ACTIVE AND PENDING SUPPORT
Also known as “Other Support” or “Current and Pending Support”
In asking for identification of “other support” in a grant application, a funding agency’s interests include, but are not limited to, identifying and eliminating duplication of funding for specific budgetary items, understanding the investigator’s capacity to complete projects (e.g., effort available), protect national security or economic interests, and assess potential conflicts of interest.
DISCLOSING INTERESTS RELATED TO RESEARCH
Any person involved in the design, conduct, or reporting of research (technical and financial) or educational activities proposed for funding by a sponsor must complete the online Project-Specific Conflict of Interest Disclosure to report any potential or actual significant financial interest (including those of family members). This should include, but is not limited to:
- Business transactions related to the sponsored activity;
- Equity interests in or fees from either the sponsor of the research or a subcontractor;
- Intellectual property rights.
Each such disclosure needs to be updated via the online system by the employee during the life of any award, as new significant financial interests are recognized.
While gifts, training awards or prizes have not traditionally been identified in this process, Georgia Tech encourages investigators to include this information as it may be relevant in identifying areas of concern, whether industrial, government, private, domestic or foreign. Therefore, it may be necessary to disclose gifts or donations, relationships with donors, or relationships with vendors that may create or appear to create a real or potential conflict of interest related to the investigators duties in conducting or administering the proposed project.
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)
In August 2018 the NIH issued guidance that asks institutions, such as Georgia Tech, to “make sure that, in accordance with the NIH Grants Policy Statement, all applications and progress reports include all sources of research support, financial interests, and relevant affiliations.” The appropriate vehicle for such submission is the “Other Support” or “Active and Pending Support” sections of applications and reports. Georgia Tech will be following this topic closely and will communicate any changes to our research community. In providing this guidance, NIH specifically identified areas of concern, including:
- Diversion of intellectual property (IP) in grant applications or produced by NIH-supported biomedical research to other entities, including other countries;
- Sharing of confidential information on grant applications by NIH peer reviewers with others, including foreign entities, or otherwise attempting to influence funding decisions; and
- Failure by some researchers working at NIH-funded institutions in the U.S. to disclose substantial resources from other organizations, including foreign governments, which threatens to distort decisions about the appropriate use of NIH funds.
These concerns reinforce the importance of properly, truthfully and completely disclosing active and pending support during the proposal process. Such disclosure needs to be submitted for all key personnel and needs to include all financial resources, whether federal, non-federal, industrial, non-profit, other universities or research institutions, both foreign and domestic, and sub-contracts.
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF)
The National Science Foundation (NSF) shares NIH’s serious concerns with respect to NSF supported basic and applied research. NSF expects that PIs and senior personnel will list any activity that provides funding to their work and/or a commitment of time by the individual in the same manner as described in the previous section for NIH using the Other Support section of proposals.
The National Science Foundation also requires that PIs submit information about collaborators and other affiliations for senior project personnel. This information is in addition to Current and Pending Support and may include advisor/advisee relations, coauthors, editorships, business or family relationships that are relevant to peer review. Templates for the tables in which these elements are reported are found in NSF’s Proposal & Awards Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG).
LINKS AND RESOURCES:
National Institutes of Health
“NIH Grants Policy Statement.”
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps/nihgps.pdf
“Other Support” in Grants & Funding.
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/othersupport.htm
“Biosketch Format, Instructions and Samples.”
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm
“Managing Conflict of Interest in NIH Peer Review of Grants and Contracts”
https://grants.nih.gov/grants/peer/peer_coi.htm
“Research Integrity”
https://grants.nih.gov/policy/research_integrity/index.htm
National Science Foundation
Grant Proposal Guide, Chapter II – "Proposal Preparation Instructions" (Chapter II.C.1.e)
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf16001/gpg_2.jsp
“Current and Pending Support”
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg18_1/pappg_2.jsp#IIC2h
“Synergistic Activities”
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg18_1/pappg_2.jsp#IIC2fid
Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide
https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg18_1/nsf18_1.pdf
“Collaborators and Other Affiliations Information”
https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/coa.jsp
“Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on Collaborators and Other Affiliations (COA) Information Template.”
https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/coa/faqs_coatemplate1217.pdf
