A-Z Index and Glossary

Research Policies Committee. A subcommittee of the Senate Advisory Committee on University Affairs that advises the U-M Office of Research (UMOR).

Research Performance Progress Report. Electronic system used by NIH and other federal agencies to submit annual, final, or interim progress reports documenting a grantee recipient's accomplishments and compliance with the terms of an award. 

EHS and IBC have a strict protocol for immediatly reporting spills of and exposures to potentially hazardous biological materials.  See Reporting Safety Incidents for details and procedures.

Formerly known as the CCR or Central Contractor Registry, the System for Award Management, or SAM, is the official U.S. Government system that consolidates Central Contractor Administration and other contractor databases. It is accessible to all. Click on Search Record using Cage Code #03399 or DUNS#  073133571 to access U-M information, expiration date, etc. Choose View Details and Reps & Certs to download the FARs or DFARS.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Single Administrative Point of Contact

Sponsored Awards on the Web was decommissioned in 2019. See these new Data Resoures for the Research Community.  

Use this ITS Guide: Search for Awards. 

Small Business Administration

• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
• Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) 

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program was established by Congress in 1982. It is a highly competitive program that encourages domestic small businesses to engage in federal research and development that has the potential for commercialization. Through a competitive awards-based program, SBIR enables small businesses to explore their technological potential and provides the incentive to profit from its commercialization.

The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) was established in 1992. The unique feature of the STTR program is the requirement for the small business to formally collaborate with a research institution in Phase I and Phase II.

Several federal agencies participate in the SBIR/STTR programs and are required to set aside a percentage of their extramural budget so that domestic small businesses can engage in R&D that has a strong potential for technology commercialization.

See:  https://www.sbir.gov/

What is SciENcv? 

Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) is an online system that researchers can use to create and maintain biosketches to share with others, and most importantly, that must be when submitting NIH and NSF grant applications and annual reports. SciENcv pulls information from other systems, including MyNCBI, ORCID, and eRA commons in order to ease administrative burden and allow researchers to quickly create and recreate a biosketch for each grant application or annual report.

SciENcv pulls information from other systems, including MyNCBI, ORCID, and eRA Commons in order to ease administrative burden and allow researchers to quickly create and recreate a biosketch and C&POS for each grant application or annual report.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is mandating the use of SciENcv for the preparation of Current and Pending (Other) Support (C&POS) information, effective for new proposals.

To get started, faculty researchers should:

1. Login to Research. gov
2. Set up My Bibliography
3. Create an NSF Biosketch in SciENcv 
4. Delegate access to research administrators.
5. Work with your RA to identify projects (including outside consulting that involves the design, conduct, or reporting of research) and in-kind resources that need to be included in your C&POS.

This can take time. For more information on how to do this, please consult these resources:

Resources

• U-M Library Resources on SciENcv including a Webinar and Slides and Step-by-Step Handout
• NSF Biographical Sketch video tutorial
• NSF Current & Pending (Other) Support video tutorial
• Using SciENcv Frequently Asked Questions
• NSF SciENcv Demo Video (June 2023) (demo starts at the 23:49 minute marker)
• MyNCBI Help Guide with Step-by-Step Resources:
  • Creating SciENcv Biosketches
  • Using the NSF Biographical Sketch
  • Using the NSF Current & Pending Support
  • Editing and Deleting SciENcv Biosketches
  • Sharing SciENcv
  • Downloading SciENcv
  • Adding Delegates to SciENcv

Standard Form

A six-digit number in the U-M financial system related to a specific project/grant and used for certain financial transactions (e.g., payroll, procurement).

Strategic Initiative for Developing Capacity in Ethical Review

Faculty and staff do not have the authority to sign legal agreements on behalf of the University of Michigan.  

Signature authority is the designation to officially sign legal agreements on behalf of the University of Michigan that is granted to U-M central offices. This authority is outlined in the U-M Standard Practice Guide (SPG) 601.24.  

Faculty, researchers, and students do not have the authority to sign (or accept funds to enter into) external research contracts or agreements that commit university resources, including the use of space, personnel, equipment, and services. Only specific individuals have been granted by the university the authority to sign on its behalf.

A U-M researcher can propose research activity with external sponsors/collaborators, but they do not have the authority to negotiate and approve the legal aspects of any research agreement on behalf of U-M.

A U-M researcher may also be able to "sign" institutional forms in the eResearch system (e.g., Proposal Approval Forms (PAFs), Unfunded Agreement Forms, etc.), and by doing so they authorize the appropriate central office to negotiate and finalize the terms and conditions of the legal agreement. 

Why it's important

Unauthorized legal agreements committing university resources may result in personal liability, institutional liability, breach of contract, and/or regulatory non-compliance. 

Who should faculty work with?

Before agreeing by signature to any research activity that commits U-M resources, work with your research administrator (RA) to complete the appropriate form(s) to obtain institutional approval. Depending on the agreement, the RA can help you route the agreement to the correct entity. 

Who has signature authority?

The following lists (in brief) what type of legal agreement must be signed by which U-M central office has signature authority.

For full details, see SPG 601.24 for Training, Research Contracts & Grants in detail on pages 40-48 of Table 1: Delegations of Authority for Business Transactions with External Organizations. 

Also, see:  grant, contract or agreement, cooperative agreement in Glossary and U-M OGC Business, Contracts, and Signature Authority FAQs

A Single IRB (sIRB) is the IRB-of-Record, selected on a study-by-study basis, which provides the ethical review for all sites participating in a multi-site, collaborative human subjects study.  Common Rule agencies/funding sponsors (e.g., NIH) require an sIRB for domestic multi-site, collaborative studies.  

Some sponsors request this at time of proposal submission based on the Sponsor's RFP or when working with contracts. 

• Small Business Subcontracting | Procurement Services - University of Michigan

The liaison of this office will complete and submit the required Small Business reports.  research.liaison@umich.edu

The Streamlined Non-competing Award Process (SNAP) makes use of the federal-wide Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The RPPR process requires that progress report submissions begin 45 days prior to the budget start date.

Statement of Activity

Statement of Work

Sponsored Project Administration