NIH Grants Policy Statement
(10/11)
Part II: Terms and Conditions of NIH Grant Awards
Subpart B: Terms and Conditions for Specific Types of Grants, Grantees, and Activities – File 9 of 11
17 GRANTS
TO FEDERAL INSTITUTIONS AND PAYMENTS TO FEDERAL EMPLOYEES UNDER GRANTS
17.1 General
NIH
may award grants to Federal entities. Although the activity under these grants
will take place in a research environment, certain terms and conditions vary
from those included in IIA due to the recipient's status as a Federal
institution. This chapter specifies those differences as well as differences in
treatment among different Federal institutions. This chapter does not apply to
Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (also known as Government
Owned Contract Operated facilities) since the grantee institution is the
institution operating the facility. In addition, this chapter addresses the
policies that apply to payments to (or on behalf of) Federal employees under
grants, including grants awarded to organizations other than Federal
institutions.
17.2 Eligibility
In
general, Federal institutions are eligible to apply for NIH grants, including
research project grants. Specific eligibility will be stated in each FOA.
Federal institutions also must meet the eligibility requirements of the grant
program from which support is sought. PHS organizational segments, other than
IHS hospitals, may receive NIH grant support under exceptional circumstances
only. Such circumstances may include situations where a project cannot be
supported within the mission of the applicant PHS agency or organizational
segment, the activity cannot be performed elsewhere, or its nonpursuit would have an adverse impact or potentially important effect on the NIH
mission, and NIH determines a grant is the appropriate means of carrying out
the activity. However, NIH may not award a grant to an NIH component.
Although
the performance site may be at a level lower than the agency or department
level of the Federal institution, when an award is made to an eligible Federal
institution, the Federal agency or department will be the grantee of record and
must assume responsibility for the project. A Federal institution also must
ensure that its own authorizing legislation will allow it to receive NIH grants
and to be able to comply with the award terms and conditions.
A
document that assures both the assumption of responsibility and authority to
receive a grant must accompany each new and competing continuation application.
The assurance must be signed by the head of the responsible Federal department
or independent agency or a designee who reports directly to the department or
agency head. (In the case of the DoD, the Departments
of the Army, Navy, and Air Force are considered the Federal department, and
their Secretaries the responsible Department head.) This assurance is in
addition to those made by the AOR's signature on the face page of the
application. The assurance requirement does not apply to VAMCs, Bureau of
Prisons' (Department of Justice) hospitals, IHS hospitals, or other PHS
organizational segments.
17.3 VA-University
Affiliations
Investigators
with joint appointments at a VAMC (VA hospital) and an affiliated university
must have a valid MOU that specifies (at both the university and the VAMC) the
title of the investigator's appointment, distribution of compensation, the
responsibilities of the proposed investigator, and the percentage of effort
available for research at each institution. The MOU must be signed by the
appropriate officials of the grantee and the VAMC, and must be updated with
each significant change of the investigator's responsibilities or distribution
of effort and, without a significant change, not less than annually. The joint
VA/university appointment of the investigator constitutes 100 percent of his or
her total professional responsibilities. However, NIH will recognize such a
joint appointment only when a university and an affiliated VA hospital are the
parties involved.
A
grant application from a university may request the university's share of an
investigator's salary in proportion to the effort devoted to the research
project. The institutional base salary as contained in the individual's
university appointment determines the base for computing that request.
The
signature of the AOR of the submitting university on an application to NIH that
includes such an arrangement certifies that
- the individual whose salary is included in the
application serves under a joint appointment documented in a formal MOU between
the university and the VA, and
- there is no possibility of dual compensation for
the same work or of an actual or apparent conflict of interest.
Under
the above-described arrangement, there is no involvement of a VA-affiliated
non-profit research corporation, which is eligible to apply for and receive NIH
grants in its own right as a non-profit organization. The limitations on the
payment of Federal salaries apply (see Allowable
and Unallowable Costs in this chapter).
17.4 Public Policy Requirements and
Objectives
The
requirements concerning disclosure of financial conflicts of interest (see Public Policy Requirements, Objectives, and
Other Appropriation Mandates—Financial Conflict of Interest in IIA) do not
apply to Federal employees and/or Federal agencies. All other Public Policy
Requirements described in IIA apply to Federal grantees.
