Submitted Projects for August 2016

College of Education
Submitted Projects
August 2016
Principal Investigator: Herman Knopf (AZCEES/SSESPECS)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of South Carolina (Subcontract – DHHS Flow Through)
Proposal Title: Building a Statewide System for Inclusion
Requested Amount: $38,399
Principal Investigator: Walter Leite (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: Anne Corinne Manley (SHDOSE)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: Detection and Control of Response Styles in Ordinal Survey Items
Requested Amount: $350,622
Principal Investigator: Walter Leite (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: Imputation of Missing Covariate Data Prior to Propensity Score Analysis
Requested Amount: $300,311
Principal Investigator: Anne Corinne Manley (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: Walter Leite (SHDOSE), James Algina (SSESPECS)
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: The Development of Two Statistical Models for Addressing Nonresponse Bias in Measurement
Requested Amount: $336,142
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Funding Agency: Florida Office of Early Learning
Proposal Title: Early Learning Florida Contract #SR972
Requested Amount: $3,000,000
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Lauren’s Kids
Proposal Title: Lauren’s Kids Courses Maintenance Agreement
Requested Amount: $50,000
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Children’s Trust
Proposal Title: TCT Early Learning Coaching
Requested Amount: $24,000
Principal Investigator: Brian Reichow (AZCEES/SSESPECS)
Co-PI: Patricia Snyder (AZCEECS/SSESPECS)
Funding Agency: US Department of Education/IES
Proposal Title: Impact of Professional Development on Early Intervention Specialists’ Instructional Delivery of a Virtual Parent Skills Training Program for Parents of Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities
Requested Amount: $1,400,000
Principal Investigator: Michael Moorhouse (Public Health and Health Professions)
Co-PI: Jeanne Repetto (SSESPECS), Mark Hart (Epidemiology), Linda Cottler (Epidemiology), Jamie Pomeranz (Occupational Therapy)
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Health
Proposal Title: Transforming a Tobacco Cessation Program to an Integrated Online/Mobile Platform for People with Disabilities (PWD): From LIFT to eLIFT
Requested Amount: $92,945
Principal Investigator: Albert Ritzhaupt (STL)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: National Science Foundation
Proposal Title: Strategies: Using Cyber-Security Education as a Mechanism to Engage High School Teachers and Students in STEM-Related Careers and Content (CyberEd-to-STEM)
Requested Amount: $254,883

 

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Federal Public Access Policy

As stated on the University of Florida’s Public Access Policies Website:
“The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a directive on February 22, 2013 requesting federal agencies with more than $100 million in research and development expenditures to develop plans to make the results of federally-funded research publicly available free of charge within 12 months after original publication.”

To this end, PIs are required to know the regulations regarding data management plans for each grant submitted as specific requirements may vary by granting agency. The University of Florida’s policies on public access to data and data management plans are available here: http://cms.uflib.ufl.edu/ScholComm/publicaccessFAQ.

Data management plans are an essential component of ensuring that federally-funded research will be made publicly available. As of early 2016, almost all federal funding agencies have begun requiring data management plans to be submitted in conjunction with large grant proposals (Grant Writers’ Seminars and Workshops, LLC). Data management plans outline how and for how long research data will be preserved as well as how it will be used.

Notably, a dedicated Data Management Librarian is available to address any questions PIs may have regarding the data management plan process. The George A. Smathers Library System has created a specific and highly recommended guide explaining how to develop a data management plan for grants based out of the University of Florida (http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/datamanagement). Additionally, the University’s Division of Sponsored Programs has grant analysts and compliance officers who can help with the details of compliance. Further, the Scholarly Communications Librarian or the library liaison assigned to your department can advise you on the many practical applications of compliance with a federal public access policy and can advise on such issues as choosing an appropriate repository where one is not specified.

Additional resources on how to construct a data management plan are also available through North Carolina State University (https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/guides/datamanagement/funding_agencies) with additional templates and examples available at https://dmptool.org/guidance?method=get&scope1=all (Grant Writers’ Seminars and Workshops, LLC).

