March 2015 Newsletter

Florida State’s Librarians Are Offering Data Management Workshops

FSU’s librarians are offering a number of workshops this semester related to data management. Data management is the process of controlling the information that is generated during any research project. As more funding agencies are requiring data management plans as part of the grant application process, researchers must keep up with these emerging requirements. These workshops cover several aspects of data management including: file types and formats, an overview of federal funding requirements, creating data management plans and an overview of data repositories. The next workshop is at 7 p.m., March 23 in Strozier 005A. View more information at the website.

New Award Memorializes Jim Brooks

The Graduate School has created the Dr. James S. “Jim” Brooks Graduate Student Award in Materials Science and Engineering to memorialize the late chair of the Physics Department who passed away last September. The purpose of the award is to encourage academically motivated graduate students to seek opportunities within this field of study at Florida State University. Learn more about the award, including how you can contribute.

FSU INIE Networking Event Set for March 26

The Office of Proposal Development is teaming with the Institute for Nonprofit Innovation and Excellence (INIE) to host, Nonprofit Networking: FSU/INIE Connect, a networking event bringing together FSU faculty members from across campus with local non-profit agencies. Plan to drop in to the FSU Alumni Center Ballroom from 3:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 26 to meet one on one with representatives from local organizations to talk about shared needs, collaborative projects, student opportunities and more. View additional information and register your anticipated attendance.

Update on NIH’s Implementation of Federal Grant Policies

On February 5, NIH announced its “NIH Interim Grant General Conditions”, their first step toward implementing Federal-wide administrative requirements for the use of Federal funds.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB)’s “Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards” (2 CFR part 200), (also referred to as the “Uniform Guidance” or “UG”), published in December 2013, provided a government-wide framework for administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements when using Federal funds awarded to non-Federal entities. These requirements are applied to NIH grants and impact the management of these awards. Once the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) developed its regulation (45 CFR Part 75) describing how HHS will implement the Uniform Guidance (as announced in the Federal Register in December 2014) NIH began work to develop Interim Grant General Conditions, which were published in February.

The NIH Interim Grant General Conditions apply to all new and supplemental funding provided by Notices of Award issued on or after December 26, 2014. The document updates Notice of Award information to align with the new Federal-wide requirements. Many of these changes were based on policy changes that the extramural community suggested to OMB in their earlier requests for input. Such highlights include:

Family-friendly policies allowing grantees more flexibility to address temporary dependent-care costs
Updated rules on charging administrative and clerical costs to grants as direct costs
Institutions of higher education (IHEs) or nonprofit organizations that have never received a negotiated indirect cost rate may choose to use a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) which may be used indefinitely
Clarification on how to treat costs of computing devices that are necessary and support the work of, but are not solely dedicated to, a Federal award

NIH will use these Interim Grant General Conditions until an updated Grants Policy Statement is published which will be after the close of the HHS implementation comment period when final HHS implementation plans are released.

There is a lot of information for grantee institutions to go through, so updates will continue on the frequently asked questions page on this topic. In addition, NIH will host a webinar to talk through these changes, so sign up for additional information.

Limited Submissions

In Limited Submission Programs, the sponsor restricts the number of applications or proposals a campus can submit to the agency. The guidelines for these programs require institutions to screen pre-proposals or nominations to determine which applications will be submitted for competition. Generally, institutions are allowed to submit one or two proposals or nominations to the sponsor. The Office of Research has a Limited Submission site that provides faculty with a listing of upcoming opportunities, along with the internal and external deadline dates. You can also submit your internal request from this site. If you are viewing a solicitation that allows a limited number of submissions, please visit the limited submission site to determine internal deadline date.

Everything You Want to Know About Shark Sex

Sharks are one of the most successful groups of vertebrates and have outcompeted many other marine predators for eons, evolving into the dominant predators in the sea today. The evolutionary success of sharks is due in part to their diverse reproductive adaptations that differ from most bony fishes, specifically internal fertilization and viviparity (live bearing). On March 12, Jose Castro of NOAA Fisheries will cover the diverse reproductive adaptations and strategies of sharks. Castro will discuss how sharks mate, how they nourish their young, their reproductive cycles, and many more interesting aspects of the reproductive biology of sharks. Learn more about the lecture.

Locate Funding Opportunities and Potential Collaborators with Pivot

Looking for funding? Try Pivot. Pivot focuses on what matters most: the ability to identify and connect with funding opportunities and with other researchers — locally and globally. It combines the most comprehensive, editorially maintained database of funding opportunities worth an estimated $33 billion with a unique database of more than 3 million scholar profiles.

Take a second to see how searches, receiving funding alerts, and connecting with collaborators can turn into your next big grant opportunity. Be sure to also take advantage of the free live and recorded training webinars, support resources, and more!

