New NIH Salary Cap; Other NIH Notices for FY2012

The National Institutes of Health budget approved December 23, 2011 reduces the salary cap from Executive Level I ($199,700) to Executive Level II ($179,700). On January 20, 2012, the NIH issued Notice of Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts (NOT-OD-12-035) regarding the salary limitation.

Summary of the NIH Notice of Salary Limitation on Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts

The NIH budget approved December 23, 2011 reduces the salary cap from Executive Level I ($199,700) to Executive Level II ($179,700). The lower level is effective with FY2012 awards where the initial Issue Date of the award is on/after December 23, 2011. For FY2012 awards issued on/before December 22, 2011 (competing and non-competing), the effective salary limitation remains at Executive Level 1, $199,700. See the NIH Salary Cap Summary and the time frames associated with salary caps.

Impact on proposals to be submitted to NIH submitted by UC Berkeley Principal Investigators: PIs should budget using projected salaries for the project period regardless of the new salary cap. NIH will adjust salary levels if necessary at the time of award.

NIH non-competing awards will not be recalculated to adjust for this decrease in the salary limitation. However, the level to charge for salaries on non-competing grants is dependent upon the issue date of the initial FY2012 award. For non-competing grants with initial issue dates on/before December 22, 2011, the applicable salary limitation is Executive Level I; for non-competing grants with an initial Issue Date on/after December 23, 2011, the applicable salary limitation is Executive Level II. For grants now limited to Executive Level II, unless otherwise restricted grantees may rebudget any funds freed as a result of the lower cap.

Questions & Answers 4, 5, and 6, excerpted below from the NIH Notice, provide information relative to re-budgeting for competing and non-competing awards.

4. A grant was issued on/after December 23, 2011. The award was based on the Executive Level I. Can I rebudget the funds awarded in excess of the new Executive Level II salary limit, or will NIH adjust the award by the difference between the two? It depends on the type of award. If the award is a non-competing award, then grantees may rebudget the funds awarded in excess of the new salary limit. However, if the grant is a competing award, the NIH IC will revise the award when an adjustment for the lower salary limit is needed.

5. Can grantees rebudget on FY2012 awards that were proposed using Executive Level I and are awarded on/after December 23, 2011? Executive Level II is effective with awards with an initial Issue Date of December 23, 2011 and beyond. For non-competing awards with an initial Issue Date of December 23, 2011 and beyond, grantees can rebudget. For competing awards issued on/after December 23, 2011, the ICs will revise the award and adjust the current and all future year commitments to apply Executive Level II when applicable.

6. For awards issued on/before December 22, 2011, will future year commitments be adjusted to reflect Executive Level II? For competing awards issued on/before December 22, 2011, no adjustment will be made to the FY2012 award; however, future year commitments will be adjusted when applicable to reflect Executive Level II. Non-competing awards will not be adjusted to reflect Executive Level II for either the FY2012 award or any future year commitments.

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NIH issued several other notices related to FY2012 in the January 20 NIH Guide:

• Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Stipends, Tuition/Fees and Other Budgetary Levels Effective for Fiscal Year 2012 (NOT-OD-12-033)
  (National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Health Resources and Services Administration)
  
  
• NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2012 (NOT-OD-12-036)
  
  
• Notice of Legislative Mandates in Effect for FY2012 (NOT-OD-12-034)

NIH Grant Proposals: Hard Copies No Longer Needed for Review by SPO

As of January 23, 2012, the Sponsored Projects Office will begin reviewing National Institutes of Health grant applications submitted via Grants.gov in electronic format only. Departments will no longer need to provide SPO with an additional hard copy of their NIH grant application for review as of this date. This policy will apply to NIH grant proposals only. It will not apply to any other type of Grants.gov submissions at this time. Note: This revised procedure only applies to NIH grant proposals.

Directions:

1. Complete the NIH grant application in the Grants.gov format.
2. Submit the NIH Grants.gov application to the SPO Electronic Drop Box. Guidance on this step can be found at: https://coeus.berkeley.edu/dropbox/.
3. Concurrent with the submission of the NIH Grants.gov application to SPO, submit the following items as one PDF document to spoeproposal@berkeley.edu.
1. Completed and signed Proposal Review Form (PRF)
2. Letters of support from any named consultants and/or collaborators (not already included in proposal)
3. Completed and signed federal conflict of interest disclosure forms*
4. Any other required documents as needed, e.g., letters confirming cost sharing commitments, sub-recipient commitment forms, etc.

*For SBIR and STTR proposals only, signed 700-U forms must still be submitted to SPO in hard copy form per State requirements.

Important!

