Operational Excellence

As a reminder, the report tabs of the VPFIN Sponsored Program Expenditure Report, has drill down functionality. The report is available in COGNOS for you to run based on your business needs. Information regarding COGNOS can be found on the IRE website. The reports/ folders are located in COGNOS Public Folders/Research Office Financial Reports/Monthly Reports/Summary Pages. The folders are summary pages that include drill throughs, summaries and detail reports. The COGNOS role of BUSINESS MANAGER has been applied to each folder.

For questions on how to run a COGNOS report, please contact IRE. If you have questions regarding the data, please contact Devora Frisby

COGNOS Report

March 25, 2021

Dear Colleagues,  

Effective March 22, the National Science Foundation (NSF) enabled three new proposal types in the Research.gov Proposal Submission System and in the recently launched Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site. These are the Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED), Equipment, and Travel proposal types. New automated compliance checks and associated error and warning messages for these proposal types were also implemented. In addition, proposal withdrawal functionality was added for both single submission (with or without subawards) and separately submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations. New training resources have also been added to the Research.gov Research.gov/About Proposal Preparation and Submission page.

FASED, Equipment, and Travel Proposals

• Proposers can now select a FASED, Equipment, or Travel proposal type in the Research.gov Proposal Submission System proposal setup wizard, in addition to the existing Research.gov proposal type options:
  • Research
  • Rapid Response Research (RAPID)
  • EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER)
  • Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE)
• All supported proposal types are available in the Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site.
• New automated compliance checks for FASED, Equipment, and Travel proposal types have been added to Research.gov and are listed on the Research.govAutomated Proposal Compliance Checks for Proposals dated March 22, 2021 on the Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals page. 
  • A reminder: Error messages prohibit proposal submission to NSF, whereas warning messages still permit proposal submission.  
• Refer to the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) for FASED, Equipment, and Travel proposal requirements.

 

Proposal Withdrawal Functionality

• Proposing organizations can now withdraw both single submission (with or without subawards) and separately submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations in Research.gov.
• Organizations no longer need to contact the NSF Help Desk to initiate Research.gov proposal withdrawal actions.
• A new Proposal Withdrawal section has been added to the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page left navigation menu. 
• Refer to PAPPG Chapter IV.A. for proposal withdrawal requirements.

 

Training Resources

• New and updated system-related FAQs by topic are available on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page left navigation menu.
• A new 16-minute Research.gov proposal demo video has been added to the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page Video Tutorials section.
  • The video highlights key proposal preparation steps including:
    • Setting up a proposal
    • Uploading a document and compliance messaging
    • Preparing Proposal File Update/Budget Revisions
• A new How-to Guides section has been added to the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page left navigation menu. The initial topic-specific guide is posted, and new guides will be added to this section going forward.

What's Ahead?

Research.gov is being developed incrementally, and features are expanding to support the transition of all proposal preparation and submission functionality from FastLane to Research.gov in accordance with NSF Important Notice 147: Research.gov Implementation Update issued September 22, 2020. Please refer to theResearch.gov Proposal Submission Capabilities to see what is in development.

Questions? If you have IT system-related questions, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 (7:00 AM – 9:00 PM ET; Monday – Friday except federal holidays) or via rgov@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. or contact your assigned UD Contract & Grants Specialist.

About NSF Proposal Preparation and Submission

 

AUTOMATED CLOSEOUT REPORT ENHANCEMENTS

 

October 23, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

The Automated Closeout Report (ACR) has been enhanced and will be available with the enhancements as of November 2, 2020. Through a collaborative effort, additions such as the Project Start Date and ACR Due Date have been included within the body of the ACR report for clarity and better internal controls.

The primary ACR enhancements are as follows:

• Updated the webform title to “Automated Closeout Report”
• Updated the overall webform instructions
• Added the Project Title, Project Start Date, and ACR Due Date
• Update the Equipment Inventory section instructions and corrected the issue that was causing equipment transactions to appear twice (x2) in the transaction results.
• Updated the Cost-Share/Match section instructions
• Updated the After End Date Charges and Potential Unallowables Charges section instructions
• Added Y/N questions to the Confirm Final Expenditure section

ACR Escalation Process

The ACR escalation process will be effective as of November 2, 2020. The details of the communication timeline are provided for your review and as a reference. The use of sweep purpose codes is to be used in conjunction with the new escalation process whereby the college/departments will receive advanced notifications outlining unverified costs during closeout, and to which their units still have the opportunity to respond to and resolve prior to the finalization of the closeout.

Communication Timeline

If you have any questions, please contact your
Sponsored Research Accountant at ro-postaward@udel.edu.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeff Friedland

 

NEW ACCOUNT CODE FOR NON-IBS SALARIES

 

October 22, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Through a collaborative effort, dedicated supplemental compensation accounts have been created to assist with the proper identification of an employee’s Institutional Base Salary.

