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FAQs
We need you to have a U-M email address first. Ask your school or college to get you a sponsored affiliate email address or to proceed with obtaining your U-M email address first.
We register your ID in eRPM, and we can't proceed if you have not signed in. Doing so creates your "person account." See Instructions to Login to eRPM: https://documentation.its.umich.edu/node/1326
If there is no overlap, you can simply state: “None of the active/pending projects listed above represents an overlap of science, budget, or committed effort.”
Yes, when you are the career-development recipient. If you are serving as a mentor without specified effort, it does not need to be included in your Other Support.
Yes, if the trainee is supported by a non-U-M entity (e.g., their home institution), and the trainee is contributing to any of the U-M faculty member's research endeavors, then the U-M faculty member would need to include the trainee as a type of "in-kind" resource on their Other Support document.
Do not include the trainee as an in-kind resource on the U-M faculty member's Other Support document if the trainee is supported solely through funds that are routed through U-M (including federal grants/awards).
Yes. Each of the Certification Reports in Tableau has a Download button at the top of the page.
You may choose to download either a PDF or a screenshot image of the report results.
Yes. Submit complete Other Support including active and pending sources of support and any required supporting documentation.
Yes, but only if any of the investigator's active support has changed. In that case, submit complete Other Support, including both active and pending sources of support and any supporting documents.
Investigators do not need to submit Other Support at RPPR if the only thing that has changed is their pending support.
In General
Investigators should not list “0.0” Person Months (calendar or academic/summer) for projects/proposals listed in Other Support. If an investigator is an active member of a project team, then some value greater than 0 should be indicated for the project, even if no salary support is directed to the investigator’s participation on the project.
- For a project with a No Cost Time Extension (NCTX), if the Principal Investigator (PI) is the person reporting Other Support, then they should have some measurable effort on the project. For other types of senior/key personnel on the project, if their work is complete, they should not list the project on Other Support.
- For K (Career Development) awards where all the effort is reported on the K award, but the concurrent projects are benefitting from the work, the concurrent projects may be listed on Other Support with 0.0 effort, including a note referencing the K award in the project description.
Exceptions
- Per the NIH, list any external consulting that involves the design, conduct, or reporting of research (i.e., consulting agreements that are not routed through U-M and are between a non-U-M entity and an individual faculty member) on the invesigator's Other Support with 0.0 person months.
- If a clinical trial is “dormant” (i.e., not enrolling), senior/key personnel may list “0.0” person months if they are not actively working on the trial.
A “non-US entity” is considered any corporation, society, or other entity/group that is not incorporated or legally organized to do business in the U.S. This includes any foreign government. This does not include U.S. incorporated subsidiaries of non-US-based foreign entities.
A “non-US person” is an individual who is not a U.S. citizen, permanent U.S. resident, or protected person.
- U.S. permanent residents are also commonly referred to as green card holders.
- Protected persons include individuals who have been granted formal asylum status or other protected immigration status.
An individual’s visa status (e.g., student F1 visa, visiting scholar J1 visa, H1B visa) does not override their citizenship.
Yes. Contact the PEERRS group at [email protected] to request an offline version of a PEERRS course that can best be reviewed using a screen reader.
Note: learners using the offline version must submit the compliance test/attestation to the PEERRS group to receive course credit.
Provide the sponsor/institution with copy of the PEERRS HSP course outline comparing U-M course content to CITI's content to see if that satisfies their requirement.
No. If within the past 3 years you've completed a CITI human subjects protections basic course (biomedical or social-behavioral) or a CITI human subjects refresher course, you should submit a training waiver request to obtain credit for the U-M course. As part of the waiver request, upload a copy of the CITI completion report that lists the course modules and the completion date for each.
Contact [email protected] for questions regarding sponsor-required Other Support documenation.
Contact [email protected] for outside activity disclosure assistance.
If the visitor is made available at no cost to U-M to support any of the U-M investigator’s research endeavors, they are considered an in-kind resource and must be included in the Other Support document.
If the visitor will be working on the proposed project, and are not a budgeted resource, then they should be included in the Facilities and Other Resources section of the proposal application.
Yes. Please see the Other Support Template and Common Other Support Examples document for guidance on how to report this Other Support.
Time spent in academic or research endeavors at another university should be reported as an outside activity in M- Inform. Start-up funding, salary (if applicable), etc. from the other university should be included in the value reported. Visit the Outside Interest Disclosure Process webpage for additional information.
Any active appointment, regardless of location, whether paid or unpaid, voluntary, honorary, adjunct, etc., must be included in an investigator’s Biosketch.
No, regardless of the value, if the in-kind resource meets these criteria, it should be reported in Other Support.
To be included in Other Support, an in-kind (i.e., non-monetary) resource must meet all the following criteria:
- The resource is uniquely available to the researcher, and
- The resource has been provided by a non-UM entity (either domestic or foreign) within the past three years, and
- The resource will not be used on the proposed project.
- The resource is being used actively in support of any of an investigator's other research endeavors (aside from the proposed project).