Sources:

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Research Spotlight: Justin Ortagus

 

Q & A withJustin Ortagus, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Higher Education Administration & Policy and Director of the Institute of Higher Education

What basic questions does your research seek to answer?

My work is typically at the intersection of innovation and higher education. The primary research question driving my scholarship relates to the growing influence of online education and technology in higher education. Colleges and universities are often referenced as slow to adopt change in any form, but the use of computer-mediated instruction and information technology (IT) has become the new normal. My basic objective is to provide generalizable evidence pertaining to the impact of these relatively new technologies. In addition to questions related to online education and technology, I’m also interested in examining organizational responses to various broad-based policies and external pressures affecting the provision of higher education.

What makes your work interesting?

To answer this question, I’ll narrow the scope to focus on my work related to examining the effectiveness of online education in higher education. I’m not a futurist or someone who believes that online education can serve as a panacea for all of higher education’s problems, but computer-mediated instruction has the potential to offer relief to some fundamental issues facing colleges and universities, such as continually rising costs. Despite the potential for cost savings, faculty and administrators at many colleges and universities have questions regarding how effective online education has been in maintaining (or improving) the academic outcomes of various student populations across institution types. Surprisingly, nobody really knows the answer to these questions. My work seeks to fill that void by providing nationally generalizable evidence of the effectiveness of online education in higher education.

What are you currently working on?

I’m currently working on several projects. First, I have two studies in which I provide generalizable evidence of (1) the profile of postsecondary online students and (2) the effect of online enrollment on several academic outcomes. Second, I’m examining the extent to which IT spending influences the makeup of higher education personnel. Finally, I’m also working on a collaborative project with Dr. Dennis Kramer in which we explore the role of no-loan programs on the post-baccalaureate enrollment choices of first-generation students. This work is funded by the Association for Institutional Research and the Access Group Center for Research and Policy Analysis.

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OER Annual Report of Accomplishments for Fiscal Year 2015

The Office of Educational Research (OER) is currently completing a draft of its Annual Report outlining data on externally funded projects and grants activities. Faculty productivity has been sustained, and efforts toward securing external funding remain active.

The following represents a summary of accomplishments for FY 2015:

  • COE faculty members in all schools and centers submitted 89 proposals, requesting over $79 million in external funding. This represents a 27.9% increase in the total dollar amount of proposals as compared to the prior fiscal year. Proposals were submitted to 43 agencies.
  • COE Principal Investigators (PIs) and Co-PIs received funding for 54 new awards totaling over $28.8 million. These new awards included three contracts from the US DOE–IES, two contracts from the US DOE (Office of Special Education Programs), three contracts from the NSF, and one contract from the US VA. Of the total dollar amount of newly funded awards, 63% was funded by federal agencies or organizations. The COE experienced an 81.1% increase in the total dollar amount of newly funded awards, nearly doubling its newly funded award total dollar amount for the second year in a row as compared to the previous fiscal year.
  • COE schools and centers have 106 currently funded projects totaling over $97 million. Of the total dollar amount of currently funded projects, 71% was funded by federal agencies or organizations. The COE experienced a 12.3% increase in the total dollar amount of currently funded projects as compared to the previous fiscal year.
  • Research funding per faculty member totaled over $513,290, which is 14.7% higher than the previous fiscal year. Of the 189 COE faculty members eligible to submit proposals, 59 (31.2%) received external funding as PI or Co-PI, and 53 (28.0%) submitted a proposal. The total dollar amount of collaborative newly funded awards increased over nine times from the prior fiscal year, representing over $10 million in newly funded collaborations with PIs or Co-PIs outside COE.

 

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NSF Launches New Automated Proposal Submission Compliance Checks

Effective August 1, 2016, all National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals will be subject to a new series of automated compliance validation checks to ensure proposals comply with requirements outlined in Chapter II.C.2. of the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG).

Please note that the new set of compliance checks are in addition to the compliance checks that currently exist in FastLane. See the NSF website for a complete list of FastLane auto-compliance checks.

