Export of Research Materials Abroad

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To the UConn/UConn Health research community:

The Council on Government Relations (COGR) has issued an alert regarding recent situations where researchers have attempted to export research materials abroad. The FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies have increased their surveillance efforts to identify transport of research materials and verify that those exports comply with federal laws. These efforts are believed to be part of a nation-wide enforcement action to control the transport of biological materials that may present a threat to our national security and/or reduce the theft of intellectual property developed in the US, much of it with federal funds.

Transporting certain materials may require import/export permits or other documentation from federal agencies, including US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the FDA, USDA, Fish and Wildlife, and the CDC.

Anyone with questions should contact the applicable federal agency or the UConn Export Control Office (exportcontrol@uconn.edu) for assistance.

Related news:

 

Wesley G. Byerly, Pharm.D.

Associate Vice President

Mitigating the Impact of Fringe Costs on Research at UConn

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Dear Colleagues,

I write to inform you that I am taking action to help mitigate the burden our faculty face when competing for research grants due to the high fringe benefit rates being charged to UConn by the state. To address this issue, we will apply funds to reduce these rates across the board for the near-term. These reduced rates can be used in proposal submissions starting January 1, 2020. On the left, below, are the current rates. On the right are the new rates:

 

Current Rates New Rates for 7/1/20 – 6/30/21
Professional 64.8% 43%
Faculty 53.2% 43%
Graduate/Post Doc: 17.2% 15.5%
Special Payroll 24.3% 19.5%
Student 4.1% 2.4%

 

Additional details regarding proposal submissions, timelines, budgeting, and FAQs will be forthcoming from the Office of the Vice President for Research.

The overriding goal is to help create a more level playing field for UConn faculty as you compete nationally for grants by reducing our fringe costs so they are closer to those found at peer and aspirant institutions.

I am taking this action after numerous conversations with faculty since arriving at UConn in August, and in light of the evidence of the challenges our fringe costs create. We know from actual grant reviews that our fringe rates are out of line with those institutions directly competing with UConn for grant dollars. In some cases, our faculty must forgo funding opportunities simply because they cannot make the budgets work because of the higher fringe costs.

The capacity of faculty to turn hard-won grants into important research products is significantly reduced, including those associated with efforts to drive economic growth and innovation for the state of Connecticut. Furthermore, this reduced competitiveness increases the challenge of recruiting and retaining outstanding faculty.

Overall, these high rates have a significant negative impact on the University’s research mission and addressing them is a critical priority.

However, this is a temporary, stop-gap measure, not a permanent solution and it is not something we would do in the ordinary course of business. As you may know, these rates are abnormally high because of Connecticut’s substantial unfunded pension and retiree health insurance liabilities. The cost of that legacy unfunded liability is built into our fringe rates, inflating them. We are working closely with the state to identify a permanent solution to this problem, as UConn does not and will not have the resources needed to address this issue on our own over the long term. But, in my judgment, the need to reduce rates at UConn is urgent enough that we must act now and use our one-time funds prudently as we seek a lasting solution.

This will apply to the Storrs and regional campuses only. At UConn Health, we addressed this same issue some months ago for the current fiscal year. We have budgeted funds to cover a portion of the unfunded liability charged to UConn Health, providing immediate relief on existing grants. We are committed to working with the state to find a long term solution to this ongoing problem, university-wide.

It is my hope that this will make our faculty more competitive as you seek grants, allow you to apply more of your grant funds to your actual research and related costs, and make it easier for UConn to recruit and retain faculty going forward.

Once again, details from the OVPR will be provided in the coming weeks.

I wish you the best of luck on your upcoming grant applications and happy holidays!

Sincerely,

Tom
President
University of Connecticut

 

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NIH Asks For Your Feedback

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The Office of the Vice President for Research would like to share some information regarding data sharing with researchers who may be affected.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is requesting comments on the draft NIH Policy for Data Management and Sharing and Supplemental Draft Guidance.

NIH will be hosting an informational webinar on the draft NIH policy and guidance on Monday, December 16th from 12:30-2:00 PM ET. The purpose of the webinar is to provide information on the draft policy and answer questions about the public comment process.

