May 23, 2022

Memorial Day Holiday

NIH (including help desks) will be closed, Monday, May 30, 2022 for Memorial Day. If a grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

NOTE: Harvard University will be closed May 30 & 31, 2022 for the Memorial Day Holiday.

Research Administration Portal

The Research Administration Portal is now available. Visit the Research Administration and Compliance System support site and view the Research Administration Portal Overview document for more information.

• The Portal shows faculty and researchers their outstanding research administration and compliance activities and provides an overview of their portfolio
• The application includes certain projects and protocols from Agreements-DUA, Data Safety, ESTR-IRB, GMAS, and OAIR

Research Administration & Compliance Systems Updates

To view the details of the May 2022 system updates on GMAS, ecrt, OAIR, ESTR-IRB, Agreements-DUA, and Data Safety, refer to the Harvard Administrative News post, 

FY2023 Fringe Benefits Rates

All Harvard rate areas received approval on May 6, 2022 to use the FY2023 fringe benefits rates below for outgoing proposals. The OSP website has been updated with the new rates, and we will post the new rate agreements after they are received and signed sometime in June 2023. See the FY2023 Fringe Benefits Rates.

Fiscal Year-End 2022 Deadlines 

Harvard's fiscal year 2022 will end on Thursday, June 30th, 2022. As in the past, the University will close the books through a series of steps called "closings." Download a printable version of the Summary Schedule for FY2022 Transactions and Reporting.

You could also see all the deadlines on HCSRA's FY22 Year-End Deadline page, which will be updated as new deadlines are added or revised.

Revised Policy: Faculty Effort on Training Grants

Training grants require effort from faculty to fulfill the training goals indicated in the program plan. While some sponsors may allow direct charging of faculty salary to the grant, many do not. The Harvard Chan School will provide 10% institutional support per applicable grant to reflect effort of Program Directors (PD/PIs, Co-PD/PIs) who oversee the management of a sponsored training grant awarded to the School.

The Faculty Effort on Training Grants Policy was recently revised to clarify that this type of institutional support does NOT have to be recorded as Cost Sharing in GMAS.

Important Campus Updates and Policy Changes

As you may recall, the last day of required COVID-19 testing at Harvard Chan School was Friday, May 13. As a result, we want to make you aware of the updates and policy changes below. Please refer to this announcement for more information. 

• Testing: COVID-19 testing is now optional. However, you may still test as often as you would like, and we encourage you to test regularly if you plan to be on campus frequently. Test kits will still be available at FXB, Kresge, 90 Smith, and Landmark 3 entrances, and results will continue to be reported in Color. New employees should continue to sign up for a Color account
• Drop-Off: Beginning May 30, the only drop-off location in Longwood will be at the Harvard Medical School’s New Research Building (NRB) at the entrance on Avenue Louis Pasteur
• Campus Access: Effective May 16, the Harvard Chan campus is now open to all HUID card holders

Updated RPPR Instruction Guide Available

An updated RPPR Instruction Guide is now available. The instruction guide reflects changes associated with recently issued guide notices on Other Support and Biosketch format pages, human subjects, Trainee Diversity Report and NRSA childcare costs reporting (see NOT-OD-22-130 for details). Note: A final RPPR Instruction Guide will be published on June 23 to reflect the revised screenshots accompanying the new look and feel of the RPPR module.

Action Required for In-Progress RPPR Budget Forms By or Before June 22

Users need to be aware that budget forms (applicable to non-SNAP awards only) will be updated to a new format. As a result of this update, users with in-progress RPPR forms will be required to redo budget form data if the in-progress RPPR is not submitted by June 22, a day before the release. 

• We recommend that in-progress RPPRs be submitted by Wednesday, June 22 to avoid having to redo budget forms after the cutover. 
• If that is not possible, we recommend you delay completing the budget forms until after Thursday, June 23 to avoid re-work. RPPRs submitted on or before June 22 will reflect the FORMS-F budget forms. Due dates for submission of the RPPR remain unchanged. 

Forms-G and UEI Changes to RPPR Budget Form

There are the changes to the SF424 Research and Related Budget Form in the RPPR:

• Under Other Direct Costs, increased the number of available ‘Other’ direct costs lines from 3 to 10 
• A UEI field that replaces the previous ‘Organizational DUNS’ field
• Enhanced organization search — enter the organization name and the UEI, organization name and organization address will automatically populate the budget form 
• The Training Budget form and the PHS Additional Indirect Costs form will also have the ‘Organizational DUNS’ field replaced by the UEI field, as well as move to the new format

eRA Enhancements: New Look for Delegations Screen in eRA Commons

The Delegations screen in eRA Commons is moving to the new visual appearance being adopted by other eRA modules, as a result of a required technology upgrade that enhances the security and stability of the module. The refreshed screens are being rolled out on Monday, May 16, 2022. The functionality and content remain the same. For more information, refer to the eRA Delegation announcement.