The list specifies which checks are run depending on funding opportunity type (GPG, Program Description, Program Announcement, or Program Solicitation) and type of proposal (Research, RAPID, EAGER, Ideas Lab, Conference, Equipment, International Travel, Facility/Center, or Fellowship). It also specifies whether the check triggers a “warning” or “error” message for non-compliant proposals.

The new set of automated compliance checks will trigger error messages for each of the following rules:

  • Biographical Sketch(es) and Current and Pending Support files are required  for each Senior Personnel associated with a proposal; and
  • Biographical Sketch(es) can only be uploaded as a file, must not exceed two pages and can no longer be entered as text.

For more information, see the NSF Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals webpage.

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UF Issues New F&A (Indirect) Rates

The University of Florida has been issued new F&A (indirect) rates effective July 28, 2016. The on-campus research rate increases from 50% to 52.5%. The following provides details on the impact of these increases on new proposals, existing awards, and pending awards:

New proposals (including supplements and any other request for funding not already committed by a sponsor): Effective immediately all proposals must use the new F&A rates. Only awards with exceptions specifically identified in accordance with the University’s Facilities & Administrative Cost Policy (F&A Policy and F&A Directives and Procedures) may use rates different than those provided in the negotiated agreement. UFIRST has been update to reflect these rates. Progress reports, continuations, and other proposals to request release of already committed funding may continue to reflect the existing rate.

Note that under the new agreement, only ONE rate may be applied to each award. The rate will be determined by how the majority of activity is performed under the project (i.e. off-campus, in an REC, or for a particular activity – Research, Other Sponsored Activity, or Instruction), and that rate will apply to the entire award.

Awards received by UF before July 28, 2016: For awards received by UF before July 28, the F&A rate on the award (and likely entered into UFIRST and myUFL) will apply to that award for the life of the award. “Life” shall mean for the competitive segment approved by the funding agency at the time of the initial award. For those projects that receive scheduled installments within an existing award, (for example, multi-year NIH and NSF awards are often distributed to the university in one-year budgetary installments), the Office of Research will ensure that the rates in place prior to July 28 remain in effect for the life of these awards.

Awards received by UF after July 28, 2016 and with effective dates after July 1, 2016 (including those in response to proposals submitted with budgets based on old rates): For all awards received on or after July 28, 2016, the new rates will be applied. This includes all new, supplements and competitive segments to existing awards.  It does not include funding for incremental obligations on existing awards. In awards in which the proposed budget was submitted based on the old rates, you should not anticipate receiving additional funds from the sponsor or University to cover the increased cost of F&A. These projects may need to be re-budgeted with the direct costs reduced to cover the additional F&A.

Only awards with exceptions specifically identified in accordance with the University’s Facilities & Administrative Cost Policy (F&A Policy and F&A Directives and Procedures) may use rates different than those provided in the negotiated agreement.

The new rates are listed on the UF F&A Rates (IDC) webpage.

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A DSP Reminder: No Cost Extension Requests

All no cost extensions are created and submitted through UFIRST–Award Modification. Creating a UFIRST Award Modification will facilitate collection of the appropriate programmatic justification, requested new end date, and changes to commitment required for the Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) to review, approve, or request sponsor approval of a no cost extension.

You must meet the deadlines. No cost extension requests should be submitted through UFIRST to DSP no later than 30 days prior to the grant’s current expiration date. This allows plenty of time to meet federal deadlines, as follows:

This includes no cost extensions of NSF grants. By providing the information in UFIRST as an Award Modification, DSP will enter the information for you in Research.gov (Fastlane is no longer being used for no cost extension requests).

  • Upon approval of an internal extension, DSP must provide written notification to Federal Agency’s Grant Officer at least (10) ten days prior to the original expiration date of the award. If this notification deadline is missed, DSP may not exercise its ability to extend the grant, without the sponsor’s approval.

