Making Research Work: Record ‘Other Support’ when applying for federal grants

Federal grant making agencies continue to revise and update guidance on expectations for Other Support (also known as Current and Pending Support) documents in grant applications. It is important that researchers are aware of these changes and guidance. RSP previously released updated guidance on Other Support documentation in Notice 2019 – 3.

Going forward, the information that senior/key personnel include on Other Support may differ from previous practice. To help researchers understand what must be provided, RSP has posted guidance on Other Support. Remember that Other Support information may be required during the proposal process, as part of Just-In-Time, or in progress reports. All of these areas will be closely monitored by funding agencies.

To better align with funding agency expectations, the following types of funding or resources should be included on Other Support:

• Internal funds resulting from a proposal with a budget. All financial resources made available to investigators to further their research endeavors should be disclosed. Examples include WARF Fall Competition funds, SEED Research Program or Draper Technology funds, Research Service Grants, and Thompson Center awards.

While internal funds are typically NOT included on Effort Reporting statements, an appropriate level of effort (% or calendar months) must be included on the Other Support documents. The estimation of this effort should be commensurate with the level of effort expected on these internal funds. If an amount of time was not enumerated in the budget, a reasonable amount of effort may be between 1% – 5% (0.12 – 0.6 calendar months) for each internally funded award.

• Other resources made available to investigators. All resources made available to researchers or senior key personnel in support of and/or related to all of their research endeavors, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value and regardless of whether they are based at the institution the researcher identifies for the current grant. This may include such things as reagents, compounds, or equipment that are uniquely available to the researcher and not available for shared use. Another example would be a visiting scholar supported by funds other than 144 or 133 whose work contributes to the individual’s research endeavors. These items may need to be disclosed on Other Support/Current and Pending Support or other specific sections of the grant application such as “facilities, equipment, and other resources” sections.

 

• Support from foreign academic institutions and other entities. All collaborations and affiliations with foreign entities that provide funding or require a commitment of time must be reported, if in support of research endeavors.  This may include foreign grants and contracts, whether provided through University of Wisconsin-Madison, another institution, or to the researcher directly; any contractual agreement with a foreign institution or government agency; or any non-University of Wisconsin-Madison agreement in which foreign funds or other resources are provided to the faculty for activities either at University of Wisconsin–Madison or at a foreign institution.

We urge you to pay close attention to Federal agency guidance when preparing Other Support. We will update RSP’s Other Support website as new information becomes available.

If you have any questions or concerns about Other Support, please reach out to your Dean’s office research contacts or a member of the RSP Proposal team: https://rsp.wisc.edu/proposalprep/. Thank you for your consideration.

 

Steven A. Ackerman

Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education