August 29, 2016

Grants.gov Changing in December 2017

The following message was received today from Grant.gov. This change will have a significant impact on how Grants.gov applications are compiled in the future. Although the change is not until December 2017, you may want to check out the Grants.gov Workspace overview and training.


Grants.gov User,

In an effort to provide continued updates about the upcoming changes to Grants.gov, we are providing notice that in December 2017, Grants.gov will phase out the Legacy Application Package. This means that applicants will no longer be able to apply using the older, single PDF package of forms.

Instead, applicants will apply for grants using Grants.gov Workspace, which separates the application package into individual forms. Applicants will apply by creating a workspace, completing the individual PDF forms, and submitting their application workspace package. Also, the new online forms interface will be added to Grants.gov and will be accessible through Workspace in mid-2017.

The phase-out of the Legacy Application Package is still more than a year away, but now is the time to prepare for this change.

Use Grants.gov Workspace to apply for your next federal grant. Doing so will also prepare you to use the upcoming online forms feature.

BENEFITS TO APPLICANTS
Using Grants.gov Workspace brings a range of benefits to applicants and their organizations:
  1. Workspace streamlines collaboration. Multiple forms can be completed at once by a team of applicants.
  2. Workspace saves time. Forms from old workspaces can be reused, reducing data-entry, and saving valuable time.
  3. Workspace helps detect errors earlier. Improved error-checking allows applicants to catch and correct errors earlier resulting in fewer rejected submissions.
  4. Workspace simplifies applying. In a Grants.gov Workspace, every link and button is explained in context-sensitive help articles. Grants.gov has also created a series of video tutorials to walk applicants through the Workspace submission process.
Please review the Grants.gov Notices page for up-to-date information regarding upcoming changes: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/outreach/grants-gov-notices.html

For more information about Grants.gov Workspace, please visit our various Workspace resources:
THOUGHTS OR QUESTIONS?
Please feel free to share them by emailing us at Community@grants.gov or posting feedback on the Grants.gov Community Blog.

Note: S2S users are unaffected by this phase-out.

Regards,
The Grants.gov PMO

Composite Fringe Benefit Rate Update

The composite fringe benefit rates for fiscal year 2016-17 have been approved. Projected rates (FY18-FY22), which are estimates for planning purposes, have also been posted on the SPO website.

August 18, 2016

New Process for Some Subrecipients: UCB Participating in FDP Pilot

UC Berkeley is now participating in a pilot test of a new way of processing subawards being conducted by the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP). The goal is to reduce the amount of time and effort that organizations like UC Berkeley spend collecting institutional information from each other.

What this means to campus is that beginning August 18, 2016, UC Berkeley will have two sets of requirements for subrecipients listed in Berkeley proposals:
  1. Any subrecipient that is participating in the FDP pilot will only need to complete a one-page form, the FDP Pilot Subrecipient Project Information sheet.
  2. All other subrecipients will be required to provide a longer form, the Subrecipient Commitment Form (Non-FDP Pilot Institutions).
Both documents can be found under Forms on the SPO website.

The FDP pilot group now includes approximately 78 institutions and organizations across the nation. See FDP Expanded Clearinghouse - Subrecipients for a link to the list of entities that will be participating in the pilot. Institutional information for each entity participating in the FDP pilot will be maintained on the FDP website so it will no longer be necessary to collect this type of information on a subrecipient commitment form.

The pilot test will last 18 months. If results of the pilot are positive, the plan is to allow other FDP institutions to participate.

CSS and Department administrators are encouraged to become familiar with the names of the entities participating in the FDP pilot to ensure that these entities receive the proper form when requesting subrecipient information. Note that only groups participating in the FDP pilot should be asked to fill out the FDP Pilot Subrecipient Project Information sheet.

August 5, 2016 Research Advocate: Upcoming: New Process for Some Subrecipients

August 12, 2016

NIH Changing Allowed Appendix and Post-Submission Application Material

The National Institutes of Health issued two NIH Guide notices related to changes in materials allowed for applications submitted on or after January 25, 2017.

New Policy Eliminates Most Appendix Material for NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Applications Submitted for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2017 (NOT-OD-16-129)
This Notice alerts the scientific research community of plans to eliminate most appendix materials for applications submitted to the NIH, AHRQ or NIOSH for due dates on or after January 25, 2017. Application instructions will be updated by November 25, 2016 to reflect this change.
 The Notice also clarifies:
  • Status of appendix materials in peer review
  •  Allowable appendix materials
  •  Consequences for submitting disallowed appendix materials

Changes to the NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Policy on Post-Submission Materials for Applications Submitted for Due Dates On or After January 25, 2017 (NOT-OD-16-130)
This Notice simplifies and consolidates current NIH and AHRQ policy concerning post-submission materials, and extends this policy to NIOSH. Post-submission application materials are those submitted after submission of the grant application but prior to the initial peer review. The policy is based on the principle that, for the majority of applications, the only post-submission materials that these agencies will accept are those resulting from an unforeseen event. The policy on post-submission application materials is not intended to correct oversights/errors discovered after submission of the application.

August 08, 2016

NIH Announces Projected FY 2017 NRSA Stipend Levels

The National Institutes of Health has published projected stipend levels for fiscal year 2017 for postdoctoral trainees and fellows on Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA).

The projected stipend levels, planned to be effective December 1, 2016, align with the “spirit” of the U.S. Department of Labor revisions to the rules on paid overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). NIH states that the “exact stipend levels and the actual date of implementation are subject to the availability of FY 2017 appropriations and implementation of the new FLSA threshold for professional workers to be eligible for paid overtime.”

For the chart of projected stipends and more information, see Projected FY 2017 Stipend Levels for Postdoctoral Trainees and Fellows on Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) (NOT-OD-16-131) (rescinded).

August 10, 2016 update (corrected effective date):  Revised: Projected FY 2017 Stipend Levels for Postdoctoral Trainees and Fellows on Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) (NOT-OD-16-134)

August 05, 2016

Upcoming: New Process for Some Subrecipients

UC Berkeley will be participating in a pilot test of a new way of processing subawards being conducted by the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP). The FDP pilot is scheduled to begin in mid-August; the exact date has not yet been released.

What this means to campus is that after the FDP pilot starts, UC Berkeley will have two sets of requirements for subrecipients listed in Berkeley proposals:

1. Any subrecipient that is participating in the FDP pilot will only need to complete a one-page form and provide project-related information at the proposal stage.
2. All other subrecipients will be required to provide both project-related and institutional information using SPO’s Subrecipient Commitment Form.

The pilot group will include approximately 90 institutions of higher education across the nation, and the pilot test will last 18 months. If results of the pilot are positive, the plan is to allow other FDP institutions to participate.

SPO is developing new procedures for the pilot test, which will be announced to the campus as soon as the pilot start date is known. SPO also will post the list of subrecipients participating in the pilot test as soon as this information is released by the FDP.