• Policy: PI Eligibility for Externally Sponsored Awards
• Form: Request exceptional approval

• Policy: 5 Day Submission Deadline
• To request an exception to the 5-day policy in the Division of BioMed, investigators will be required to seek an approval exception by writing directly to Dean Roberts and Francie Emlen, with their Chair on cc.
  • The PI should include:
    • Circumstances surrounding their request
    • Whether this is their first time seeking an exception to the 5-day rule
    • FOA or PA
    • Project title
    • Sponsor Deadline
  • If approved, please note that the thoroughness of BMRA's review will be dictated by the proposal completion timeline.
• White papers, LOIs, and pre-proposals may not fall under the 5 day rule. Please see the flow chart to determine whether the 5 day deadline applies to your white paper, LOI, or pre-proposal. 

• See guidance on obtaining user IDs for NIH eRA Commons and NSF Research.gov.

• During the life of an award, changes to the project that deviate from the sponsor-approved proposal are sometimes needed.  Many of these changes require sponsor prior approval.  In other cases, OSP/BMRA approval is sufficient. The level at which approval may be granted depends upon the type of award and the sponsor’s specific policies. Federal sponsors have waived the prior approval requirements for some changes to research grant mechanisms (not contracts) such as requests for one-time no-cost extension and Pre-award costs up to 90 days prior to the award effective date.
  • Internal approval requires the completion of the UPAS Form.
  • Complete this form and share with your BMRA contact for processing.
• See the Research Terms and Conditions Prior Approval Matrix to see a full breakdown of Federal Sponsor approval requirements. 

• Institutional Facts & Reference Docs

• Uniform Guidance is a government-wide framework for grants management; it outlines Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal awards.
• Uniform Guidance Information

• Policy: Brown Cost Sharing

• Guidance: BioMed Cost Sharing Approval Form

• Workday Cost Sharing Reference Guide 

• Federal Agencies Data Management Requirements
• NIH Data Management and Sharing Plan Template
• Data Management and Sharing Plan vs. Resource Sharing Plan

• The Brown Library is a helpful resource for Data Management and Sharing.  Find helpful information on their webpage.
• Data Management Planning Tool

• Policy: Effort Reporting
  • Effort certification is required by Federal regulations (Office of Management and Budget’s Uniform Guidance) for all compensation costs charged to federal sponsored awards.   In order to be compliant with these regulations, the University is required to have a system in place for certifying the allocation of salaries and wages associated with sponsored projects. The University employs an After-the-Fact effort reporting system that provides the principal means for certifying that the salaries charged to sponsored projects are reasonable and consistent with the portion of total professional activity committed to the projects
• Effort Certification Table

• Faculty responsibilities for teaching, administration, and service preclude them from devoting 100% of their time to sponsored research activities in the summer months.  Faculty compensated for 10-month academic appointments are permitted to expend up to an additional 1.9 months of summer effort (95%) on one or more sponsored projects.  Greater than 1.9 months requires approval by the Senior Associate Dean of Biology. If faculty are seeking to be compensated for more than 1.9 months, a 100% sponsored project Workplan must be completed and submitted for approval by the Department Chair and Senior Associate Dean of Biology.
  • Division of Biology and Medicine Non-Academic Year Salary (NAS) Process and Workflow
  • Examples of Allowable Non-Academic Year Salary
  • Non-Academic Year Salary Supplement Instructions
• Policy: The Division of BioMed requires a month of academic year salary on proposals before a month of summer salary can be budgeted.  Please review the full policy

• Guidance: Top 10 Things a PI Should Know NCURA  Article

• Incoming Faculty - OSP Webpage
• Guidance: Procedure for NIH Grant Transfers to Brown from another institution

• Outgoing Faculty - OSP Webpage
• Form: Release and Waiver to transfer title 
• Guidance: Equipment title transfer

• NIH Other Support Instructions
  • Note that the NIH Other Support template can also be found at the above link. 

• NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support Instructions 
• NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support FAQs

• Other Support Disclosure Guidance 
• Differences between Other Support, RPPR, and Biosketch
• NSF specific disclosures for Biosketch vs Other Support 

• R01
• R21
• Fellowships
• Career (K)
• RPPR 

• Coming Soon 

• NSF checklist

• Self Determination Tool
• Decision Tree

• The Multi-PI model allows applicants and their institution to identify more than one PI on a single grant application.  It may not be appropriate for all proposals.  See the NIH Multiple Principal Investigators - General Information in order to help determine whether the Multi-PI structure is right for you.
• NIH Multi-PI FAQs 

• The Multi-PI Leadership Plan must describe a rationale for choosing the multi-PI approach.  The governance and organizational structure of the leadership team and the research project should be described, including communication plans, process for making decisions on scientific direction, and procedures for resolving conflicts.  The roles and administrative, technical, and scientific responsibilities for the project or program should be delineated for the PIs, including responsibilities for human subject studies or studies with vertebrate animals, as appropriate. 
• Examples of Multi-PI Plans
• NIAID Tips for Writing a Strong MPI Plan

• Creating a budget
• Criteria of a good budget
• Budget justification best practices

• Postdocs should be budgeted with a minimum salary at the applicable NIH Postdoc level.  See Brown Postdoctoral Compensation info.
• Current NIH Postdoc Salary levels

• Budgets that include grad students must also include their tuition and fees.
• Rates for grad students' salary, and tuition and fees can be found on this table.
  • If a project period spans two fiscal years, then the tuition and fee rates should be prorated.
  • The percent of tuition and fees budgeted should align with the percent effort the grad student is devoting. 
  • Remember that grad students have a 9 month appointment and should be budgeted with Academic and Summer entries. 

• Guidance: BioMed Sabbatical Leave

• Instructions for Completing Memorandum of Understanding Form for Joint Brown-VA Division of Biology and Medicine Appointments
• Memorandum of Understanding

• Subaward Lifecycle 
• When Brown is the subawardee on a Federal proposal submission, please use the following LOI form. If the sponsor is not a Federal sponsor, use this LOI. 
• Subaward Order Form
• Policy: Advance Payment Request Policy

• Per the NIH, consultants provide advice or services and may participate significantly in the research. They often help fill in smaller gaps by, for example, supplying software, providing technical assistance or training, or setting up equipment.
• In a NIH application, list consultants as key personnel only if they contribute substantively and measurably to the scientific development or execution of a project. 
• Consultant typically do not receive salary from grants but receive a fee for their service. 
  • Consultants are not budgeted in the personnel section
  • The budget justification should include the hourly fee and estimated hours to complete the work
• Subaward vs Contractor determination

• BioMed Division Requirements

• Brown Facilities & Other Resources 

The Division of Biology and Medicine is partnering with the School of Public Health and the Society of Research Administrators (SRA) International to offer the LevelUP program to personnel with research administration responsibilities and to invite you to participate in the program.  

The LevelUP program consists of training modules on topics most relevant to the modern research administration professional, including pre-award administration, post-award finance, and regulatory and financial compliance. Each module includes a randomized, comprehensive exam that challenges users to demonstrate their aptitude while reinforcing the lessons and insights contained in the course.  LevelUp's self-paced modules can be completed at any time, from any location, and users are awarded micro-credentials and digital badges for successfully passing the module exam. Additionally, mGuides are brief, focused tutorials on very specific tasks/skills, such as NIH R Series proposals and NIH RPPRs.