Rutgers logo
Rutgers logo
Rutgers logo
Rutgers logo
Multiple hands holding puzzle pieces working as a team.

Sponsor Specific Resources

NIH | NSF

Pre-Award

Overview

This page provides sponsor‑specific resources to support proposal preparation and award administration for projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). The links below direct users to authoritative policies, required forms, and guidance to help ensure compliance with sponsor requirements throughout the pre‑award and award lifecycle.

National Institute of Health (NIH)

  • The policy requirements serve as the terms and conditions of NIH grant awards. By accepting an award, recipients agree to comply with the requirements in the NIH Grants Policy Statement except where the notice of award states otherwise.

    Notices of policy changes published in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts can supersede information in the NIH Grants Policy Statement. Compliance with these policy updates also becomes a term and condition of the award. Current and archival copies of the NIH's Grants Policy Statement are available at the link below.

    NIH Grants Policy Statement | Grants & Funding

  • Starting January 25, 2026, the NIH will require the use of Common Forms for Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending (Other) Support. These forms must be generated and digitally certified through SciEcv, which necessitates that all senior/key personnel link their ORCID ID to their eRA Commons account. Additionally, the new policy implements strict prohibitions and certification requirements regarding Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs (MFTRP) in accordance with federal law. This transition aims to standardize disclosures across federal research agencies while ensuring compliance with updated security and transparency mandates. NIH has issued NOT-OD-26-033, which includes a leniency period for Common Forms through May 2026, after which use of SciENcv will be mandatory.

  • Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions, and Samples | Grants & Funding 

    NIH Instructions for Biographical Sketch Common Form – this format will become mandatory for all proposals, RPPRs, JITs, and Prior Approvals as of May 25, 2026

    NIH Biographic Sketch Common Form and Supplement (Presentation provided courtesy of Yingting Zhang, MLS, AHIP, and Research Services Librarian.)

    NIH Disclosures Table

    NIH Commons Forms FAQs

  • Pursuant to NOT-OD-26-018, effective January 25, 2026, individuals who are a current party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) are not eligible to serve as a senior/key person on an NIH grant or cooperative agreement.

    This is applicable to RPPRs as of January 25, 2026. Accordingly, at the time of the NIH Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) submission, all individuals serving as PI, Co-PI, or senior/key personnel must certify their MFTRP status by completing the Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs Certification Form. 

    Each individual certification form must be named “MFTRPcert_[Name].pdf” (without quotation marks) where ‘[Name]’ is the name of the senior/key person. The file must be uploaded as a flattened PDF under Section G.1-Special Notice of Award and Funding Opportunity Announcement Reporting Requirements of the RPPR.

    This requirement applies to the award's subrecipients as well. Subrecipients may provide Rutgers with their own completed forms, provided that the form complies with the NIH requirements, including naming convention, and is completed for each senior/key person involved in the specific award. It is the responsibility of the PI/Co-PI/Department Administrator to collect the MFTRP certification Form for all individuals identified as PI, Co-PIs, and senior/key personnel and upload them in the respective RPPR Section G.1.

    Senior/key personnel are required to submit their Biographical Sketch Common Form and/or updated Current and Pending (Other) Support common form in the RPPR, do not have to also provide the annual MFTRP certification statement UNLEES they do not upload the digitally Common Form from SciENcv (this condition is applicable until the NIH Common Forms become mandatory).

  • On Monday, September 29, 2025, NIH issued NOT-OD-25-161, rescinding notice NOT-OD-25-154, which required the completion and certification of research security training for NIH proposals and RPPR submissions.

    Investigators and Senior/Key Personnel are not required to complete specific Research Security Training prior to submission of NIH proposals or RPPRs until May 25, 2026. Further guidance from NIH is expected in the coming months.

  • Per Section 2.5.1 “Just-in-Time Procedures” of the NIH Grants Policy Statement, all Principal Investigators (PIs), Co-PIs, and Senior/Key Personnel must disclose all research activities and affiliations (active and pending) in their Other Support forms.

