Previous Announcements
Update: Federal Government Re-opening and Impact on NAU federally sponsored grants and contracts
January 28, 2019
On Friday, January 25th, 2019, the Congress passed, and the President signed, a continuing resolution to fund affected agencies until February 15th, 2019. The Office of Management and Budget has directed agencies to prepare for an orderly reopening and provided a government reopening checklist.
Federal government shutdown: Impact on NAU federally sponsored grants and contracts
December 26, 2018
The Anti- deficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from incurring obligations that are in advance of, or that exceed, an appropriation. Thus, with certain limited exceptions, an agency may not incur obligations when the funding source for the obligation is an appropriation that has lapsed, or in this case, during a federal government shutdown.
PI/Departmental administrators informational series for the 2018 – 2019 academic year
August 28, 2018
The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) is pleased to announce a brown bag PI/Departmental Administrators Informational Series for the 2018 – 19 academic year.
Purpose
The PI/Departmental Administrators Informational Series is not a workshop or “training” program, but an invitation to engage in discussion about various topics relevant to sponsored projects. Specifically, the purpose is to assist NAU faculty and departmental administrators by ensuring they have the information needed to conduct sponsored projects in compliance with sponsors’ general policies and guidelines.
While most of the information covered during the series is primarily applicable to federal funded projects, attendees will be able apply related information to non-federal sponsored projects.
Dates, Location, and Topics for all Sessions: Download the schedule
Revised PI eligibility policy
May 10, 2018
Effective May 9, 2018, the revised PI Eligibility Policy removes the prior approval requirement for Clinical Faculty and Professors of Practice to serve as PIs or Co-PIs on proposals submitted to external sponsors. Thus, Clinical Faculty and Professors of Practice are now automatically eligible to serve as PIs or Co-PIs on proposals submitted to external sponsors without seeking prior approval via the completion and submission of the PI Eligibility form. All other requirements listed in the PI Eligibility Policy remain in effect.
Proposal submission guidelines (memo from Vice President for Research)
New Proposal Submission Guidelines (memo from the Vice President for Research)* will be implemented to further improve services and practices provided by the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP). Research, scholarship, creative activity, and public service supported through sponsored projects continue to grow significantly at NAU. In response to this growth, updated internal deadlines will follow best-practices that balance sufficient time for university and unit review approval while allowing faculty members to continue producing the best proposals possible.
*All references to “days” means “business days.”
Submission, account changes at NSF
February 26, 2018
This April, NSF will begin allowing applicants access to Research.gov. NSF’s so-called “proposal submission modernization” effort has been part of a multi-year initiative to relocate the capabilities now provided at FastLane.gov, NSF’s legacy application and accounts management system, to Research.gov. FastLane.gov will still be available for all proposals after the launch.
FastLane compliance check for budget justification page limit
January 24, 2018
Effective January 29, 2018, FastLane will run an automated compliance check for the Budget Justification page limit across several proposal types and will generate an error or warning when the submission validation compliance check is not met. Please note the Budget Justification page limit will increase from 3 to 5 pages. The automated compliance checks will also apply when a Proposal File Update (PFU) is performed on a proposal. To learn more about all the changes to the PAPPG (NSF 18-1), please view the latest webinar.
Federal government shutdown: Impact on NAU federally sponsored grants and contracts
January 23, 2018
The Anti- deficiency Act prohibits federal agencies from incurring obligations that are in advance of, or that exceed, an appropriation. Thus, with certain limited exceptions, an agency may not incur obligations when the funding source for the obligation is an appropriation that has lapsed, or in this case, during a federal government shutdown.
Compliance issues to avoid when submitting proposals to the NSF Antarctic Research program solicitation (NSF 17-543)
May 15, 2017
View NSF 17-543 at www.nsf.gov
Issue #1: “Results from Prior NSF Support” must include evidence of research products.
Guidance: You must provide evidence of research products and their availability. The requirements for the Results from Prior NSF Support section are given in the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter II.C.2.d(iii)(e).
Acknowledgement of federal research support
May 10, 2017
As a reminder, an acknowledgement of the federal awarding agency support must appear in any publication, of any material, whether copyrighted or not, based on the development under the project, and, is orally acknowledged during all news media interviews, including popular media, such as radio, television and news magazines. Please contact your assigned Grants and Contracts Administrator (GCA), Post Award Administrator (PAA), or Sponsored Projects Officer (SPO) if you have questions.
