All OVPR units at Storrs and UConn Health in Farmington are operational, although many staff are working remotely. Email should be used as the primary means of communication to reach OVPR staff.

Yes. Returning to Research COVID-19 Safety Training: is mandatory that all individuals complete the online training module before returning to research work. Documentation of completion must be retained by the lab or research area.

UConn Health researchers can find guidance on this subject by visiting Guidance on UConn Health General Use PPE for Research.

Faculty, staff and researchers who cannot do their jobs from home and are approved by a department head or dean can submit requests through online web forms for face masks, hand sanitizer, pre-packaged disinfectant spray with paper towels and gloves through University Business Services. Other PPE can also be obtained during the normal procurement process through HuskyBuy. The provisions apply to employees at the Storrs and regional campuses, along with the agricultural extension offices.

Yes the CDC has published Reopening Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools, and Homes, which provides information for cleaning and disinfection practices.

You should refer to the Human Resources COVID-19 FAQs for the most current requirements and steps.

Human Resources has provided further guidance and clarification on domestic travel requirements for employees, in response to the Governor’s Executive Order. Human Resources guidance on domestic travel.

The Office of the Provost and Office of Undergraduate Research have issued guidance on undergraduates participating in research.

Visit the Graduate School's dedicated COVID-19 resource page for more information.

Guidelines and requirements for human subjects research have been developed. These guidelines detail the minimum safety procedures that must be in place in order for UConn and UConn Health investigators to be approved by the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) to reopen or initiate new human subjects research. Principal investigators (PIs) must tailor their safety plans to meet the needs of each individual research situation. Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) is available to answer safety related questions from PIs. If you have safety related questions, please email ehs@uconn.edu if your human subject research activities are conducted at the Storrs or regional campuses or call (860) 679-2723 if these activities are taking place at UConn Health.

• Consider using phone, video call (e.g. WebEx or Microsoft Teams), or email.
• In those situations where in-person interactions are necessary due to the therapeutic nature or safety and welfare of participants, evaluate whether interventions or interactions can be delayed or reduced in number and/or in frequency.
• Align in-person interventions or interactions to coincide with clinical care.
• Researchers should remember that such changes must be submitted to the IRB and approved before they are implemented, except when necessary to eliminate apparent immediate hazards to the participant, in which case they may be implemented and promptly reported to the IRB.

Please see Guidance for Reopening Research Involving Human Subjects for more information.

If a Principal Investigator determines that a change to the implementation of the protocol is necessary, a request for modification is to be submitted to the IRB. For example, if the PI determines that all subject interviews will be conducted by phone vs. in person, a request for modification should be submitted to the IRB. As with any modification, the change should be clearly described to the IRB. For example, changes that will only occur for a limited time should be described accordingly (e.g. “while the COVID-19 pandemic is ongoing, subject interviews will be conducted by phone whenever possible”). When possible, approval for such changes is to be received prior to the change being implemented. However, if a change in protocol is required to eliminate apparent immediate hazards to subjects, the PI may implement that change and report it to the IRB within five business days.

Yes, at this time all programs listed on the OVPR's Internal Funding page are expected to run as scheduled, although changes to offerings and exact timelines are possible. Any changes in timeline will be noted on the program pages. Please watch for announcements through the Daily Digest/UConn Health Lifeline regarding the opening of these programs. Given recent disruptions, we ask that applicants be prepared for some delays in the processing and notification of results. Current completion estimates can be found on the OVPR's Internal Funding page.

While there are no plans to provide a blanket extension of all currently active OVPR awards, we are sensitive to the impact that COVID-19 has had on many research projects. All award holders who need an extension due to the current situation will be accommodated. Faculty can request no-cost extensions for their internal funding awards using the IFP Project Change Request webform.

Requests for virtual or domestic activities may be submitted now. Please see special instructions on the AAUP/OVPR Faculty Travel Funding Program Guidelines webpage.

Requests for international activities may be submitted now only if it is essential research travel approved by Global Affairs.  Please see special instructions on the AAUP/OVPR Faculty Travel Funding Program Guidelines webpage for further instructions.

You can reach Maryann Markowski or Matt Mroz at research@uconn.edu. They are also available to schedule a call or video meeting if needed. 

