In this Newsletter

The partial federal shutdown drags on. The following agencies are open and coinducting business as usual.

However, the following agencies are closed. Most are still accepting proposals through electronic systems at their previously posted due dates and will not accept late proposals, but the electronic systems are not guaranteed to continue operating.

If you have an existing grant from one of these agencies, you should continue research and expenditures as usual for the time being (unless the agency issues a stop work order). It's possible if the shutdown continues another month or two, the university will need to ask PIs to minimize spending, but I;'ve been assured its not necessary at this time.

Its possible, particularly for contracts from mission agencies and applied research, the agency will issue a stop work notice on a particular award, in which case expenditures should stop until the government opens.

If you have a proposal that is under view with a strong commitment of funding you can apply for a prea-ward spending. see https://research.ucr.edu/spa/lifecycle/pre-award-administration.aspx

Unfortunately, when the government reopens there will be a backlog of proposals to review and panels to reschedule and its likely that awards will be considerably later this year. I'm an optimist, i said "when" nor "if" the government opens.

It's also possible a large snowstorm will close the agencies right after opening since Washington doesn't deal with snow very well.

The U.S. Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, also known as the ‘Common Rule,’ is the baseline standard of research ethics by which research in the U.S. is held; nearly all U.S. academic institutions hold their researchers to these standards regardless of funding. UC applies the commensurate protections within the Common Rule to all human subjects research studies.

A revised final rule was published by DHHS and 15 other Federal Agencies in the  Federal Register in 2017 and was amended to delay the effective and compliance dates to January 21, 2019. This revised rule strengthens protections for people who volunteer to participate in research, while ensuring that the oversight system does not add inappropriate administrative burdens, particularly to low-risk research. It also allows more flexibility in keeping with today’s dynamic research environment. 

 

Some of the major regulation changes are highlighted below:

 

•       Exempt Research - There are new exemption categories and clarification of existing categories. Although the UC system has already been exercising the new exempt category for certain research, UC will not be pursuing ‘broad consent’ exemption (new categories 7 & 8) at this time because it requires institutional-level tracking of individuals who decline to provide consent. As before, the researchers must have their exempt applications approved by the IRB prior to beginning their study.

•       Informed Consent - A new "Key Information" section and a re-arrangement of content is designed to provide potential research subjects with a better understanding of the study, including its risks and benefits, so they can make a more fully informed decision about participation.

•       Definition of Human Subject – Specifically includes identifiable bio-specimens

•       Continuing Review - No longer required for some minimal risk studies. This change only applies to new studies approved after Jan 21 ^st, 2019.

•       Vulnerable Populations - Pregnant women, ‘handicapped,’ and physically disabled individuals are no longer listed as populations vulnerable to coercion or undue influence.

Starting January 21, 2019, all new and pending (currently in the review process) IRB applications will be subject to the revised rule. For applications that are still pending (not yet approved) following the effective date, additional revisions may be requested in order to comply with the revised Rule. Studies approved prior to January 21, 2019 will remain under the former Common Rule.

 

RED’s Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is committed to providing our researchers with easy-to-digest information and can be reached via email at [email protected] for specific questions. The ORI is working on updating its forms, website and relevant resources to comply with the revised regulations.

   

For additional information on revised Common Rule, please review our Revised Common Rule FAQs.

 

Please contact the ORI with any questions or concerns. 

A significant change you should be aware of is a tighter restriction on the Synergistic Activities section of the bio sketch: Only five things can be listed and not five categories of things.

Please see PROPOSAL and AWARD POLICIES and PROCEDURES GUIDE for all changes including:

Chapter I.D.3, Full Proposals, incorporates reminders regarding the importance of strict adherence to the rules of proper scholarship and attribution throughout the entire proposal and award lifecycle, including: proposing or performing research funded by NSF; reviewing research proposals submitted to NSF; or reporting research results funded by NSF. Serious failure to adhere to such standards can result in findings of research misconduct.

Chapter IV.E, Resubmission, has been revised to establish that NSF programs that accept proposals at any time may have guidelines in which a declined proposal is ineligible for resubmission for a specified period of time.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) is sponsoring a Proposers Day to provide information to potential proposers on the objectives of an anticipated Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Materials, Architectures and Characterization for Hypersonics (MACH) program. The Proposers Day will be held on January 22, 2019 from 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM at the Executive Conference Center (4075 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22203). The event will be webcast for those who would like to participate remotely. Advance registration is required both for attending the Proposers Day in person and for viewing the webcast.

 

The goals of the MACH Proposers Day are to: (a) introduce the research community to the MACH program vision and goals; (b) explain the mechanics of a DARPA program and the milestones of this particular effort, and (c) encourage and promote teaming arrangements among potential organizations that have the relevant expertise, facilities, and capabilities for executing a research and development program responsive to the MACH program goals.

 

Additional information regarding this special notice can be found at the following link:

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-19-18/listing.html

The Cancer Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) is a systemwide, faculty-directed cancer research program that provides one-year seed grants for topics in any discipline that address any aspect of cancer, including its origins, prevention , and cure. CRCC funds support meritorious research spanning all areas from basic research to applied clinical and community-based research in any field relevant to cancer. Currently, the CRCC awards grants to:

·         New UC faculty to initiate cancer research projects;

·         Established investigators in other areas of research to initiate cancer research projects;

·         Established cancer investigators to initiate cancer studies in new areas.

