Effective October 1, 2024, NASA has revised it’s Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM) [PDF] to streamline guidance, improve flow, and clarify policy. The revised GCAM provides a single source for comprehensive grant guidance that covers the pre-award, award, post-award, and closeout phases of the grant life cycle. In addition, NASA’s general and special terms and conditions will now be a standalone document rather than located in the GCAM.  

In support of requirements in National Security Presidential Memorandum-33 (NSPM-33) and the CHIPS and Science Act, NASA has adopted common biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support forms. Effective October 1, 2024, all covered individuals, as defined in the NASA’s biosketch and current and pending support policy in the 2024 GCAM, will be required to submit the disclosure forms with their applications. The NASA Pre-award and Post-award Disclosure Requirements [PDF] document informs applicants of the activities that need to be disclosed, in which document the activity is to be disclosed, and whether post-award disclosures are required. 
 
Read additional information on key changes and NASA’s Implementation of Title 2 of the Code of Federal Regulations here [PDF].

Effective October 1, 2024, the HHS policy [PDF] on salary rate limitation outlines that the legislative mandate limiting salary to Executive Level II applies to 

• Direct salaries (individuals working directly on NIH projects) and 
• Indirect salaries (executive salaries in various cost pools)  

This policy change applies to new, competing renewals, non-competing continuations and supplemental awards.  
 
NIH has published a revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for FY2024. The revised policy applies to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2023. All changes in regard to the updated Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) that will be implemented on October 1, 2024 will be included in the FY2025 release of the NIH Grant Policy Statement. For more information, please refer to NOT-OD-24-115. 
 
For RPPRs submitted on or after October 1, 2024, NIH will have additional questions to align with the NIH Final Policy on Data Management and Sharing, including updates on the status of data sharing, repositories and unique identifiers for data that have been shared. Please refer to NOT-OD-24-123 for additional information. The revised Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) [PDF] is now available and more information is available on the NIH RPPR webpage. 

The automated Just-in-Time email [PDF], generated by the eRA system and sent to applicants for all applications that receive an overall impact score of 30 or less, will be retired effective October 1, 2024 (NOT-OD-24-165). Official notification of the need for JIT material(s) will continue to be sent directly by NIH staff from the awarding Institute/Center to those who are required to provide the material(s). The JIT link to submit the materials, when requested, will also continue to be available in eRA Commons until the application is awarded. The JIT link is accessed: 

• By SOs, on the Status Results screen by clicking on the three-dot ellipsis in the Application/Award ID column and choosing JIT from the dropdown menu.
• By PIs, on the Status screen, by expanding a grant application and clicking the JIT link in the Available Actions column. 

As a reminder, a request for JIT information is not a Notice of Award, nor should it be construed as an indicator of possible funding by the NIH. If you have any additional questions, contact the Grants Management Specialist assigned to your application. 

The NIH Grants Policy Statement, Section 2.5.1 Just-in-Time Procedures, as well as resources on the eRA and NIH Grants and Funding webpages, will be updated to reflect this process update. 

NIH will have many changes to grant applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2025 (NOT-OD-24-084). Many of these updates were discussed at an NIH FY2025 Updates webinar on October 17, 2024. If you missed the session, you can see the video and review presented material here. 

NIH is having a 2-day webinar on November 13-14, 2024 for new administrators and PIs to better understand NIH’s structure and pre-award processes. Registration is available here. 

Effective October 1, 2024, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated its Proposal and Awards Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) [PDF] and revised its Award Terms and to comply with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) changes to 2 CFR. The revised directed agencies to implement the revisions to 2 CFR for awards made on or after October 1, 2024. In the case of any inconsistency between the coverage contained in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide and 2 CFR (including 2 CFR part 200), the coverage specified in 2 CFR applies. 

The NSF Fall Virtual Conference will be held December 9 – 12, 2024. More information can be found on NSF’s Policy Outreach webpage here. Registration will be forthcoming. 

NASA plans to implement the NSTC common forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support starting on October 1, 2024, for NASA grants and cooperative agreements. NASA states in the notice they plan to implement the common forms “with minor deviations” and it is unclear from the notice what those will be. NASA will have a table entitled “NASA Pre-award and Post-award Disclosure Requirements,” which will provide reference information regarding pre-award and post-award disclosures. NASA is proposing a unique definition for Senior/key persons as all Principal Investigators (PIs), all co-Principal Investigators (CoPIs), and co-Investigators (Co-Is) proposing to spend 10 percent or more of their time in any given year on a NASA-funded grant or cooperative agreement. To comply with CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which requires certifications that senior/key personnel are not a party to a malign foreign talent recruitment program, NASA will collect certification but will require award recipients to maintain original forms with digital signatures and make them accessible to NASA in accordance as digital signatures are not retained in their system (NSPIRE).