2022 Compliance Supplement

The Office of Management & Budget released the 2022 Compliance Supplement on May 12, 2022. Refer to this guidance to learn more on the uniform administrative requirements, cost principles, and audit requirements.

Fishbowl Tuesdays at the Harvard Chan School are 1 to 1 1/2 hour sessions held on a regular basis during the academic year. All sessions are currently being held via Zoom. Invitations to attend each session (with Zoom Meeting Info) are sent to our research administrator’s mailing list. Please contact Jennifer Neira with questions, suggestions, or to have your name added to the email list. To access previous Fishbowl presentations, visit HCSRA's Fishbowl Tuesday page.

An Overview of Effort Reporting for Administrators (University-wide)

Date: Ongoing

Register: Harvard Training Portal

Description: Intended for Grant Managers and staff involved in research administration at Harvard University, this course provides an overview of Harvard's effort reporting policy. Topics covered include:  

• Risks posed to Principal Investigators, faculty members, and the institution if federal effort reporting requirements are not met 
• How federal regulations drive the University’s effort reporting policy and procedures
• Committed effort and “reasonable estimates” 
• The responsibilities of administrators, PIs and faculty members, and researchers and lab staff with regards to effort reporting and certification 

New B2P Training Requirement for Supplier Portal Users

Date: Ongoing. Effective 5/1/22, this training is required for B2P users to be granted a Supplier Portal User role. Existing users must complete this training by 5/18/22.

Register: Harvard Training Portal

Description: This 40-minute online course covers the basic functions of the Supplier Portal module of the Buy to Pay system. It includes an overview of how the Supplier Portal is used at Harvard and how to access and navigate the system. It also includes guides to common tasks in the system, such as Searching for Suppliers, Onboarding Suppliers, and Maintaining Supplier Profiles.

If you no longer require B2P Supplier Portal, please contact Lisa Parisi to disable access. 

HART Webinar (University-Wide) 

Date: Wednesday, May 25, 2022, 1:00PM - 2:00PM 

Register: Harvard Training Portal. Note: Registration Deadline is May 23, 2022

Description: This annual webinar focuses on tips and tricks for making the most use of HART during the fiscal year end. Topics include understanding how to use the time period prompts found on the Transaction Listing dashboards to locate prior and new fiscal year entries, specific dashboard recommendations for getting results quickly, and using other dashboards found in the FIN-Core and other folders to get the results you need at the most critical reporting time of the year.

HART Webinar (University-Wide) 

Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 1:00PM - 2:00PM 

Register: Harvard Training Portal. Note: Registration Deadline is May 27, 2022

Description: This annual webinar focuses on tips and tricks for making the most use of HART during the fiscal year end. Topics include understanding how to use the time period prompts found on the Transaction Listing dashboards to locate prior and new fiscal year entries, specific dashboard recommendations for getting results quickly, and using other dashboards found in the FIN-Core and other folders to get the results you need at the most critical reporting time of the year.

Research Management Meeting 

Date: Wednesday, June 1, 2022, 1:00PM - 2:00PM

Register: Webinar Registration Link

Description: The Research Management Meeting is a bi-monthly, webinar-style information dissemination meeting open to everyone within Harvard's sponsored research administrative community. 

SPH FY2022 Year-End Closing Process Meeting

Date: Monday, June 6, 2022, 10:30AM - 12:00PM

Register: Ask your supervisor for the Zoom meeting link

Description: As June 30 (fiscal year-end) is quickly approaching, OFS will be conducting this year’s meeting via Zoom. The agenda, as it currently stands, is an overview of the year-end closing process.  They will be posting the FY2022 SPH year-end guidance memo and the FY2022 SPH year-end closing deadlines + contact list on the OFS website later this month. They encourage those who need information on year-end closing procedures and deadlines to attend this Zoom meeting. If you cannot attend, please ensure that your department has at least one representative in attendance who will be responsible for sharing the meeting content with their colleagues within the department.  

Ethics and Accountability - Financial Management Course

Date: Wednesday, June 15, 2022, 10:00AM - 2:00PM

Register: Harvard Training Portal

Description: The Office of Risk Management & Audit Services is excited to announce Open Enrollment for the Ethics and Accountability - Financial Management Course. In this dynamic virtual workshop, you will explore the world of fiduciary responsibility, internal controls, and detecting fraud in the workplace. Intended for new hires, staff with new financial management roles, or those interested in a refresher.

Save the Date: Spring 2022 NSF Virtual Grants Conference 

Save the date for the Spring 2022 NSF Virtual Grants Conference: To be held during the week of June 6 - 10, 2022.

Registration will be free of charge and opens on Wednesday, May 11 at 12 p.m. EST. NSF anticipates that the sessions will reach capacity very quickly, so they encourage you to register as soon as it's available. Be on the lookout for our Registration is Open email, which will provide the registration links and details for this event.

