Memo sent to RAC 2/10/26
Dear Colleagues,
NIH policy notice NOT-OD-26-018 implemented the use of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other Support) for proposals with due dates on or after January 25, 2026.
In addition, as part of this new policy, all senior/key personnel must certify their non-participation in a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP).
This certification is required as follows:
- At Application: Via the Common Form for Biographical Sketch.
- Annually (on/after January 25, 2026): Within the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). Senior/key personnel must certify annually to their participation or non-participation in an MFTRP by uploading a certification statement in Section G.1 of the RPPR.
SPA has developed a form to collect these certifications for senior/key personnel at the RPPR stage. At this time, senior/key personnel are defined as anyone that was included in the proposal as senior/key personnel (unless officially removed from the project). This form can be found here: NIH RPPR MFTRP Certification Please access this form from the website as it may be updated.
Departments are responsible for collecting and including in the RPPR the certifications from the following:
- All UMB Senior/Key personnel,
- All Subrecipient senior/key personnel, and/or
- All other external senior key personnel on the project.
The file for each senior/key person must be named ‘MFTRPcert_[Name].pdf’ without quotations, where ‘[Name]’ is the name of the senior/key person.
More information about Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs can be found on the SPA Research Security website and in UMB Policy. III-11.0: Policy Prohibiting Participation in Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs and Requiring Disclosure of Participation in Foreign Talent Recruitment Programs.
Updated instructions for completion of RPPRs can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/sites/default/files/rppr_instruction_guide.pdf
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Jill
Jill A. Frankenfield
Associate Vice President, Sponsored Programs Administration