Submit your comments to NIH by January 10, 2020. Additional information can be found in this NIH blog post. Questions about the draft may be sent to the NIH Office of Science Policy at SciencePolicy@od.nih.gov.

For questions, please contact Research Compliance Monitor, Ellen Ciesielski at 860.679.6004.

OVPR Quarterly Reports – FY19Q4

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Dear Colleagues,

Now that data have been finalized, I would like to provide you with the FY19 Proposals, Awards, and Expenditures report relating to sponsored program activity—both research and education/service—managed by Sponsored Program Services within the Office of the Vice President for Research at UConn and UConn Health.

In the report, data are presented in two ways: by the PI’s Academic Home Department and by the Managing Department or Center/Institute. Please refer to the first page of the report for definitions and information regarding the data. Should you have any questions regarding this report, please do not hesitate to contact me. Please visit the OVPR website to view current and archived reports: OVPR Reports.

Please note that we have included an additional Summary of Sponsored Program Activity, which includes the Effective F&A rate on awards. This information provides a snapshot of our activity as compared to the same period last year.

While fluctuations from year to year in both grant awards and proposal submissions are common, the government shut down in January further impacted the timing of some awards and proposal submissions this year, which likely contributed to the reductions in overall numbers of individual submitted proposals and awards received. New awarded amounts are up in total, with Storrs and regional campuses ending the year slightly below last year’s totals and UConn Health receiving $8.4M more than last year. Overall dollars requested in proposals increased from $1.24M in FY18 to $1.26M in FY19.

The OVPR continues to seek creative solutions that allow UConn and UConn Health to grow our research enterprise through federal funding, industry partnerships, and collaboration with foundations. I am confident we can continue upward trends by continuing to work together, aggressively applying for extramural funding, and pursuing new channels of support for the tremendous research, scholarship, and creative activities taking place every day at UConn and UConn Health.

Thank you for your continued commitment and contribution to our students, to your research and scholarship, and to UConn/UConn Health.

Sincerely,

Radenka

Dr. Radenka Maric
Vice President for Research
UConn/UConn Health

START Preliminary Proof of Concept Fund

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Dear Colleagues,

 

Through a generous grant provided by the CTNext Higher Education Fund last year, the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has been administering an early stage translational research funding program called the START Preliminary Proof of Concept (PPOC) Fund. Under the grant, funding is provided to investigators at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU), Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), University of Bridgeport (UB), and UConn on a competitive basis.

 

The START program aims to support the preliminary validation of innovative early stage technologies that have possible commercial potential and is designed to advance those technologies to be more attractive for additional funding. Proposals for the START PPOC Fund are welcomed from across all disciplines for early stage projects that may one day result in inventions and technologies that address unmet needs and have potential for commercial application.

 

As we wrap up the first year on funding, I would like to take a moment to recognize recipients from these institutions and ask that you join me in congratulating them on their efforts to commercialize technologies developed in the course of their academic research. For a full list of recipients and project information, visit the OVPR website.

 

For more information about the competition, visit the program website.

 

Thank you for helping to foster the culture of excellence in your schools/colleges, departments, and centers that allows UConn faculty to engage in research, scholarship, and creative activities at the highest levels. 

 

 

Cheers,

Radenka

Celebrating UConn Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activities

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As we begin a new semester at UConn, I would like to reflect on our past academic year and share with you the excitement, successes, and progress we made in that time. As a public research university that engages globally in the creation of new knowledge, we measure our success by the impact of our scholarly and educational outcomes, research, innovation, and the creative work of our students and faculty. In the last few years, we have brought people together around shared goals across campuses and disciplines, an accomplishment that is palpable at UConn and has been critical to the success of our land-grant mission.

Our three consecutive years of growth in total awards have borne out the value of our collective efforts.