Job Openings in Research Administration

We would like to use this section to highlight current research administration job openings. We will keep this section up to date and all job postings can be found on Harvard Careers.

Senior Grants and Contracts Manager 
Sponsored Programs Administration - Global Health and Population
Description: The Senior Grants and Contracts Manager is an integral part of the research enterprise and works in close partnership with faculty members. They are a primary resource for providing guidance and oversight on issues related to fiscal, administrative and regulatory management of a portfolio of grants, contracts and sponsored programs from award receipt through closeout. These grants are from a wide-range of sponsors including the federal government (e.g. NIH, EPA, DoD), foundations, industry, and international contracts from foreign entities. 
Grade: 56
58497BR

Senior Sponsored Research Administrator
Sponsored Programs Administration
Description: The Senior Sponsored Research Administrator (SSRA) will support innovative research at the world's leading public health research institution where areas of research are focused across nine academic departments which include Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Molecular Metabolism, Global Health & Population, Health Policy & Management, Immunology & Infectious Disease, Nutrition and Social Behavioral Sciences.  The SSRA is assigned departments and faculty/researchers (P.I.s) with the administration of pre-award, as well as some awards management tasks with a focus on compliance and customer support. 
Grade: 56
56648BR

Senior Grants and Contracts Manager 
Sponsored Programs Administration
Description: The Senior Grants and Contracts Manager is an integral part of the research enterprise and works in close partnership with faculty members. They are a primary resource for providing guidance and oversight on issues related to fiscal, administrative and regulatory management of a portfolio of grants, contracts and sponsored programs from award receipt through closeout. These grants are from a wide-range of sponsors including the federal government (e.g. NIH, EPA, DoD), foundations, industry, and international contracts from foreign entities. 
Grade: 56
58101BR

Assistant Director, Pre-Award Services
Sponsored Programs Administration
Description: The Assistant Director, Pre-Award Services, is responsible for the management of a team of grants & contracts managers that are part of the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration and are focused on proposal preparation for eight academic departments which include Biostatistics, Environmental Health, Epidemiology, Global Health & Population, Health Policy & Management, Molecular Metabolism, Nutrition and Social Behavioral Sciences.  The Assistant Director, Pre-Award Services plays an integral role in responding to faculty requests for support in submitting proposals for research funding, thus ensuring continuity with this important revenue stream for the school. 
Grade: 57 
58100BR

Senior Grants and Contracts Manager
Sponsored Programs Administration
Description: The Senior Grants and Contracts Manager is an integral part of the research enterprise and manages the proposal submissions for a given department. They work in close partnership with faculty members and are responsible for proposal preparation and submission. Reporting to the Team Lead, they will work with all aspects of pre-award finances but will have some exposure to post-award management which may include setting up awards, managing contracts, endowments, and gifts. Faculty apply to a wide-range of sponsors including the federal government (e.g. NIH, EPA, DoD), foundations, industry, and international contracts from foreign entities. 
Grade: 56
55511BR

Senior Grants and Contracts Manager 
Sponsored Programs Administration - EPI
Description: The Senior Grants and Contracts Manager is an integral part of the research enterprise and works in close partnership with faculty members. They are a primary resource for providing guidance and oversight on issues related to fiscal, administrative and regulatory management of a portfolio of grants, contracts and sponsored programs from award receipt through closeout. These grants are from a wide-range of sponsors including the federal government (e.g. NIH, EPA, DoD), foundations, industry, and international contracts from foreign entities. 
Garde: 56
57680BR

Staff Assistant III
Immunology and Infectious Diseases
Description: The Department of Immunology and Infectious Diseases (IID) was formed in 1997 when the Departments of Cancer Biology, Molecular and Cellular Toxicology and Tropical Public Health were merged. The department focuses on the biological, immunological, epidemiological and ecological aspects of viral, bacterial and protozoan diseases of animals and humans, including the vectors that transmit infectious agents. Reporting to the Director of Administration, this position provides administrative support to IID faculty and performs administrative tasks as a member of the department's administrative team.
Grade: 53
57575BR

Accounting Assistant V (Finance Assistant)
Sponsored Programs Administration - EH
Description: The Accounting Assistant is an integral part of the research enterprise and will work directly with the Financial Associate, as well as the Financial Manager, to perform a variety of accounts payable and accounts receivable duties in a timely, professional, courteous and collaborative manner.
Grade: 53
56978BR

ORSD Position Announcement: Strategic Initiatives Specialist
Office of Research Strategy and Development
Description: The Strategic Initiatives Specialist will contribute toward ORSD's ability to achieve its mission in a variety of ways including managing proposal support services and faculty programming, leading ongoing data analysis efforts, supporting strategic grant submissions, and enhancing communication channels. An expanded description of responsibilities can be found on Req #57787BR.
Grade: 56
57787BR