Checklist

NIH Modular Grant Application Procedures

The modular grant application process applies to all NEW and COMPETING research grants – R01, R03, R15, R21, R41, R43 and RFA’s. Guidelines call for budgeting in $25,000 "modular" units up to $250,000 per year in direct costs. See NIH homepage for more details: http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm

Proposal process (NIH/UMass)

I. For NIH:

Budget

If project exceeds $250,000 (direct costs) for any given year, do not follow modular format -- follow normal application procedures in the PHS 398.

Craft budget using $25,000 direct cost modular units.

Do not use budget forms DD (form page 4) and EE (form page 5).

The total modular amount for each year should normally remain constant.

Annual modular budgets must not increase year to year due to COLA’s and inflation. Average in COLA’s and inflation over the life of the project.

Salary cap still applies. Use the salary cap (currently $175,700) if your annualized salary exceeds the cap.

Budget narrative page:

Include total direct costs for each year and the cumulative amount at the top of the page. No "Form Page" exists for the budget narrative section: must improvise.

Under Personnel, List all personnel, including their names, percent of effort, and roles on the project. Include consultants and any "to be named" positions. No individual salary information should be provided. Endeavor not to list effort if salary will not be charged for an individual (UM procedure). However, you may show contributed academic time up to 20% but beyond that level, approval must be secured from the Vice Chancellor for Research. Since this is considered cost-share, the contributed salary must be shown and signed for on the Internal Processing Form. As always, provide an account number for that contributed time.

Variation in the number of $25K modules budgeted must be explained (large equipment purchase, nature of project, etc.)

Consortium/Contractual (Subcontractor) costs: provide an estimate of total costs (direct and indirect) for each year, rounded to the nearest $1,000. List the individuals/organizations, the percent effort of key personnel, and the role of the project. Roll this cost into the overall requested modular direct cost amount. List if subcontractor is foreign or domestic.

See http://www.nih.gov/grants/funding/modular/modular.htm for a sample Budget Narrative page.

Biographical Sketch:

Required for all key personnel.
4 page limit.

Complete educational block at the top of the form page.
List current position(s) and then previous positions.
List selected peer-reviewed publications, with full citations.
Provide information, including overall goals and responsibilities on research projects ongoing or completed during the last 3 years.
See http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketch.pdf for a sample.

Checklist: Identify all exclusions to the indirect cost base used in the calculation of the indirect costs for each and every year. Equipment in excess of $1,000 and that portion of each and every subcontract in excess of $25,000 are typical exclusions.

Forms: use PHS form 398 at the NIH homepage: http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/phs398.html

Hard copies available at OGCA (70 Butterfield Terrace, Research Admin Building) and ORA (same as OGCA).

II. For OGCA

Provide the proposal to OGCA following the NIH Modular procedures listed above.
Follow the University’s standard operating procedures for proposal submission.
Along with the proposal, submit an in-house budget to OGCA which includes:

Itemization of all personnel costs (also show percentage of effort for each position), fringe calculations, equipment, subcontractor total cost if applicable, and one line item that rolls all "other direct costs" into one sum. Provide itemization for each year of the project.
If the project includes administrative costs such as secretarial, telephone, office supplies, memberships and other costs restricted under federal and University CAS policies, provide an itemized listing with thorough justification. Please read the University’s CAS policy prior to crafting budget. See http://www.umass.edu/research/ora/admincost.html.

Note: NIH still requires that its applicants provide proposals based on costing that is allowable, allocable, and reasonable. If you need to round up to the nearest $25K, provide a budget with the rounded up portion in a so-called "unallocated" line item, both on the budget spreadsheet and the IPF.

Internal Processing Form (IPF): Fill out line item budget on the second page of the IPF using the cost categories from the informal in-house budget referenced above. The IPF must be submitted to OGCA in addition to the informal budget summary referenced above. Neither should be substituted for the other.

Contact OGCA at 545-0698 for assistance.