NIH operates under a continuing resolution
March 20, 2017
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including NIH, operates under the “Further Continuing and Security Assistance Appropriations Act, 2017,” (Public Law 114-254) signed by President Obama on December 10, 2016. This Act (CR) continues government operations through April 28, 2017 at 99.8099 percent of the FY 2016 enacted level.
Interim guidance on salary limitation for grants and cooperative agreements
March 20, 2017
The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016, restricts the amount of direct salary to Executive Level II of the Federal Executive pay scale. The Executive Level II salary was previously set at $185,100, and increased to $187,000 effective January 8, 2017.
Important!! Suspension of foreign national H-1B visa processing
March 6, 2017
The Center for International Education and the Payroll Office have received notification that beginning April 3, 2017, the USCIS will suspend H-1B Premium Processing for up to six (6) months. Currently the normal H-1B processing time is nine (9) months.
Electronic effort distribution report training announced
January 10, 2017
The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) announces four training sessions for OSPs new Electronic Effort Distribution Reports (eEDR).
New electronic effort reporting certification will go live January 2017
December 7, 2016
Dear NAU Research Community,
The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) is very pleased to announce the implementation of an Electronic Effort Reporting System also known as Electronic Effort Distribution Reports (eEDR). The system is scheduled to go live January 2017 and this coincides with the 6 month certification period ending December 31, 2016. The new electronic effort certification process will significantly increase the efficiency and transparency of this process while maintaining the institution’s high standards of compliance.
Program income policy effective June 1, 2016
May 6, 2016
Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) issued the Program Income Policy effective June 1, 2016. This policy describes that sponsored projects by grants and receiving program income during the project period must account for such income in a manner that will permit its identification and treatment consistent with the requirements of the federal/agency sponsor.
Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Institutional base salary for sponsored projects effective June 1, 2016
May 6, 2016
Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) issued the Institutional Base Salary for Sponsored Projects effective June 1, 2016. This policy sets forth NAU’s definition of Institutional Base Salary for sponsored projects and effort reporting purposes. It applies to individuals whose salary is charged to sponsored projects, in whole or in part, and all individuals who have committed effort to a sponsor but not receiving salary support from the sponsor, also known as cost sharing.
Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Record retention policy effective June 1, 2016
May 6, 2016
Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) issued the Record Retention Policy effective June 1, 2016. This policy determines a sufficient time to retain university sponsored project records to remain in compliance with sponsor regulations and Comptroller Policy (CMP) 103.
Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Revised cost sharing policy
March 29, 2016
Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) revised the Cost Sharing Policy effective April 1, 2016. This policy was developed to ensure that “cost sharing” on sponsored projects is proposed, accounted for, and reported in a manner consistent with the requirements set forth in federal regulations (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, Part 200, Code of Federal Regulations), requirements of sponsoring agencies, and the policies of Northern Arizona University.
Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Revised gift vs. grant policy
March 24, 2016
Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) revised the Gift vs. Grant Policy effective immediately. This policy describes the difference between two types of sponsored project support from private, non-governmental sources – Exchange transactions and charitable support – and how this support is secures and administered at Northern Arizona University.
Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Guidance regarding the administration of the NIH salary cap
March 24, 2016
Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) issues guidance regarding the administration of the NIH Salary Cap that applies to grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements from the Health and Human Services’ agencies that adhere to NIH guidelines including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Subrecipient process changes
January 22, 2016
NAU’s subrecipient commitment form has been revised to include only the minimal required information for proposal submittal. It has been reduced from six pages to two. The PI is requested to complete only Section A of the form. The remaining sections are to be completed by the proposed subrecipient. The form requests information that should be readily available to the subrecipient. In case there are questions, the subrecipient is requested to contact the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP.) The subrecipient commitment form instructions have also been revised accordingly. They are both available at: https://in.nau.edu/osp/forms-worksheets-tools/
New OSP cost transfer policy effective January 1, 2016
January 5, 2016
OSP Announced December 12, 2015, that its NEW Cost Transfer Policy will take effect January 1, 2016. Please visit the Research Policy Manual page to read and download all current OSP policies.
Advance account and subrecipient monitoring policy
October 1, 2015
Advance accounts (also referred to as “At Risk” accounts) are encouraged when an award is eminent and there is sufficient information available to substantiate this. The use of advance accounts allow expenditures such as salaries to be charge to the correct account and avoid cost transfers, which represent a compliance risk.
The Subrecipient Monitoring policy applies to subawards issued under either direct or flow through Federal funding to NAU. This policy is required by federal regulation to assure that NAU is appropriately managing the subawards we issue to other entities.
Account codes and rolling FY16
July 1, 2015