This page is updated monthly to include critical updates associated with federal funding.
Institutional Updates
Updated Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Rate
The University of Oregon’s fringe benefit rates have been finalized for FY25 and we have received an updated F&A rate agreement to reflect these rates. Updated rates are posted on the F&A rates webpage.
Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Compliance
UO researchers who receive federal funding may not participate in a malign foreign talent recruitment program (MFTRP) pursuant to 42 USC 19232: Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Prohibition and federal sponsor agency regulations. Beginning July 1, PIs will need to attest in the compliance tab of EPCS that they are aware of this prohibition and that they nor any senior/key personnel on the sponsored project are party to any MFTRP. MFTRPs are defined as a recruitment program sponsored by or located within a country of concern that offers an employee compensation for performing problematic obligations or activities. More information about MFTRPs, including a list of problematic activities, can be found on the export control website.
SciENcv
The National Science Foundation (NSF) mandates the use of SciENcv for the creation of biosketches and current/pending documents. Additionally, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will adopt common forms for biographical sketch and current/pending (other) support by May 25, 2025. To ensure consistency, SPS will require the use of SciENcv for all proposals unless the sponsor specifies a different format.
The National Science Foundation (NSF)
Research Ethics in the Chips and Science Act
Request for Information (RFI): The National Science Foundation (NSF) is issuing a Request for Information (RFI) to inform the development of the agency's response to Research Ethics in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. NSF welcomes feedback from interested parties. This includes representatives from non-profit organizations; philanthropies; industry; local, state, and tribal government offices/agencies; K-12 schools and districts; institutions of higher education; and trade and/or vocational schools. Interested persons or organizations are invited to submit comments on or before 11:59 p.m. EST on Friday, November 15, 2024.
To respond to this Request for Information, please use the official submission form. Please note that respondents only need to provide feedback on one or more questions of interest or relevance to them. Each question is voluntary and optional. The response to each question has a 4,000-character limit including spaces.
Proposals with research off site (travel or conference grants) or off campus
For all proposals which conduct research off site (travel or conference grants) or off campus, the UO must certify that the offsite location has a plan in place for that proposal regarding safe and inclusive working environments. Please work with your pre-award sponsored project administrator (SPA) if you have any questions.
The NSF draft revised Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), expected to go into effect in early 2024, includes the definition of Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs (MFTRP). Proposals will require new certifications regarding MFTRP by the UO and for senior/key persons. If awarded, PIs and co-PIs will be required to certify annually during the life of the award.
NSF will require ORCID iDs for all Senior Key Personnel on proposals beginning on October 23, 2023.
NSF has partnered with the National Institutes of Health to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an NSF/NIH-approved format for use in preparation of the biographical sketch. Adoption of a single, common researcher profile system for federal grants reduces the administrative burden for researchers.
SciENcv will produce an NSF- or NIH-compliant PDF version of the biographical sketch. Proposers must save this document and submit it as part of their proposal via Research.gov for NSF and eRA Commons/ASSIST for NIH.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
The Office of Research Integrity (ORI) issued the 2024 Final Rule to update the 2005 Public Health Service (PHS) Policies on Research Misconduct. The 2024 updates to the Final Rule establish requirements for addressing research misconduct; the application date for the final rule is January 1, 2026. UO policy changes to comply with the new final rule will be communicated to the research community once available. For more information, see the ORI announcement or contact Sheryl Johnson, the UO’s research integrity officer at sherylj@uoregon.edu.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH)
New NIH Grants and Funding Site Coming Soon
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will release its updated Grants and Funding website in late September. NIH developed it with the needs of the grants community in mind, based on website usage data and the feedback provided through site survey responses over the years.
PDF Files Must Be “Flattened” Before Submission
NIH requires submission of PDF attachments as part of both the application process and post award activities in the eRA Commons, such as Request for Additional Materials (RAM), Just-in-Time (JIT), and Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). Many of these attachments must be flattened before submission to avoid errors.What is flattening? An electronic PDF file can actually be made up of multiple ‘layers’ such as a watermark, images, regular text, electronic signatures, and maybe even some fillable form fields. Flattening files keeps them from being inadvertently edited, reduces the file size, and helps ensure that what you submit is what agency staff members see.Visit the new NIH flattening PDFs for application submission and commons uploads resource page.
NRSA Fellows Stipend Increase
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced in April an increase in the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) stipend amounts of about 8%. For those postdoctoral fellows (note, not employees) funded on NRSA fellowships, NIH is beginning to adjust fellowship notices of award so that stipend increases are backdated to October 1, 2023. NIH is modifying appropriate awards. Please contact your post-award team at SPS if you expect an increase and have not yet. Please note that this is only applicable to NRSA fellows.
NIH Open Mike Blog and Notice of NIH Policy Changes
- In case you missed the 2024 Updates Webinar from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) here are the resources, check out the PowerPoint slides and the webinar transcript.
- The NIH has issued updated policy guidance for consortium/subaward agreements, effective October 1, 2023. This includes a provision for foreign subawardees related to access to lab notebooks, data, and documentation. Please reach out to your Pre-Award SPA if you have any questions.
- Publications Describing Animal Research: NIH encourages the use of the ARRIVE Essential 10 Checklist in all publications reporting on the results of vertebrate animal and cephalopod research.
- The Council on Government Relations developed helpful resources for faculty and administrators in understanding and navigating the new NIH guidelines related to Data Sharing and Management. You can review their resources page and readiness guide.
US Department of Education
The Institution of Education Sciences (IES) has posted new funding opportunity announcements. As in years past, SPS is again likely to experience a heavy volume of proposals being entered into the EPCS system for the upcoming deadlines. Major deadlines this year will be August 15 and September 12. For more information, please visit the IES Funding page. For the latter deadline, please initiate your EPCS records by August 22 at the very latest.
Foreign disclosures
A reminder that if you partner or publish with a foreign collaborator, or conduct research on a foreign project, either funded or not funded, please be sure that your Other Support, Current and Pending Support, and Biosketch documents properly disclose the collaboration. New common forms are now available that guide how to disclose and provide further definitions. If you have any questions about what requires disclosure, please reach out to your post-award team.