News & Updates
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.