Title : NSF 95-26s GRANT POLICY MANUAL (SUMMARY OF CHANGE) Type : General Publication NSF Org: BFA Date : August 3, 1995 File : nsf9526s ******************NOTE*********************** File number NSF9526.TXT contains the new GPM. ********************************************* National Science Foundation Division of Contracts, Policy & Oversight 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, VA 22230 July 12, 1995 Dear Colleagues: We have published a new updated version of the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM)(NSF 95-26) effective October 01, 1995. This document supersedes the prior version of the GPM (NSF 88-47) including the nine transmittal memoranda issued since July 1989. This revision of the GPM is part of our effort to facilitate easier access and use of NSF grant policy guidance. The GPM has been reorganized to follow the NSF award cycle from issuance and administration of an award through closeout. Information on a particular topic has been consolidated, to the extent possible, into one location. As part of this consolidation, information which duplicates that already provided in other NSF policy issuances has been eliminated. For example, NSF guidance regarding proposal preparation, submission and review has now been consolidated in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). A revision of the GPG should also be available in the near future. In addition, this issuance of the GPM also implements revised administrative guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget (e.g., OMB Circular A-110) as well as makes necessary changes for conformance with previously issued NSF policies, practices and procedures. Other sections have been revised, as appropriate, for clarity. The complete text of the GPM (as well as other NSF policy documents) is available electronically on NSF's Science and Technology Information System (STIS). In the near future, the GPM also will be available on the NSF Home Page in both Microsoft Word and html formats. In addition, two documents have been developed to assist in use of the revised Manual. Enclosure 1 contains a table of contents which lists the section numbers in the new GPM and the corresponding section numbers from the previous version. Enclosure 2 identifies the significant overall and section-by-section changes. Please address any questions or comments about the GPM to the Division of Contracts, Policy & Oversight, Policy Office on 703- 306-1243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov. Robert Hardy Division Director Enclosures: 1. Correlation of New and Old Section Headings of the GPM 2. NSF Grant Policy Manual Summary of Significant Changes 3. NSF 95-26, Grant Policy Manual (Under Seperate File # NSF9526.txt) CORRELATION OF NEW AND OLD SECTION HEADINGS 1989 MANUAL REFERENCE (NSF 88-47, as revised) Chapter I - Basic Information 100 The National Science Foundation 100 110 NSF Organization 140 120 The NSF Grant Policy Manual 110 130 Proposal Submission and Merit Review Chapter II Chapter II - NSF Awards 200 Background 120 210 Definitions 122 220 NSF-Grantee Relationships 130 230 Grant Instrument New 240 NSF Standard Grant Conditions New 250 NSF Grant Periods 240 260 Additional Funding Support 250 Chapter III - Grant Administration 300 Monitoring Project Performance 610 310 Changes in Project Direction or Management 620 320 Changes in the Grant Budget 630 330 Cost Sharing and Matching 640 340 Technical Reporting Requirements 670 350 Records Retention and Audit 680 Chapter IV - Financial Requirements and Payments 400 Background 400 410 Standards for Financial Management 410 420 Definitions 404 430 Payment Requirements 420 440 Cash Refunds and Credits to NSF 430 450 Grant Financial Reporting Requirements 670 Chapter V - Grantee Standards 500 Background 300, 340 510 Conflict of Interests Policies New 520 Financial Management Systems Standards 310 530 Procurement Standards 320 540 Property Management Standards 330 Chapter VI - Allowability of Costs 600 Basic Considerations 500 610 Direct Costs 510 620 Other Direct Costs 520 630 Indirect Costs 530 640 Fee Payments Under NSF Grants 130 Chapter VII - Other Grant Requirements 700 Non-Discrimination Statutes 700 710 Protection of Living Organisms 710 720 Construction, Alteration and Renovation 790 (Including: Davis-Bacon Act, Bonding and Insurance, Flood Insurance and Seismic Safety of Buildings) 730 Intellectual Property (Including: Patents and 750 Inventions, and Copyrights) 740 Publication/Distribution of Grant Materials 760 750 Program Income 770 760 International Considerations (Including: 730 Travel Grants and Use of U.S. Flag Carriers) Chapter VIII - Other Proposal and Award Considerations 800 Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs 210 810 Handling of Information 720 820 Tax Status 793 830 Environmental Impact 796 840 Protection of Properties in the National 798 Register of Historic Places 850 National Security 794 860 Miscellaneous (Including: Liabilities and Losses, 790 Pre-College Students and Experimental Curriculum Development Projects, and Use of Metric Measurements) Chapter IX - Reconsideration/Suspension and Termination/ Disputes/Misconduct in Science 900 Reconsideration of Proposals Declined or 235 Returned by the Foundation 910 Suspension and Termination Procedures 660 920 Informal Resolution of Grant Administration 690 Disputes 930 Misconduct In Science 666 List of Exhibits I-1 NSF Organization Chart I-2 Statutes, Executive Orders and Other Directives III-1 Grantee Notifications to and Requests for Approval from the National Science Foundation III-2 NSF Grant Transfer Request IV-1 Request for Advance or Reimbursement (SF 270) IV-2 ACH Vendor/Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment Form (SF 3881) IV-3 Federal Cash Transactions Report (SF 272) IV-4 E-mail FCTR Instructions V-1 Principles Related to the Use and Operation of National Science Foundation-Supported Research Instrumentation and Facilities (Important Notice 91) V-2 Preparation of Transfer Order VII-1 Assurance of Compliance SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES a. Overall Document: · GPM Chapters and Sections have been reorganized to correspond more closely to the NSF award process, from issuance and administration of an award through closeout. · Revised administrative guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget (e.g., OMB Circular A-110) and previously issued NSF policies, practices and procedures have been incorporated. · Portions of OMB Circulars previously included as Exhibits have been deleted. Information on obtaining the complete text of all referenced documents has been added. · A statement has been added that references to OMB Circular A-110, also include comparable portions of 45 CFR §602 (the Common Rule implementing OMB Circular A-102), Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Cooperative Agreements to State and Local Governments, where appropriate. · Information regarding preparation, submission, processing and review of proposals has been eliminated. Guidance in these areas is available in the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). · An acronym listing has been added to facilitate document usage. · A statement has been added that references to Principal Investigator have been changed to Principal Investigator/Project Director (PI/PD). · An expanded Subject Index has been included to assist in location of information. · A statement has been added that all references to grants and grantees, unless specifically noted, include cooperative agreements and recipients of cooperative agreements. · References to scientists and engineers have been modified to include "Educators", where appropriate. · A statement has been added that "organization" replaces "institution", unless otherwise noted, and includes all categories of proposers. · "Subaward" and "subawardee" have replaced "subcontract" and "subcontractor", where appropriate. · The term "level of effort" has been changed to "person-months devoted to the project". b. By Chapter: Chapter I · Coverage highlighting the contents of the NSF Act and types of research funded by NSF have been deleted. · Descriptions of the following have been added to the NSF Organization Section: GPM 111 National Science Board GPM 113 Division of Grants and Agreements (formerly Division of Grants and Contracts) GPM 114 Division of Contracts, Policy and Oversight (created by the reorganization of the Division of Grants and Contracts) GPM 118 Office of Inspector General · The process for transmitting changes to the GPM has been revised; changes to the GPM will be made through updates with complete reissuances of the document occurring approximately every two years (GPM 123). · Types of NSF Grants and NSF-Grantee Relationships have been moved to GPM Chapter II - NSF Awards. · "Fee Payments Under Grants and Cooperative Agreements" has been moved to GPM 640. · A new section has been added to inform grantees that guidance for the preparation, submission, review and processing of unsolicited proposals is contained in the GPG (GPM 130 "Proposal Submission and Merit Review"). Chapter II · Definitions have been added for "Cost Reimbursement Grant" and "Fixed Amount Awards" (GPM 210 "Definitions"). · All proposal preparation coverage has been eliminated; guidelines necessary for submission of unsolicited proposals are located in the GPG. · Two new sections have been added to highlight: a) the contents of an NSF grant instrument; and b) the types of conditions that may be incorporated by reference in an NSF grant (GPM 230 "Grant Instrument" and GPM 240 "NSF Grant Conditions"). · A stipulation has been added that certain types of programs have different requirements for supplemental funding, e.g., Research Experiences for Undergraduates (GPM 264 "Supplemental Funding"). · Special requirements for consultant services have been combined with other coverage on consultants in GPM 616, "Consultant Services." · Equipment coverage has been moved from GPM 204.1 to GPM 543, "Conditions for Acquisition and Use of Equipment." · "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs" has been moved to GPM 800. · "Reconsideration of Proposals Declined or Returned by the Foundation" has been moved to GPM 900. Chapter III · Topics in this chapter have been moved from Chapter VI. · A new Exhibit has been added which highlights the most frequent types of grantee notifications to and requests for approval from NSF (Exhibit III-1). · The paragraph on site visits has been updated for consistency with coverage in NSF Grant General Conditions (GC-1)(GPM 301 "Grantee Responsibilities"). · The importance of a cost sharing amount when included in or incorporated by reference as part of an NSF grant, has been emphasized (GPM 333.3 "Cost Sharing Amount"). · Reporting and certification requirements for cost sharing commitments of $500,000 or more have been added (GPM 333.6 "Cost Sharing Records and Reports"). · Requirements for issuing a subaward after the grant has been made have been clarified (GPM 313 "Contracting or Transferring the Project Effort (Subawards)"). · Grant Reporting Requirements have been divided into two separate chapters. "Technical Reporting Requirements" has been moved to GPM 340 and "Grant Financial Reporting Requirements" has been moved to GPM 450. Chapter IV · "Request for Reimbursements" and "Working Capital Advance" sections have been revised to reflect current procedures for reimbursements under NSF grants (GPM 