NIH Reports on Second Round of Compliance Site Visits

      The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has updated its Compendium of Findings and Observations, which is based on compliance site visits conducted since FY 2000. The compendium summarizes the results of its reviews at twenty-six colleges, universities, hospitals, and research institutes that are NIH grantees. The goal of the site visits was to establish a dialogue between awardees and NIH so that NIH could understand how the grantee administers its funds and could identify good practices in award administration. NIH's observations within each of the five topic areas included in the reviews are summarized below.

Roles and Responsibilities/Training and Education:

  • Communication is essential

  • Centralized availability of information on training can be helpful

  • Institutions may want to consider enhancing formalized education programs

  • Close cooperation of departmental administration and sponsored research offices can enhance compliance

  • Accessibility of written institutional policies and procedures is vital

  • Oversight is key to successful compliance

Financial Conflict of Interest:

  • Outreach and education are important

  • A system for reviewing and managing financial conflicts of interest must be present

  • Institutions are not reporting financial conflicts of interest to NIH as required

Financial Management of Sponsored Programs:

  • Institutions handle financial management of sponsored projects in similar ways

  • Oversight is important

  • Policies should be accurate and accessible

Clinical Trial Data and Safety Monitoring:

  • Institutions support the idea of enhanced oversight of clinical trials

  • Institutions worry about the requirements

  • Training is important

Bayh-Dole Act/Invention and Patent Reporting:

  • Investigators need to understand their role in invention reporting

  • Most institutions use the federal computerized reporting system

  • Institutions are endorsing guidelines

  • Strong technology transfer programs have the support of the institution

  • Partnering may increase invention licensing

"Compliance in Action:"

      In addition to these observations, the compendium contains a number of "Examples of Compliance in Action." In the area of financial management of sponsored programs, NIH cites a letter sent 90 days prior to the end of the project that reminds each principal investigator of the necessity to complete the work and ensure that all transactions are processed in a timely manner. Another example, in the area of financial conflict of interest, is the development of a case study used to train individual and institutional review committees to recognize and manage conflicts.
      Whether an institution has one or two hundred NIH awards, the compendium is a useful tool that offers insight into award administration priorities at NIH. It also serves as an indicator of how other institutions conduct post-award administration in the areas covered by the site visits.

Link to actual compendium.

  Last Revised: May 22, 2002    Publisher: Sponsored Programs    For Information Contact: jmu_grants@jmu.edu / Privacy Statement