OMB Issues Proposed Guidance on Federal Grants Reform

The federal Office of Management and Budget has published the Proposed Guidance, Reform of Federal Policies Relating to Grants and Cooperative Agreements: Cost Principles and Administrative Requirements (Including Single Audit Act).

The proposed guidance would supersede and streamline requirements from eight OMB circulars (OMB Circulars A-21, A-87, A-110, and A-122; Circulars A-89, A-102, and A-133; the guidance in Circular A-50 on Single Audit Act follow-up; and pending further review, the Cost Principles for Hospitals at 45 CFR Part 74, Appendix E), combining the eight circulars into one document.

The official notice officially appears in the February 1 Federal Register. On January 31, OMB provided the preliminary Federal Register Notice, the 244-page full text of the Proposed Guidance, and six additional crosswalks and comparisons between the current OMB circulars and the proposed guidance.

• Notice of Proposed Guidance in Federal Register (Summary and Description of Changes)
• Proposed OMB Uniform Guidance: Cost Principles, Audit, and Administrative Requirements for Federal Awards (FULL TEXT)
• Crosswalk from existing to proposed guidance
• Crosswalk from proposed guidance to predominant source in existing guidance
• Administrative Requirements Text Comparison
• Cost Principles Text Comparison
• Audit Requirements Text Comparison
• Definitions Text Comparison

OMB will host an informational webcast with the Council on Financial Assistance Reform and key stakeholders on Friday, February 8, at 8am PST, to be available at cfo.gov.

Comments on the proposed changes are due by May 2 on regulations.gov, under docket OMB-2013-0001.

NIH Non-Competing Grant Awards Issued at Reduced Levels

The Department of Health and Human Services, including the National Institutes of Health, operates under a Continuing Resolution (CR) (H. J. Resolution 117) that was signed by President Obama as Public Law 112-175 on September 28, 2012. The CR continues government operations through March 27, 2013 at the FY 2012 level plus 0.6 percent.

Until FY 2013 appropriations are enacted, NIH will issue non-competing research grant awards at a level below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award (generally up to 90% of the previously committed level). This is consistent with NIH’s practice during the CRs of FY 2006 - 2012. Upward adjustments to awarded levels will be considered after NIH FY 2013 appropriations are enacted but NIH expects institutions to monitor their expenditures carefully during this period. All legislative mandates that were in effect in FY 2012 remain in effect under the CR, including the salary limitation set at Executive Level II of the Federal Pay Scale ($179,700), which was effective with grant awards with an initial Issue Date on or after December 23, 2011 (see NOT-OD-12-034 and NOT-OD-12-035).

NSF Requires Project Reports in Research.gov on February 1

The National Science Foundation has issued the following alert on Research.gov:

NSF awardees must stop submitting project reports in FastLane starting on February 1, 2013. On March 18, 2013, NSF will transfer its current project reporting service from FastLane to Research.gov. As part of this transition, FastLane reports must be frozen. To assist the community with this transition, the overdue date will be extended for all project reports that are currently scheduled to become overdue between January 31 and April 30, 2013.

Principal investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs will use Research.gov to meet all NSF project reporting requirements, including submission of final, annual, and interim project reports and the project outcomes report. For more information, see Project Reporting on Research.gov.

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October 10, 2012 Research Advocate: NSF Webinars on Transfer of Project Reports to Research.gov
January 10, 2012 Research Advocate: NSF’s Research.gov: CalNet ID Login Now Available