Log on today to start taking advantage of all that Pivot offers. Questions? Contact Emily Hutcheson..

NSF CAREER Workshop to be Held April 6

The Office of Proposal Development will be conducting an NSF CAREER Workshop the afternoon of Monday, April 6, 2015. The half day workshop will be held at the FSU Materials Research Building, 2005 Levy Avenue (FSU Southwest Campus), Seminar Room, Room 114 from 1:00 p.m. until 4:25 p.m. For more information, and to register, please visit the workshop website.

Fulbright Scholar Workshop on March 25

Are you considering applying for a Fulbright Scholar Core Award? The Office of Faculty Recognition will host a Fulbright Application Workshop for faculty from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on March 25 in Scholars Commons. The workshop will include a question and answer session with faculty who have previously won the Fulbright Scholar award. The Office of Faculty Recognition offers assistance and mentorship through the application process, making this workshop a great place to get started. View more information.

Date	Course Code and Name	Location/ Time
3/9/2015	SRA26 - Subcontracting / Audit Requirements	Student Services, Rm 301, 9:00- 11:00
3/13/2015	SRA11 - Award Negotiations & Processing / Federal Acquisition Regulation Clauses	Student Services, Rm 301, 10:00- 12:00
4/1/2015	SRA16 - Project Closeout	UCA 1203, 2:30-4:30
4/7/2015	SRA17 - Facilities and Administrative Costs / Auxiliaries	Student Services, Rm 301, 8:30-10:30
4/16/2015	SRA18 - Intellectual Property / Export Control	Student Services, Rm 301, 8:30-10:30
4/21/2014	SRA27 - Administrative Requirements & Cost Principles	Training Center, 2:30-4:30
4/27/2015	SRA21 - State of Florida Agencies	Strozier Library, Room 005A, 8:30-10:30

Washington Update

View the pdf to learn of recent activities in Washington affecting higher education. Included are budget and appropriations updates, new funding announcements and other important campus related issues.

Council on Research and Creativity Updates

First Year Assistant Professor (FYAP) Grant Writing Workshop

This year’s First Year Assistant Professor grant recipients are required to attend the FYAP Grant Writing Workshop scheduled for Thursday, May 7, 2015 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the FSU Alumni Center. In addition, last year’s FYAPs will display posters representative of their accomplishments during their first year as an assistant professor at FSU.

The following deadlines have passed:

Arts & Humanities Program Enhancement Grants (AHPEG) funding decisions will be made mid-March
Equipment and Infrastructure Enhancement Grant (EIEG) funding decisions will be made mid-April
Planning Grant (PG) funding decisions will be made mid-April
Small Grant Program (SGP) funding decisions will be made mid-April
Honorary Award Programs:
- Developing Scholar Award (DSA) funding decisions will be made mid-March
- Distinguished Research Professor (DRP) Award funding decisions will be made mid-March
- Distinguished University Scholar (DUS) Award funding decisions will be made mid-March

For a listing of all Spring CRC grant recipients and awardees, watch for a listing in the May Office of Research Newsletter.

View more information about the CRC programs.

Grant Administrators Earn National Distinction

Congratulations to Trey Bauer and Laney McLean (Sponsored Research Administration Pre-Award) for earning the distinction of “Certified Research Administrator” through the Research Administrators Certification Council. This certification requires a combination of formal education, years of experience in the field, and a broad knowledge/skill set demonstrated by passing a national exam. The exam covers a broad base of fundamental knowledge in project development and administration; legal requirements and sponsor interface; financial management; and general management. The Research Administrators Certification Council is a private, nonprofit organization comprised of individuals from institutions of higher education, research institutes and foundations, government agencies, and private educational and research consulting firms. Visit their site for more information about the certification.

Marine Lab Open House

The Coastal and Marine Laboratory will be hosting an open house, Restoring Resiliency, Protecting Our Oceans & Coastlines, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on April 25. The open house will feature tours of the 65-foot research vessel the Apalachee, displays and activities presented by scientists on their research, snail races, and a showing of the documentary “Saving Sawfish.” For more information visit the Marine Lab website.

Coastal and Marine Lab to offer unique summer course

The Coastal and Marine lab is offering the Biology of Fishes, a four hour class, this summer from May 25 – June 5. The course is designed to train undergraduates to enter the work force or graduate school in a marine-related field. Contact Mike McIver or visit the website for more information.

Funding Opportunities

View the pdf to access some of the latest funding opportunities available for the arts, humanities, social sciences, STEM disciplines and medicine.

FSU Awards Report Now Available

A monthly awards report is now available online. This report will allow interested faculty, staff and others, to learn more about who has been recently awarded research grants. Learn more, and access this report at the Research Awards page.