As part of our ongoing commitment to improving the Other Support processes and ensuring compliance with institutional and sponsor requirements, we are excited to announce a new process for verifying Other Support documentation.
Background, Roles and Responsibilities:
As described in the August 15, 2024 article, due to instances of misinformation in UCSF Other Support forms, OSR implemented an interim email verification process to raise awareness of the importance of information accuracy.
UCSF PI and senior/key personnel are responsible for determining whether there is scientific and budgetary overlap of the proposed NIH award with grants and awards listed on their Other Support document. Additionally, UCSF must have administrative controls in place (e.g., reviews, approvals, trainings) to support researchers in this process. The UCSF process, roles, and responsibilities for completing Other Support is described in detail in the Office of Sponsored Research’s (OSR’s) Service Partnership Agreement (SPA).
Based on valuable feedback from our stakeholders, we have developed a streamlined verification process that will reduce administrative burden and ensure accurate and complete information development and timely submission of Other Support documents.
New Process:
The new process, effective as of September 3, 2024, requires each Senior/Key Personnel to initial and sign an attestation cover letter in DocuSign along with providing their signature on the Other Support document (already required by NIH).
It is no longer required to provide email verification from the UCSF PIs and other senior/key personnel, department post award administrators, and department chairs or chair delegates.
It is important that the Department Administrators that assist with the Other Support document use the templates provided when obtaining signatures from Senior/Key Personnel. The attestation cover letter will be required for all NIH Other Support requests. OSR has developed a training quick guide and a short video (Requires UCSF MyAccess) on how to use the new Other Support DocuSign template.
As part of the template, PIs and Senior and Key Personnel will attest to the following:
- I understand NIH policies and requirements for Other Support, including definitions of overlap, and that I have a professional and ethical responsibility to disclose any type of overlap.
- I understand that omitting information or failing to disclose scientific, budgetary, or commitment overlap is a violation of NIH policies and will lead to loss of grant funding.
- My signature on the Other Support form affirms that I have reviewed the information contained therein and all information is current, accurate, and complete.
- Submitting misinformation to NIH puts me at risk of violating UCSF Code of Conduct requirements, puts UCSF’s reputation at risk, and could lead to NIH imposing increased administrative requirements or withholding funds.
Important Resources:
Please review the Off-Cycle RA Town Hall that provided an overview of NIH Other Support and the importance of disclosing overlap. Townhall Slide Deck (Requires UCSF MyAccess) and Town Hall Video Recording (Requires UCSF MyAccess).
Stay tuned for future announcements detailing additional training, reporting and recommendations for the Other Support process.
Additional resources can be found on the OSR website.