Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards, NRSAs, NRSA, individual fellowship, reporting requirements, activation notice, payback agreement, termination notice, consecutive support, progress reports, financial reporting

11.2.11 Reporting Requirements

The submission of the forms described in this subsection is critical to establishing and paying stipends A payment made to an individual under a fellowship or training grant in accordance with pre-established levels to provide for the individual's living expenses during the period of training. A stipend is not considered compensation for the services expected of an employee. and other costs and determining possible payback service. All of these forms are available in PDF-fillable and Word formats. The NIH awarding IC The NIH organizational component responsible for a particular grant program or set of activities. The terms "NIH IC," or "awarding IC" are used throughout this document to designate a point of contact for advice and interpretation of grant requirements and to establish the focal point for requesting necessary prior approvals or changes in the terms and conditions of award. may provide copies of applicable forms with the NoA Notice of Award: The official, legally binding document, signed (or the electronic equivalent of signature) by a Grants Management Officer that: (1) notifies the recipient of the award of a grant; (2) contains or references all the terms and conditions of the grant and Federal funding limits and obligations; and, (3) provides the documentary basis for recording the obligation of Federal funds in the NIH accounting system. or reference the NIH Forms Library website in the NoA Notice of Award: The official, legally binding document, signed (or the electronic equivalent of signature) by a Grants Management Officer that: (1) notifies the recipient of the award of a grant; (2) contains or references all the terms and conditions of the grant and Federal funding limits and obligations; and, (3) provides the documentary basis for recording the obligation of Federal funds in the NIH accounting system..

11.2.11.1 Activation Notice

The individual may activate the fellowship on or after the issue date of the NoA Notice of Award: The official, legally binding document, signed (or the electronic equivalent of signature) by a Grants Management Officer that: (1) notifies the recipient of the award of a grant; (2) contains or references all the terms and conditions of the grant and Federal funding limits and obligations; and, (3) provides the documentary basis for recording the obligation of Federal funds in the NIH accounting system. up to the latest activation date shown in the NoA Notice of Award: The official, legally binding document, signed (or the electronic equivalent of signature) by a Grants Management Officer that: (1) notifies the recipient of the award of a grant; (2) contains or references all the terms and conditions of the grant and Federal funding limits and obligations; and, (3) provides the documentary basis for recording the obligation of Federal funds in the NIH accounting system. (generally 6 months after the award issue date). Immediately upon the initiation of training, the individual must complete and sign the Ruth L. Kirschstein Individual Fellowship Activation Notice (Form PHS 416-5), obtain the signature of the AOR, and forward the notice along with the Payback Agreement (required only for postdoctoral fellows in their first 12 months of Kirschstein-NRSA support) to the NIH awarding IC The NIH organizational component responsible for a particular grant program or set of activities. The terms "NIH IC," or "awarding IC" are used throughout this document to designate a point of contact for advice and interpretation of grant requirements and to establish the focal point for requesting necessary prior approvals or changes in the terms and conditions of award..

For Kirschstein-NRSA fellows paid directly by PMS (i.e., those sponsored by foreign or federal institutions) the Activation Notice is required for the initial year only and should be submitted immediately prior to the initiation of training. For all other Kirschstein-NRSA fellows the form should not be submitted before the fellow actually begins training. Stipend A payment made to an individual under a fellowship or training grant in accordance with pre-established levels to provide for the individual's living expenses during the period of training. A stipend is not considered compensation for the services expected of an employee. checks are issued when both the Activation Notice and the Payback Agreement (required only for postdoctoral fellows in their first 12 months of Kirschstein-NRSA support) are received by the NIH awarding IC The NIH organizational component responsible for a particular grant program or set of activities. The terms "NIH IC," or "awarding IC" are used throughout this document to designate a point of contact for advice and interpretation of grant requirements and to establish the focal point for requesting necessary prior approvals or changes in the terms and conditions of award..

The Activation Notice is required for the initial year only. The Activation Notice may be submitted up to 30 days before the individual begins training if necessary for payroll purposes. However, the institution must not release any funds until the individual has started their fellowship training. Furthermore, if the individual does not begin research fellowship training on the day indicated, the institution must notify the NIH awarding IC The NIH organizational component responsible for a particular grant program or set of activities. The terms "NIH IC," or "awarding IC" are used throughout this document to designate a point of contact for advice and interpretation of grant requirements and to establish the focal point for requesting necessary prior approvals or changes in the terms and conditions of award. immediately. Competing continuation awards must be activated on the day following the end of the last budget period of the previous award.