1) No Cost Extensions Approved by DSP

DSP may extend the final budget period of most federal grants, one time, for up to (12) twelve months beyond the original expiration date, as long as sufficient funds are available and no change in the project’s originally approved scope or objectives, and at least one of the following applies:

  • Additional time beyond the established expiration date is required to ensure adequate completion of the originally approved project.
  • Continuity of grant support is required while a competing continuation application is under review.
  • The extension is necessary to permit an orderly phase out of a project that will not receive continued support.

The fact that funds are anticipated to remain unspent is not a sufficient justification for an extension. Awards that have little to no available balance will not be extended.

2)  No Cost Extension Requiring Sponsor Approval

The Principal Investigator should construct a letter or email addressed to the sponsor’s contracting officer that provides a Scientific/Programmatic Justification for the need of additional time and should give an overview of the remaining budget and how the funds will be used during the extension period. In most cases, these requests are required to be countersigned or endorsed by a DSP Authorized official before being sent to the sponsor.

PI’s or Department staff upload the letter to the UFIRST Award modification and execute the Submit for Review activity. DSP will review, sign and forward to the sponsor. DSP recognizes we have a variety of sponsors and some sponsor are less formal than others and will accept reasonable and appropriate documentation from sponsor personnel that acknowledge they concur with the extension.

Upon the sponsor’s approval or concurrence, DSP will complete the UFIRST- Award Modification and transfer the record to C&G Accounting who will extend the myUFL Project’s end date, including any subprojects, as appropriate. The DSP subaward office will generate the no cost extension amendment for any subrecipient needing the additional time.

For more information, see the UF No Cost Extension Requests webpage.

Questions: If you have questions regarding no cost extension, please contact DSP at ufawards@ufl.edu.

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UFIRST Awards Open Labs in August

From the Division of Sponsored Programs:

The Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) is hosting UFIRST Awards Open Lab sessions to provide one-on-one help and answers to your questions about UFIRST. During these sessions DSP staff will be on hand to answer questions and provide assistance with entering items in the Awards module. These sessions are informal and users are welcome to arrive and depart as needed.

In order to best meet the needs of the campus community, open labs will now be offered at a variety of locations and times. No registration is required. Review the schedule below to find a session that’s convenient for you!

Tuesday, August 30th 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. HRS, Room 119
Tuesday, September 6th 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. HUB Computer Lab 221
Tuesday, September 13th 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. HSC Computer Lab C2-3
Tuesday, September 20th 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. HRS, Room 119
Tuesday, October 4th 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. HUB Computer Lab 221
Tuesday, October 11th 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. HSC Computer Lab C2-3
Tuesday, October 18th 9:00 – 11:00 a.m. HSC Computer Lab C2-3

For any UFIRST questions, please email ufirst@research.ufl.edu or call 392-5991.

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NCES Introduces Online Dataset Training Modules

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has launched its Distance Learning Dataset Training (DLDT) system. The DLDT computer-based training module resource is an online, interactive tool allowing users to learn about NCES data across the education spectrum and evaluate data for suitability for particular research, policy, teaching, and other purposes.

NCES data are appropriate for use by researchers, students, policy specialists, education professionals, and anyone who is interested in student and school outcomes at all levels.

To help users conduct successful analyses and make appropriate use of NCES data, the DLDT is designed to introduce users to the intricacies of various NCES datasets including their designs, what the data represent, how the data were collected, and specific considerations for analysis.

The DLDT is also a teaching tool that can be used by individuals both in and out of the classroom to learn about NCES complex sample survey and administrative data collections and appropriate analysis methods.

There are two types of NCES DLDT modules available: common modules and dataset-specific modules. The common modules help users broadly understand NCES data across the education spectrum, introduce complex sample survey methods, and explain how to acquire NCES micro-data. The dataset-specific modules introduce and educate users about particular datasets.