Thanks to the tireless work of our faculty, postdocs, students, and staff, our new extramural awards for FY19 reached a three-year high of $266.2M. In FY17, our total new awards were $184.5M and in FY18, they were $258M. UConn Health received over $100M in new awards this past fiscal year reaching an all-time high. Our combined efforts represent a 44% increase over three years. We also saw upward trends in our entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem, with a record 39 high-potential startup companies joining UConn’s Technology Incubation Program, and a ranking of 93rd worldwide in the number of US patents issued for UConn inventions. It is a matter of great satisfaction for me to have helped position entrepreneurship and innovation as an equal mission for our faculty alongside teaching, scholarship, research and creative work.

Our committed focus on seed funding, proof of concept grants, and awards to support the arts and humanities has contributed to STEM and non-STEM excellence. In FY19, our office contributed $2.3M to internal funding programs and an additional $100K to support grant writing workshops and resources. We are thrilled to see engagement, collaboration, and distinction from all areas of the University, whether it be STEM, non-STEM, or a collaborative hybrid, and that these combined efforts are producing growth in research and extramural awards.

I would like to highlight a few new initiatives launched by the OVPR in FY19 that supported faculty success:

  • Convergence Awards for Research in Interdisciplinary Centers (CARIC): Support development of collaborative interdisciplinary teams to bid for major (>$5M) federally funded initiatives, such as research centers.
  • Support of UConn Human Rights Institute with two postdoctoral fellowships in collaboration with the Schools of Engineering and Business.
  • Program in Accelerated Therapeutics for Healthcare (PATH): In partnership with the Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine, aims to accelerate the translational pathway to convert discoveries into new medical therapeutics. The program seeks to quickly develop novel approaches focusing on well validated molecular targets for a specific disease area with an unmet treatment need in the current commercial marketplace.
  • Scholarship and Collaboration in Humanities and Arts Research Program (SCHARP): In partnership with the Humanities Institute, SCHARP supports innovative works in scholarship and creative activities in the arts and humanities that have the potential to transform a field of study, impact the common good, or chart a new direction in scholarly, creative, or artistic direction.
  • STEAM Innovation Grant: In partnership with the School of Fine Arts, STEAM encourages innovative collaborations between the arts and STEM disciplines. Projects funded by this grant may result in publications, exhibitions, performances, academic symposia, or other research outcomes.
  • Stamford Innovate, a new internship program that connects talented UConn students with opportunities in startups in one of the fastest growing regions of the state.

If you want to learn more, click here for a full list of our internal funding programs.

As educators, we all take great pride in our students’ successes, and I wanted to take a moment to recognize some new student projects that are truly remarkable. In collaboration with the Office of the Provost, the OVPR supported a student-led podcast called In Vivo. With regular interviews about science, the arts, current events, and other topics, In Vivo highlights the amazing faculty, students, and staff that give UConn life. The show is conducted out of UConn’s WHUS studio and is run entirely by UConn students. Check it out and consider subscribing for future episodes to learn more about UConn researchers.

Another new initiative is World Poetry Books to support its mission of publishing and vigorously promoting a minimum of six books of exceptional poetry in translation each year. This support offers our students the opportunity to gain hands-on, professional publishing skills, and establishes UConn as home of a preeminent publisher of exceptional world literature.

While sharing accomplishments is important, we also want to increase transparency and continue to maintain open lines of communication as we push to raise UConn’s research profile. In addition to sharing research and tech transfer metrics on the recently revamped UConn Research website, we encourage faculty and staff to reach out with suggestions regarding new opportunities and unmet needs. It is only together – as a team – that we will continue to drive the growth of scholarship, research, and creative pursuits at UConn.

I’d like to conclude with a personal note of gratitude. I cannot thank all of you enough for giving me the opportunity to work with so many talented, hardworking, and committed colleagues. To my staff, I am deeply honored to serve as VPR and grateful for your support, continued improvement, and service to our faculty and students. At the end of a hard day, I find great inspiration in the knowledge that UConn’s faculty and staff – whether they be musicians, chemists, or scholars of law or other disciplines – are some of the world’s most innovative and active researchers. Thank you for making UConn a special place with a vibrant community of caring, collaborative people.

We are opening a new chapter for UConn with a new President who is focused on our excellence, strengths, and new opportunities. I look forward to this journey with all of you, and please remember my door is always open!