The 14 new account codes should be used in the LAM to accurately track all supplemental pay for UD employees (excluding summer salary for faculty paid via supplemental contracts).

Before, if an employee held a secondary appointment, the compensation for that appointment was distributed on the same account code (typically 121100/120200) as the compensation for the primary job. This can present problems when reporting an employee’s institutional base salary (IBS) on an effort report.

Now, an employee’s secondary appointment that is beyond the employee’s primary responsibilities can be captured through the 14 account codes outlined below.

ACCOUNT

DESCRIPTION

120210

Professional Staff Full-time Admin Supplement (Non S Contract) — This account is used to record administrative supplement for full-time exempt employees

120310

Professional Staff Part-time Admin Supplement (Non S Contract) — This account is used to record administrative supplement for part-time exempt employees

121010

CHAIR ADMN SUPL (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for chairpersons

121020

CHAIR NINTH SUP (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record ninths for chairpersons

121110

FACULTY ADMN SUPL (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for full-time faculty

121120

FACULTY NINTH SUP (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record ninths for full-time faculty

121210

FAC P/T ADMN SUPL (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for part-time faculty

121220

FAC P/T NINTH SUP (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record ninths for part-time faculty

121610

CTR DIR ADMN SUPL (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for center directors

121620

CTR DIR NINTH SUP (NON S CONTR) – This account is used to record ninths for center directors

124510

F/T NON-EX37.5 ADM SUP (NON SC) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for full-time (37.5 hrs/week) non-exempt employees enrolled in 403b

124610

P/T NON-EX37.5 ADM SUP (NON SC) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for part-time (less than 37.5 hrs/week) non-exempt employees enrolled in 403b

124710

F/T NON-EX40 ADM SUP (NON SC) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for full-time (40 hrs/week) non-exempt employees enrolled in 403b

124810

P/T NON-EX40 ADMN SUP (NON SC) – This account is used to record administrative supplement for part-time (less than 40 hrs/week) non-exempt employees enrolled in 403b

For questions related to LAM, please send an email to lam-system@udel.edu. For questions about effort reporting, please send an email to Effort Certification effortcert@udel.edu.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Samuel Mobry

 

ENFORCEMENT OF NSF FORMATS BEGIN OCTOBER 5

 

September 22, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Effective October 5, 2020, all proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF) will be required to include NSF-approved formats for the preparation of the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support proposal documents. The NSF-approved formats are SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae and an NSF fillable PDF the.

All other PAPPG (NSF 20-1) changes were effective on June 1, 2020. Please refer to the complete list of PAPPG (NSF 20-1) significant changes and clarifications which include the IT system changes and other policy-related changes. A set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on proposal preparation and award administration related to NSF PAPPG (NSF 20-1) is also available and includes Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support information.

NSF RESOURCES

• The NSF Biographical Sketch and 
  Current and Pending Support websites
• For the fillable PDF formats,Research.gov, or Grants.gov
• RPPR Details can be found on the 
  About Project Reports website. 
• Automated Compliance Checking of
  NSF Proposals website.
• FAQs on using SciENcv
• FAQs on using the NSF fillable PDF
• NSF PAPPG (NSF 20-1) webinar
• NSF-Approved Formats for the
  Biographical Sketch & Current and
  Pending Support Sections of NSF Proposals webinar
• NSF Current and Pending Support Video Tutorial
• NSF Current and Pending Support Video Tutorial
• NSF-specific Bookshelf Resource 
  (includes screenshots and step-by-step instructions)

NSF ANNOUNCEMENTS

• Effective October 5, 2020, Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support documentation must also be in an NSF-approved formats
• Effective October 5, 2020, PIs and co-PIs must include an NSF-approved format for Current and Pending Support when notifying NSF that active other support has changed since the award was made, or since the most recent annual report.
• Effective October 5, 2020, are available on the Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals website.
• A revised NSF Grants.gov Application Guide will be published on September 16th and effective October 5, 2020.

Questions? Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. If you have IT system-related or technical questions regarding the SciENcv or NSF fillable PDF formats, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 (7:00 AM – 9:00 PM ET; Monday – Friday except federal holidays) or via fastlane@nsf.gov.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeff Friedland

Dear Colleagues,  

The University has continued to focus on improving services for research administration under the Operational Excellence in Research Administration (OPERA) initiative. Throughout this initiative, the Research Office has worked closely with colleagues across campus to reevaluate and enhance various processes and resources. Our goal has been to increase support to faculty by increasing efficiency and reducing administrative burden in several areas.

