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Closeout of an award is the process by which NIH determines that all applicable administrative actions and all required work of an award have been completed by the recipient and NIH. Submission of timely and accurate closeout documents is a key recipient responsibility at the end of the award.
Recipients must submit the following closeout reports no later than 120 days after the project end date. Failure to submit timely and accurate final reports may affect future funding.
- Final Federal Financial Report (FFR) – required for submission of financial information about individual grant awards. The FFR is required on an annual basis, except for domestic awards under the Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process (SNAP) and awards that require more frequent reporting as indicated in the Notice of Award. When required on an annual basis, the report must be submitted for each budget period no later than 90 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the budget period ends.
- Final Research Performance Progress Report – summarizes progress made toward the achievement of scientific aims and identifies significant outcomes. Investigators should note that the information submitted in Section I of this report will be made available to the public.
- Final Invention Statement and Certification – required for all awards except Training grants, Fellowships, and certain other programs. It should include all inventions which were conceived or first actually reduced to practice during work under the grant or award, from the original effective date of support through the date of completion or termination. (See NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 8.6.3 Final Invention Statement and Certification).
- Termination Notice – required for Fellowships and Training grants, it summarizes the information that must be supplied by Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) recipients on termination of their award and for a limited period thereafter. It must be submitted within 90 days of the fellow or trainee's appointment. This form may also be used to document the termination of appointments to other institutional research training programs, research education awards, and institutional career development awards. (See NIH Grants Policy Statement Section 11.2.11.3 NRSA Individual Fellowship Reporting Requirements Termination Notice).
Record Retention
Recipients generally must retain financial and programmatic records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records that are required by the terms of a grant, or may reasonably be considered pertinent to a grant, for a period of 3 years from the date the annual FFR is submitted. For awards issued under the SNAP authorities, the three-year retention period is calculated from the date the FFR is submitted for the entire competitive segment.