Yes, particularly from the AAUP pool which covers all professional-development related items, and also from the OVPR pool (if you are presenting). 

Yes, the University has indicated that faculty will be able to receive reimbursements for lost travel expenditures as if travel had occurred. Please visit the AAUP/OVPR Faculty Travel Funding Program Guidelines webpage for special instructions.

Faculty can receive reimbursement for original travel expenditures (less any refunds) after the credits are used for business travel. Faculty can apply for an advance on this future reimbursement if needed. Please see special instructions on the AAUP/OVPR Faculty Travel Funding Program Guidelines webpage for further instructions.

If you use the credit for personal travel, then the original cost cannot be reimbursed by UConn, because UConn does not pay for personal travel.  If the credit expires unused, then the original cost may be reimbursed by UConn.  For the latter scenario, please visit the AAUP/OVPR Faculty Travel Funding Program Guidelines webpage for instructions.

Since in this scenario there are no expenditures to be reimbursed, the OVPR will return unused awards to the general funding pools.  Unused AAUP travel funds from FY20 are being rolled over into FY21. Awards cannot be retained for future use or transferred to other trips.

No, the standard guidelines prohibiting the awarding of funds after travel has commenced, and the transfer of awards to other trips, still apply.  

While travel awards cannot be retained for future use or transferred to other trips, you are encouraged to submit a new request and also email Maryann.Markowski@uconn.edu to bring your circumstances to her attention. Given the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the OVPR will – as always – make every effort to fund your new request. 

If you received an exception to travel, please forward it to research@uconn.edu. Proceed with your travel reimbursement as you normally would. Your department staff submitting the paperwork on your behalf must include a copy of the approved exception along with all other documentation. Department staff should NOT use special COVID-19 coding, because this is being treated as a regular travel occurrence. 

Project Management: COVID-19 may impact performance of sponsored projects, e.g., cancelled travel, temporary loss of personnel, delays in acquiring equipment and supplies, and interruption of other essential services. It is important to remain in communication with your sponsor regarding any delays or other challenges you experience:

Federal grants and cooperative agreements: UConn and UCH are required to request prior approval from Federal award agencies whenever there is a change in the scope of work or key personnel. We also must request prior approval whenever the PI will be disengaged from the project for more than three months and/or experience a 25 percent reduction in time devoted to the project (2 CFR 200.308(c)). Some grants may be subject to more stringent prior approval requirements.

Federal contracts and other sponsored agreements: Please consult your specific terms and conditions to determine when prior approvals are required. Many Federal and industry-sponsored contracts are subject to strict deliverable due dates. Even if your sponsor is sympathetic with the delay, it is generally necessary to modify the contract to reflect the revised deliverable schedule.

Subawards and subcontracts: Please monitor all subrecipients to ensure they making adequate progress. If a subrecipient is unable to perform and/or meet deadlines, it may impact your performance as well. Please communicate with your sponsor regarding any such challenges.

Reimbursement for cancelled travel:  Many sponsors are allowing for cancelled travel costs to be directly charged to awards.  See federal guidance at COVID-19 Sponsor Issued Guidance.  

We expect that funding agencies will put out guidance in the event these circumstances become likely or occurs. Contact SPS if you experience this issue prior to agency guidance being released.

See the section below HR for Principal Investigators - Salary & Stipends

You should continue to follow normal processes to work with SPS to submit prior approval requests to the sponsor. SPS is continuing all operations remotely.  

(from NIH FAQ) Yes, this would qualify as a foreign component as per the NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 1.2- Definition of Terms, which defines a foreign component as “the performance of any significant scientific element or segment of a project outside of the United States, either by the recipient or by a researcher employed by a foreign organization, whether or not grant funds are expended.”

Federal sponsors have adopted administrative relief granted from the Office of Management and Budget for grants.  Specific guidance by sponsor is available on the OVPR COVID –19 website. In general OMB provided for agencies to extend awards which were active as of March 31, 2020 and scheduled to expire prior or up to December 31, 2020 to grant an automatic no cost extension upon request of for a period of up to twelve (12) months. Supplements are not addressed in the OMB guidance. Sponsor guidance has so far stated that supplemental funds are not guaranteed.