Questions? Email Sarah Saxton, Assistant Vice Provost, Sponsored Programs, at sarah.m.saxton@drexel.edu.

NIH is increasing the childcare support to $3,000 for applicable NRSA individual fellowships and institutional training awards effective with FY2024 awards. Please refer to NOT-OD-24-116 for more information.

NIH has published a revised NIH Grants Policy Statement for FY2024. The revised policy applies to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2023. All changes in regard to the updated Uniform Guidance (2 CFR Part 200) that will be implemented on October 1, 2024 will be included in the FY2025 release of the NIH Grant Policy Statement. For more information, please refer to NOT-OD-24-115.

Please remember that effective May 25, 2024, markups in Resubmission applications are no longer allowed. Changes made to the Resubmission application would only be outlined in the Introduction attachment. Please refer to NOT-OD-24-061 for further information.

For RPPRs submitted on or after October 1, 2024, NIH will have additional questions to align with the NIH Final Policy on Data Management and Sharing, including updates on the status of data sharing, repositories and unique identifiers for data that have been shared. Please refer to NOT-OD-24-123 for additional information. A reviewed RPPR Instruction Guide will be posted to the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) NIH webpage once approved.
NIH will have many changes to grant applications submitted for due dates on or after January 25, 2025 (NOT-OD-24-084).

Simplified Review Framework for Most Research Project Application Grants

• a. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is simplifying the framework for the peer review of most Research Project Grant (RPG) applications, effective for due dates on or after January 25, 2025. These changes are designed to address the complexity of the peer review process and mitigate potential bias.

Revisions to the NIH Fellowship Application and Review Process

• a. Fellowship applications submitted on or after January 25, 2025 will follow a revised application and review criteria. The goal of the changes is to improve the chances that the most promising fellowship candidates will be consistently identified by scientific review panels.
• b. Several changes to the application include:
  • i. Grades will no longer be required or allowed on the Candidate biosketch.
  • ii. Candidates will be required to submit four personal statements: 1) professional and fellowship goals, 2) fellowship qualifications, 3) self-assessment, and 4) scientific perspective
  • iii. Revisions to the research training plan sections: heading revisions and moving the Selection of Sponsor and Institution into another area of the application
  • iv. Sponsors and Co-sponsors will be required to submit five statements: 1) mentoring approach and candidate mentoring plan, 2) prior commitment to training and mentoring, 3) commitment to he candidates’ research training plan, 4) research training environment, and 5) candidate’s potential. If a candidate is proposing to gain experience in a clinical trial, a sixth statement on clinical training will be required.

Updated Reference Letter Instructions for Referees

• a. NIH is updating the instructions for reference letters to provide more structure so letters will better assist reviewers in understanding the candidate’s strengths, weaknesses, and potential to pursue a productive career in biomedical science. The submission process will remain unchanged.

Updates to NRSA Training Grant Applications

• a. Three key changes to the application
  • i. The Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity will be its own attachment in the PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan Form.
  • ii. Mentor training expectations will be more clearly defined int the parent T32 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO).
  • iii. Institutional Training data tables will be updated to reduce burden and promote consistent information collection across training programs.
    1. Tables 1 & 2: Applicants will be expected to provide data only for the training stage(s) reflected in the proposed program.
    2. Table 5 (Publications of Those in Training): Table will be reorganized to that the first column is the trainee, not faculty member, and applicants will be allowed to include interim research products to which the trainee contributed.
    3. Table 6 (Applicants, Entrants, & their Characteristics for the Past 5 Years): No longer will ask for trainee characteristics related to prior academic and research experience.
    4. Table 8 (Program Outcomes: Predoctoral and Postdoctoral): Part II (Those Clearly Associated with the Training Grant” will not be included.
• b. NIH will now include “Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research” and “Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity” as items that contribute to the overall impact score. These items will move from “Additional Review Considerations” and will be included as “Additional Review Criteria.” As such reviewers will evaluate the “Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research” and the “Recruitment Plan to Enhance Diversity” while determining scientific and technical merit, and in providing an overall impact score.

Updated Application Forms (FORMS-I)

• a. All applications submitted for due dates on or after January 20, 2025 will need to be submitted using the new application forms.
• b. Most changes will be seen in the PHS 398 Research Training Program Plan, PHS Fellowship Supplemental Form, and Training Data Tables due to the revisions of the NRSA Training Grant and NIH Fellowship Application changes.

Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support

• a. NIH is adopting the Biographical Sketch Common Form and the Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form in 2025. The Common Forms represent a collaborative effort between Federal research agencies to ensure standard disclosure requirements as outlined in the National Security Presidential Memorandum - 33.

• Simplified Review of Research Project Grant Applications Webpage
• Recorded Webinar: NIH’s Simplified Peer Review Framework for NIH Research Project Grant (RPG) Applications and Impact to New and Existing Funding Opportunities
• NOT-OD-24-085: Simplified Review Framework for NIH Research Project Grant Applications - Update and Implementation Plans
• NOT-OD-24-010: Simplified Review Framework for NIH Research Project Grant Applications
• NOT-OD-23-034: Request for Information (RFI) on Proposed Simplified Review Framework for NIH Research Project Grant Applications
• Revisions to the NIH Fellowship Application and Review Process Webpage
• September 19, 2024 Webinar Registration: Revisions to the Fellowship Application and Review Process
• NOT-OD-24-107: Implementation of Revisions to the NIH and AHRQ Fellowship Application and Review Process
• NOT-OD-23-110: Request for Information (RFI) on Recommendations for Improving NRSA Fellowship Review
• Reference Letters Webpage (new instructions will be posted fall 2024)
• Recorded Webinar: Updates to NIH Training Grant Applications
• Updates to NIH Institutional Training Grant Applications Webpage
• NOT-OD-24-129: Updates to NIH Institutional Training Grant Application for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2025
• High Level Summary of FORMS-I Changes Webpage
• NOT-OD-24-086: New NIH “FORMS-I” Grant Application Forms and Instructions Coming for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2025
• Changes Coming to NIH Applications and Peer Review in 2025 Webpage
• Video Overview of Grant Application and Review Changes for Due Dates on or after January 25, 2025
• Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions and Samples Webpage (to be updated)
• Other Support Webpage (to be updated)

Questions? Email Sarah Saxton, Assistant Vice Provost, Sponsored Programs, at sarah.m.saxton@drexel.edu.

NSF recently revised its Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1) for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024.

Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support

• a. The revised format (Common Forms) are in SciENcv and must be used for proposals submitted or due on or after May 20, 2024. Both documents are required for all senior/key personnel.
• b. Research.gov and Grants.gov will generate a compliance error message if a proposer or awardee attempts to upload a prior version of either the biographical sketch or the current and pending (other) support format or a PDF not generated in SciENcv.
• c. The Research.gov Project Reporting System will also enforce use of the revised current and pending (other) support format when uploaded in annual and final annual project reports.
• d. Research.gov and Grants.gov will no longer enforce a page limitation for the biographical sketch per PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.h.(i).

Synergistic Activities

• a. The biographical sketch will no longer contain a synergistic activities section. A one-page synergistic activities document will be created for each individual designated as senior/key personnel as part of the required senior/key personnel documents in Research.gov and Grants.gov. See PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.h(iv) for additional information.

Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Certifications

• a. All senior/key personnel must certify that they are not a party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program per PAPPG Chapter II.D.1.e(ii). This new certification is included on both the biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support forms in SciENcv.
• b. An Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must certify that all senior/key personnel have been made aware of and complied with the requirement that they are not a party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program at the proposal submission per PAPPG Chapter II.D.1.d(ix).

Mentoring Plan

• a. The Mentoring Plan requirement has been expanded to include graduate students. Research.gov and Grants.gov will enforce that a Mentoring Plan not to exceed one page is uploaded for proposals when there is funding for graduate students and/or postdoctoral scholars. Refer to PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.i(i).

Additional Updates

• a. Three new products have been enabled in annual and final annual project reports in Research.gov: Interventions (e.g. clinical or educational), New Business Creations, and Training and Professional Development Materials or Courses.
• b. A new Individual Development Plan certification has been added as part of the annual reporting process to certify that each graduate student or postdoctoral scholar has an Individual Development Plan. This certification is completed by the Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI in Research.gov.

• Summary of Changes to the PAPPG (NSF 24-1)
  
• NSF Proposal & Award Policy Updates (NSF 24-1) webinar
• NSF Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support websites
  
• NSTC Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support [PDF]
  
• Implementing the Common Forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support (webinar)

Effective July 1, 2024, NSF added six new product types in the NSF Public Access Repositor (NSF-PAR): audiovisual, data paper, educational aid and curriculum, posted content, software, and sound. PIs and co-PIs can manually add these product types to project reports in Research.gov. For more information, please review the Research.gov About Public Access page for FAQs and updated how-to guides that include the six new product types. For the latest information on open science, please visit the NSF Public Access Initiative website.

Questions? Email Sarah Saxton, Assistant Vice Provost, Sponsored Programs, at sarah.m.saxton@drexel.edu.