17.5 Payment
NIH
grants to DoD normally will be paid by U.S. Treasury
check after submission of the appropriate interagency form to OFM, NIH.
Payments to all other Federal departments and agencies generally will be
accomplished by interagency agreements between agencies .
17.6 Allowable and Unallowable Costs
Allowable
and unallowable costs under grants to Federal institutions will be determined
by the established policies of the institution, consistently applied to both
its own activities and to grant-supported activities, and the requirements of
this subsection. In the absence of a governing organizational policy, the cost
principles for State, local, and Indian tribal governments (OMB
Circular A-87) will apply.
Salaries. See Federal (U.S. Government) Employees below.
Institutional Allowances Under Kirschstein-NRSA
Individual Fellowships. Institutional allowances may be requested by
Federal institutions sponsoring a predoctoral or
postdoctoral fellow.
F&A Costs. F&A costs will not be
provided to Federal institutions.
Federal
(U.S. Government) Employees. Whether or not costs
will be charged to the grant, when a Federal employee will be involved in an
NIH grant-supported activity in any capacity other than as an employee working
on a grant to a Federal institution, or a study subject, special conditions
apply as provided in this subsection. The limitations in this subsection do not
apply to individuals that are classified as special government employees
because of service on advisory groups or as a result of a formal consulting
arrangement with a Federal agency. (See the HHS Standards of Conduct at 45 CFR part 73, Subpart J for additional guidance.) The Federal
employee should consult with their agency ethics officials to determine whether
outside activity approval is required by their employing agency.
Only four types of costs—consultant fees, subject costs,
salary or fringe benefits, and travel costs—can be charged to NIH grants on
behalf of Federal employees, whether by a grantee or a consortium participant,
and under the conditions specified only. Applicants/grantees should advise any
Federal employee with whom these types of arrangements may be made to consult
with their employing agency concerning their ability to participate and to meet
the required conditions for payment. The applicant organization must submit, as
part of the grant application, any letters or documentation specified below,
and that documentation must be deemed acceptable by the GMO before the Federal
employee's involvement in the project.
Consultant Fees. Consultant fees are
allowable only for medical personnel of the Uniformed Services of the United
States (excluding PHS Commissioned Officers) and when all of the following
conditions are present:
- The employees are providing the kind and extent
of medical services approved in the grant award.
- Adequate numbers of qualified civilian personnel
are not available to provide these services, and eligible Federal medical
personnel are hired only in addition to those qualified civilian medical
personnel, if any, who are available.
- The applicant organization provides prior
written authorization from the proposed consultant's commanding officer that he
or she is authorized to work on the grant-supported activity during non-duty
hours or while on authorized leave, and can be paid for his or her efforts.
Outpatient or Subject Costs. These
costs are allowable when the federal employee is an outpatient or subject under
study in connection with grant-supported activities.
Salary or
Fringe Benefits. In most circumstances no salary or fringe benefit
payments may be made from NIH grant funds to support Federal employees. While
the level of effort required for the research project must be allowed by the
employing agency as part of the individuals' official duties, salary and fringe
benefit costs associated with an individual participating in an official
capacity as a career, career-conditional, or other Federal employees (civilian
or uniformed services) are not allowable. Salary and fringe benefits payments
may only be made when prior approval is obtained from an authorized official of
the employee's agency and the employee is one of the following:
- A temporary employee specifically hired to
assist in the performance of an NIH grant.
- A PHS Commissioned Officer or a civil service
employee carrying out duties for which specific statutory authorization exists
permitting direct Federal assistance in lieu of cash under the grant, or where
the government is reimbursed for services rendered subject to restrictions
applicable to such personnel, including the applicable Federal standards of
conduct (for HHS, 45 CFR part 73).
- A PHS Commissioned Officer on LWOP if the
- grantee has obtained written prior approval from
the NIH awarding IC;
- total amount of salary paid from NIH grant funds
is proportional to the time devoted to the project and does not exceed the
total annual amount of pay and allowances the individual would have received if
not in LWOP status; and
- parties concerned have made a prior
determination that there is no possibility of dual compensation and there is no
actual or apparent conflict of interest or other violation of the applicable
standards of conduct.