434 "Request for Reimbursements" and GPM 435 "Working Capital Advance"). · Specific time and dollar limitations on advances have been deleted (GPM 432, "Payment Policies"). · Guidance on electronic payment processing has replaced coverage on letter of credit (GPM 436 "ACH Vendor Express"). · Women-Owned banks has been added to Minority-Owned banks in GPM 437 for consistency with the national goal of expanding opportunities for women. · Policy on return of interest earned on advances has been modified to require remittance annually to DHHS in lieu of NSF; amount that can be retained for administrative expenses has been raised from $100 to $250 for consistency with OMB Circular A-110 (GPM 443 "Interest Earned on Advance Payments"). · Grant Financial Reporting Requirements have been moved to Chapter IV in order to locate all payment related information in one chapter (GPM 450 "Grant Financial Reporting Requirements"). · Exhibits have been revised to reflect updated forms. Chapter V · Grantee Management Standards have been moved from Chapter III to Chapter V. · A new section on "Conflict of Interest Policies" has been incorporated to implement the NSF Investigator Financial Disclosure Policy (GPM 510 "Conflict of Interest Policies"). · The "Property Management Standards" section has been changed to stipulate NSF conditions for acquisition and use of equipment (GPM 540 "Property Management Standards"). · The policy on equipment has been clarified to provide that equipment purchased or fabricated with NSF grant funds by a college or university or other non-profit organization is considered "exempt property" subject to the identified conditions (GPM 540 "Property Management Standards"). · "Excess Government Personal Property" section has been moved from Chapter VII to Chapter V and the form to be used for requesting excess government property has been was updated (GPM 546 "Excess Government Personal Property" and Exhibit V-2 "Preparation of Transfer Order"). Chapter VI · "Applicable Credits" section has been eliminated as duplicative of coverage in GPM 440 "Cash Refunds and Credits to NSF" and GPM 750 "Program Income." · Conditions for incurring pre-award costs have been revised for consistency with the NSF Grant General Conditions (GC-1) (GPM 602.2 "Pre-Award Costs"). · The dollar threshold for equipment has been changed from "$500 and two years of useful life" to "$5,000 and a useful life of one year" for consistency with OMB Circular A-110 (GPM 612.2 "Definitions"). · Coverage highlighting the legislative history of indirect cost rates has been deleted (GPM 630 "Indirect Costs"). · Policy on submission of updated indirect cost rate information for organizations without established indirect cost rates has been clarified to require submission of this information on an annual basis (GPM 634.2 "NSF Calculation of Indirect Cost Amount"). Chapter VII · The NSF policy on Human Subjects has been revised: to recognize the Common Rule for Protection of Human Subjects; and to indicate that an approved assurance of compliance on the Protection of Human Subjects that is filed with any federal agency participating in the Common Rule is normally acceptable to NSF (GPM 711, "Human Subjects"). · Construction, rearrangements and alterations guidance has been combined into one section and supplemented with coverage on the Davis-Bacon Act and Seismic Safety (GPM 720 "Construction, Rearrangements and Alterations"). · Grantee obligations under publication/distribution of grant materials have been revised to provide that "grantee will provide up to two copies of publication of material based on or developed under a grant, as requested." (GPM 740 "Publication/Distribution of Grant Materials"). · Program income definition has been updated for consistency with OMB Circular A-110 (GPM 750 "Program Income"). Chapter VIII · Text included in this chapter has been moved from Chapters II and VII and has not been significantly revised. No significant changes have been made to the text which is now located in Chapter VIII. Chapter IX · Text on the resolution of suspensions of less than 60 days and more than 60 days has been combined (GPM 920 "Informal Resolution of Grant Administration Disputes"). c. Exhibits Deleted from the Grant Policy Manual: · Information About Principal Investigators/Project Directors (NSF Form 1225) · Cover Sheet for Proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF Form 1207) · Summary Proposal Budget (NSF Form 1030) · Current and Pending Support for Research and Education in Science and Engineering (NSF Form 1239) · Procurement Standards (Attachment O, OMB Circular A-110) · Standards for Financial Management Systems (Attachment F, OMB Circular A-110) · Policy on Construction and Renovation of Research and Education Facilities (NSF Important Notice 98) · Authorized Signature Card for Payment Vouchers on Letter of Credit (SF 1194) · Letter of Credit (SF 1193A) · Cash Outlay Report · Request for Funds (SF 5805) · Overview of the Letter of Credit Treasury Financial Communications System (LOC-TFCS) Message Processing Flow · Request for Funds, NSF Reasons for Rejection, TFCS Form 5805/1031 · On Preventing Conflicts of Interest In Government-Sponsored Research At Universities · Principles to Govern College and University Compensation Policies For Faculty Engaged in Sponsored Research · Revision of NSF Form 98A, Final Project Report, to Collect Data on Gender, Race, Ethnic Origin, Handicap and Citizenship of Individuals Supported Through NSF Grants (NSF Important Notice 102) · Grant General Conditions GC-1 (05/94) d. Exhibits Added to the Grant Policy Manual: · Grantee Notifications to NSF and Requests for NSF Approval (GPM Exhibit III-1) · E-Mail -- FCTR Instructions (GPM Exhibit IV-4)