Office of Research and Project Administration

The National Science Foundation issued new Grant General Conditions effective October 1, 2010.  The new General Conditions will apply to all new NSF grants and all new funding amendments to existing NSF grants, except as noted below.  The exceptions to the applicability of these Grant General Conditions include:  Article 18 (Responsible Conduct of Research), which applies to new proposals submitted or due on or after January 4, 2010;  Article 19 (Reporting Subaward and Executive Compensation), which applies to new grants of $25,000 or more awarded on or after October 1, 2010; and Article 20 (Central Contractor Registration [CCR} and Universal Identifier [DUNS]Requirements), which applies to new grants awarded on or after October 1, 2010.  The new Grant General Conditions are available on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gc1/oct10.pdf?WT.mc_id=USNSF_109
 
NSF has made these changes to implement the reporting requirements of the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA, Transparency Act) requirements and the related but separate action of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requiring Financial Assistance Use of Universal Identifier and Central Contractor Registration as published in the Federal Register on September 14, 2010 (75FR55671) and incorporated at 2 CFR Subtitle A, Chapter 1, Part 25. 
 
In a letter to the community, NSF describes the action as a general revision of “its entire suite” of award terms and condition.  The two new Articles, Articles 19 and 20,  have been incorporated as follows:
 
•                    Reporting Subawards and Executive Compensation, is a new Article which implements the award term specified in the OMB interim final guidance (September 14, 2010,  75 FR 22705). This Article requires recipients to report information regarding first–tier subawards in excess of $25,000, and executive compensation information under those awards.  
 
•                    Central Contractor Registration and Universal Identifier Requirements, is a new Article which implements the award term specified in the OMB final guidance (September 14, 2010, 75 FR 22706).  This Article requires recipients to maintain current Central Contractor Registration at all times when they have an active award with NSF.   Recipients also may not make a subaward to an entity, unless the entity has provided its Dun & Bradstreet (DUNS) number to the recipient.
 
The revision of Article 18, Responsible Conduct of Research, “catches up” the General Conditions with the requirement to affirm that the institution has “a plan to in place to provide appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research (RCR) to undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who will be supported by NSF to conduct research,” as required by the America COMPETES Act. 
 
The new Grant General Conditions also includes a clarification in Article 25, Cost Sharing and Cost Sharing Records, to include language clarifying   when cost sharing notifications are considered due and overdue.
 
These Award Terms and Conditions have been posted to the NSF website and are available electronically at: http://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/award_conditions.jsp?org=NSF. 
 
Links to this information will also be updated on the ORPA website.