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NIH change to "Other Support"

By: UI Health Care
Date: Friday, May 7, 2021

NIH changes requirements for Other Support, effective for the May 25 deadline

NIH has updated its application forms and instructions to support the need for applicants and recipients to provide full transparency and disclosure of all research activities, foreign and domestic. NIH researchers need to be aware of changes to the Other Support format and requirements outlined in the notice NOT-OD-21-073.  

The updated Other Support form will be required for use for applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR) submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2021.

Changes to the Other Support Format Page:

  • Reorganized to separate funded projects from in-kind contributions.
  • Signature block added, for Program Director/Principal Investigator or Other Senior/Key Personnel to certify the accuracy of the information submitted. Each PD/PI or senior/key personnel must electronically sign their respective Other Support form as a PDF prior to submission.

Foreign Activities Now Require Additional Supporting Documentation:

  • For Other Support submissions that include foreign activities and resources, recipients are required to submit copies of contracts, grants, or any other agreement specific to senior/key personnel foreign appointments and/or employment with a foreign institution as supporting documentation.
  • If they are not in English, recipients must provide translated copies.
  • This supporting documentation must be provided as part of the Other Support PDF following the Other Support Format page.

Immediate Notification of Undisclosed Other Support to NIH:

If a PI or other Senior/Key Personnel on an active NIH grant failed to disclose Other Support information outside of Just-in-Time or the RPPR, as applicable, they must submit updated Other Support to the Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) as soon as it becomes known by emailing nih@uiowa.edu. DSP will then submit this information to the Grants Management Specialist named in the Notice of Award.

Who Needs to Include Other Support Documentation?

  • Reporting of Other Support is required for all individuals designated in an application as senior/key personnel—those devoting measurable effort to a project.
  • Information on Other Support is not specifically requested for Program Directors, training faculty, and other individuals involved in the oversight of training grants since applicable information is collected in other sections of a training grant application.
  • Other Support is not required to be submitted for individuals categorized as Other Significant Contributors.

What is Considered Other Support?

Other Support includes all resources made available to a researcher in support of and/or related to all their research endeavors, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value and regardless of whether they are based at the institution the researcher identifies for the current grant. This includes but is not limited to:

  • Resources and/or financial support, from all foreign and domestic entities, that are available to the researcher. This includes but is not limited to, financial support for laboratory personnel, and provision of high-value materials that are not freely available (e.g., biologics, chemical, model systems, technology, etc.). Institutional resources, such as core facilities or shared equipment that are made broadly available, should not be included in Other Support, but rather listed under Facilities and Other Resources.
  • Consulting agreements, when the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel will be conducting research as part of the consulting activities. Non-research consulting activities are not Other Support.
  • In-kind contributions, e.g., office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees or students supported by an outside source. If the time commitment or dollar value of the in-kind contribution is not readily ascertainable, the recipient must provide reasonable estimates.

Other Support does not include training awards, prizes, or gifts. Gifts are resources provided where there is no expectation of anything (e.g., time, services, specific research activities, money, etc.) in return. An item or service given with the expectation of an associated time commitment is not a gift and is instead an in-kind contribution and must be reported as Other Support.

Other Support Forms and Instructions:

Other Support format page (blank format page, Word)

Other Support sample

NIH Other Support Instructions

NIH is finalizing the SciENcv template for Other Support and anticipates that the template will be available beginning in FY 2022. Until the SciENcv template is available, applicants and recipients are required to use the Word Format page to prepare Other Support information. The form must be converted to a PDF, and electronically signed prior to submission. This is an interim process, while NIH moves to the use of SciENcv templates for Other Support.

Resources:

Updated Other Support resources, including FAQs, can be found here.