Access the DLDT system and learn more about the NCES datasets at: http://nces.ed.gov/training/datauser/

You can also read more about the modules in our latest blog: http://nces.ed.gov/blogs/nces/post/learning-to-use-the-data-online-dataset-training-modules

Reprinted from IES Newsflash 7/6/2016

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RAFT Program Begins in September

UF’s Division of Sponsored Programs and Contracts & Grants will once again offer the Research Administration & Financials Training (RAFT) professional development series providing UF research administrators with “a lifeline” to the research community.

Interested applicants should email a completed program application form to Steve Slater, grants training manager for UF Training and Organizational Development by August 19.

Designed for research administrators with one year or less of grants management experience, the RAFT Level One Cohort is a 12-session classroom series that provides a thorough introduction to all aspects of sponsored programs management at UF. In addition, the RAFT Level One Cohort is designed to foster peer relationships within the grants community. Each cohort is limited to a small number of participants to ensure networking and relationship building.  Participants who successfully complete the series will be awarded a certificate of completion.

The cohort will meet once a week starting in September and continuing through early December. To apply, participants must be able to attend all program sessions and have the appropriate supervisor support.

Session Date Time Location
1– Overview of Sponsored Programs 09/13/16 3:00-5:00 PM Clinical and Translational Research (CTRB 2161)
2 – Finding Funding & Limited Opportunities 09/20/16 9:00-11:00 AM HRS (Room 120)
3 – Solicitation Review & Proposal Development 09/27/16 9:00-11:00 AM HRS (Room 120)
4 – Budget Development 10/04/15 1:30-4:30 PM HRS (Room 120)
5 – Open Lab 10/11/16 2:00-5:00 PM HUB Computer Lab 221
6 – Awards: Negotiation & Setup 10/18/16 2:00-4:00 PM Communicore C2-033
7 – Non-Fiscal Compliance 10/25/16 11:45-1:30 PM HPNP G-114
8 – Cost Principles Advanced Topics 11/01/16 9:00-11:00 AM Communicore C2-033
9 – Effort Advanced Topics 11/08/16 2:00-4:00 PM Communicore C2-033
10 – Post Award Overview 11/15/16 2:00-4:00 PM Communicore C2-033
11 – Post-Award Best Practices 11/29/16 2:00-4:00 PM HUB Computer Lab 221
12 – Graduation 12/06/16 3:00-5:00 PM Clinical and Translational Research (CTRB 2161)

If you have questions about the RAFT Level One Cohort, please contact Stephanie Gray, assistant vice president for the Division of Sponsored Programs, at (352) 392-3516; or Tiffany Schmidt, associate director for Contracts & Grants, at (352) 273-3101.

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Awarded Projects for July 2016

College of Education
Awarded Projects
July 2016
Principal Investigator: Isaac McFarlin (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: University of Michigan (Subcontract – IES Flow Through)
Project Title: On the Importance of School Facilities Spending to Student Outcomes
Project Period: 1/1/2016 – 6/30/2017
Award Amount: $213,793
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: N/A
Funding Agency: Florida’s Office of Early Learning
Project Title: Office of Early Learning VPK Instructor Support
Project Period: 3/4/2016 – 7/29/2016
Award Amount: $4,180

 

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Submitted Projects for July 2016