As a result, we are announcing new policy enhancements and resources available effective immediately:

 

New Policy Enhancements and Resources
Key Impacts

Effort Reporting Policy
The Effort Reporting Policy deadline language was revised to:

• It is expected that effort reports are properly completed within 90 days from distribution. If effort is not certified within 120 days from distribution, the cost will be moved to non-sponsored departmental/unit funding pending final resolution. Extenuating circumstances that prevent timely certification should be brought to the attention of the Manager of Financial Compliance.

Bolster Compliance & Promote Efficiency

Sponsored Projects Cost Transfer Policy
The Sponsored Projects Cost Transfer Policy was updated to clarify definitions, allowability considerations, and supporting documentation requirements.
Bolster Compliance & Mitigate Financial Risk

Cost Sharing Policy
The Cost Sharing Policy was updated to remove the mandatory 1% effort requirement. Principal Investigators and other senior/key personnel must demonstrate effort on their proposals and awards. This effort may be reflected as direct salary or Cost Sharing on an award. 
Reduce Administrative Burden

 

We will continue to provide updates as the OPERA initiative progresses. Please reach out to the Research Office with any questions or ongoing feedback.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeff Friedland

 

NOW AVAILABLE ON RESEARCH.GOV

July 29, 2020

Dear Colleagues,

Effective July 27, 2020, the National Science Foundation (NSF) enabled cost sharing (Line M on the proposal budget) for programs with mandatory cost sharing requirements on proposals submitted in Research.gov. In addition, enhancements were deployed to the proposal Cover Sheet and proposal upload screens to support Single Copy Documents, which include Deviation Authorization, Special Exception – Natural or Anthropogenic Event, Proprietary or Privileged Information, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities, and Additional Single Copy Documents. New associated automated compliance error and warning messages as well as business rules were also implemented. 

Research.gov Support for Full Research Proposals

Research.gov now supports all Full Research proposals that conform to standard Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) requirements for formatting and document content including:

• Single submissions from one organization (available since April 2018)
• Single submission collaborative proposals with subawards (available since June 2019)
• Separately submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations (available since March 2020)

Cost Sharing

The requirement to include cost sharing in a proposal is identified in the program solicitation, and Line M on the proposal budget will only be available for the select few programs that require cost sharing. Line M will appear in year one of the prime organization's proposal budget when the selected funding opportunity includes a mandatory cost sharing requirement. Please see PAPPG Chapter II.C.2.g.xii. for additional information about NSF's cost sharing policy.

New system-related cost sharing Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) are available in the “Proposal Sections” FAQ topic on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission webpage. A new automated compliance warning message and business rules for cost sharing have also been added. Please refer to the updated Research.gov Compliance Checklist dated July 27, 2020 on theAutomated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals webpage. Compliance checks triggering an error will prohibit proposal submission to NSF, whereas checks triggering a warning will allow proposal submission to NSF.   

Single Copy Documents

Single Copy Documents are for certain categories of information that are submitted in conjunction with a proposal and are for NSF use only. They are not provided to reviewers for use in the review of the proposal. Please see PAPPG (NSF 20-1) for Single Copy Document requirements. Research.gov system-related details for Single Copy Documents are included below:

• Deviation Authorization (PAPPG Chapter II.A.):
  • The Deviation Authorization link can be accessed both in the Optional proposal section as well as via the Deviation Authorization tab in the left navigation pane Optional menu.
  • Once the Deviation Authorization link is clicked in either location, a text entry field with a 256-character limit will be available on the screen.
  • After the Deviation Authorization text entry field is saved, the text is converted to a PDF file. Editing the text entry field and clicking save will generate a new PDF file.

• Special Exception – Natural or Anthropogenic Event (PAPPG Chapter I.F.3.):
  • When the Special Exception to the Deadline Date Policy checkbox is selected on the Cover Sheet and the Cover Sheet is saved, the Special Exception – Natural or Anthropogenic Event upload section will be accessible either through a link in the blue information message at the top of the Cover Sheet, or by a link in the Other Information section of the Cover Sheet.
  • After a compliant Natural or Anthropogenic Event document has been uploaded, 

the listed deadline due date is bypassed allowing the Authorized Organizational Representative to submit the proposal in Research.gov after the listed deadline.

• • An error preventing proposal submission will be triggered if the Special Exception to the Deadline Date Policy checkbox is selected on the Cover Sheet, but a compliant document has not been uploaded in the Special Exception – Natural or Anthropogenic Event upload section. 
  • Note that checking the Special Exception to the Deadline Date Policy box on the Cover Sheet and uploading a Special Exception – Natural or Anthropogenic Event document will allow proposal submission after the listed deadline in Research.gov, however acceptance remains at the discretion of the NSF Program Officer.