Cheers,

Dr. Radenka Maric

Vice President for Research, UConn/UConn Health

Scholarship Facilitation Fund Announcement

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Dear Colleagues,

I’m very pleased to announce that the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has recently finalized award decisions for the Scholarship Facilitation Fund (SFF) Program. Through this program, the OVPR is able to provide up to $2,000 to UConn faculty across all disciplines, on a competitive basis, to promote, support, and enhance research, scholarship, and creative endeavors. The 2019 competition marked the first time that in-residence faculty were eligible to apply for SFF funding, a factor that contributed to a high level of participation in this cycle.

Please join me in congratulating the 2019 SFF recipients who competed in a highly selective competition.

For more information about the competition, visit the program website.

Thank you for helping to foster the culture of excellence in your schools/colleges, departments, and centers that allows UConn faculty to engage in research, scholarship, and creative activities at the highest levels.

Cheers,
Dr. Radenka Maric
Vice President for Research
UConn/UConn Health

Prospective Basic Science Studies Involving Human Participants

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On July 24th, NIH published a Guide Notice (NOT-OD-19-126) announcing the extension of delayed enforcement of registering and results reporting of Basic Experimental Studies involving Humans (BESH trials) on ClinicalTrials.gov through September 24, 2021. BESH trials are basic research projects exploring fundamental aspects of phenomena that involve human participants.

In a previous RFI (NOT-OD-18-217), NIH solicited feedback from the scientific community about challenges in reporting BESH trials on the ClinicalTrials.gov platform and several primary challenges were identified. Therefore, NIH has determined that more time is needed to address these challenges. In the interim, to meet NIH’s registration and results reporting requirement, alternative publicly available platforms should be used as described at the time of application in the Dissemination Plan attachment.

Please note this extension does not change the requirement for clinical trials to be registered on ClinicalTrials.gov.

 

For questions about this notice or your ClinicalTrials.gov requirement, please contact Ellen Ciesielski, 860.679.6004.

 

 

InfoEd for Storrs/Regional Campuses Unavailable July 27, 2019 10:00 PM – July 30, 2019 8:00 AM

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The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), Research IT Services would like to notify researchers and administrators that the InfoEd eRA portal serving sponsored program proposals, IRB and IACUC protocols, and conflict of interest (COI) disclosures for the Storrs and regional campuses will be offline for a system upgrade between 10:00 PM, Saturday July 27, 2019 and 8:00 AM, Tuesday July 30, 2019. This upgrade includes numerous improvements to modernize the user interface and address bugs in previous versions of the software. It also positions the University to roll out new features of the software in upcoming months. InfoEd for UConn Health will be unaffected by the change.

During the planned outage period, access to the InfoEd portal will be unavailable.  Researchers and department administrators will not be able to view or submit proposals, protocols, or financial conflict of interest disclosures through the InfoEd system. However, this outage is not anticipated to affect the submission of proposals to external sponsors, as they are not currently submitted through InfoEd. Please be aware that OVPR staff will not be able to process these records electronically during the maintenance window.

Other systems that rely on the InfoEd Storrs/regional campus eRA portal (e.g. Effort Reporting & Commitments [ERC], Current & Pending Support, AR Billing, SPS dashboards, and OVPR Reporting) will not be updated once the maintenance window begins.  Depending on the system, these other applications may or may not be accessible during the upgrade especially if they link directly into the InfoEd system records. We continue to evaluate these systems that interface with InfoEd and will update their status as the upgrade date approaches.

Once service is restored, users will be able to login and interact normally with all the affected systems.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation as we conduct this necessary upgrade and improve upon the systems. Should you have any technical questions, please contact the eRA Help Desk at era-support@uconn.edu or 860.486.7944. If you need to report serious unanticipated adverse events or human subjects protocol deviations while the system is down, please call the IRB office at 860.486.0986.  If you have an urgent COI submission during the maintenance period, please call 860.679.3276. Please continue to reach out to SPS staff as you would normally.

