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The National Science Foundation has issued some further clarifications for the new responsible conduct of research (RCR) policy, which goes into effect on January 4, 2010. Briefly, this will require institutions receiving funds to certify that appropriate training in the responsible and ethical conduct of research is in place for all undergraduates, graduate students, and post docs that are supported by NSF to conduct research. The content and delivery method(s) of the training are determined by the institution.

• Jean Feldman, head of the NSF’s policy office, made the following points about this requirement in October:
• NSF expects that institutions will be able to track and document that the above have received training.
• Institutions are required to have a plan in place, but this plan will not be a part of individual proposals.
• The requirement is not retroactive and does not apply to increments of continuing awards.

This is an interest item of the inspector general and institutions can expect their plans to be requested as a part NSF’s auditing process. David Bond and Denis Charlesworth have met with several deans and faculty to get input for the best way to implement this for RIT. Elements of RCR are in place in various curricula across RIT. SRS will make some resources available for basic RCR training to supplement what is in the curriculum.

The Director’s remarks give some indication to future directions for NIH programs.  Additionally, NIH has announced significant changes to its proposal application process, effective for proposals with deadlines on or after January 25, 2010.  The changes fall into two categories: (1) structural and content changes to the applications and (2) significantly reduced page limits. 

The changes to proposals include the following:

• First, the Introduction section (for Resubmission or Revision applications only) for most programs will be limited to 1 page. 
• Second, the current Research Plan section will be replaced with the new “Research Strategy” section (which will be sub-divided into Significance, Innovation, and Approach).  The Research Strategy section will be limited to 6 or 12 pages (depending upon the specific program), with one additional page for Specific Aims.  This is in contrast to the current typical limit of 12 or 25 pages for the Research Plan. 
• Third, the Resources section will require new information on the scientific environment, and for Early Stage Investigators, the institutional commitment to the investigator’s success. 
• Fourth, each Biographical Sketch will be required to include a Personal Statement and a list of no more than 15 publications. 

More detailed information can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/not-od-09-149.html and http://enhancing-peer-review.nih.gov/restructured_applications.html .

In general, the changes apply to all research grant, cooperative agreement, career, and fellowship applications, except for Training (T, D43, D71), R25, and K12 applications.  NIH is currently publishing funding opportunity announcements, without application packages, for proposals with deadlines on or after January 25, 2010.  NIH will start to publish the new application packages and instructions in December.  Investigators who are working ahead need to be aware that new rules are coming. 

NSF will be asking PIs to submit a Project Outcomes Report to the General Public at the end of each award.  This is a summary of the nature and outcomes of the project prepared specifically for the general public.  It will be displayed on NSF’s website as submitted and should not contain confidential or proprietary information.  This will be required starting May 2010 and will be collected through the research.gov site.

The Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship for Service Program is an opportunity for students pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines to receive a full scholarship and be gainfully employed upon degree completion.  Benefits include full tuition and a generous cash award.  More information and an online application can be found at http://smart.asee.org/ .  The deadline for 2009 applications is December 15, 2009.

The Principal Investigator Institute is a series of information sessions on topics of concern to researchers and principal investigators, including proposal development, project management and compliance with regulations.

Several new sessions have been introduced for this academic year; visit the PI Institute page to view the schedule and register.

RIT has created a central web page for information about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 at www.rit.edu/go/stimulus . Agency plans for the stimulus funds are unfolding daily. This page provides information about how federal agencies are implementing the act and has links to agency recovery sites. We also invite you to share ARRA-related news and suggestions for content here.