New Sponsor Updates – NIH and DOE

Revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for Fiscal Year 2022

NIH Notice NOT-OD-22-050 announces publication of the updated NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS, Rev Dec 2021).  This update is applicable to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2021. This update supersedes, it its entirety, the NIHGPS dated April, 2021.  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, 2021.

While this update does not introduce any new material for the first time, it incorporates new and modified requirements, clarifies certain policies, and implements changes in statutes, regulations, and policies that have been implemented through appropriate legal and/or policy processes since the previous version dated April 2021.  See the Summary of Significant Changes  for information on changes.

Please contact your Sponsored Programs Research Administrator with any questions.

New Department of Energy Requirements for FY 2022 Funding Proposals

Starting with FY 2022 funding opportunity announcements, the DOE Office of Science (SC) will require two major changes to proposal submissions to increase transparency, avoid conflicts of interest in the review process, standardize information, and address research security issues:

• New collaborator template: A lead applicant must submit an excel file that lists all individual collaborators that are senior or key personnel on a proposal. The information will be used to manage reviewer selection. See the Collaborator Template available as a convenience on the Office of Science site.
• New biosketches and current and pending financial support disclosures: For calls after January 2022, the Office of Science, working with SciENcv, will release a template for biosketches and current and pending financial and other support disclosures. DOE plans to link SciENcv to ORCID accounts to access existing data.

The DOE Office of Science will also add additional requirements and review criteria for data management plans. DOE is concerned that scientific data is not properly being stored and curated. To help with this requirement, which has often been an unfunded mandate, proposals may include requested funding to implement a data management plan and will be considered as part of the merit review. To provide additional guidance, DOE is updating the Suggested Elements of a Data Management Plan. The current guidance will remain in effect for all solicitations issued through December 31, 2021. However, the updated guidance will be effective for all solicitations issued after January 1, 2022. Merit reviewers will also receive training on this issue and the Office of Science is releasing Guidance for Reviewers of Data Management Plans. Additional information is available here and below is a summary of future changes.

Applicants should note some specific changes to DOE/SC FOAs for FY 2022 .  As always, please read the FOA carefully for details of specific requirements and consult the FAQ for common questions.

• Identification of potential Conflicts of Interest among prospective reviewers:
  • Identify Ph.D. advisors, postdoctoral supervisors, advisees, recent co-authors and close collaborators.
  • SC provides an (optional) Excel template.  The list must be included in tabular form in all SC proposals, required pre-proposals, etc.

Several changes were implemented in FY 2021 that will be new to many applicants:

• Biosketches and Current & Pending Support:
  • Applicants must use the NSF-approved formats which may be generated by the Science Experts Network Curriculum Vita  and also available at https://nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/nsfapprovedformats/biosketch.pdf.
  • Part of an effort to reduce administrative burden by standardizing forms across agencies.
  • The new format is machine readable and (in future) searchable within the PAMS database.
  • All foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs must be identified in Current and Pending support.
• Reporting Requirements
  • DOE is implementing (as-yet unspecified) enhanced reporting requirements for applications and awards. The terms and conditions of award will specify changed requirements
  • Changes may be implemented before the award date or upon award modification (continuation, renewal, etc.)
• Early Career Research Program
  • Eligibility extensions for “major life events”.  See FOA and FAQ for details
  • Lab proposals will respond to the same ECRP FOA as university proposals and will be submitted through grants.gov

Also note that DOE Orders (such as Foreign Visits and Assignments) do NOT generally apply to DOE/SC grants, unless specifically included in the terms of the award.