Important Information from the NIH and NSF

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Dear Investigator,

On July 10th, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a reminder on NIH Policies on Other Support and on Policies related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components.  This was followed on July 11th by a Dear Colleague Letter on protecting research funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from NSF Director, Dr. France Córdova. These notices relate to the ongoing concerns regarding foreign influence in federally funded research.

In response to these publications, the OVPR recommends that any collaborations with foreign entities or individuals, or appointments with foreign entities (including foreign talent or similar programs) be disclosed to the NIH or NSF program officer, your Dean, and the OVPR (contacts and additional information listed below).

The OVPR has posted additional guidance on our site regarding Active and Pending Support and Foreign Collaborations. For any questions or for guidance on this and other related matters, please contact:

Thank you for your cooperation,

Radenka Maric, PhD
Vice President for Research
UConn/UConn Health

 

 

Important Information from the NIH and NSF for UConn/UConn Health Investigators

The NSF Letter references the draft NSF Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Guide published in May 2019.  Clarifications in the draft Guide related to current and pending support and biographical sketches include:

  • Providing information for all current and pending support irrespective of whether such support is provided through the proposing organization or directly to the individual.
  • Expanding examples of current and pending support to include non-profit organizations and consulting agreements.
  • Reporting all projects and activities requiring a time commitment (no minimum has been established), even if the support received is only in-kind.
  • Appointments should include any titled academic, professional, or institutional position whether or not remuneration is received.

The Dear Colleague Letter also states the NSF will be issuing a policy that NSF personnel and Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) assigned personnel cannot participate in foreign government talent-recruitment programs.

The NIH Notice reminds applicants that in regards to Other Support, they must:

  • List all positions and scientific appointments, both domestic and foreign, held by senior/key personnel which are relevant to an application including affiliations with foreign entities or governments such as titled academic, professional, or institutional appointments whether or not remuneration is received, and whether full-time, part-time, or voluntary (including adjunct, visiting, or honorary).
  • Report all resources and other support for all individuals designated in an application as senior/key personnel – including the program director/principal investigator and other individuals who contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project in a substantive, measurable way, whether or not they request salaries or compensation. All current support for ongoing projects must be included, irrespective of whether such support is provided through the applicant organization, through another domestic or foreign organization, or is provided directly to an individual who supports the senior/key personnel’s research efforts.
  • Report all current projects and activities involving senior/key personnel, even if the support received is only in-kind (e.g. office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees), including, but not limited to, foreign financial support, research or laboratory personnel, lab space, scientific materials, selection to a foreign “talents” or similar-type program, or other foreign or domestic support.
  • Provide the total award amount for the entire award period covered (including facilities and administrative costs), as well as the number of person-months (or partial person-months) per year to be devoted to the project by the senior/key personnel.

 

The Notice also reminds applicants of the need to determine whether projects include a foreign component, defined as the existence of any “significant scientific element or segment of a project” outside of the United States including:

  • Performance of work by a researcher or recipient in a foreign location, whether or not NIH grant funds are expended and/or
  • Performance of work by a researcher in a foreign location employed or paid for by a foreign organization, whether or not NIH grant funds are expended.

 

If a significant portion of a project will be conducted outside the United States, then there is a foreign component and NIH prior approval is required.  If all project activity is conducted within the United States, but there is a non-U.S. resource supporting the project, it must be reported as other support.

Program in Accelerated Therapeutics for Healthcare (PATH) Awards

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Dear Colleagues,

I’m very pleased to announce that the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has recently finalized award decisions for the inaugural cycle of the Program in Accelerated Therapeutics for Healthcare (PATH).  PATH is a partnership that includes the OVPR, the School of Pharmacy, and the School of Medicine to accelerate the translational pathway for researchers to convert their discoveries to new medical therapeutics. Under PATH, funding is provided to academic research programs designed to quickly develop novel therapeutic approaches focusing on well validated molecular targets for a specific disease area with an unmet treatment need in the current commercial marketplace. Projects focusing on a wide range of therapeutic interventions (small molecule, biologic, antibody, peptide, gene therapy) are eligible for consideration.

