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.

What's New?

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.

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.

SPA Subteam Update:  Effective immediately, for all general questions, new inquiries on expected processing times, or triaging, please email the Subteam Red & White: SPA-Subteam@umaryland.edu (one email address for both teams). Do not re-send inquiry emails.

NIH 2023 Data Management and Sharing PolicyThe new policy is now in effect for all new and competing proposals/renewals for projects that generate Scientific Data. Guidance for PIs

Guidance for Kuali Research attachments and budget

Announcements about Federal Funding and Awards 

Creating People- and System-Friendly PDF Attachments

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 include mention as to 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)

eRA Commons two-factor authentication requirement - NOT-OD-21-172: eRA has initiated a phased approach to enforce a two-factor authentication requirement for the NIH recipient community

Article link   -   Download detailed instructions

Reminder Regarding Recipient and Applicant Grants Policy Related InquiriesNIH 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, recipient/applicant’s AOR, not the PD/PI, may submit policy-related inquiries on the organization’s behalf to the NIH grants policy inbox." 
At UMB, work with your SPA Team on general grants and grants policy matters. SPA's alpha index of this website may be helpful in researching a question.

Stop using Internet Explorer! As of July 19, 2021, eRA Commons discontinued support of IE to safeguard against security and interoperability concerns. IE is also related to errors in Kuali Research access and viewing. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Microsoft Edge can be used to access eRA modules and for Kuali Research.

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!

How to find Status Updates for Agreements

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 will be submitted to NSF via Fastlane.
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 Fastlane, ASSIST, or Workspace, follow the instructions for 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