• Proprietary or Privileged Information (PAPPG Chapter II.D.1.)
  • When the Proprietary or Privileged Information checkbox is selected on the Cover Sheet and the Cover Sheet is saved, the Proprietary or Privileged Information upload section will be accessible either through a link in the blue information message at the top of the Cover Sheet, or by a link in the Other Information section of the Cover Sheet.
  • An error preventing proposal submission will be triggered if the Proprietary or Privileged Information checkbox is selected on the Cover Sheet, but a compliant document has not been uploaded in the Proprietary or Privileged Information upload section.

• Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (PAPPG Chapter I.G.2. and PAPPG Chapter II.C.1.d.)
  • When the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities checkbox is selected on the Cover Sheet and the Cover Sheet is saved, the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities upload section will be accessible either through a link in the blue information message at the top of the Cover Sheet, or by a link in the Other Information section of the Cover Sheet. 
  • An error preventing proposal submission will be triggered if the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities checkbox is selected on the Cover Sheet, but a compliant document has not been uploaded in the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities upload section.

• Additional Single Copy Documents
  • The Additional Single Copy Documents link can be accessed both in the Optional proposal section as well as via the Single Copy Documents tab in the left navigation pane Optional menu. Once the Additional Single Copy Documents link is clicked in either location, an upload section will be available on the screen.
  • The Additional Single Copy Documents section supports multiple file uploads.

Other Related Changes for Single Copy Documents

• New Automated Compliance Error Messages and Business Rules: Please see the updated Research.gov Compliance Checklist dated July 27, 2020 on the Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals webpage for additional details. Compliance checks triggering an error will prohibit proposal submission to NSF, whereas checks triggering a warning will allow proposal submission to NSF.  
• New FAQs: New system-related Single Copy Document FAQs are available in the “Proposal Sections” FAQ topic on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission webpage.

What's Ahead in the Research.gov Proposal Submission System?

Features supporting the following types of proposals are planned for a late fall 2020 release in Research.gov:

• Rapid Response Research (RAPID)
• EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER)
• Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE)

NSF is also currently developing a Research.gov demo site that will be available for training purposes. Stay tuned for additional information about these exciting developments in the coming months!

Help NSF Build Research.gov

Research.gov is being developed incrementally, and features are expanding with the goal of transitioning all proposal preparation and submission functionality from FastLane to Research.gov. NSF strongly encourages the use of Research.gov where possible and wants feedback on your experience, so we can continue to make improvements. Please submit your feedback on the Research.gov Feedbackpage (select “Proposal Preparation & Submission” under the Site Area dropdown menu).

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Friedland
Associate Vice President, Research Administration

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeff Friedland

July 13, 2020

Dear Colleagues,  

The University of Delaware’s FY21 Fringe Benefit rates have been finalized with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), our new cognizant agency for the period 7/1/2020 to 6/30/2021. The new rate agreement with DHHS and the new rates are located on the Research Office (RO) website for your reference.

Effective immediately, all new proposals will use the fixed fringe rates, which have been programmed into PeopleSoft. These rates will also be applied to existing awards.

Several job aids have been revised for use by the research community regarding the fringe rates:

1. Here is a link to an updated FY20-21 Salary Reference Sheet.
2. The Research Office has modified the budget template which may be found on the RO website under Frequently Asked Questions, Getting Started, “How do I construct a budget?” to include the updated rates.
3. The Research Office has also updated the budget justification template which may be found on the RO website under Budgets & Rates, Budget Justification Template.
4. Due to the transition to DHHS as UD's cognizant agency, the F&A rate agreement has been updated as well.

If you have any questions, please contact your Contract & Grant Specialist.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Friedland
Associate Vice President, Research Administration

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeff Friedland

Dear Colleagues,  

The University of Delaware has submitted FY21 Fringe Benefit Proposal to Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) for the period 7/1/2020 to 6/30/2021. You will find a letter from the Office of the Vice President for Finance and Deputy Treasurer on the Research Office (RO) website for your reference. You will also find the new rates on the RO website in the UD Proposal Development Guide.

Effective immediately, all new proposals will use the provisional fringe rates which have been programmed into PeopleSoft. These rates will also be applied to existing awards. Please note that these provisional rates have not yet been finalized with our new cognizant agency, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Several job aids have been revised for use by the research community regarding the fringe rates:

1. Attached to this email please find an updated FY20-21 Salary Reference Sheet
2. The Research Office has modified the budget template found on our website under Frequently Asked Questions, Getting Started, “How do I construct a budget?” to include the updated rates.
3. The Research Office has also updated the budget justification template found on our website under Budgets & Rates, Budget Justification Template.

If you have any questions, please contact your Contract & Grant Specialist.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Friedland
Associate Vice President, Research Administration

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Jeff Friedland