College of Education
Submitted Projects
July 2016
Principal Investigator: Mary Brownell (SSESPECS)
Co-PI: Amber Benedict (SSESPECS)
Funding Agency: US Department of Education/IES
Proposal Title: Project Coordinate: Increasing Coordinated Use of Evidence-based Practices for Improving Word Study in an RTI Framework for Teams of 4th Grade Teachers
Requested Amount: $1,400,000
Principal Investigator: Cynthia Griffin (SSESPECS)
Co-PI: James Algina (SSESPECS), Nancy Dana (STL)
Funding Agency: US Department of Education/IES
Proposal Title: Efficacy of Prime Online: Teacher Professional Development for Inclusive Elementary Mathematics Classrooms
Requested Amount: $3,237,063
Principal Investigator: Mildred Maldonado Molina (Health Outcomes and Policy)
Co-PI: Lisa Langley (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Funding Agency: Florida Department of Education
Proposal Title: OEL Web Portal
Requested Amount: $21,737
Principal Investigator: Ann Corinne Manley (SHDOSE)
Co-PI: Amber Benedict (SSESPECS)
Funding Agency: US Department of Education/IES
Proposal Title: Project DIMES: Diagnostic Instrument for Morphology of Elementary Students
Requested Amount: $1,377,687
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: Walter Leite (SHDOSE)
Funding Agency: Florida’s Office of Early Learning
Proposal Title: Pay for Performance 2016-17
Requested Amount: $1,977,452
Principal Investigator: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Funding Agency: Charleston County School District
Proposal Title: Charleston Literacy Coaching
Requested Amount: $675,000
Principal Investigator: Philip Poekert (Lastinger Center for Learning)
Co-PI: Donald Pemberton (Lastinger Center for Learning), Thomasenia Lott Adams (Office of Educational Research), Carole Beal (STL), Joy Schackow (STL), Walter Leite (SHDOSE)
Funding Agency: US Department of Education/i3
Proposal Title: Math Nation: Cost-effectively Advancing Rigorous Standards
Requested Amount: $11,959,124
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Research Spotlight: Corinne Huggins-Manley

Q&A with Corinne Huggins-Manley, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Research and Evaluation Methodology, Associate Director of Human Development and Organizational Studies in Education, University of Florida Research Foundation Professor

What basic questions does your research seek to answer?

All of my methodological research seeks to overcome challenges to the practice and interpretation of quantitative measurements of latent constructs. Outside of academia, it is taken for granted that we can assign numbers to concepts such as “academic achievement” or “self-esteem,” and it is often assumed that those numbers are either accurate representations of such concepts or inaccurate only within some quantifiable margin of error.

There is little appreciation for the statistical challenges to measurement and the process of validating inferences made from such measurements. Inside the world of academia, there is more awareness about the challenges to quantifying latent constructs but still some difficulties in recognizing and meeting those challenges. Research in educational measurement is aimed at improving our abilities to overcome such challenges so that valid information can be gleaned from the measurement of education-related constructs. I aim to advance the field of educational measurement with research on topics such as item response theory, fairness in reporting subgroup test scores within and across schools and teachers, scale development and score use validity, and statistical model building that can help practitioners to overcome issues such as non-response bias.

What makes your work interesting?

My work is interesting because it directly tackles many of the problems that occur with respect to measurement in educational research, policy, and practice. In educational research, the ability to use statistics to analyze data and answer research questions hinges in large part on the measurement quality of the variables being studied. However, measurement courses are often not required for doctoral students in the social sciences and many researchers have noted that a lack of attention to measurement has become the Achilles’ heel to social science research. In educational policy and practice, many measurement demands have been mandated onto educators over the past few decades, often by persons who are not trained in measurement or the validity of test score interpretations. The ramifications of such policies have been widely felt in the educational community, and I believe many of them stem from the lack of understanding about what measurement is and what it can (and cannot) tell us about students, teachers, and learning. I focus my research on topics that can improve these conditions in educational research, policy, and practice.

What are you currently working on?

I have four projects in progress that I am very excited about. One is related to assumptions of item response theory models and how we can best test for violations of them. Increasing the availability of accurate methods for testing measurement model assumptions is critical for ensuring the appropriate use and interpretations of parameter estimates produced from such models. A second is related to the development of two statistical models that allow for the incorporation of simultaneous nominal and ordinal within-item response data. The availability of models such as these would allow practitioners and researchers to more easily and appropriately model non-responses on tests and surveys such as “not applicable” responses on Likert scales. The third is an applied measurement project in which I am co-developing an adaptive, diagnostic assessment of reading skills for students in grades 3 to 5. The fourth is a continuation of my research on subpopulation item parameter drift and its relationship to differential item functioning and equating invariance. These three phenomena are statistical manifestations of measurement bias, which pose problems for achieving standards of fairness in large-scale educational testing.