Types of in-kind resources include, but are not limited to:
- Personnel (e.g., visiting scholars, visiting students, supported by a non-UM entity)
- Space
- Equipment
- Materials
- Supplies
In-kind resources intended for use on the proposed project should be included in the 'Facilities and Other Resources' or 'Equipment' section of the application and not as part of Other Support.
A digital signature is required, using an electronic signature software application. The University of Michigan recommends using the SignNow application.
- A scanned copy of an ink signature is NOT acceptable.
- A typed name name of an investigator is NOT acceptable.
- A .jpg, .png. or other type of image of an investigator's signature is NOT acceptable.
For SignNow guidance see the:
An international entity is one located outside of the United States (US).
"International" in this context does not refer to an entity that does business internationally, but rather to an entity that is formed outside the United States.
If an investigator signs a contract/agreement with a U.S. subsidiary of an international "parent" company, the U.S. subsidiary is not considered an international entity.
Yes. For consulting related to a specific non-UM research project, include the total dollar amount for the project in Other Support.
To report non-project-specific consulting, enter the dollar amount of the investigator's consulting activity.
If the consulting activity is independent of an investigator's U-M appointment, then list effort as zero Person Months. However, the Other Support entry should still include the dollar amount for the consulting activity.
An appointment by itself would not be an entry in the Other Support document (although it would appear on the Biosketch).
However, active/pending projects that result from a non-U-M appointment must be included in Other Support. In this case, the non-UM appointment information acts as detail for the entry of the active/pending project.
In addition, any non-monetary resources (e.g., space, equipment, personnel) that result from the non-U-M appointment that are actively being used in relation to any of an investigator's research endeavors should be included as “in-kind” resources in Other Support. Again, the appointment information provides detail for the resource entry.
See Common Other Support Examples (Word, download).
Important:
- If a non-monetary resource will be used in the proposed project, include it in the Facilities, Equipment, or Resources section of the application rather than in Other Support.
- Non-UM appointments, even if unpaid, should be reported in M-Inform as an outside activity. Start-up funding as well as salary, should be included in the value disclosed.
- Any active appointment should be included on an investigator's Biosketch (including VA appoitments).
Any active appointment must be included an investigator's Biosketch, including a VA appointment.
The researcher should provide the project number and PD/PI name for the prime award as the "Source of Support" on the NIH Other Support template. All other information, including the total award amount and person months, should be specific to the subaward.
Yes, but with qualifications. Use Adobe's Prepare Agreement option under the Sign menu and the Insert Digital Signature function to ensure the required audit trail is assigned. Do not use Adobe's "Fill & Sign" or "Sign Yourself" options.
NIH requires that "[a]pplicants and recipients maintain supporting documentation to reasonably authenticate that the appropriate individual signed the [Other Support] form." In this case, supporting documentation is interpreted to mean an audit trail associated with each application of an electronic signature. The individual is responsible for locating and providing a signature's supporting documentation upon request from NIH or others. When using Adobe, the PDF file, electronic signature, and audit trail are stored locally (e.g., on an individual's computer drive).
U-M recommends using SignNow to sign Other Support documentation. As UM-supported software, the PDF file and correspondiing signature supporting documentation is stored centrally and availalble through SignNow.
U-M's current interpretation of NIH guidance is that for external consulting activity to be included in Other Support, it must:
- Involve the design, conduct, or reporting of research; and
- Be current or ongoing; and
- Contribute tangible work to the research.
Examples include:
- Developing a research protocol
- Analyzing data from a research project
- Serving on a steering committee for a research project
- Work that results in publication of research (e.g., in an academic journal, at conferences, etc.) such that your contribution is cited in the publication.
High-level activity, such as a one-time phone conference to discuss the feasibility of a research concept or to provide subject matter expertise, is not considered an activity that needs to be reported as Other Support.
Yes. For examples of documentation, download U-M's Common Other Support Examples (Word document).
For a general list of what to include in Other Support documentation see the NIH - Other Support Reportng webpage.
For individuals that don’t have an eRA Commons ID and aren’t affiliated with an organization registered in eRA Commons, there are several options for obtaining one. Visit https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2021/11/18/what-are-the-options-for-obtaining-an-era-commons-username-commons-id-for-a-senior-key-person-who-isnt-affiliated-with-a-registered-organization/
Sometimes ORSP may have the authority to approve the requested change; other times, prior sponsor approval is necessary before ORSP can process the change.
The eRPM system will automatically route to all appropriate U-M parties for the required approvals according to each ACR type selected (see ACR Approval Matrix).
The ACR must be submitted to ORSP early enough to allow time for administrative processing and to secure sponsor approval in advance. A good example of this is a no-cost extension request which needs to be submitted in a timely manner and include all required documentation and department approvals before ORSP can take action.
Please contact your ORSP Project Representative to assist.
Consult the terms and conditions and sponsor policies applicable to the award before completing the ACR. PIs and Project Teams bear the responsibility to administer funded projects in compliance with U-M and sponsor requirements.
ACRs can be created by Administrative personnel listed on the Award, including Post-Award Contacts, and anyone who is a Reviewer or an Approver.