To avoid problems and ensure a timely review of your NIH grant application, it is important that you submit the Grants.gov application to the SPO Electronic Drop Box at the same time you submit the rest of the required information listed above in PDF format to spoeproposal@berkeley.edu.

Remember that steps 1-3 above must be completed five working days before the submission deadline for the proposal to be considered “on time.”

Please note: The proposal will not be logged in or considered received by SPO until steps 1-3 have been completed. Attachments that do not include a completed and signed PRF and all required attachments will not be accepted by SPO.

Late proposals must follow the VCRO’s procedures for late proposal exceptions.

This guidance is also posted on the SPO web site: Special Instructions for NIH Grant Proposals.

Statement of Economic Interests (700-U) Form Revised for 2012

The State of California has issued a revised 700-U Statement of Economic Interests for Principal Investigators for immediate use. The revised form, dated 2011/2012, is available on the Conflict of Interest Committee web site and is the only version that will now be accepted. If you have any questions please contact Jyl Baldwin (jbaldwin@berkeley.edu, 2-8110). This year, no changes have been made to the form itself, and there are no substantive changes to the instructions.

State of California law requires disclosure of financial interest in the sponsor of a research project; the donor of a research gift; and, under certain circumstances, the provider of materials under a Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) when that sponsor, donor, or provider is a non-governmental source. For research projects, the Statement of Economic Interests for Principal Investigators (Form 700-U) should accompany the proposal and Proposal Review Form to the Sponsored Projects Office or to the Industry Alliances Office. For MTAs, the Form 700-U should accompany the Material Transfer Agreement Review Form to the Industry Alliances Office.

NSF’s Research.gov: CalNet ID Login Now Available

The National Science Foundation Research.gov web site provides services and research-related information for NSF, USDA, and NASA. One service allows researchers to check the status of NSF and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant applications. NSF has recently added financial functions to Research.gov, and in 2013 NSF will require Research.gov for submission of annual, final, and interim progress reports.

Researchers at UC Berkeley now have easier access to Research.gov. Rather than maintaining a separate ID and password at Research.gov, UC Berkeley researchers may now sign in with their CalNet ID and password. Once logged into Research.gov with CalNet, principal investigators (PIs) and co-PIs can connect seamlessly to NSF FastLane’s Principal Investigator (PI/co-PI) services without having to log in again.

Log in with CalNet to Research.gov:

• Go to Research.gov: http://www.research.gov
• Click the drop-down menu under “LOGIN AS” (top left), choose “InCommon,” and click “Login”
• Click the drop-down menu, choose “University of California, Berkeley," and click “Log In”
• Log in with your CalNet ID

Additional one-time steps if you have an existing NSF FastLane account:

• Once you are logged in, click the “My Profile” link (top right), and click “Edit My Activations”
• Read the Rules of Behavior and click “Activate”
• Enter your last name, current NSF FastLane ID, and password and click “Submit”

If you have questions or problems using your NSF FastLane ID or password, please contact your SPO Research Administrator for assistance.

NIH Establishes NCATS, Eliminates NCRR, Publishes Implementation Plans

The National Institutes of Health has established a new National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). NCATS is intended to “re-engineer the process of translating scientific discoveries into new drugs, diagnostics, and devices” and help “identify and overcome hurdles that slow the development of effective treatments and cures.” The establishment of NCATS was included in the federal Fiscal Year 2012 Omnibus Appropriations bill, signed into law December 23, 2011.

With the establishment of NCATS, the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) has been dissolved, and NCRR programs are being transferred to other NIH Institutes and Centers.

NIH posted two NIH Guide Notices on January 6, 2012, one on the implementation of NCATS and the second on the plans to transfer all NCRR programs, awards, and applications. The NCRR web site has a list of the programs being transferred. The NIH Guide Notice on NCRR provides implementation information and states that “over the next few weeks Project Directors/Principal Investigators (PDs/PIs) and institutional officials will receive multiple e-mails from NIH explaining where their NCRR applications and awards will be administered and identifying the appropriate NIH contact person for addressing questions.”

Resources

• NIH News NIH establishes National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences
• NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-12-027 Notice of NIH’s Creation of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and Anticipated Implementation Plan
• NCATS web site
• NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-12-026 Notice of NIH Plans to Transfer All Programs, Awards, and Applications Associated with the National Center of Research Resources to Other NIH Institutes and Centers
• NCCR website with list of programs that have been transferred

NSF and NIH Issue Guidance to Accelerate Spending of ARRA Funds

On September 15, 2011, the federal Office of Management and Budget distributed Memorandum 11-34 to the heads of executive departments and agencies of the federal government regarding the need to accelerate the expenditure of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds.