    Effective October 1, 2025, and pursuant to NOT-OD-25-133, NIH requires all PIs, Co-PIs, and Senior/Key Personnel to complete NIH-specific training on Other Support disclosure requirements on an annual basis. Your RSP Grant Specialist (GS) will verify that the PI, co-PIs (if any), and all senior/key personnel indicated in the proposal have taken the required training prior to the submission of the Just-in-Time (JIT) documentation or the Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPR). This requirement also applies to subrecipients.

    If this requirement is not met by PI, Co-PIs (if any), Senior/Key Personnel, and subrecipients (if any) identified, the Research and Sponsored Programs Grant Specialist WILL NOT proceed with the respective submission (JIT or RPPR).

    National Institutes of Health (NIH): Instructions for Requirements on Other Support

  • The NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy, effective January 25, 2023, requires all NIH-funded researchers generating scientific data to submit and adhere to a formal DMS Plan. This policy aims to accelerate biomedical research discovery by enabling the validation of research results, providing access to high-value datasets, and promoting data reuse for future studies. The policy applies to all NIH-conducted or funded research that results in scientific data, regardless of the funding level.

    To assist faculty and staff, the university provides comprehensive support through Rutgers University Libraries for plan creation and repository selection. Applicants must submit a two-page plan as part of their funding application, which, once approved, becomes a formal term and condition of the grant award. Compliance is monitored annually through the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), with oversight coordinated by the Research and Sponsored Programs (RSP) unit to ensure all institutional and federal requirements are met.

    National Institutes of Health (NIH): Data Management and Sharing

  • The NIH is committed to enhancing the reproducibility of research through strict requirements for scientific rigor and transparency. To ensure the highest level of scientific integrity and public accountability, grant applications are evaluated based on the applicant’s ability to apply the scientific method, ensuring unbiased experimental design, methodology, and reporting. Our office provides resources to help faculty and staff navigate these requirements, including evaluating the rigor of prior research and incorporating formal instruction into experimental design, to meet the NIH's evolving review criteria.

    National Institutes of Health (NIH): Standards for Scientific Rigor and Transparency

  • NIH has announced a significant update to its policy regarding foreign subawards, effective May 1, 2025. Under the new structure, NIH will no longer permit foreign subawards to be "nested" under a domestic parent award. NIH announced in September 2025 via NOT-OD-25-155 that, instead, NIH will establish a direct relationship with the foreign subrecipient, while maintaining the domestic institution as the Prime Recipient for scientific reporting via the RPPR. This change aims to enhance the integrity, accountability, and national security of NIH-funded research. For grants requesting NIH funding for one or more foreign components, NIH will require that competing applications submit applications to a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) that supports the new PF5 Activity Code for grants, the new UF5 Activity Code for cooperative agreements, or another complex mechanism activity code that supports the International Project component type.

    NIH continues to support international collaborations. Note that foreign components other than those previously supported by subawards or consortia agreements (e.g., foreign consultants, international travel) may continue to be supported through other activity codes, unless otherwise indicated in the NOFO.

    National Institutes of Health (NIH) Policy Update: New Structure for Foreign Subawards

  • Once the Council Review is complete and the application is under consideration for funding, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issues Just-in-Time (JIT) emails to applicants, typically with an impact score of 30 or less. Applicants should only submit this information when requested. The JIT feature of eRA Commons allows a Signing Official (SO) to submit the requested JIT materials to NIH.

    National Institutes of Health (NIH): Just-In-Time (JIT)

  • Per NIH policy, the only post-submission grant application materials that the NIH will accept are those resulting from unforeseen administrative issues. Examples include:

    • Revised budget page (due to new funding or new acquisition of equipment).
    • Biographical sketches, letters of support (due to a change in key personnel).
    • New publications (do not send full publications, rather a letter of acceptance by the publisher).

    National Institutes of Health (NIH): Post Submission Materials

    These submissions require institutional endorsement. Please work with your RSP Grants Specialist to submit to NIH.

  • Once you become aware of the final status of the submission, be sure to update the status of your RAPSS Funding Proposal (FP) record.

    • If you indicate the record is Not Funded, Withdrawn by Institution, or Withdrawn by Sponsor, the FP will transition to that state without further review by the RSP Grant Specialist

    If you indicate the FP record is Award Anticipated or Award Notification Received, your RSP Grant Specialist will be notified to further review the documentation provided before taking further action.

National Science Foundation (NSF)