Attached is the CRCC Request for Proposals for award year 2020. Proposals must be submitted by a member of the Academic Senate at one of the ten UC campuses who serves as the PI for the award. A Letter of Intent (LOI) is required. Please refer to the attached RFP for funding priorities, eligibility, application guidelines and additional information.

Key Dates:

Applicant Teleconference (optional)*:      Wednesday, January 9, 2019 at 1pm PT (register here )                     

Required Letters of Intent Due:                 Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 12:00 PM PT

Notification of LOI Decision:                       Monday, February 4, 2019         

Full Proposals Due:                                        Thursday, April 4, 2019

*The applicant teleconference is strongly encouraged for new applicants and for previous applicants who are not familiar with proposalCENTRAL.

Additional Information:

For questions on program scope and priorities, please contact:  [email protected]

Administrative questions regarding the application process may be directed to: [email protected]

We also encourage you to check our website for any updates or announcements. 

UCR’s Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is proud to present the next talk in the ORI Seminar Series . The seminars focus on ethical dilemmas and hot topics in human subjects research.

ORI is partnering with UCR’s Department of Psychology to present this seminar, entitled “ Sharing Information on Water Sustainability: Research with Children and Hard-to reach Populations ”. It will be led by. Daniel Harmon from UCR’s Cognitive Development Laboratory. This seminar will take place on Wednesday, February 13 at 2:00 PM in HUB260.

This talk will focus on research examining how children acquire information in classrooms and share that information with their parents during relevant out-of-school situations. Daniel will explore the difficulties and ethical considerations with obtaining child and parent information at different times while collaborating with non-academic agencies.

Daniel Harmon is interested in examining how people learn scientific information in the world around them, the sociocultural and personal factors that influence that learning, and people's motivations for adopting environmentally sustainable attitudes and behaviors. His current research investigates how children develop the skills to understand scientific issues (e.g., climate change) and convey that information to adults, as well as what messages most effectively motivate people to use water in more sustainable ways.

This seminar is free and open to the public. No registration is required but seating is limited.

These can all be found by clicking here: Pivot and Grant, Fellowship Funding Calendars

For assistance, contact Lauren Savord, Sr. Grant Writer, CHASS

Thursday, January 24

8:59pm  CAORC Inaugural NEH Humanities Sr Scholar Fellowships (FPIRI) for Post-doc Fellowships

8:59pm CAORC Multi-Country Research Fellowship

Monday, January 28

5:00pm NSF EAGER on AI and Society (by invitation only)

Thursday, January 31

  Center for Retirement Research

  NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions

  NEH Sustaining Cultural Heritage Collections

Friday, February 1

  A.W. Mellon Jr Faculty Fellowship in Medieval Studies

  ACOR-CAORC Post-Doctoral Fellowships

  American Academy in Rome

  American Institute of Pakistan Studies

  CalHumanities "Humanities for All" Project Grants

  The Jefferson Scholars/Hagley Fellowship

  UCLA Center for 17th & 18th-Century Studies Fellowships

8:59am US-Japan Creative Artist Fellowships

Saturday, February 2

9:00am NSF Science, Technology, & Society

Monday, February 4

  UCHRI UCOP Faculty Research Fellowships in the Humanities

Tuesday, February 5

3:00pm Haynes Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships

5:00pm  Natl Library of Medicine Grants in Biomedical Informatics &Data Science (RO1)

Wednesday, February 6

8:59pm NEH Public Scholar Program

Friday, February 15

  American Historical Assc 2019 Research Grants

  CalHumanities "Humanities for All" Quick Grants

  Whatcom Museum Jacobs Research Fund Kinkade Grant

  Whatcom Museum Jacobs Research Funds

Thursday, February 21

8:59pm NEH Summer Seminars & Institutes for Higher Education

The National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR) wishes to notify the community of its intention to support fundamental research on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) learning for persons with disabilities, such as dyslexia or autism. NSF intends to foster the development of fundamental knowledge in STEM teaching and learning for persons with disabilities, in both formal and informal contexts, from the earliest developmental stages of life through participation in the workforce. This notification identifies opportunities for such research and development through the following programs:

NSF invites proposals focused explicitly on advancing knowledge about STEM teaching, learning, and workforce development for individuals with disabilities. Research in disabilities education includes fundamental research about learners (of all ages) with disabilities, with a particular focus on efforts to understand and address disability-based differences in STEM teaching and learning and workforce preparation and participation. Proposers are encouraged to explore a wide range of fundamental and applied research and development projects that may address, but are not limited to, such areas as:

In addition, NSF is interested in supporting proposals focused on building capacity for research on STEM education for persons with disabilities through synthesis projects and conferences related to advancing research and understanding of individuals with disabilities.

More information can be found here: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2019/nsf19033/nsf19033.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

Here's a photo of a Townsend's warbler that has been spending the winter in my neighborhood.