On December 13, the Sponsored Projects Office received a notice from the National Science Foundation that outlines how NSF plans to encourage PIs to accelerate the spending of ARRA funds by September 30, 2013. Also on December 13, the National Institutes of Health issued an NIH Guide Notice with the same general guidance as NSF.

SPO has posted campus guidance for both the NSF and NIH notices at a new SPO web page, Accelerating Spending of ARRA Funding. Additional information will be included as other agencies publish their requirements.

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November 10, 2011 Research Advocate article: Acceleration of Unspent ARRA Grant Funds

SPO Revises Subrecipient Commitment Form and Instructions

The Sponsored Projects Office has been working over the last several months to streamline the Subrecipient Commitment Form and associated instructions. The goal in revising the form is to collect only information that is needed at the proposal stage and to make the items on the form easier to read and respond to prior to proposal submission.

The new Subrecipient Commitment Form (Version 11/10/2011), and instructions are now available on the SPO web site. The revised form can also be accessed on the SPO forms page.

SPO will accept the previous version of the Subrecipient Commitment Form until the end of the current calendar year. However, departments are encouraged to ask potential subrecipients to complete the new form when possible during the transition period.

After January 1, 2012, the new Subrecipient Commitment Form (Version 11/10/2011) will be required by SPO.

Acceleration of Unspent ARRA Grant Funds

Pam Miller, the Director of the Sponsored Projects Office, sent an advanced notification to the campus of the need to spend ARRA funds promptly or risk having these funds reclaimed by the federal government.

On September 15, 2011, the federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) distributed Memorandum 11-34 to the heads of executive departments and agencies of the federal government regarding the need to accelerate the expenditure of ARRA funds.

The memo stated that nearly 85 percent of ARRA funds have now been paid out and the vast majority of remaining funds have already been obligated for projects that communities are counting on for job creation. However, despite the rapid pace of spending of ARRA funds over the past 30 months, OMB noted that there remain billions in ARRA funds that, although they have been obligated, have not yet been outlayed.

In light of the current economic situation and the need for further economic stimulus, OMB is now asking federal agencies to spend these remaining ARRA funds as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In order to ensure that remaining ARRA balances are spent in an expeditious fashion, federal agencies are being asked by OMB to establish aggressive targets, consistent with programmatic objectives, for outlaying remaining funds by September 30, 2013. This new policy would compress the period of availability for the bulk of remaining funds in discretionary grant programs into the next two years.

Agencies may request waivers, but they will be granted sparingly.

SPO anticipates that the federal agencies will soon be communicating the requirements of Memorandum 11-34 the UC Berkeley campus by adding these requirements to new grant agreements, modifying terms and conditions of existing grant agreements, or other appropriate written means. Agencies also are being directed to revise the terms of ARRA discretionary grant agreements, to the extent permitted by law, to provide for reclamation of funds that remain unspent after September 30, 2013, absent a waiver issued by OMB.

Principal Investigators should contact their Research Administrators with questions about the status of their ARRA expenditures.

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Update (December 14, 2011): NSF and NIH Issue Guidance to Accelerate Spending of ARRA Funds

UC Offers New Data Management Tool for Researchers: DMPTool

UC Berkeley researchers may be interested in a new data management tool developed by the University of California Digital Library in partnership with other research institutions.

DMPTool is a flexible online application to help researchers generate data management plans for ensuring good data stewardship. These plans increasingly are being required by funders such as NSF and NIH. DMPTool supports data management plans and funder requirements across the disciplines, including the humanities and physical, medical and social sciences. Users of DMPTool can view sample plans, preview funder requirements and view the latest changes to their plans. Users can create an editable document for submission to a sponsor, or create different versions as funding requirements change.

For more information, see the UC press release or go to the DMPTool web site.

NSF Revises Award Terms and Conditions, Applicable February 1, 2012

The National Science Foundation Policy Office issued the following “Dear Colleague” notice on October 28, 2011.

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Dear Colleagues:

I wanted to make you aware that the Foundation’s entire suite of Award Terms and Conditions (see full listing below) has been revised to implement two new requirements, which are either mandated by regulation or legislation. Each set of terms and conditions is accompanied by a comprehensive summary of the changes made to that document.

The revised Terms and Conditions will apply to all new NSF awards and funding amendments to existing NSF awards issued on or after February 1, 2012. In addition to clarifications and other changes made to the conditions, significant changes include:

• Travel*, has been updated to incorporate revised circumstances under which use of a foreign-flag air carrier is permissible. The Article provides information on recent modifications to the “Open Skies” Agreement with the European Union, and includes a link to the General Services Administration website for additional information.
  