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OER Is Updating Proposal Status in UFIRST

The Office of Educational Research (OER) would like your help with notifying us about unfunded proposals. This will assist us with updating proposal status in UFIRST. We request that you email Brian Lane at blane@coe.ufl.edu with a list of your unfunded proposals from January 1, 2016 to present and from this point forward. Please also provide supporting documentation with your message (i.e., the email and/or letter you received from the agency notifying you of non-funding).

Thank you in advance for your assistance.

 

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UFIRST Awards System Is Live

The UFIRST awards system is now live. All active awards have been converted and are now available for viewing and management. All new awards as well as modifications to awards requested (including no cost extensions, supplements, PI changes, incremental funding, etc.) must now be processed in UFIRST.

What Does This Mean To You?

Faculty:

  • Principal Investigators must now complete the Award Compliance Form in UFIRST prior to releasing any award. PIs are allowed to delegate this but must perform the delegation in UFIRST. Every key person must also complete the Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI) declaration in UFIRST before any award can be released. Please visit the following instruction guides for more information:
  • As has been required on all awards since 2013, all key personnel must complete training courses RSH220 & RSH260 on Effort Fundamentals and Cost Principles. This was a one-time requirement, so if the courses have already been completed, you are not required to take them again.
  • Your award notification emails will now come from UFIRST rather than from eNOA email addresses. You will receive an email for any new award or any change to an award on which you are listed as the project manager (formerly myUFL PI) or the award PI.

Grants administrators:

  • Starting July 6, DSP will be sending you requests for budget breakouts, IRB approvals, and other award related requirements through UFIRST.
  • Starting July 6, any request for a change to a 201, 209 or 214 must be submitted through UFIRST. This includes no cost extensions, incremental funding, PI changes, moving budget between projects, clinical trial deposits, etc.

eNOA emails will now come from UFIRST
The email lists you have historically maintained for your department will NOT be used.  Anyone listed as a Grant Administrator (along with the PI & project managers) will receive this email.  If anyone in your unit received emails previously and needs to continue receiving them, you will either need to set up local email forward rules or add them as administrators.

Converted awards
(Active prior to June 30 and converted into UFIRST using their existing Award ID, e.g. 00098765)

  • Commitment data will be collected via UFIRST. However, please note that NO COMMITMENT DATA was converted into the system on existing awards.  If you need to make changes to commitments on awards that are active effective June 30, 2016 and do not have any converted commitment data in UFIRST (either performing this at the time of modification or at any point during the life of your award), you will need to enter commitments for the extension periods only.  Review myinvestigator to determine if commitments have already been entered for the period in which you are acting.
  • Review the data. There will be blank fields and there may be some data (project type) that was not captured in a way that is useful to your business (project names).  UPDATE THIS INFORMATION in UFIRST.
  • Modifications to dates and financials require you to create a new allocation. If you are not sure how to do this, attend RSH282 or review the Financial and Date Modification – Converted Award Instruction Guide.

Non-federal clinical trial end dates will not automatically be extended as the end date approaches. If your trial is nearing its project end date but will continue, please request a no cost extension via UFIRST.  If you are not sure how to do this, review the No Cost Extension Instruction Guide.

Other departmental staff:
Department administrators that do not need to perform actions in UFIRST may have historically had the Grants Administrator role to be able to view proposals. A new Viewer role is available so that staff can see UFIRST Awards without receiving email communications or being able to edit the unit’s Proposals or Awards. To move your previous Grant Administrator role to Viewer or to receive the Viewer role, please contact your college Grants Workflow Administrator.

Report users/creators:

  • All awards data for FY16 and prior will continue to be available as it has been. In the coming months, this data will be moved to and available only in UF Enterprise Reporting.

All awards data for FY17 and forward will be available in UF Enterprise Reporting; however, it will not be available on July 6. We will communicate through these same channels the date when it becomes available, aiming for an August 1 release. The data will be structured differently. FAR more information will be available than was historically. We will be having training classes specifically devoted to the new UFIRST awards reporting tables.

Resources to help:

Questions? Email ufirst@research.ufl.edu

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