Upcoming Changes to the NIH Biographical Sketch and Other Support

January 10, 2022

To: NIH funded investigators and lead administrators
From: Pamela Caudill, Senior Associate Provost for Research Administration
Subject: Upcoming Changes to the NIH Biographical Sketch and Other Support

*Possible Action Required*

Dear Colleagues:

As previously communicated, the National Institutes of Health has made significant changes to the Biographical Sketch and Other Support requirements effective for application due dates and Progress Report (RPPR) submissions on or after January 25, 2022. The Office of Research Administration has been working closely with departmental grants staff and ITS to develop tools to provide some of the additional information required by the changes to Other Support reporting. These tools and associated training are now available.

As a reminder, investigators must disclose all sources of Other Support, which includes total costs (Direct and Indirect) for the entire project period, and related information, including external professional activities (e.g. consulting that involves research, visiting professorships, etc.) In addition, effective January 25, 2022, supporting documentation, including contracts, grants, or any other agreements, associated with foreign appointments, activities and/or employment must be submitted as part of the Other Support pages. If the contract, grant, or other agreement is not in English, investigators must provide a translated copy. This is a significant change for which we have developed a process to assist in compliance.

All documents related to external professional activities that investigators must submit as part of their Other Support will require institutional review in advance of submission. This review is to ensure that the documents are consistent with Yale policy. We have developed a Third-Party Agreements Library to which investigators must upload all translated documents that are to be submitted to the NIH. Investigators will need to upload the documents a minimum of 30 days prior to the Other Support or RPPR submission. Investigators have the option of uploading these documents directly or assigning a delegate to upload on their behalf. The documents will then be reviewed, marked accordingly, and stored for access by the investigator. Any document that has not been reviewed and marked will not be submitted, possibly delaying the submission to NIH.

Also, effective January 25, 2022, NIH will require investigators to personally certify the accuracy of the Other Support documentation using an electronic signature. We have partnered with ITS to implement a tool that will facilitate obtaining the required signature. Additional communications and instructions will be sent to the research community shortly.

If you need assistance prior to January 19th relating to the 3rd party agreements library and Yale policy on external professional activities, please contact osphelp@yale.edu, and please feel free to copy Maneesha Joshi, Director, Research Integrity.

Regards,
Pam

Pamela S. Caudill
Senior Associate Provost for Research Administration
Office of Research Administration
Yale University
25 Science Park, 150 Munson St, Room 322
P.O. Box 208327
New Haven CT 06520-8327
203-785-3012 (Office)
203-785-3510 (Fax)