Given your leadership role in the University, I want you to be among the first to hear the results of this competition so you can join me in congratulating the awardees.  Seven PATH grants were awarded in two categories after a highly selective competition:

 

PATH Trailblazer Grants – $75,000

Xiuling Lu, Pharmaceutical Science
Cutting Cancer at Its Root: Inhibition of Acute Leukemic Stem Cells Using Doxorubicin-Loaded Nanoparticles

Jessica Rouge, Chemistry
Determining the Pharmacology of a Novel DNAzyme-therapeutic Formulation for the Treatment of Allergic Airway Disease

 

PATH Ascent Grants – $10,000

Brian Aneskievich, Pharmaceutical Science
Establishing Protein Conformational Flexibility to Enhance Next-Step Drug-Screen Targeting

Nicholas Leadbeater, Chemistry
Towards Development of Novel Therapeutics for Treatment of Toxoplasmosis

Rajkumar Verma, Neuroscience, UConn Health
Discovery of Novel Purinergic P2X4 Receptor Antagonist for the Treatment of Ischemic Stroke

Simon White, Molecular and Cell Biology
Screening for Small Molecule Inhibitors against Enterovirus D68 2C Helicase

Ming Xu, Genetics and Genome Sciences, UConn Health
Discover Drugs Targeting Cellular Senescence to Improve Healthspan and Lifespan

For more information about PATH, visit the program website.

Thank you for helping to foster the culture of excellence in your schools/colleges, departments, and centers, that allows UConn faculty to engage in research, scholarship, and creative activities at the highest levels.

Cheers,

Radenka

OVPR Quarterly Reports – FY19Q2

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Dear Colleagues,

Now that data have been finalized, I would like to provide you with several reports relating to sponsored program activity—both research and education/service—managed by Sponsored Program Services within the Office of the Vice President for Research at UConn and UConn Health. Please visit the OVPR website to view the following reports: https://ovpr.uconn.edu/news/quarterly-reports/

  • List of Proposals Submitted: FY19 2nd Quarter
  • List of Awards Received: FY19 2nd Quarter
  • Proposals, Awards, Expenditures: FY14-FY19Q2

In the reports, data are presented in two ways: by the PI’s Academic Home Department and by the Managing Department or Center/Institute. Please refer to the first pages of the reports for definitions and information regarding the data. Should you have any questions regarding these quarterly reports, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please note that we have included an additional Summary of Sponsored Program Activity, which includes the Effective F&A rate on awards. This information provides a snapshot of our activity as compared to the same period last year.

The OVPR continues to seek creative solutions that allow UConn and UConn Health to grow our research enterprise through federal funding, industry partnerships, and collaboration with foundations. I am confident we can continue upward trends by continuing to work together, aggressively applying for extramural funding, and pursuing new channels of support for the tremendous research, scholarship, and creative activities taking place every day at UConn and UConn Health.

Thank you for your continued commitment and contribution to our students, to your research and scholarship, and to UConn/UConn Health.

Sincerely,
Radenka

 

Dr. Radenka Maric
Vice President for Research
UConn/UCH

2019 CARIC Award Recipients Announced

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Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce that two teams have been selected for funding in the inaugural cycle of CARIC (Convergence Awards for Research in Interdisciplinary Centers).

CARIC supports the development of collaborative, interdisciplinary teams bidding for major federally funded research initiatives. These initiatives can include large, multi-million-dollar research grants or even entire research centers.

2019 CARIC Awards:

  • David Rowe, Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine and Skeletal Development
    Bed to Bench (BTB) Collaboration for Skeletal Research
  • Yu Lei, Castleman Distinguished Professor, Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
    Exposure, Health Effects, Sensing and Remediation of Emerging Contaminants Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center

The CARIC program will provide these projects with funding of up to $150,000 to support planning, outreach to strategic partners and proof-of-concept research for a year, with the possibility for renewal. This initial funding allows researchers to develop more competitive bids for prestigious national awards.

To learn more about CARIC, visit the website of the Office of the Vice President for Research.