11.2.11.2 Payback Agreement

A Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Payback Agreement (Form PHS 6031) that covers the initial 12 months of Kirschstein-NRSA postdoctoral support must be signed by each person who is to receive an individual postdoctoral fellowship. This form is not required if the individual has already received 12 months of postdoctoral Kirschstein-NRSA support under any Kirschstein-NRSA institutional research training grant or fellowship award. For details on Kirschstein-NRSA payback, see Payback Reporting Requirements in this chapter.

No Payback Agreement is required for predoctoral fellows.

11.2.11.3 Termination Notice

The Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Termination Notice (Form PHS 416-7) (along with the Activation Notice and the NoA Notice of Award: The official, legally binding document, signed (or the electronic equivalent of signature) by a Grants Management Officer that: (1) notifies the recipient of the award of a grant; (2) contains or references all the terms and conditions of the grant and Federal funding limits and obligations; and, (3) provides the documentary basis for recording the obligation of Federal funds in the NIH accounting system.) is the basis for validating the total period of Kirschstein-NRSA support and establishing the amount of payback obligation for each Kirschstein-NRSA fellow. For individual fellowships, a reminder of this reporting requirement may be sent to the fellow by the NIH awarding IC The NIH organizational component responsible for a particular grant program or set of activities. The terms "NIH IC," or "awarding IC" are used throughout this document to designate a point of contact for advice and interpretation of grant requirements and to establish the focal point for requesting necessary prior approvals or changes in the terms and conditions of award. before the scheduled termination date. For early terminations, the completed form will be required immediately upon receipt of notification from the fellow or an AOR.

For individual fellowships training at Foreign training sites, any funds awarded for travel to/from foreign training sites must be reported on the Termination Notice as part of the "Amount of Stipend A payment made to an individual under a fellowship or training grant in accordance with pre-established levels to provide for the individual's living expenses during the period of training. A stipend is not considered compensation for the services expected of an employee." column. For individual fellowships training at Federal laboratories, this column should include all monies paid directly to them through PMS (stipend A payment made to an individual under a fellowship or training grant in accordance with pre-established levels to provide for the individual's living expenses during the period of training. A stipend is not considered compensation for the services expected of an employee., travel, etc. as awarded).

The termination notice must be submitted within 30 days of the termination date even if the fellow is not available for signature. In most cases, the information on the form must be verified by the sponsor and an institutional business official, however, in cases where the sponsor is not available to sign the Notice within the required timeframe, the form may be verified by the institutional business official alone. The lack of timely and accurate information on this form could adversely affect data collected associated with aggregate NRSA support and the payback process. For additional information on early termination, see Changes in the Project below. All Termination Notices for individual fellowships are required to be submitted electronically using the eRA Commons xTrain application.

11.2.11.4 Consecutive Support

If a fellow switches from one Kirschstein-NRSA grant mechanism to another (e.g., from an institutional research training grant to an individual fellowship or from one NIH IC The NIH organizational component responsible for a particular grant program or set of activities. The terms "NIH IC," or "awarding IC" are used throughout this document to designate a point of contact for advice and interpretation of grant requirements and to establish the focal point for requesting necessary prior approvals or changes in the terms and conditions of award. to another), the requirement for payback service incurred is deferred until the total period of Kirschstein-NRSA support is completed. All fellowship applications are reviewed to determine if previous Kirschstein-NRSA support has been provided.

11.2.11.5 Progress Reports

Annual progress reports must be submitted for non-competing continuation support. The Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), which is required for fellowship awards, can be accessed from the eRA Commons. The IDP requirement described in Non-Competing Continuation Progress Reports applies to individual fellowships. Inadequate or incomplete progress reports may result in a delay of continued support. For Kirschstein-NRSA individual fellowship awards, the final progress report information is required as part of the Termination Notice.

11.2.11.6 Financial Reporting

An annual or final FFR to report expenditure information is not required for Kirschstein-NRSA individual fellowship awards.