June 21, 2022

Independence Day Holiday

Harvard University has extended the Independence Day holiday and will be closed Friday, July 1st and on Monday, July 4th.

Reminder: If an NIH grant application due date falls on a federal holiday, the application deadline is automatically extended to the next business day.

• Submissions for the 07/01/2022 RPPR deadline are due to SPA no later than June 23 by 10 AM
• Submissions for the 07/05/2022 R01/U01 proposal deadline are due to SPA no later than June 22 by 10 AM
• Submissions for the 07/12/2022 K-series proposal deadline are due to SPA no later than June 29 by 10 AM

Harvard Chan School's 2021-2022 End-of-Year-Report

Harvard T.H Chan School of Public Health's end-of-year report has been published. It highlights some of our many accomplishments during the 2021-2022 academic year

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.

Post-Award Metrics (PAM) Meetings

SPA, OSP, and department staff meet quarterly to discuss the medium-to-high risk items on the Post-Award Metrics, a customized report ran monthly to quantify and provide visibility into potential financial risks for the School. In hopes of creating greater consistency with the PAM meetings and SPA highlights, we are sharing the schedule for FY23 Q1 and Q2.

Prior to the meetings, SPA highlights the items that will be discussed during the meetings. We request that you update the department comments for the highlighted items, which will assist your ADF during the PAM meetings. Within the next couple of weeks, Catalina Diaz will be reaching out to departments to schedule the August and September meetings.

ROPPA Training Requirements Updated to Include B2P Supplier Portal Users

Individuals requesting access to the Buy-to-Pay (B2P) Supplier Portal are required to take the “Purchasers” role of the Introduction to ROPPA training available on the Harvard Training Portal. The full Responsibilities of Purchasers, Preparers and Approvers (ROPPA) Policy and additional materials may be found on the Financial Policy website.

CWD Summer 2022 Courses Open for Registration

Summer is a great time to take advantage of courses and self-paced tutorials that are free for benefits-eligible Harvard faculty, post-docs, and staff. The Center for Workplace Development (CWD) has courses in July and August that include Career Development, Communication, Managing, Productivity, and Resilience.

For more details, refer to the CWD Summer 2022 Course Flyer. If you have questions about the courses, please contact training@harvard.edu.

Research Project Grant Funding Rates & PI Race and Ethnicity

NIH has long collected self-designated demographic information on scientists designated as Principal Investigators (PIs) or Key Personnel and used this information to gain insights into the NIH-supported biomedical research workforce. Although the trend toward reduction of the NIH funding gap is gratifying, significant work remains before the NIH realizes a truly diverse scientific workforce representative of our nation. For more details, refer to the full NIH Post.

Updated Policy on SBIR/STTR Organization Eligibility for Status Changes

NIH issued Notice NOT-OD-22-143 to update the NIH policy on SBIR/STTR organizational eligibility in cases of legal action, such as merger, acquisition, or successor-in-interest, that changes the small business concern (SBC) organizational status so that the organization is no longer eligible for the SBIR/STTR program. Recipients must contact the NIH awarding office in advance of legal actions that may affect organizational eligibility in line with GPS Section 8.1.2.8 Change in Recipient Organizational Status.This update aligns with the Code of Federal Regulations (13 CRF § 121.704(b)(1)).  

How to Determine Eligibility for Federal Funding Opportunities

Determining your eligibility for federal grants is an important first step in the federal grant application process. Grants.gov's blog post has some tips for finding federal funding opportunities for which you may be eligible: How to Determine Eligibility for Federal Funding Opportunities​​​​​​​.

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  

Budgeting for Data Management: What Can I Include In My Grant?

Date: Wednesday, June 22, 2022, 12:00PM - 12:30PM

Register: Registration Link (part of the Summer RDM Mini-Workshops) 

Description: The NIH recognizes that making data accessible and reusable for other users may incur costs. Reasonable, allowable costs may be included in NIH budget requests when associated with curating data and developing supporting documentation; local data management considerations; and preserving and sharing data through established repositories. This session will answer your questions about costs associated with managing data and how to budget for these activities in your data management plan.

Expert(s): Melissa Korf, Director, Grants & Contracts Administration, Office of Research Administration, Harvard Medical School

Cost Transfer Level II Training (University-Wide)

Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 11:00AM - 12:30PM

Register: Harvard Training Portal

Description: This Cost Transfer session will focus on the role of the Cost Transfer Authorized Approver. The class will include a review of Harvard's Cost Transfer Policies and Procedures, the responsibilities of approvers, identifying requirements and best practices for approval, and cost transfer resources. Attendees will participate in group discussions and work through examples and case studies. 

Achieving FAIR Data: Selecting a Repository for Your Data

Date: Wednesday, June 29, 2022, 12:00PM - 12:30PM

Register: Registration Link (part of the Summer RDM Mini-Workshops) 

Description: The new NIH Policy strongly encourages the use of established repositories to the extent possible for preserving and sharing scientific data. In this workshop we will review a variety of institutional, generalist, and discipline-specific data repositories you can use to share your research data according to best practices. Participants will gain an understanding of the diverse landscape of repository options and which features may be relevant for their discipline, data type, or funder requirements. 

Expert(s): Katie Mika, Data Services Librarian, Harvard Library

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 Sponsored Research Administrator
Sponsored Programs Administration
Description: The Senior Sponsored Research Administrator (SSRA), sits within SPA and acts as the institutional representative of the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the administration of sponsored projects for the school. The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration is comprised of research administrators that work in partnership with faculty to review and submit proposals for funding and to ensure that proposals and then awards conform and are managed according to sponsor guidelines and University policies.
Grade: 56 
58854BR

Financial Associate II (Grants and Contracts Manager) 
Sponsored Programs Administration - IID
Description: The Grants and Contracts Manager is an integral part of the research enterprise and manages the financial portfolio for a given subset of faculty members. They work in close partnership with faculty members and are responsible for the financial management of their research portfolio. Reporting to the Research Administration Team Lead, they will work with all aspects of pre- and post-award finances, and manage contracts, endowments, and gifts. Faculty have a wide-ranging portfolio of accounts from sponsors including the federal government (e.g. NIH, EPA, DoD), foundations, industry, and international contracts from foreign entities.  Some of the grants and contracts are complex and may involve multiple subcontracts and unique deliverable terms.
Grade: 55
58464BR

Senior Grants and Contracts Manager 
Sponsored Programs Administration - GHP
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