Sincerely,

Dr. Radenka Maric
Vice President for Research
UConn/UConn Health

OVPR Quarterly Reports – FY19Q1

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Dear Colleagues,

Now that data have been finalized, I would like to provide you with several reports relating to sponsored program activity—both research and education/service—managed by Sponsored Program Services within the Office of the Vice President for Research at UConn and UConn Health. Please visit the OVPR website to view the following reports:

  • List of Proposals Submitted: FY19 1st Quarter
  • List of Awards Received: FY19 1st Quarter
  • Proposals, Awards, Expenditures: FY14-FY19Q1

In the reports, data are presented in two ways: by the PI’s Academic Home Department and by the Managing Department or Center/Institute. Please refer to the first pages of the reports for definitions and information regarding the data. Should you have any questions regarding these quarterly reports, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please note that we have included an additional Summary of Sponsored Program Activity, which includes the Effective F&A rate on awards. This information provides a snapshot of our activity as compared to the same period last year.

The OVPR continues to seek creative solutions that allow UConn and UConn Health to grow our research enterprise through federal funding, industry partnerships, and collaboration with foundations. I am confident we can continue upward trends by continuing to work together, aggressively applying for extramural funding, and pursuing new channels of support for the tremendous research, scholarship, and creative activities taking place every day at UConn and UConn Health.

Thank you for your continued commitment and contribution to our students, to your research and scholarship, and to UConn/UConn Health.

Sincerely,
Radenka

Sponsored Program Guidance during the Partial Federal Government Shutdown

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Updated: 12/27/2018 with additional agency specific guidance and information.

Effective Saturday, December 22nd at 12:00am, appropriations for fiscal year 2019 for approximately 25% of the federal government expired. Agencies who have full appropriations and are not currently impacted by the partial shutdown include Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense and Department of Health and Human Services (including NIH). Agencies that are impacted by the partial shutdown include the National Science Foundation, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, Department of Transportation, Department of State, Department of Justice and NASA.

Interim guidance for agencies impacted by the partial shutdown is provided below. Additional guidance will be provided if the shutdown persists. If you have specific questions about a proposal or award, please contact Sponsored Program Services.

Proposals

  • If the electronic system for submission is operating, the proposal should be submitted by the deadline in the solicitation in accordance with standard practice.
  • If the electronic system for submission is not operational or offline, the proposal will not be submitted until further guidance is received from the federal sponsor. To be safe, SPS recommends that you prepare your proposal for submission as best you can by the published deadline, even if it cannot be submitted.
  • Currently Grants.gov and FastLane (NSF submissions) are available and operational.

Award Management

  • Current funded awards may continue regular activities and incur normal expenses (exception: NSF payment systems are not operational – contingency plans will need to be further discussed if the shutdown persists longer than a couple weeks).
  • Contact SPS prior to charging any major or capital expenses.
  • UConn may not receive new awards during the shutdown.
  • Sponsor required prior approval requests (i.e. No Cost Extension requests) may not be approved during the shutdown.
  • Please contact SPS with specific questions about your award.

Agency Specific Guidance during the Shutdown

 

NSF

https://www.nsf.gov/shutdown/grantees.jsp

  • No new funding opportunities will be issued.
  • FastLane and Research.gov are available for most functions but NSF will not process proposals or prior approval requests until normal operations resume.
  • Annual and final project reports should be submitted by the due date however they will not be processed and continuing grant increments will not be issued.
  • No new grants or cooperative agreements will be awarded.
  • No prior approvals and no payments will be made during the shutdown.

 

Additional Agency Specific Guidance and Information

UPDATE: Partial Federal Government Shutdown, 12/27/18

NASA

If your grant or cooperative agreement requires access to a NASA facility or participation from NASA personnel in order to perform the instrument’s stated research objectives, the guidance in paragraph (a) below is applicable. If your grant or cooperative agreement does not require access to a NASA facility or participation of NASA personnel in order to perform the instrument’s stated research objectives, the guidance in paragraph (b) below is applicable.

