow investigators time to review and correct their submissions. As a reminder, we request that applications be submitted to OSPA for review five business days prior to the deadline.
If you have questions regarding this, please contact your Sponsored Programs Officer. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 10/19/2017]
[September 21, 2017] CAUTION: DOD Application Retrieval is a Manual Process Since the establishment of the electronic application process, investigators and sponsored research offices both have become accustomed to the rapid retrieval of applications by sponsors such as NIH. However, we have recently discovered that the application retrieval process for DoD is a manual one.
After we submit a proposal to the DoD through Grants.gov, the DoD manually retrieves the application and moves it into their eBRAP (electronic Biomedical Research Application Portal) system, and this process can take up to three business days to complete. Only once the application is retrieved by DoD can the applicant view and verify it in eBRAP.
Keep in mind that while DoD’s deadlines are open until 11:59pm, the people retrieving the applications are only on-site until 5pm Eastern Time. Therefore, applications which are not retrieved by DoD by 5pm Eastern Time on the day of the deadline may not be able to be verified in eBRAP until the next day.
Therefore, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application at least two business days before the deadline to allow enough time for an adequate review in order to ensure the successful submission of their applications. This viewing window enables applicants to verify that their application is complete and, if not, to work with an institutional Signing Official to reject, modify, and resubmit it. However, any modifications or corrections must be completed PRIOR to the due date.
As a reminder, OSPA requires all application materials be provided five business days prior to the deadline to ensure a full review and allow for corrections prior to submission. More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 9/21/2017]
[July 20, 2017] Are there any tools available to search for potential study sections to review my NIH application? Yes, the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) has a new Assisted Referral Tool (ART), which investigators can use to identify CSR study sections that may be appropriate to review their applications. By entering the project title and project summary/abstract from a grant application, a list of relevant CSR study sections will be generated. Alternatively, investigators can find study sections using keywords. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 7/20/2017]
[June 21, 2017] Is the role of “Co-PI” acceptable for NIH applications? Unlike DOD, the NIH does not recognize Co-PI as a role for NIH-supported projects. In order to avoid confusion, applicants are warned not to use this role. The term Co-Investigator would be more appropriate for NIH applications. Note that assigning someone the role of "Co-PI" will not identify the application as a multiple PD/PI application; the PIs on multi-PI projects should still be called PIs, not Co-PIs. Other federal agencies and sponsors may use this Co-PI term for their proposals. For more information, including NIH definitions of Co-Investigator, Collaborator, Consultant, and Other Significant Contributors, see NIAID newsletter article. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 6/21/2017]
[June 14, 2017] What are NIH Special Emphasis Panels (SEPs)? These study sections are held to review applications on special topics (e.g. Requests For Applications (RFAs) and Program Announcement with special review consideration (PARs)) or when a conflict of interest situation occurs (for study section members’ applications). SEPs only include temporary members and their rosters are available 30 days before the review meeting. More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 6/14/2017]
[May 18, 2017] Preprints and other Interim Research Products in NIH applications
The NIH encourages investigators to use interim research products, e.g. preprints, preregistered protocols, to facilitate the dissemination and enhance the rigor of their research (details in NIH Notice).
NIH expects awardees to ensure a high level of public access to NIH supported interim products, in order to maximize impact of interim research products that are developed with NIH funds. Specifically, the NIH expects that the awardee will:
• Make the product publically available. The NIH strongly encourages awardees to select a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license or dedicate their work to the public domain.
• In the text of the document:
The NIH encourages investigators to use interim research products, e.g. preprints, preregistered protocols, to facilitate the dissemination and enhance the rigor of their research (details in NIH Notice).
NIH expects awardees to ensure a high level of public access to NIH supported interim products, in order to maximize impact of interim research products that are developed with NIH funds. Specifically, the NIH expects that the awardee will:
• Make the product publically available. The NIH strongly encourages awardees to select a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license or dedicate their work to the public domain.
• In the text of the document:
◦ Acknowledge NIH funding in accordance with NIH Grants Policy Statement Chapter 8.2.1
◦ Clearly state that the work is not peer-reviewed
◦ Declare any competing interests, as an author would do for any journal article
◦ Clearly state that the work is not peer-reviewed
◦ Declare any competing interests, as an author would do for any journal article
For applications submitted for the May 25, 2017 due date and thereafter, awardees can claim these products on their progress report publication list. They can also report them on their Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) as of May 25, 2017, and link them to their award in their My Bibliography account. [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 5/18/2017]
[April 20, 2017] What is a continuing resolution? When Congress fails to pass an appropriations bill by the end of the fiscal year, it can pass a continuing resolution (CR) to provide budget authority for federal agencies to continue operating until regular appropriations are enacted. Under a CR, policy provisions from the previous fiscal year’s appropriations legislation are continued and funding is provided at a level equal to or slightly lower than was enacted in the previous fiscal year.
During a CR, NIH:
• Can make only a limited number of new grant awards
• May fund existing awards at a reduced level until the budget passes
• Must fund existing programs
• Is prohibited by law from launching new initiatives or activities outside the scope of the existing authorization
More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 4/20/2017]
[April 20, 2017] What is a continuing resolution? When Congress fails to pass an appropriations bill by the end of the fiscal year, it can pass a continuing resolution (CR) to provide budget authority for federal agencies to continue operating until regular appropriations are enacted. Under a CR, policy provisions from the previous fiscal year’s appropriations legislation are continued and funding is provided at a level equal to or slightly lower than was enacted in the previous fiscal year.
During a CR, NIH:
• Can make only a limited number of new grant awards
• May fund existing awards at a reduced level until the budget passes
• Must fund existing programs
• Is prohibited by law from launching new initiatives or activities outside the scope of the existing authorization
More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 4/20/2017]
[March 16, 2017] What should I put as a file name for my NIH proposal attachments? Are special characters allowed in application titles and /or file names? The key is to keep things as simple as possible. The NIH does NOT allow special characters in application titles nor in names of associated files. File name characters are validated and enforced by Grants.gov. Valid file names may only include A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore (_), hyphen (-), space, and period. If special characters are included in applications’ project titles and/or file names, they can cause ERRORs and rejections. (The use of special characters and symbols in the body of your research plan is allowed and expected as needed.)
Our suggested filenames are:
• Abstract
• Strategy
• VertAnimals
• Biosketch_(LastName) ex: Biosketch_Smith
• References, etc.
[Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 3/16/2017]
[February 16, 2017] Does the new NIH policy on final progress reports apply if I submitted a competing renewal for the same project? Yes. As of February 9, 2017 NIH will no longer accept the progress report contained within a competing renewal to serve as a separate final progress report. The NIH now requires that an “Interim-RPPR” be submitted (within 120 calendar days of the project end date) even while a competing renewal is under consideration. If the renewal is funded, the NIH will treat the Interim-RPPR as the annual performance report for the final year of the previous competitive segment. If the renewal is not funded, the Interim-RPPR will be treated by NIH staff as the Final-RPPR. More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 2/16/2017]
[January 19, 2017] What is the new NIH process for submitting final progress reports? As of January, 2017, the NIH has replaced the Final Progress Report with the Final Research Performance Progress Reports (F-RPPR) to close out grants (details in NIH Notice). The F-RPPR format is generally the same as the current annual RPPR. However, there is a new requirement to report on Project Outcomes, which will be made publicly available, thus allowing grantees the opportunity to provide the general public with a concise summary of the findings of the project (analogous to the Project Summary/Abstract section of the competing application). The deadline for submitting final reports remains the same, i.e. within 120 calendar days of the project end date. More>> [Faculty, Postdocs and Resadmin 1/19/2017]
