Office of Sponsored Programs Administration & Accounting

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January 2016 newsletter header

 

Notice:

Business Hours: Monday - Friday, 8:00 - 5:00pm

Updates from the Director

Training Opportunities 

Grant Proposal Development or "What can Sponsored Programs Do for You?" (TD1501)

October 17, 2-4PM

This workshop will provide an overview of the functions of JMU's Office of Sponsored Programs Pre-Award. The focus will be on how our team can best assist you with proposal development. While there will be some discussion of the federal, state, and university regulations that govern proposal development, the emphasis will be on the services available to help you with the process of applying for external funded projects from searching for appropriate funding sources, projecting budgets, completing agency forms, to submitting the application to the sponsor. Time will be provided to address specific questions.

Facilitator: Tamara Hatch, Interim Director - Pre-Award  

Register For Professional Development Workshops Here

Grants: Post-Award Practices & Procedures (TD1502)

November 14, 2-4PM

This workshop is intended for individuals that expect to receive grant funding in the near future or will be expected to provide administrative oversight to a project. This post-award overview will discuss accounting practices and procedures, documentation and record retention, re-budgeting and no-cost extension requests and close-out of a sponsored project. Several areas of compliance will also be discussed including Effort Reporting and Matching. Time will be provided to address specific questions. 

Facilitator: John Hulvey, Director of Sponsored Programs Accounting

Register For Professional Development Workshops Here

Featured Funding Opportunities

Three Limited Submission Programs 

Attention: There are 3 very popular funding opportunities coming up with deadlines right after Winter Break, which have limitations on the number of submissions. 

NSF Major Research Instrumentation Program: (MRI) Instrument Acquisition or Development: 1/11/2017
Internal Deadline: 11/28/2016

NSF 15-504 Program Solicitation**A new solicitation will be released in the coming weeks and we expect some changes to the guidelines

NSF MRI Action Required: Those interested in submitting either an acquisition or development MRI grant application should send an "MRI notice of interest" e-mail to jmu_grants@jmu.edu along with a Limited Submission Form by November 28 to inform us of interested parties. 

  • The body of the email should include the name of the Principal Investigator, and Co-Investigators, and whether the application is an acquisition or development grant application. If necessary we will run a Limited Submission competition internally to identify the most beneficial projects to move forward. 

Limited to 2 acquisition grants and 1 development grant.

Jeffress Trust Awards Program in Interdisciplinary Research: 1/10/2017
Internal Deadline: 11/28/2016

https://hria.org/tmf/jeffress/

Limited to 4 Letters of Intent and Applications

Eligibility: PI must be within seven years of their first faculty appointment and propose a project in an eligible research area, including astronomy, biosciences, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, material science, mathematics and physics. 

Total Award: $100,000

Previous Application Materials

  • Application Guidelines - https://hria.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/application-guidelines.pdf
  • Frequently Asked Questions - https://hria.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/frequently-asked-questions.pdf
Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund (CRCF) Matching Funds Program: Required Letters of Intent: 11/10/2016; Full Application: 1/19/2017
Internal Deadline: 10/28/2016
  • CRCF FY 2017 Solicitation
  • CRCF FY 2017 FAQ's
  • CRCF Sample Letter of Intent

Only 4 LOI submissions may move forward from the university. 

Total Award: $100,000; Matching: 1 to 1 match required

Briefing/Commonwealth Research Commercialization Fund 
October 12, 1:30 - 3pm (light refreshments at 1pm) 
Ice House, Room 117
RSVP for event here

CRCF Webinars:

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To participate in any of these competitions you must submit a Limited Submission Form  to jmu_grants@jmu.edu. If necessary, the Office of Sponsored Programs will coordinate panel reviews of interested applicants to each competition prior to the deadline so that all parties know which proposals will move forward. 

 

NIH Update

NIH Center for Scientific Review Hosts Webinar on Peer Review

The NIH Center for Scientific Review (CSR) is the portal for receipt and referral of NIH grant applications, and, for the majority of those applications, carries out the peer review process for assessing scientific and technical merit. In November and December, CSR will host three different "online briefings" on peer review for: fellowship grant applicants; R01 applicants; and researchers who are proposing and/or reviewing basic science applications. All of the briefings will be approximately one hour long, including a 30 minute question and answer period. 

  1. 8 Ways to Successfully Navigate NIH Peer Review and Get a Fellowship Grant - covering things applicants need to know about the submission and review of a fellowship grant. November 2, 2016
  2. 8 Ways to Successfully Navigate NIH Peer Review and Get an R01 Grant - covering things applicants need to know about the submission and review of an R01 grant. December 1, 2016
  3. NIH Peer Review Briefing for Basic Research Applicants and Reviewers - covering NIH's commitment to basic research and helping applicants and reviewers do their part in proposing and reviewing basic research.December 2, 2016 

NSF Update

New FastLane Compliance Checks Effective September 26 
A message from Jean Felderman, Head of the National Science Foundation Policy Office:

Dear Colleagues: 

Effective September 26, 2016, FastLane will now check to ensure that the combined text of the Project Summary text boxes (or uploaded PDF if the Project Summary contains special characters) does not exceed one page prior to submission, rather than the current check of 4,600 characters. See the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Chapter II.C.2.b, for further information. 

The compliance check will trigger an error message in the following circumstances: 

  • Project Summary text exceeds the one-page limit; and 
  • Project Summary text is entered and the user also uploads a "Project Summary with Special Characters' supplementary document. 

Proposal File Update (PFU) Implications:
Proposers should be aware that if a proposal was received by NSF prior to September 26, 2016, containing a Project Summary that complies with the previous 4,600-character limit but exceeds the one-page limit, a PFU addressing any section of the proposal will result in the proposal not being accepted if it does not comply with these compliance checks. The checks will be run on all sections of the proposal, regardless of which section was updated during the PFU. 

(Note from OSP to PI's): This means that if you update any section of a proposal that you submitted prior to September 26, you will also need to modify your Project Summary if it exceeds the one-page limit. Failure to do so will cause the proposal not to be accepted.

Grants.gov Implications: 
Proposers should also be aware that Grants.gov will allow a proposal to be submitted, even if if does not comply with these proposal preparation requirements. Should NSF receive a proposal via Grants.gov that is not compliant, it will be returned without review. 

Jean Feldman
Head, NSF Policy Office 

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Compliance Corner

News from the NIH Office of Science Policy 

September 28, 2016

3rd Annual OSP National Biosafety Month Coming in Ocotober

The NIH Office of Science Policy is pleased to announce the 3rd annual National Biosafety Month is coming in October. National Biosafety Month is a period during which institutions are encouraged to refocus their attention on biosafety policies, practices and procedures. Institutions should use National Biosafety Month as an opportunity to talk to investigators and research administrators about the importance of biosafety, raise awareness, and seek input on ways to strengthen institutional biosafety programs. 

The theme of this year's National Biosafety Month is: Evaluation, Collaboration, and Commitment. 

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