Announcements

OSPA Portal for Research Contracts

The portal guides you through a few quick informational fields and required attachments: contract, protocol/scope of work, abstract and budget.

Reminder: Submission of NSF Reports

NSF requires that final and annual reports be both submitted and approved by NSF by their due dates — not merely submitted.

New AI Tool Improves OSPA’s Account Setup Timeline

OSPA, in partnership with Research Information Services (RIS), launched an AI-enabled tool to streamline award receipt and account setup for select sponsors, including DHHS, NSF and USDA.

Reminder: LOIs and Preliminary Submissions May Require Internal Review

Letters of Intent (LOIs), preliminary proposals and preliminary abstracts may still require full internal routing, review and approval, even if they are not considered full proposals by the sponsor.

Updated VPR Late Policy for All Submissions Due on or After March 1, 2026

Beginning with proposal submissions due on or after March 1, 2026, UK will implement updated internal deadlines outlined in the VPR Late Policy. Internal deadlines: 6 business days (administrative + draft science) and 4 business days (final science) before the sponsor deadline.

Updated IAF Workflow: New 72-Hour Approval Window

Once an Internal Approval Form (IAF) begins routing, approvers now have 72 hours to review and either approve or reject the form. If no action is taken within that timeframe, the system will record an automatic approval and move the IAF forward.

OSPA Checklist Helps Track and Complete Required Award Items

To improve transparency and ensure all required items are completed, OSPA has implemented a new “N” (Notification of Award Received) status along with an Account Setup Checklist.

Updated USDA Research Priorities, Terms and Conditions

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released two programmatic updates on the agency’s research priorities and on the terms and conditions for agency-funded grants.

NIH Requires New Common Forms for Biosketch and Other Support Beginning January 25, 2026

Beginning with applications and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) due on or after January 25, 2026, National Institutes of Health (NIH) will require use of the new Common Forms for Biosketch and Current & Pending Support documents.

Research Security Training Requirements for NIH

Dec. 2, 2025, NIH put out a notice on NIH implementation of the Research Security Training (RST) requirements outlined in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Each covered individual listed on an NIH grant application must certify that they have completed RST within 12 months of the date of application submission.

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