  
• Academic Technology Transfer and Commercialization of University Research**, is a new Article which requires higher education institutions that have NSF research support and at least $25,000,000 in total Federal research grants in the most recently completed Federal fiscal year to submit to NSF the URL that contains information on their transfer of technology and commercialization of research results efforts. This change has been mandated by the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act.

Revisions have been made to the following documents:

• NSF Agency Specific Requirements (ASR) to the Research Terms and Conditions (RTC);
• Grant General Conditions (GC-1);
• Cooperative Agreement Financial & Administrative Terms and Conditions (CA-FATC);
• Cooperative Agreement Supplemental Financial & Administrative Terms and Conditions for Managers of Large Facilities
• Cooperative Agreement Supplemental Financial & Administrative Terms and Conditions for Managers of Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCS)
• International Research Terms and Conditions
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Grant General Conditions;
• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)/Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II Grant General Conditions; and
• Administration of NSF Conference or Group Travel Grant Special Conditions (FL 26).

* This article does not apply to the SBIR/STTR Phase I grant conditions.
** This article only applies to the ASR and CA-FATC grant conditions.

These Award Terms and Conditions have been posted to the NSF website and are available electronically at: http://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/award_conditions.jsp?org=NSF.

If you have any questions on these changes, please contact the DIAS/Policy Office on (703) 292-8243 or by email to policy@nsf.gov.

Regards,

Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution & Award Support (DIAS)
National Science Foundation

Campus Hosting Workshop for Pacific Rim Research Program Applicants on November 4

The Berkeley campus is hosting an informational meeting for potential applicants to the UC Pacific Rim Research Program. The meeting will be held on Friday, November 4, 2011, from noon to 1:00 pm, in the Institute of East Asian Studies Conference Room, 2223 Fulton Street, 6th floor.

Lisa Nishioka, Program Coordinator at the UC Pacific Rim Research Program, will be answering questions from interested faculty and graduate students regarding the current Call For Proposals. Jackie Jones, staff coordinator for the Berkeley review of proposals, and Martin Backstrom, Berkeley campus liaison to the UC Pacific Rim Research Program, will also be attending the workshop. Faculty and graduate students are invited to bring their lunch to the meeting. Coffee and tea will be provided.

The Berkeley campus limited submission deadline for the program is December 7, 2011. More information on the campus application instructions is available in the October 6 Calmessages announcement (Calnet authentication required).

UC Laboratory Fees Research Grant Program Now Open

The UC Office of the President has issued the Call for Proposals for UC Laboratory Fees Research Program. The program is funded by a portion of the management fees that the University receives for the management of the Los Alamos and Livermore national laboratories based on an annual performance evaluation.

Research funded under this program must 1) be either collaborations or complementary projects between University faculty, researchers, and students and researchers from Los Alamos and/or Livermore national laboratories; 2) be related to the missions of the laboratories; and 3) advance the research and training mission of UC. This research opportunity is open to all fields, including physical sciences and engineering, life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.

The deadline for letters of intent is December 6, 2011, and the deadline for applications is January 18, 2012.

NIH Revises Grants Policy Statement

The National Institutes of Health has published a revised NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS, rev. 10/1/2011) applicable to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods beginning on or after October 1, 2011.

The revision does not introduce new material; 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 of the GPS dated 10/1/2010.” NIH provides a chart of significant changes in Word format.

RAC Offices to Close During the Annual Campus Winter Break

The Office for Animal Care and Use, the Conflict of Interest Committee Office, the Office for the Protection of Human Subjects, the Sponsored Projects Office, and the Research Administration and Compliance Office will be closed during the campus energy curtailment beginning Monday, December 26, 2011 until Monday, January 2, 2012. Offices will reopen on Monday, January 2, 2012.

The RAC offices will also be closed for the afternoon, beginning at 12 noon, on Friday, December 16, 2011.

SPO Proposal Submission

SPO will process proposals due in December 2011 and January 2012 according to the VCR’s five-day proposal submission policy with the following exceptions:

• For proposals with deadlines that fall during the curtailment period (Saturday, December 24 through Sunday, January 1), the due date to SPO will be no later than noon Monday, December 19, 2011.
• For proposals due the first week of January 2012, the due date to SPO shall be FIVE FULL BUSINESS DAYS. For example, if the due date is 5 pm on Monday, January 2, 2012, the SPO deadline is no later than noon on Tuesday, December 20, 2011. Proposals due Tuesday, January 3 shall be received no later than noon Wednesday, December 21, and so on.

