News & Updates

 Winter Break 2023

The Office of Sponsored Projects will be closed on December 20th from 12-5. Please be in touch and plan accordingly.

Winter Break:

A few things to keep in mind as we lead up to the winter break:

·     Dartmouth offices including OSP close Friday, December 22, 2023, 5:00pm & reopen Tuesday, January 2, 2024, 9:00am.

·     Proposals due to the sponsor during break: 

·     Route for initial 7-day review by Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 9:00am

·     Route for 2-day final review by Tuesday, December 19, 2023 at 9:00am

·     If a proposal submission deadline falls during the week of January 2, 2024, please email your Preaward Team Lead or Grants Officer by Friday, December 15, 2023, so the Proposal Submission Team is aware that a proposal will need to be quickly turned around upon return from Winter Recess.

·     Continuations, Supplements, JIT requests, and Progress Reports that are due to the sponsor during Winter Recess must be received by the Preaward Grants Officer by no later than December 15, 2023, at 9:00am. RPPRs due on December 15 need to be submitted by 5pm on Tuesday, December 12. 

·     Please advise your Preaward Grants Officer with copy to sponsored.projects@Dartmouth.edu of any award documents and related agreements requiring execution during the break as soon as possible. 

·     Post-Award: Please work with your Sponsored Research Manager to confirm final figures by no later than 12/12/23 so that financial reports or final invoices due on or before 12/31/23 can be submitted to the sponsor on time.

·     For urgent matters during the break, email sponsored.projects@Dartmouth.edu.      

Wishing you a great holiday season and a happy New Year.

 

Potential Government Shutdown

September 28, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

As we all hear about the possibility of a government shutdown, I wanted to send out a few quick notes based upon information from various groups and past experiences.   In the event of an actual shutdown, funding agencies will post plans and announcements.   OSP will post agency announcements and updates as well.

In the event of a shutdown, we may expect the following (pending official announcements from federal sponsors).

Proposals & Application Systems

• Proposal preparation systems are expected to still be online during a shutdown. At this point, you should plan to submit all applications and reports for announced deadlines unless otherwise notified.   However, it is expected that proposals will not be processed by agencies until normal operations resume.    Watch for announcements from agencies for extensions of deadline dates (but don’t plan on any changes). There is a possibility that the Grants.gov Contact Center will remain available. However, it’s unclear if all Help Desks systems will remain functional.

• Peer reviews/study sections are not expected to occur, which may impact faculty who are reviewers and potential delays in start dates for those whose proposals are awaiting review (if the shutdown is prolonged).

Award Management

• Continue working on federal awards. Grant accounts will remain available for all awards.   Contact OSP if you have questions about existing or new awards. 

• We expect that federal agencies will likely not issue new notices, awards, or other actions during the shutdown.

• Federal personnel likely WILL NOT be available. While each agency may articulate emergency contact procedures, as a rule, do not expect federal personnel to be available.

• Faculty working in federal labs/facilities and possibly on cooperative agreements, contracts, IPAs and joint awards may be affected.  Please consult with OSP and forward any notice received concerning the shutdown and work on these award types.  

Email:  Jill Mortali, Director, Office of Sponsored Projects at jill.m.mortali@dartmouth.edu or sponsored.projects@dartmouth.edu with questions.  

Federal agency contingency plans can be found on the OMB website at https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/information-for-agencies/agency-contingency-plans/


RAPPORT Grants to be Upgraded this Fall 2023

OSP, ITC and Huron colleagues have been busy planning for an upgrade of the grants management software moving to version 10.5. It is anticipated that we will go-live the first week of December. Look for future notices to request volunteers for testing and training. Cutover and outage schedules will be announced well in advance. Enhancements include an improved budgeting module and user interface. 


Reminder: Last date to use FastLane September 29th

·     Researchers are reminded that Fastlane is closing its doors on Friday September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time) 

·     This will be the last opportunity to access the system for any reason including:

·     submit proposal file updates and budget revisions 

·     access FastLane submitted and in-progress letters of intent, proposals, and supplemental funding requests in FastLane. 


NSF Requires SciENcv for Biosketches and Current and Pending Support on October 23rd and After

·     The mandate to use SciENcv only for preparation of the biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support will go into effect for new proposals submitted or due on or after October 23, 2023. 

·     Friday, October 20, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time) is the last day to upload the NSF fillable PDF format for the biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support. 

SciENcv Training Resources

·     OSP SciENcv website

·     NSF Biographical Sketch video tutorial

·     NSF Current & Pending (Other) Support video tutorial

·     SciENcv help guide with NSF-specific section (includes screenshots and step-by-step instructions) 

·     Using SciENcv Frequently Asked Questions

·     SciENcv demo recording from June 2023 NSF Grants Conference (demo starts at the 23:49 minute marker) 


NSF Broadens RCR Requirements

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued new guidance that requires all principal investigators, co-principal investigators, and senior personnel who are or will be supported by NSF funds to complete Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RCR) training. This requirement will be effective for all proposals and awards beginning July 31, 2023.

