Sponsored Research News: April 2023 | |
Office of Sponsored Projects | |
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NIH Redesign of the xTrain Module in eRA Commons
After extensive collaboration with both internal and external stakeholder groups, the xTrain module in eRA Commons has been redesigned and was released on March 30, 2023. For more information, please see NOT-OD-23-094.
Expiration of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Effective May 12, 2023, NIH will no longer issue Emergency Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) related to COVID-19. Ongoing emergency awards will not be impacted and will retain all existing emergency flexibilities for the remainder of the current competitive segment. For more information, please see NOT-OD-23-095.
Notice to Extend the Expiration Date for All NIH Career Development Award (K) Parent Announcements
Current Key Dates
Expiration Date: May 8, 2023
Modified Key Dates
Expiration Date: May 8, 2024
All other aspects of these NOFOs remain the same. For more information, please see NOT-OD-23-096.
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New Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment Policy for Recipients of NASA Financial Assistance Awards
NASA has developed a new conflict of interest (COI) and conflict of commitment (COC) disclosure policy and an associated term and condition applicable to entities implementing NASA financial assistance awards ( i.e., grants or cooperative agreements). Grants Policy and Compliance (GPC) in NASA's Office of Procurement solicited public comment on the Agency's proposed policy and term and condition up until March 1, 2023.
UT Austin, in partnership with Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) submitted public comment that this proposed policy language needs to be more in-line with the requirements of other federal agencies for disclosure; at present, the Federal Register does not reflect an answer to these public comments.
According to the policy announcement, after obtaining and considering public comment, it is NASA's intention to implement the new policy and term and condition through a revision to the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Manual (GCAM).
For more information, please see Notice 23-001 in 88-FR-5390.
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UTRMS Upgrades Arriving May 1
UT Austin will be updating the Agreements, Grants, and IRB modules of UTRMS to the newest versions available. UTRMS will be offline after close of business on Friday April 28 and will back online before the start of business by Monday, May 1.
To learn more about these updates, please go to the UTRMS 10.5 Transition Guide available on the UTRMS Resources page.
Internal training opportunities will be provided by OSP to review the anticipated updates on April 4 and 27. Register via TRACKS or email raquel.rust@austin.utexas.edu with any questions about how to register.
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Policy Update: Travel Guidelines for Sponsored Projects
The University Travel Policy Guidelines (HOP 2.1.1 Travel Policy) as it affects travel for sponsored projects have been updated. The updates were made following an audit of travel records and in accordance with state and federal laws and university policies. All changes made were based on recommendations and input from a cross-campus working group that met over the course of many months.
The updated guidance is effective immediately and supersedes previous guidance provided by this office.
For more information, please refer to the OSP website Travel on Sponsored Projects, which includes up-to-date guidance and helpful links.
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Spring 2023 CRA Study Group
The Spring 2023 CRA Study Group is preparing for the May 13-27, 2023 exam testing window.
For additional information about the Certified Research Administrator (CRA) exam and the CRA Study Group, please email raquel.rust@austin.utexas.edu or navigate to OSP's CRA webpage.
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Organizational Updates in OSP
In an effort to increase resourcing in critical areas and align teams in a way that allows for the best possible customer service to the campus research community, the overall structure and some personnel roles in the Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) are changing.
Effective Monday, March 20, 2023 OSP shifted to an organizational structure composed of five overarching teams:
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Pre-Award, which includes proposal administration functions, will be led by Elena Mota.
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Contracting, composed of agreement negotiations and subaward administration, will be led by Michelle Strickland.
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Post-Award, handling award set-up and award management functions, will be led by a new associate director role.
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Grants Financial Management, inclusive of billing, financial reporting, funds management, audit compliance and institutional reporting, will be led by Linda Haster.
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Operations, including internal human resource and finance functions, as well as electronic research administration and outreach, will continue to be led by Sara Bernier.
In addition to the team realignment and the establishment of the Associate Director of Post-Award role, OSP is also recruiting for a Senior Manager of Awards to provide additional support in award review and processing and a Senior Manager of Subawards to bolster bandwidth and coordination in subaward administration.
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OSP Website Updates Reflect Organizational Changes
The OSP website has been updated to reflect the organizational changes which took effect on March 20. References to SPAA have been removed and replaced by either the descriptors Post-Award or Grants Financial Management, as appropriate. The OSP Directory, which also provides this level of detail, has been updated as well.
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Welcome, Yiewi Chen, as an Administrative Program Coordinator to the Contracting team, and Lucy Gauna, as a Grants & Contracts Specialist in the Post-Award team. Also, Noah Koontz has transitioned to the newest Grants & Contracts Specialist with Derek Diaz's team in Post Award.
Please note, our colleague Caitlan Zilligen is currently out of the office on parental leave. While she is out, Caitlan's constituency list is being rotated within the Post-Award team.
Finally, OSP says goodbye to Angelica Morgan, who is transferring to another department here at UT Austin. Thank you for your service to OSP.
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OSP Employee Highlight
Name: Joy Hatch
Title: Senior Administrative Program Coordinator
OSP Team: Grants Financial Management
Describe yourself in 3 words or less: Dependable, Empathetic, Amiable.
Name a resource you reference regularly that helps you perform your job: Google!
What do you like to do with your personal time: TaeKwonDo, read, road trips with my family, crochet, music, randomly quoting movies with my husband.
Share something about yourself people might be surprised to learn: I’m getting my black belt in TaeKwonDo this April 15th.
What’s your number one tip for combating distractions while working virtually: Have some kind of separation. What works for me is as simple as having a separate chair for when I’m working. Also, turning off my computer at the end of the day is important.
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OSP's Meet, Greet, and Connect Event
Save the date! Tuesday, May 9, 2023 in the Santa Rita Room of the Texas Union from 10am-12pm, OSP will be hosting a social event called "Meet, Greet, and Connect". Light refreshments will be served. Invitations will be sent out in early April.
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The Office of Sponsored Projects seeks to provide educational opportunities each month; below is a listing of anticipated internal and external training, free to the campus community.
Any additional trainings made available throughout the month will also be advertised in the OSP calendar and via the RAN; please email raquel.rust@austin.utexas.edu with any questions.
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Upcoming & On-Demand UT Training | |
External Sponsored Projects Training | |
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Off-Campus Indirect (Facilities and Administrative - F&A) Costs
This rate is used when the project will take place off campus for at least 90 consecutive days and at least one of the following criteria(s) is met:
- The combined proposed effort of all involved UT personnel working off-campus is greater than the combined proposed effort of all involved UT personnel working on-campus. This includes unpaid contributed effort.
- The budget includes leasing or renting an off-site facility as a direct cost, and the personnel paid from the grant and any equipment are located at that facility.
- The total direct costs incurred off-campus exceeds the total direct costs incurred on-campus.
Projects must have OSP approval prior to using the off-campus rate. Requests to use the off-campus rate are due to OSP at least seven (7) business days before the proposal deadline.
Friendly reminder: Eligibility to receive prior approval is based on project need, not personnel need. Personnel working remotely is not the same as personnel working off-campus at an off-site laboratory or facility.
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Find the latest Federal regulation and UT Austin policy and procedures related to sponsored research on the OSP News and Alerts Page | |
Reserve your seat for live-cast webinars and workshops on Research TRACKS (where your research-related continuing education credits are recorded | |
Did you miss the last newsletter? View past newsletters on the OSP website | | | | |