  1. To the extent the grant or cooperative agreement includes work performed on-site at a NASA facility, the NASA facility will not be available for the performance of such work beginning on December 26, 2018. You are instructed to commence an orderly shut-down of your onsite operations and you are to preserve resources and take all actions necessary to minimize costs incurred under the subject grant or cooperative agreement during this Government shutdown. This includes notifying your employees immediately of this orderly shutdown. Contact Sponsored Program Services immediately if this applies to your award. 
  2. Since your grant or cooperative agreement does not require access to a NASA installation, access to NASA IT resources and data, or participation of NASA personnel in order to perform the instrument’s stated research objectives, you are to continue to perform research under your grant or cooperative agreement as long you have available funding. Special Condition 1260.53 Incremental Funding (for awards subject to 14 CFR Part 1260) or Term and Condition 1800.921 Incremental Funding (for awards subject to 2 CFR Part 1800) of your grant or cooperative agreement specifies the total amount of funding that has been allotted to your grant or cooperative agreement. You are also reminded the Agency is not obligated to reimburse your institution for the expenditure of amounts in excess of the total funds allotted to this grant or cooperative agreement. Your institution is not authorized to continue performance beyond that period covered by the allotted funding and is cautioned to closely manage all available funding, as additional funding will not be provided while the Agency is without appropriations. Any research performed during this time period should be carefully planned, taking into account that NASA technical and administrative personnel will not be available to support these activities during the Government shutdown. Expenses and work should not exceed the funding and time of the award even if additional funding and time is expected. Contact Sponsored Program Services if you have additional questions.

 

National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)

NEH is currently shut down. We expect that grant proposals may still be submitted via Grants.gov but per their website, NEH will not update information, process transactions or respond to inquiries until funding is resumed. We also do not expect NEH to issue awards during this period.

 

Department of Commerce

The Department of Commerce includes the following bureaus which are all impacted by the partial shutdown (UConn Storrs and Regional Campuses has funding from agencies that are listed in bold):

Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS)
U.S. Census Bureau
Economic Development Administration (EDA)
Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA)
International Trade Administration (ITA)
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA)
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO)

The following services and activities will not be available during a lapse except to the extent funded by other than current annual appropriations:

  • Most research activities at NIST and NOAA (excluding real-time regular models on research computers used for hurricane and FAA flight planning)
  • Assistance and support to recipients of grant funding
  • Technical oversight of non-mission essential contracts
  • Services and activities provided by:
    • Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA)
    • Economic Development Administration (EDA)
    • Economics and Statistics Administration (ESA)
    • Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
    • U.S. Census Bureau with the exception of the support of the Decennial Census, which remains funded and activities funded by other agencies and non-Federal entities through reimbursable agreements.
  • Most services and activities provided by the International Trade Administration (ITA)

Additionally, electronic systems utilized by the Department of may not be functional (Grants Online which supports EDA and NOAA is not currently functioning).

 

National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)

NEA is currently shut down. We expect that grant proposals may still be submitted via Grants.gov but per their website, NEH will not post messages or respond. We also do not expect NEH to issue awards during this period.

 

Department of Transportation

No cooperative agreements, contracts, purchase orders, travel authorizations, or other documents obligating funds will be executed by the Federal Railroad Administration and Federal Transit Administration.

 

USDA – NIFA

NIFA program activities will be suspended during a shutdown. The scope of the activities includes all NIFA extramural funding programs supporting research, education, extension or a combination of two or more of these functions. This includes agency activities associated with competitively awarded, noncompetitive Federal financial assistance payments, capacity and infrastructure, endowment, and all other NIFA grant programs.

 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

As a general rule, recipients of funded grants and cooperative agreements can continue work on their projects during any EPA shutdown. Grant recipients currently approved to utilize the Automated Standard Application Payment (ASAP) system may make drawdowns of authorized obligated levels during a shutdown. With the exception of grant recipients using ASAP, in the case of government shutdown no payment processing will be available for cost reimbursable or recipients with special award terms and conditions requiring EPA approval prior to payment disbursement (either by paper check, drawdown, or by ACT payment outside to the ASAP system). EPA staff will not be available to make payments until the shutdown ends. Recipients must stop work if they reach a point at which they require EPA involvement or approval.