Sponsored Programs Administration

Throughout the life of your proposal and award, Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) provides oversight and administrative support to investigators and departmental administrators.

UMB investigators were awarded $654 million in research, service, and training awards in Fiscal Year 2022. SPA works with you to submit competitive proposals, negotiate agreements, and navigate the world of sponsored programs administration.

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Frequently Used Links

What's New?

NSF Biosketches - SciENcv MUST be used for the preparation of National Science Foundation (NSF) biosketches and current and pending support documents for new proposals submitted or due on or after October 23, 2023.  SciENcv information

NIH Data Management and Sharing Plans - change to budget instructions coming soon: Effective for applications submitted for due dates on or after October 5, 2023, NIH will no longer require the use of the single DMS cost line item. While the single cost line item is no longer required, NIH will require applicants to specify estimated DMS cost details within the “Budget Justification” attachment of the R&R Budget Form or “Additional Narrative Justification” attachment of the PHS 398 Modular Budget Form, pursuant to the instructions.

Checklists:  Check out our new Checklists page!

Reminder for Centers/Institutes:  If you are routing from a Center or Institute, the PI's department of academic appointment is listed under Key Persons on the PI's Unit Details tab. The lead unit and ONE unit of appointment should be listed on this tab. The lead unit cannot be deleted or changed, but an incorrect unit should be corrected and any "extra" unit can and should be deleted. This information is part of the data that is shared with Quantum Analytics and it is important for the PI's unit of academic appointment to be accurate.

Reminder about the inclusion of URLs, email addresses, and hyperlinks in Letters of Support for NIH Applications. The Form H application guide states:  “Use of hyperlinks and URLs in Letters of Support is not allowed unless specified in the funding opportunity announcement.”

Hyperlinks and URLs are only allowed when specifically noted in NIH funding opportunities and/or form field instructions. NIH instructions for formatting attachments.

NIH 2023 Data Management and Sharing Policy:  Follow this policy for all new and competing proposals/renewals for projects that generate Scientific Data. Guidance for PIs

Guidance for Kuali Research attachments and budget

More announcements about federal funding and awards ▾

Creating People- and System-Friendly PDF Attachments

Revising the NIH/AHRQ/NIOSH Post-Submission Material Policy - NOT-OD-23-106 - the updated policy contains new limitations and restrictions on post-submission materials and is effective for applications submitted for the May 25, 2023 receipt date and beyond.

NOT-OD-22-129, NIH Harassment Reporting Mandate:  NIH recipient institutions are expected to provide safe and healthful working conditions for their employees and foster work environments conducive to high-quality research. As a recipient of NIH funds, UMB is now required to report to the Director of the NIH when an individual identified as a principal investigator or as key personnel in an NIH notice of award is removed from their position or is otherwise disciplined due to concerns about harassment, bullying, retaliation, or hostile working conditions. UMB's Office of Accountability and Compliance and SPA will coordinate to review and submit any such reports.

As always, submit complaints and concerns to the UMB Hotline. 

In addition, prior approval requests to NIH for changes in PD/PI or other Senior/Key personnel or a change in recipient institution should state whether the change(s) are related to concerns about safety and/or work environments (e.g., due to concerns about harassment, bullying, retaliation, or hostile working conditions) (NIH Grants Policy Statement 8.1.2)

Reminder Regarding Recipient and Applicant Grants Policy Related Inquiries - NIH NOT-OD-21-151 - "As a reminder, inquiries regarding general grants-policy matters are best directed first to the recipient’s Office of Sponsored Programs; specifically, the AOR. In rare instances where these contacts are not able to assist in resolving the inquiry or determine a need to seek guidance from the NIH on a complex or unusual policy circumstance, the recipient/applicant’s AOR, not the PD/PI, may submit policy-related inquiries on the organization’s behalf to the NIH grants policy inbox." 
Work with your SPA Team at UMB on general grants and grants policy matters. SPA's alpha index of this website may be helpful in researching a question.

Sponsored Programs Important Information ▾

What number goes where for resubmissions, renewals and changed/corrected proposals? Review our instructions for Entering Award IDs and Institutional Proposal IDs. This guidance covers proposal resubmissions, renewals, and supplements.

When submitting a DOD PreApplication and Full Application the person to be contacted on these matters involving this application should be Christine To’alepai. The PreApplication and Full Application must have the same name or they will not link correctly in eBrap, which is the DOD’s system for submitting proposals.

NCEs for CCT Agreements:  When requesting a No Cost Extension on an agreement that has been negotiated and signed by CCT, please use the SPA NCE form and also have it signed by CCT prior to sending it to SPA for processing. This will speed up the processing to SPAC.

International engagement - information about required disclosures of foreign ties

Subaward budgets - Avoid submission errors!

KR Training - Any staff who will need the Department Pre-award User role in KR must take this class. Other users are welcome. Register here

NSF proposals are submitted to NSF via Research.gov.
NIH U- and P-series proposals should be submitted via NIH ASSIST.
For other federal grant proposals, if the opportunity you search for does not appear in the results or if you get an error message, contact your SPA team to confirm how the proposal will be submitted to the sponsor. User Attached Forms may be available to resolve the error. With SPA approval you may prepare the proposal for submission via Grants.gov Workspace or NIH ASSIST.
If your proposal will be submitted via Research.gov, ASSIST, or Workspace, follow the instructions for non-S2S proposals. Proposal Development Guide: Non-S2S Proposals

Sponsored Programs Basics:  This video is intended for those new to sponsored programs and research administration. Share the link with your new hires!

Kuali Research instructions and resources

Distribution List Information: SPA and SPAC use email distribution lists to facilitate communications with department administration. To add or remove an email from your unit's distribution list, contact: Information Services for School of Medicine (help@som.umaryland.edu); Dean’s Offices for Schools of Dentistry, Nursing, Pharmacy, and part of Social Work; Colin Hunter in CITS for School of Law, part of School of Social Work, Central Administration users

Federal and Sponsor Notices and Information: More policy updates and links to listservs, blogs, and more