NSF Websites Unavailable June 30-July 4

The National Science Foundation is moving its Data Center IT servers to the new NSF headquarters in Alexandria, Virginia, from June 30 at 8:00 PM EDT through July 4 at 6:00 PM EDT, to prepare for NSF staff relocation in August 2017.

The NSF website, FastLane, and Research.gov will be unavailable from Friday, June 30 at 8:00 PM EDT until Tuesday, July 4 at 6:00 PM EDT. During this outage period, there will be no access to these websites, proposals cannot be submitted in FastLane, and project reports and cash requests cannot be submitted in Research.gov. However, previously saved information and uploaded documents in FastLane and Research.gov, including in-process proposals and reports, will be accessible after the Data Center move.

For more information, see NSF Important Notice No. 139, National Science Foundation Headquarters Moving to Alexandria, Virginia.

NIH’s New Next Generation Researchers Initiative

The National Institutes of Health has launched the Next Generation Researchers Initiative to bolster support for early-stage and mid-career investigators to address longstanding challenges faced by researchers trying to embark upon and sustain independent research careers.

NIH will take a multi-pronged approach to increase the number of NIH-funded early-stage and mid-career investigators and stabilize the career trajectory of scientists by:

• Further extending the payline for early stage investigators, with an aim of funding most applications that score in the top 25 percent
• Providing additional support for mid-career investigators with ≤ 10 years as a principal investigator
  • Extending the payline for those about to lose all NIH funding
  • Identifying “rising stars” who are seeking support for their second RPG, but just missed the payline

NIH will also place greater emphasis on current NIH funding programs aimed at early-stage and mid-career investigators, such as:

• NIH Common Fund’s New Innovator Awards
• National Institute of General Medicine Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA)
• National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research Sustaining Outstanding Achievement in Research (SOAR) awards
• National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases Supplements to Advance Research (STAR) from Projects to Programs
• Other special awards from specific institutes

NIH, AHRQ, and NIOSH: Updated Policies on Post-Submission Materials

The National Institutes of Health, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health have updated their policies for post-submission materials for applications submitted for due dates on or after September 25, 2017.

Post-submission materials are those submitted after submission of the grant application but prior to initial peer review. They are not intended to correct oversights or errors discovered after submission of the application, but rather allow applicants the opportunity to respond to unforeseen events.  

New: For grant applications submitted for due dates on or after September 25, 2017, citations of issued patents will be accepted as post-submission materials.

For additional information on allowable and non-allowable post-submission materials see Additional Change to the NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Policy on Post-Submission Materials NOT-OD-17-066.