Once the ACR is created, the record can only be edited by the person who created it, Post-Award Contact(s), and/or the Administrative Home chain of approvers.
There isn't a literal certificate per se. Anyone asking externally should also have access to SAM and can look us up (i.e. federal agencies or those doing business with federal agencies). Therefore, all the sponsor needs are the date of expiration plus a UEI, DUNS, and/or CAGE Code.
Funding searches are handled by the schools/colleges at the unit level. Grants and funding requests are not written and submitted independently. The federal government mandates that a central unit at universities administer research activities funded by sponsors.
These administrative tasks require a professional staff with broad knowledge of the regulations of federal agencies and to maintain the extensive records required by federal sponsors. Start by working with your Research Administrator.
Per NIH guidance, For post-docs and graduate students that are required to work on their originally approved work remotely from a foreign country due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, where no grant funds are going to a foreign entity, NIH has determined that this scenario does not constitute the performance of a significant scientific element or segment of the project outside the US, as outlined in the NIH Grants Policy Statement definition of a foreign component.
The "aggregated value" of an outside activity is the dollar value that you and/or your family member have received from an external entity in the past 12 months including the current value of equity you (and/or your family member) hold in the entity, even if you did not receive a payout of said equity, and excluding travel.
M-Inform Disclosure Hints
- If you are disclosing equity held in a non-publicly traded entity but you don't know the value of the equity, select "No" to the "Is the dollar value of the equity known" question in M-Inform. This "No" answer indicates that the Aggregated Value amount excludes the unknown equity value.
- If you are disclosing an outside activity for a family member only and are not privy to the dollar value received, select "$0 (None)" from the list in the Aggregated Value field and provide an explanation in the "other relevant information" field in M-Inform.
Protocols that address the same research questions, involve the same methodologies, and evaluate the same outcomes are considered by the NIH to be the “same research protocol,” even when variations due to local (research site) context exist. Per the NIH sIRB guidelines, non-exempt multi-site studies utilizing the same research protocol at each domestic (U.S) site are subject to sIRB regulations.
~ Definition paraphrased from the University of Washington.
NIH uses the term "multi-site project" to describe a sub-set of cooperative non-exempt human research where the same research procedures (i.e., the “same protocol”) are conducted at two or more U.S. research sites under the control of a participating investigator at each site.
A multi-site project typically involves a lead site (lead PI) that manages the administrative functions of the project in addition to conducting the same research procedures as the participating sites. A multi-site project could be a clinical trial, an observational study, or a basic clinical research study.
A “cooperative” (or “collaborative”) project involves two or more U.S. research sites where each site is conducting a different part of a research protocol under the direction/control of the lead PI. An example would be a non-exempt study where U-M is the lead site and conducting the interaction/intervention with the human participants, but the analsyis of the data is being done by is an external institution/collaborator.
Under NIH and Common Rule sIRB guidelines, both multi-site and cooperative research projects may:
- Require the use of a single IRB for oversight.
- Have a lead site/PI who receives the grant or contract from a sponsor and then establishes a subaward or subcontract to each participating site.
- Require authorization (“reliance”) agreements to establish the contractual terms for IRB oversight and project management.
Employees who are not paid on sponsored funds are not required to report their maternity leave to Work Connections, but if you are paid on a grant, you must submit a claim. Please submit your claim 4-6 weeks before your estimated due date to give Work Connections time to process it.
To report your maternity leave, go to the Work Connections website and select “Personal Injury/Illness.” Choose the “Online Request Form” button, and select “Employee Injury or Illness.” In the text box for “Description of Incident,” add the phrase: “Grant-funded pregnancy.”
No. Only sponsored grants are eligible for reimbursement (Allowable Fund Codes: 20000 and 25000).
If the employee submits time using a timesheet, the payroll office will credit the sponsored grant that is funding the salary based on the time reporting codes used on the employee timesheet.
If the employee does not submit a timesheet, the employing unit must request a retroactive salary transfer by submitting a “Request for Salary Transfer” form to the payroll office. The payroll office will do a journal entry to transfer the funds back to the sponsored grant.
Please allow four weeks for the reimbursement to be applied to your sponsored grant. Once month-end has closed after the 4 weeks, please contact [email protected] if your grant hasn’t been reimbursed.
February 2021. The AAHRPP re-accreditation team will announce the interview schedule for the March site visit and send out meeting invitations to the selected participants in February.
The U-M Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) is an an integrated university-wide program that supports all those who are involved in human subjects research in some way at U-M - from study coordinators to the Vice President for Research.
The HRPP's central central charges are:
- To protect the rights and welfare of human research participants by promoting compliance with ethical and regulatory standards promulgated by the:
- Belmont Report
- The Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects (aka "Common Rule")
- Office of Human Research Protections (OHRP)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Good Clinical Practice Guidelines (GCP)
- To facilitate U-M human subjects research by providing resources, support, and education.
For details visit the HRPP website at: https://research-compliance.umich.edu/human-subjects.
No. There is not anything built into the eRPM system that will automatically trigger the withdrawal of the proposal after 30 days if any investigators have failed to complete the “Sign PAF” activity.