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Notices and Announcements
Research Terms and Conditions ....top of page
Effective July 2008 all Federal awards will be subject to new Terms and Conditions. these Terms and Conditions will create greater consistency in the administration of Federal research awards. There are also new Agency Specific Terms and Conditions. To view both the new Terms and Conditions and the Agency Specific Terms click on the link below. http://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp.
Please note, even though these are on the NSF website, these Terms and Conditions are for ALL Federal awards. If you have any questions please contact your Contract and Grant Administrator.
For more information click here 
Grants.Gov - ADOBE VERSIONING FOR GRANTS.GOV....top of page
Adobe Reader versions 8.1.6 and 9.1.2 released and compatible with Grants.gov
Adobe has released Adobe Reader versions 8.1.6 and 9.1.2. Grants.gov has tested both these versions and they are compatible. For more information on Adobe Reader, please visit the updated Adobe Reader FAQ section.
To verify if you have a compatible version of Adobe Reader installed, click on the test application package link below:
Adobe version test application
If an error message displays, the test application package was opened with an incompatible version of Adobe Reader. To download the compatible version required to complete and submit a grant application package please visit the download software page. If you can see the application package you have a compatible version of Adobe Reader to apply for grant applications on Grants.gov. Please be aware that any applicant who is applying for a grant application with Adobe Reader must use the compatible version to save and submit the application or submission errors will occur.
The Research Office suggests that unless the solicitation or application instructions indicate otherwise, you should always make your attachments a pdf file.
Grants.gov - MICROSOFT VISTA & OFFICE 2007 COMPATIBILITY.... top of page
Grants.gov has provided information (below) for those who download applications and have computers with Vista. Application compatibility with Vista is a major problem across all Windows applications. Grants.gov uses Adobe Reader and PureEdge viewer, both free products to allow the applicant community to complete Grants.gov forms. The currently supported version of Adobe Acrobat Reader with Grants.gov forms is 7.0.9 and 8.1.1. Adobe Reader 8.1.1 is compatible with Vista, Mac and other operating systems, and allows the user to view and complete application packages with Grants.gov. Grants.gov is migrating to the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader for completing forms and PureEdge viewer will continue to be supported in the short-term. It is recommended that you download Adobe Reader 8.1.1 at this time. If you are a Vista user and choose to continue using PureEdge, the link below will provide instructions for an alternate solution.
If you have questions or need assistance in this process, please don’t hesitate to contact your Contract and Grant Administrator in Research Office.
Click here for the Vista and Office 07 Compatibility pdf
NIH - ELECTRONIC GRANT APPLICATIONS (CHANGES) .... top of page
NIH will reduce the “error correction window” (i.e. the time allowed after the submission deadline to address NIH system identified errors/warnings) from five (5) business days to two (2) business days for all electronically submitted grant applications with submission deadlines on or after January 8, 2008.
For more information click here
NIH - MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS (NEW) .... top of page
The Research Office reminds the University community that effective April 7, 2008, all manuscripts resulting from research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) must be submitted to NIH’s PubMed Central digital archive within 12 months of publication.
Additionally, beginning May 25, 2008, citations of the author’s own publications resulting from NIH funding on progress reports, applications, and proposals must include the PubMed Central reference number. Researchers may access the PubMed Central submission system at http://www.nihms.nih.gov/
It is important to recognize that in order to comply with this NIH mandate, authors must manage their copyright in submitting manuscripts for publication. The policies of publishers vary widely on allowing posting to PubMed Central; some do not permit posting at all, some have embargoes of 6–18 months, and others charge fees ($2,000 and up for each paper accepted for publication) to allow open access within the 12-month period. Please read carefully the copyright agreement before signing and communicate with the Research Office if an issue appears to exist.
See the memo from Dr. Carolyn Thoroughgood, former vice provost for research, and a copy of the University of Delaware cover letter which should be used for submitting manuscripts emanating from NIH-funded research to inform journals of the need for public access. Also included is a suggested addendum for use when signing the copyright transfer agreement.
The Research Office is happy to assist members of the University community with questions concerning this new regulation.
Please contact Elizabeth Peloso, compliance manager, with any questions.
NIH - Modifying the NIH New Invstigator Policy to Identify Early Stage Investigators: Encouraging Early Transition to Research Independence .... top of page
This notice describes a change in NIH New Investigator policies designed to encourage early transition to independence. Under this policy, New Investigators within ten years of completing their terminal research degree or within ten years of completing their medical residency will be designated Early Stage Investigators (ESIs). Traditional NIH research grant (R01s) applications from ESIs will be identified and the career stage of the applicant will be considered at the time of review and award.