Specific guidance by sponsor is available on the OVPR COVID-19 resource page.

The certification language that researchers sign will be changed to acknowledge that effort during the period may include periods of little or no work, but that payroll charges continue to be allowable under sponsor guidance. The University is working with peers, associations, and UConn’s Office of Governmental Relations to advocate and take advantage of administrative flexibilities available under federal guidelines.

NIH issued a notice on March 16, 2020 stating that if unanticipated costs related to clinical trials or human subjects research are identified due to impacts of COVID-19, and unobligated balances are not available to rebudget, recipients may request administrative supplements from NIH.  

Freezes will not apply to charges and hiring that are fully grant funded.

Any significant change to the scope of work or specific aims requires prior approval by the sponsor. Submit this request to SPS who will submit to the sponsor on your behalf. No change to the scope can occur until explicitly approved by the sponsor. 

COVID-19 is an extraordinary circumstance. Faculty and researchers should reach out to their program officer to keep them informed about delays to the project. It is anticipated that agencies and sponsors will generally recognize the unique circumstance and will be flexible if they can, including granting no-cost extension if needed. Note that this applies to grant awards; contracts requiring deliverables by a certain date may need to invoke their Force Majeure clause. If you are experiencing this issue on a contract, contact Sponsored Program Services for assistance.

Researchers should document the actual impact of COVID-19 on the progress of their grants to provide substantiation for any future no-cost time extension request. Under these unprecedented circumstances it is believed that most sponsors will approve no cost extensions related to the impacts of COVID-19. However many sponsors have not yet released guidance on this matter so it remains unknown at this point.

Orders and purchases for items needed to support ongoing research activities being done remotely can be delivered to the individual’s home. Masks and PPE can also be purchased and delivered to an individual’s home in anticipation of resuming on-campus activities. The Procurement website provides additional guidance.

Supplies needed to perform the aims of the grant that would have been charged regardless of COVID-19 may be charged to a grant or contract.   Supplies needed for cleaning or for general protection related to COVID-19 cannot typically be charged to the award.

Cell phones used solely for the purposes of the grant may be a defensible charge to the grant in these circumstances, particularly for studies involving large numbers of subjects. The PI/department should, however, request prior written approval of the funding agency for this cost. Requests for prior approval should be submitted to Sponsored Program Services. Program Officer approval by itself is not sufficient to constitute approval. If approved, the PI/department authorizing the charges would need to oversee the purchases and use of the phones to ensure that they were used exclusively for the project; if used for multiple projects, cost allocations must reflect relative usage. Documentation should be retained in the department’s grant file. See the Wireless Communication Device and Plan Stipend Policy for additional information.

Please see Guidance for Reopening Research Involving Human Subjects for more information.

No.

No.

No.

Special payroll employees who are able to continue working on a sponsored project will be paid in accordance with their employment agreement. Special payroll employees who are unable to continue working on the sponsored project will be notified by their manager of their separation of employment.

Discuss options for telecommuting with your supervisor and/or principal investigator(s) of projects on which you are working. If you are unable to telecommute, you should follow the HR guidance for coding paid time or accrued time usage for employees who are time reporters. If you are a UConn time reporter, please refer to the HR FAQs on the UConn website. If you are a UConn Health time reporter, please refer to HR guidance on the UConn Health website.

Discuss options for telecommuting with your supervisor and/or principal investigator(s) of projects on which you are working. If you are unable to telecommute, you should follow the HR guidance for coding paid time or accrued time usage for employees who are time reporters. If you are a UConn time reporter, please refer to the HR FAQs on the UConn website. If you are a UConn Health time reporter, please refer to HR guidance on the UConn Health website.

If grant funds to continue your position end, your supervisor or PI is obligated to give you notice in accordance with your union contract. Please refer to your union contract for further guidance.

If full- or part-time salaried research positions on a sponsored project were planned to end or the funding for the project ends and the employee was paid from regular payroll, research positions may be cut back. Except as otherwise noted here and until June 16, 2020 (or as extended by the University), no full- or part-time salaried positions paid from regular payroll should be cut back or terminated because of the University’s COVID-19 response unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as a sponsor withdrawing support. Contact HR if you have extenuating circumstances.