OSP will certify that Dartmouth has a plan and our plan is to verify training at the time of award. RCR training is available via the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI). To prepare for this new requirement, you can complete this training at any time, beginning immediately. Instructions to access CITI can be found at this link Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) program. We are exploring other training options as well. More to come.


New NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 23-1) and new requirement for Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for Off-Campus or Off-Site Research Plan

The new NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 23-1) went into effect on 1/30/23. A summary of changes can be found at this link.

Among the changes Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for Off-Campus or Off-Site Research, describes the new requirement for the AOR to certify that an organization has a plan in place for safe and inclusive research for any proposal that proposes to conduct off-campus or off-site research. This section also provides considerations for plan development, communication, and dissemination.

OSP has developed a template plan and instructions to assist in meeting the new requirement. The template and instructions can be found on the OSP website.  Please contact OSP for assistance.

Other changes concern common disclosure forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other Support). Please note that SciENcv will be required by October of 2023.

2023 NSF Policy Office Webinar Series: NSF Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support: SciENcv and NSF Formats

Webinar recording from January 19, 2023 now available at this link.  

FY23 Budgeting Guidance

Graduate Student Stipends/Salary:   Given ongoing discussions and plans to increase graduate student stipends at Dartmouth, OSP is advising that grant budget proposals should include a forecasted graduate student stipend rate of $40,000 for FY24 with subsequent annual increases of 3% for future periods. Graduate Student health fees can be forecasted at $5,000 for FY24 with an annual increase of 6%.

Post-doctoral Minimum:   With respect to Post-doctoral fellows, effective July 1, 2023, the Dartmouth-wide minimum will rise to match the NIH National Research Service Award (Kirchstein-F32) “year 0” stipend level. This level is currently $56,484 per year for full-time appointments, but an annual increase is possible in the spring.    For proposals with start dates after July 1, 2023, we recommending budgeting at no less than the current NRSA “year 0” level plus 3%.     

NIH Salary Cap:   Guidance on Salary Limitation for Grants and Cooperative Agreements FY 2023, Notice Number:  NOT-OD-23-056, January 12, 2023.   The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 restricts the amount of direct salary to Executive Level II of the Federal Executive pay scale. Effective January 1, 2023, the salary limitation for Executive Level II is $212,100.

For issued awards that were restricted to Executive Level II, including competing awards already issued in FY 2023, if adequate funds are available in active awards, and if the salary cap increase is consistent with the institutional base salary, recipients may rebudget funds to accommodate the current Executive Level II salary level.

Please note that sponsors, specific institutes at NIH and prime institutions listing Dartmouth as a subcontractor have different budget and funding strategies and vary on policies for budgeting or funding overall or personnel cost escalation.   Please consult with OSP on the optimal budget strategy or for any questions concerning a specific funding opportunity. 

 

New NIH Data Sharing Plan Requirement

As of January 25th 2023, NIH will be requiring a detailed Data Sharing Plan for all applications that will generate scientific data.   An overview and detailed NIH guidance is available at this link, including sample data management plans, information on NIH supported data repositories and important information on the NIH process (e.g. Peer Review will not see or review DMS Plans, but will consider any related budget items. NIH program staff will review the DMS Plan for acceptability and may request modifications prior to award as appropriate.).   

OSP,  Dartmouth Library Research Services and Research Computing are working together to provide resources to assist researchers and their staff.    Please reach out to OSP and refer to the FOA and the funding mechanism to determine when the Data Management and Sharing plan is required.  The attached NIH format page outlines the required sections which include six required elements specific to the research and data.  

Dartmouth Resources 

On-line Resources: OSP has a web site with an overview of the new requirements, links to the NIH guidance, and a list of institutional resources for investigators.   The library has resources available to assist faculty with choosing a repository for their data and creating data sharing plans compliant with the new policy.

Budgeting:  Investigators may request funds (and probably should) towards data management and sharing in their budget and budget justification.  Allowable costs include labor for data curation, de-identification, preservation, etc., and must be paid before the end of the performance period. NIH guidance on budgets can be found at this link.  Please contact OSP if you have questions about how to budget these costs in your NIH application.
 

Tools for Writing Your Plan:   For writing your plan, one resource we highly recommend is the DMPTool. This application directs you through all required elements and provides guidance from NIH, the DMPTool organization, and participating academic institutions.  The library and OSP have added Dartmouth specific guidance.
 

 

 

 

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