Shea McGovern Assistant Director, Pre-Award Office of Sponsored Projects

 FastLane or Grants.gov  Effective December 1, 2009, NSF will begin reinstating the option to prepare and submit proposals via either use of Grants.gov or the NSF FastLane system.

 Cost Sharing:  NSF’s current cost sharing policy remains in effect  In August, 2009 The National Science Board issued a report entitled “Investing in the Future NSF Cost Sharing Policies for a Robust Federal Research Enterprise”, which outlined a set of recommendations regarding NSF cost sharing policy.  The Foundation is in the process of considering how best to implement those recommendations, however, no changes have been made yet.

 Chapter I.D.3: Full Proposals  Best Practices for Ensuring Scientific Integrity and Preventing Misconduct  NSF is referencing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report on research integrity that may be helpful to proposers.  _1_1_1_1,00.html _1_1_1_1,00.html

Chapter I.F.3, When to Submit Proposals  If the deadline date falls on a weekend, it will be extended to the following Monday; if a deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the deadline is extended to the following business day. Previously, the section did not specify the category of holiday that was applicable.

 Chapter II.E.3  Project Outcomes Report for the General Public  Within 90 days following expiration of the grant, PIs will need to produce a project outcomes report which must be submitted electronically via Research.gov. This report serves as a brief summary, prepared specifically for the public, of the nature and outcomes of the project.

 Chapter IV.A  Conflict of Interest Policies - Subawardees  Conflict of Interest Policies have been supplemented with language on applicability of such policies to subawardees and the like, who must either have their own policy that complies with NSF’s conflict of interest policy or they must follow the prime institution’s policies.

 Exhibit II-1  Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan  The Proposal Preparation Checklist, has been updated with a reminder that all proposals that include support for a postdoctoral researcher must include a mentoring plan in the Supplementary Documentation section of the proposal.  Failure to do so will result in the return of the proposal without review.

 OSP Web Site / Faculty / Responsible Conduct in Research Mentoring and Training Resouces /  Resources for Addressing Grant Applications Requiring Mentoring  Dartmouth College Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan Dartmouth College Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan  toring.html

Chapter IV.B RCR Training  As of January 2010, NSF requires that Institutions have in place a program of appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who will be supported by NSF to conduct research.  Institutions must designate one or more persons to oversee compliance with the RCR training requirement and must verify that appropriate training was provided.

 Dartmouth College has developed the following plan to meet these requirements. 

 GRADUATE STUDENTS  All first year graduate students are required to complete the Professional Ethics Program.  Information can be found in the Graduate Studies Office and on-line at:  This program meets the requirement for NSF RCR training for graduate students.

POST DOCS: (3 options)  1) Post docs who have completed the “Train the Trainer” portion of Professional Ethics Program will have met the NSF RCR requirements.  2) On-line training by Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI)CITI Research modules for: Biomedical; Social & Behavioral Studies; Physical Science; and Humanities. ◦ Within each module are seven sections: Introduction; Research Misconduct; Data Acquisition and Management; Peer Review; Mentor & Trainee Responsibilities; Conflict of Interest; and Collaborative Research.  3) Presentation: The Office of the Provost and the Office of Sponsored Projects will offer a 90-minute presentation to provide an overview of the elements of Responsible Conduct in Research described above.

 UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS:  Options (2) or (3) above will fulfill the undergraduate requirement.  The PI has the responsibility to help the student register for the option that she/he wishes to take.

 “It is a Principal Investigator's responsibility to inform undergraduate students, graduate students or postdoctoral fellows paid from NSF funds of the mandatory RCR training.  The Principal Investigator should also help individuals select the most appropriate option. While this new requirement only applies to NSF funded lab personnel, we encourage RCR training for all researchers.” Martin Wybourne Vice Provost for Research

 For more information, contact:  Jill Mortali, Director of Sponsored Projects, or Jill Mortali  Elizabeth Bankert, Office of the Provost for additional information Elizabeth Bankert 