• If an employee is working remotely and contributing to the project, then salary can be charged to the project.
• If an employee cannot contribute to their current project but can contribute to another sponsored project or school activity, the salary must be moved to that funding source.
• If an employee cannot perform job functions on a sponsored project due to illness, HR policies and procedures apply.
• If an employee is temporarily unable to work on a sponsored project because of campus research closures (for a period not to extend beyond June 16, 2020 unless that date is extended by the University), their salary can still be charged in accordance with their previously established allocation when the sponsor(s) allows for these charges. See below for additional guidance. Sponsor approval may also be required if the Principal Investigator or other key personnel must disengage from the project for more than three months and/or reduce their total effort by 25% or more.

No.

No.

No.

Special payroll employees who are able to continue working on a grant should be paid in accordance with their employment agreement. If they are unable to continue working on the grant, they should be provided with a notice of separation of employment.

Telecommuting should be pursued as a first course of action. If the work cannot be completed remotely to meet an end date, then you should contact your Program Officer to discuss next steps which may include requesting a no cost extension or modifying the scope of work. Requests for a no cost extension or change in scope must be submitted through Sponsored Program Services to the sponsor.

If your lab staff are unable to telecommute, you should follow the HR guidance for coding paid time or accrued time usage for employees who are time reporters. If your staff are UConn time reporters, please refer to the HR FAQs on the UConn website. If your staff are UConn Health time reporters, please refer to HR guidance on the UConn Health website.

Many federal grant sponsors (HHS [including NIH], NSF, USAID, and DOD) are allowing salaries to be charged even when no work is able to be performed on the project. Salaries can continue to be charged until April 30, 2020 (or as extended by the University) as long as funding sources allow, funds are available, and the pay is consistent with the University’s salary payment and leave practices. Contact Sponsored Program Services if you have questions about the allowability of salary charges when no work is being completed:

• UConn Storrs and Regional Campuses, contact your sponsored project team lead.
• UConn Health, contact David Larkin or Jun Zhang.

If grant funds supporting your staff end, you should give your staff notice in accordance with the staff’s union contract. Please contact HR if you have questions about issuing notice.

If full- or part-time salaried research positions on a sponsored project were planned to end or the funding for the project ends, research positions can be cut back. Except as otherwise noted here and until June 16, 2020 (or as extended by the University), no full- or part-time salaried positions paid from regular payroll should be cut back or terminated because of the University’s COVID-19 response unless there are extenuating circumstances (such as a sponsor withdrawing support). Contact HR if you have extenuating circumstances.

When work is able to recommence, many federal sponsors will permit charges to projects that are necessary to resume activities supported by the award, consistent with applicable federal costing principles and provided the costs benefit the project. Supplemental funding from federal agencies is not guaranteed.

Pay and use of leave practices for full- and part-time employees on sponsored projects (regardless of percentage of funding from the grant) is the same as for other employees (including whether or not accrued time needs to be taken or if the University is providing some other form of paid leave). See the HR guidance and FAQs on UConn’s Coronavirus website or email hr@uconn.edu if you are at Storrs or a regional campus. If you are employed by UConn Health, see the HR guidance at the UConn Health Coronavirus website.

Contract terms and conditions often vary from grant terms and conditions made from the same federal sponsor. If you are able to continue work on a research contract, then it is business as usual. If work is not able to continue, contact Sponsored Program Services:

• UConn Storrs and Regional Campuses, contact your sponsored project team lead.
• UConn Health, contact David Larkin or Jun Zhang.

Now!  TCS is actively accepting invention disclosures and is working to ensure timely review and assessment of inventions, including disclosures related to COVID-19. Please note that TCS welcomes receipt of all disclosures, not just those pertaining to COVID-19.

The first step in disclosing your invention or software is completion and submission of either the Invention Disclosure Form or the Software/App Disclosure Form. After receipt, your disclosure will be assigned to the appropriate Licensing Director who will contact you for next steps. If you feel that your disclosure has relevancy/applicability to COVID-19, please be sure to make note of that during submission.