February 21, 2014

NSF Issues Revised Award Terms and Conditions

The National Science Foundation has revised the NSF Award Terms and Conditions to parallel changes made to the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide. The revised Terms and Conditions will apply to all new NSF awards and funding amendments to existing NSF awards issued on or after February 24, 2014.

Each set of terms and conditions is accompanied by a summary of the changes made to that document. In addition to clarifications and other changes made to the conditions, the significant change involved supplementing the Program Income Article with information on the annual program income reporting requirement.

NSF has revised 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
  • Fixed Amount Award Conditions
  • Administration of NSF Conference or Group Travel Grant Special Conditions (FL 26)

February 10, 2014

NIH Publishes Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards for FY 2014

The National Institutes of Health has issued NIH Fiscal Policy for Grant Awards FY 2014 (NOT-OD-14-055) and related notices that provide guidance for the remainder of fiscal year 2014 (through September 30, 2014).
From NOT-OD-14-055:

FY 2014 Funding Levels: Non-competing continuation awards that have already been made in FY 2014 were generally funded at levels below that indicated on the most recent Notice of Award (generally up to 90% of the previously committed level) as described in NOT-OD-14-012, and in NOT-OD-14-043. Such reductions may be fully or partially restored, depending on the Institute or Center. Non-competing continuation grants (research and non-research) including those that remain to be issued in FY 2014 likely will be made within the range between the commitment level indicated on the Notice of Award and 3 percent below that level. Out-year commitments for continuation awards in FY 2015 and beyond will remain unchanged. The number of competing awards will likely exceed the number of competing awards in FY 2013. The NIH awarding Institutes/Centers (IC) will develop and post their fiscal policies consistent with overall NIH goals and available FY 2014 funds.

Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA): Consistent with the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, and with the recommendations of the Advisory Committee to the Director regarding the Biomedical Research Workforce, the NIH will increase undergraduate and graduate student stipends by 2 percent. Entry level postdoctoral stipends will be increased to $42,000 with 4 percent increases between the individual levels of experience. The full range of stipend adjustments for FY 2014 is described at NOT-OD-14-046.

New Investigators: NIH will continue to support new investigators on R01 equivalent awards at success rates comparable to that of established investigators submitting new (Type 1) R01 equivalent applications. Achievement of comparable success rates should permit the NIH to support new investigators in accordance with the policies established in FY 2009 and subsequent years as described at NOT-OD-09-013 and at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm.

Salary Limits: Section 203 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2014 prohibits payments for salaries under grants and other extramural mechanisms in excess of Executive Level II. It should be noted, that Executive Level II was increased by 1 percent from $179,700 to $181,500 by Executive Order 13655 that became effective January 12, 2014. See NOT-OD-14-052 for additional information.

Other Legislative Mandates: Other statutory requirements are described in NOT-OD-14-053.

Additional Information:  Additional details on Fiscal Operations, including specific funding strategies for ICs will be posted at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/financial/index.htm.

February 14, 2014 Update: Rock Talk Blog Fiscal Policies, and More, for 2014
January 16, 2014 Research Advocate: NIH Salary Cap Increases to $181,500