RAIN Notes – August 2021

NCURA Webinar – Participant Support Costs – This webinar had several great takeaways – some of the key points were:

  • ECU employees cannot be considered participants
  • Participant Support Costs should defray expenses incurred by specific participants
  • Participant Support Costs do not accrue F&A

That’s just the tip of the iceberg – watch the webinar to get all the details.

This webinar is available for streaming by ECU personnel – Click Here


Overview of Questionable Costs – Presentation to RAIN Meeting

Julie Cole discussed the challenges implicit in questionable costs on sponsored projects at the July RAIN meeting. If you missed it, or want to review the topic, check out the slides from that presentation.

https://rede.ecu.edu/cmsi/rain-questionable-costs-final/


RAIN Meeting Feedback – If you have been attending RAIN meetings, we wanted to give you a chance to offer feedback on the format and content of those meetings. See the feedback form at the link below:

https://rede.ecu.edu/cmsi/rainfeedback/


National Science Foundation – Newly Revised PAPPG – The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published a revised version of the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide (NSF 21-084). Overall, the Guide has been updated to align with the changes to NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide(PAPPG) (NSF 22-1). The Guide will be effective for applications submitted (via Grants.gov) or due, on or after October 4, 2021.


National Institutes of Health – Additional Clarifications to Biosketch and Other Support Policies Now Available – Although not required until January 2022, more and more applicants and recipients are following our advice and transitioning now to the updated formats and instructions for biosketch and other support documents. As a result, we’ve received a number of requests for additional clarification to our policies. We’ve updated and added FAQs, posted clarified instructions, and adjusted our other support sample document in response. All of these improved resources are accessible from our biosketch and other support pages.  

https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2021/08/02/additional-clarifications-to-biosketch-and-other-support-policies-now-available/


Training – Basics for Departmental Research Administrators – Three training presentations which provide an overview of research administration are available in Cornerstone.

  • BDRA01 – Research Administration at ECU
  • BDRA02 – Research Administration Offices and Resources
  • BDRA03 – Spending on Sponsored Projects

These can be accessed via our website – go.ecu.edu/bdra 


Open Invitation for Content – If you come across an interesting article or post that you think would be helpful to your RAIN colleagues, we would be happy to include it in this monthly newsletter. Just send the link to cmsi@ecu.edu along with a 2-3 sentence note explaining why the information is relevant.


The Research Administrator’s Information Network (RAIN) is an open forum for ECU personnel interested in research administration issues. There are monthly RAIN meetings, a Microsoft Team, Grant Alerts, and these monthly issues e-mail. For more information, please send e-mail to cmsi@ecu.edu.