For more information click here
NIH - Implementing Early Stage Investigator Policy: Updating eRS Commons Profile to Include Degree and Residency Completion Dates .... top of page
The NIH recently announced a change in NIH New Investigator policies designed to encourage early transition to independence. Under this policy, New Investigators within ten years of completing their terminal research degree or within ten years of completing their medical residency will be designated Early Stage Investigators (ESIs). Traditional NIH research grant (R01) applications from ESIs will be identified and the career stage of the applicant will be considered at the time of review and award. More information on this policy is available in related notices in the NIH Guide, establishing ESI as a category of new investigators, and revising policies on new investigators and ESIs, and on the New and Early Stage Investigator website at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/new_investigators/index.htm
For more information click here
NIH Clarifies Policy on Resubmission of Amended Applications .... top of page
The notice clarifies the recently announced change in the existing policy on resubmission (amended) applications
For more information click here
NSF - IMPORTANT REVISIONS TO NSF GRANT PROPOSAL GUIDE .... top of page
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced significant changes in the Grant Proposal Guide. There is an important additional requirement for proposals as outlined in the American COMPETES Act. The NSF now requires the following information concerning mentoring of post-doctoral researchers.
Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan - Each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include, as a supplementary document, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. In no more than one page, the mentoring plan must describe the mentoring that will be provided to all postdoctoral researchers supported by the project, irrespective of whether they reside at the submitting organization, any subawardee organization, or at any organization participating in a simultaneously submitted collaborative project. Proposers are advised that the mentoring plan may not be used to circumvent the 15-page project description limitation. See GPG Chapter II.D.4 for additional information on collaborative proposals
Examples of mentoring activities include, but are not limited to: career counseling; training in preparation of grant proposals, publications and presentations; guidance on ways to improve teaching and mentoring skills; guidance on how to effectively collaborate with researchers from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary areas; and training in responsible professional practices. The proposed mentoring activities will be evaluated as part of the merit review process under the Foundation's broader impacts merit review criterion.
Proposals that include funding to support postdoctoral researchers, and, do not include the requisite mentoring plan will be returned without review. (see GPG Chapter IV.B.)
For more information click here
NSF - FASTLANE NSF IDs TO REPLACE SSNs AS UNIQUE IDENTIFIER ....top of page
In response to Government mandates, the National Science Foundation is continuing to take proactive steps to protect its customers' personally identifiable information and reduce the use of Social Security Numbers (SSNs).
For more information click here
UD - COMPLIANCE HOTLINE....top of page
The UD Compliance Hotline, operated through a national company called EthicsPoint, provides an anonymous, confidential and independent resource for reporting suspected irregularities, specifically in areas related to financial matters and internal control issues.
Click here for more information
>UD - DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY REQUEST ....top of page
To comply with new regulations from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, all UD principal investigators who work with chemicals of any type are required to complete the inventory of chemicals of interest by February 1, 2008.
Download the Excel document and instructions here
UD - TRAVEL WITH OR TRANSPORTATION OF RESEARCH-RELATED MATERIALS AND DATA....top of page
MEMO FROM - Dr. Mark Barteau, Senior Vice Provost for Research and Strategic Initiatives
The purpose of this memo is to remind and inform all University of Delaware employees of the laws, policies and procedures that may impact the transportation of University of Delaware property, including research-related materials, software, data, biological materials and equipment. These laws, policies and procedures apply whether the materials, software or data are hand-carried during travel or shipped commercially. The laws, policies and procedures apply to our international visitors as well.
May 21, 2009—NSF to use FASTLANE exclusively for all proposal submissions.....top of page
Due to an expected increase in Grants.gov submissions relating to the processing of Recovery Act proposals, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has authorized agencies to use alternative methods for proposal submission and acceptance. As you know, NSF is able to accept directly its full complement of proposals, both regular submissions and those additional proposals anticipated under the Recovery Act, using our long-established FastLane capabilities for proposal submission and acceptance. Therefore, in order to assist Grants.gov in the effort to alleviate system strain and increase system capacity, proposers will now be required to prepare and submit proposals to NSF through use of the NSF FastLane system.
Effective immediately, new funding opportunities issued by NSF will exclusively require the use of FastLane to prepare and submit proposals. In addition, NSF plans to revise existing funding opportunity documents to reflect this change and to remove all active application packages from Grants.gov APPLY. NSF will continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND
Detailed instructions regarding the technical aspects of proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/
If you have any questions regarding this change, please contact the Policy Office on 703.292.8243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov
June 2, 2009: Announcement of First Annual Competition for UD COBRE Seed Grants in Biomaterials Research....top of page
UD’s NIH Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) entitled Molecular Design of Advanced Biomaterials is pleased to announce the first annual competition for COBRE seed grants.
There are two different seed grant programs, and for each program we intend to make two (2) awards of $50,000 direct costs each, for a one-year duration, depending on the number and strength of submissions. The winning applications will be announced on 29 June 2009, with a start date of 1 July 2009.
Download Application Details here 
Due date: Friday 19 June 2009, 5:00 PM
