To Principal Investigators,
As I expect you are aware, the challenges for federally funded research at universities continue. Because of substantial staffing and policy changes in federal agencies, actions related to current awards, renewals and new awards are delayed. Virtually all agencies are affected one way or another. To help you in managing these uncertainties, I’d like to outline steps to take for a few scenarios.
No-cost extension (NCE) for a current award: If you anticipate needing an NCE for an award that is ending or is associated with a competing renewal, initiate the request early. Some agencies (e.g. NSF and NIH) still allow institutional approval of the first NCE request, although that may change. However, other NCEs are not routinely granted, so internal extensions are only approved for a limited period.
For NCEs requiring sponsor approval, if you have initiated the request in a timely fashion and it has not yet been approved by the time the award ends, you can request a Temporary Internal Extension for 30 days.
Non-competing renewals: Continuation notifications for many renewals are delayed. If the annual report has been submitted as required, PIs can make a SAGE Renewal Advance Request or a Temporary Internal Extension, which will allow work on the project to proceed for up to 30 days if there is a delay in receiving the Notice of Award (NOA). Temporary HR actions will be needed if the NOA is not received within 30 days.
New awards: Advance spend requests for new awards will only be approved if an NOA has been received, due to the elevated risk associated with the many current Advance Spend commitments across the University.
Early termination: In the unfortunate event that an award is terminated early, the PI should notify their department right away to get help with responding to the notice. Then, submit an OSP & GCA Award Modification in SAGE, choosing “Schedule Change” and the subcategory of “Early Termination”. Email osp@uw.edu with the MOD # so that OSP is aware of this action. We will provide guidance to schools/colleges so that they can support PIs and their department staff in managing this loss. Guidance is also available for researchers who have changes related to research involving human subjects or animals.
Appeals: Some termination notices include clauses that allow the PI to appeal. PIs must work with their department and school/college leadership to determine whether to appeal. OSP is responsible for submitting the appeal, and they will work with the PI in developing the justification. Contact Carol Rhodes, OSP Director at carhodes@uw.edu if you are considering an appeal. Note that all charges to the project must be suspended during the appeal process.
It was our hope that the impacts to UW would be minimal, but we have had losses and anticipate more people — and the work they are doing — will be impacted. We also know that the impacts extend beyond financial cuts. We are gathering information from the research community and will be putting together panel discussions in spring quarter to support researchers in dealing with some of these issues — more information to come.
Mari Ostendorf
Vice Provost for Research