Principal Investigators also are encouraged to inform their SPO Research Analyst if they will be submitting a proposal with a due date just prior to, during, or just after the curtailment period. This will give SPO and the PI an opportunity to discuss the best way to handle the proposal to make sure it is submitted in a timely manner.

COI Disclosure Submission

In order to be on the agenda for any meeting, complete disclosure packets must be received no later than 10 working days prior to the date of the meeting.

• The deadline for submission for the December 15, 2011 meeting is December 1, 2011.

ACUC Protocol Submission

Please note that all protocols and protocol revisions must be submitted via email to acuc@berkeley.edu by 5 pm on the deadline date. If you wish to make changes to an approved protocol, you must first contact the Office for Animal Care and Use (OACU) to obtain a copy of the current approved version of your protocol. Failure to do so may result in your protocol being returned to you.

• The deadline for full committee review of protocol submissions for the January 18, 2012 meeting is Monday, December 5, 2011.
• Likewise, the deadline for protocol submission for the February 15, 2012 meeting is January 3, 2012.

CPHS Protocol Submission

Important: if your study is “greater than minimal risk” needing full board review and the approval will expire before January 20, 2012, you must submit your renewal application in time for review at a December 2011 CPHS meeting.

• The deadline for protocol submission for the December 2, 2011 CPHS-1 meeting is Monday, November 7, 2011.
• The deadline for protocol submission for the December 16, 2011 CPHS-2 meeting is Monday, November 21, 2011.
• There is no CPHS-1 meeting in January 2012.
• The deadline for protocol submission for the January 20, 2012 CPHS-2 meeting is Monday, December 19, 2011.
• The deadline for protocol submission for the February 3, 2012 CPHS-1 meeting is Monday, January 2, 2012.

New Funding Opportunity Tools for Researchers - COS Pivot

The COS Funding Opportunities database contains over 25,000 domestic and international funding opportunities related to all academic areas including the arts, humanities, social sciences and physical sciences. COS is available to Berkeley faculty, other researchers, staff, and students.

COS has recently launched COS Pivot, a new web-based funding and collaboration tool that will eventually enhance the current COS Funding Opportunities database by providing a number of exciting new features that will make the search for funding, easier, more productive, and more collaborative.

COS Pivot is available to the Berkeley campus on a trial basis until the current campus COS subscription expires in the summer of 2012. COS Funding Opportunities will continue to be available in parallel for a limited time, probably only through the end of 2011.

COS Pivot Overview

COS Pivot will continue to allow searching the COS funding database as it has in the past, but now COS will direct faculty and other scholars to suggested funding opportunities and potential collaborators within UC Berkeley and at other institutions that match the scholar’s individual profile.

It is important for faculty and scholars to understand that the funding opportunities and potential collaborators that COS Pivot identifies will only be useful if the scholar’s individual profile is accurate. Therefore, faculty and scholars always should review and update the profile COS has created for them to ensure that the funding opportunities and collaborators based on this profile are valid. Existing profiles may be updated by submitting a CV. New profile content submitted is checked by COS editorial staff then used to update the profile database.

COS Pivot includes profiles for over three million scholars around the world, together with verified affiliation and publication information. Faculty and other scholars can use COS Pivot profiles to identify potential collaborators at UC Berkeley and at other institutions by using the expertise profiles in the system. Researchers with profiles will have access to a COS Pivot Advisor that lists funding opportunities based on their profile information.

COS Pivot also will allow individuals to create, organize and save searches on specific funding topics, receive automatic weekly email alerts on new funding opportunities based on these searches, share these funding searches with other individuals and groups both at UC Berkeley and at other institutions, and keep track of shared searches.

Getting Started

COS Pivot maybe be used from any campus-based computer for basic searches without setting up an account. UC Berkeley faculty, staff, and students are encouraged to create a COS Pivot account to be able to log in from any location and have access to the tools for managing searches and opportunities. Faculty and scholars are also encouraged to then claim their profile or have one created. The more detail and the more accurate the profile, the better the funding opportunity matches. For guidance on COS profiles, see the COS Pivot Profile Overview and Creating and Updating Your Profile.

We encourage all Berkeley faculty, other researchers, staff, and students to use COS Pivot. Training and online tutorials are available from COS and an overview is provided on the SPO web site. We welcome feedback to help us evaluate the new service while the trial subscription is available. Please note that human interaction with the system is important to create better matches and search results, in particular when using the system-generated matches between expertise profiles and funding opportunities.

For more help or with question or problems, please contact Shelley Sprandel (spore@berkeley.edu or 2-8122). SPO will provide training for departments; department contacts may contact Shelley or Pam Miller (plfmiller@berkeley.edu) for more information and to set up a session.