Key Dates

Related Announcements

•  November 30, 2017 - NIH Enforcement of Closeout Policies. See Notice NOT-OD-18-107
• July 10, 2017 - NIH Implementation of Final Research Performance Progress Reports (Final RPPR) for Small Business and Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Grants and Cooperative Agreements. See Notice NOT-OD-17-085. 
• November 23, 2016 - NIH Implementation of Final Research Performance Progress Reports (Final RPPR). See Notice NOT-OD-17-022.
• February 22, 2016 - NIH's Implementation of the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) Requirements. See Notice NOT-OD-16-067.
• November 4, 2015 - Advance Notice: NIH Plans to Implement the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System (FAPIIS) Requirements Beginning January 1, 2016. See Notice NOT-OD-16-019. 
• August 4, 2015 - Impact of Discrepancies Between Final Financial Reports for Grant Closeout. See Notice NOT-OD-15-136.
• August 4, 2015 - Grant Closeout: Deadlines for Financial Drawdowns and Reporting in PMS. See Notice NOT-OD-15-135.
• June 17, 2015 - Deadline for Final Reports Required for Grant Closeout. See Notice NOT-OD-15-111.
• April 24, 2014 - NIH Updating Grant Closeout Policies and Procedures to Align with New HHS Requirements. See Notice NOT-OD-14-084.

Issued by

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

Purpose

The purpose of this Notice is to alert the NIH extramural community that NIH is strengthening enforcement of longstanding closeout requirements, outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIH GPS) Section 8.6, Closeout. NIH has consistently reminded recipients of their responsibility to submit timely, accurate final grant expenditure, progress and invention reports. In order to fulfill agency requirements under the  Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards at 2 CFR 200, NIH will report all unilateral closeouts of NIH awards as a Responsibility/Qualification (formerly FAPIIS) record in the entity’s information in the System for Award Management (SAM.gov). Please be reminded that, without prior approval from the awarding institute or center for a delay in closeout, NIH will initiate unilateral closeout for all awards that fail to meet closeout requirements within 120 days as required by Section 8.6 of the NIH GPS. See below for details.

Background

Recipient Responsibilities

The requirement for timely closeout is generally a recipient responsibility. However, NIH may initiate unilateral closeout if a recipient does not provide timely, accurate closeout reports or does not respond timely to NIH requests to reconcile discrepancies in grant records.

NIH recipients must submit a Final Federal Financial Report (FFR), Final Research Performance Progress Report (F-RPPR), and Final Invention Statement and Certification (FIS) within 120 calendar days of the end of the period of performance (project period), as required in Section 8.6 of the NIH GPS. The reports become overdue the day after the 120 calendar day period ends.

NIH Actions

NIH is committed to addressing and reducing grant closeout delays and to enhance compliance with Federal regulations and NIH policies. Therefore, NIH will strictly enforce its closeout policies. When recipients fail to submit timely reports, NIH will initiate unilateral closeout. If a recipient does not submit all required closeout reports within a year of the period of performance end date, NIH will unilaterally close the award and report the recipient's failure to comply with the terms and conditions of award in SAM.gov. In addition, failure to correct recurring reporting problems may cause NIH to take one or more actions that may include, but are not limited to, corrective actions, withholding of further awards, suspension or termination per Section 8.5.2 of the NIH GPS.

Effective Date

In an effort to comply with the regulations, NIH will report unilateral closeout actions in SAM.gov retroactively, beginning with all unilateral closeout actions taken since January 1, 2023.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Division of Grants Compliance and Oversight
Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration
Office of Extramural Research
Telephone: 301-435-0949
GrantsCompliance@od.nih.gov