- A civil service employee participating in a
grant to a non-Federal organization and all of the following conditions are
met:
- The individual is participating as part of an
approved IPA assignment in a role other than as PD/PI. IPA assignments
generally do not exceed 2 years and may not exceed 4 years of continuous
duration (5 U.S.C. 3372). Based on this statutory time restriction, the
involvement of the civil service employee should be limited in scope.
Therefore, the proposed PD/PI for an NIH grant may not be participating through
an IPA. On a case-by-case basis, the NIH awarding IC may determine that certain
other senior/key personnel on the project are sufficiently critical to its
long-term success that participation through an IPA is not appropriate. Note, a
Federal agency may not send or receive on assignment an employee who has served
under the mobility authority for 4 continuous years without at least a 12-month
return to duty with the organization from which originally assigned (5 CFR part
334).
- Before making any payment from NIH grant funds
to such an employee, the grantee must certify that the employee is on an IPA
assignment and must provide adequate documentation, as determined by NIH, of
the IPA assignment and information about its nature and duration.
- The level of effort required for the research
project must be allowed by the employing agency as part of the individual's
official duties. Salary payments from NIH grant funds must be proportional to
the time an individual devotes to the grant-supported project. The total salary
support may not exceed the normal level of compensation from Federal salary if
the individual were not participating in the grant.
- The parties concerned have made a prior
determination that there is no possibility of dual compensation and there is no
actual or apparent conflict of interest or other violation of the applicable
standards of conduct.
- A part-time VA employee at VANPCs for which NIH
grant funds are used to pay the differential between the individual's VA
part-time salary and the salary level for a full-time VANPC commitment in
proportion to the level of effort devoted to the project. Compensation must be
in accordance with the established policies and salary structure of the VANPC
and the total number of VA and VANPC hours should not exceed a full time
position. Therefore, if the PD/PI has a part-time appointment with the VANPC,
an appropriate portion of the individual's salary that would otherwise be
supported by the non-profit VANPC may be charged to the NIH grant. The work
paid for by the VANPC must not be for the same project paid for by VA time for
VA salary in accordance with the VA policy set forth in the VHA Handbook 1200.17.
Travel Costs. Travel costs are
allowable if the employee is
- working under a grant to a Federal institution;
- performing allowable reimbursable services as
specified under Salary or Fringe Benefits immediately above; or
- attending an NIH grant-supported conference
- during non-duty hours,
- while in a preexisting LWOP status or one that
continues beyond the conference, or
- while on detail to a State or local government,
educational institution, or other non-profit organization.
Such payments must be made in accordance with
established organizational policy and consistently applied regardless of the
source of funds, and the parties concerned must take reasonable steps to ensure
that there is no actual or apparent conflict of interest.
17.7 Administrative
Requirements
17.7.1 Equipment Accountability
NIH will consider all nonexpendable personal property
acquired under a grant awarded to a Federal institution as exempt (see 45 CFR
part 74.33) for purposes of determining the accountability requirements of 45 CFR
part 74.34. However, NIH has the right to require transfer of equipment, including
title, to NIH or an eligible third party named by the NIH awarding IC under the
conditions specified in 45 CFR part 74.34.
17.7.2 Procurement Requirements
Procurement
under grants to Federal institutions is governed by the FAR and the recipient
agency's FAR supplement.
17.7.3 Intellectual Property
Inventions resulting from grants
supporting the activities of Federal employees under grants to Federal
institutions must be reported simultaneously to NIH and to the employing agency
under the terms of EO 10096, as amended, and are subject to the government
assignment of rights in invention of government employee requirements of 37CFR
part 401. (See http://iEdison.gov for reporting requirements.) Any resulting patent applications and patents must
identify the NIH award, consistent with the language of 37 CFR part 401.14(f)(4). In
cases where the VA is involved with the invention but is not the grant
recipient, and the recipient institution chooses not to elect title or pursue
practical application of an invention, the recipient must note VA's involvement
on its notice to NIH and provide a courtesy copy of the NIH notification to the
appropriate VA office. NIH will notify the recipient and the VA whether NIH has
an interest in taking title and/or continuing the pursuit of practical
application of the invention.
17.7.4 Reporting Requirements
Federal institutions must
electronically submit annual FFRs regardless of whether the award is subject to
SNAP. Since these grants are paid directly by OFM, NIH rather than through PMS;
a quarterly cash transaction report is not submitted, thus is not available for
NIH IC staff to use as an alternative for financial monitoring.
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