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Other / Current & Pending Support

Northwestern Guidance

In recent years, many Federal agencies have clarified their instructions regarding financial support and resources available to university researchers for their research  and there is an increased focus on overseeing compliance. Federal sponsors are requesting: 1) Candid and thorough accounts of other support for research programs and 2) Disclosure of any foreign component of the research. Agencies and sponsors may have varying requirements and guidelines regarding the formatting, documentation and specific information for biosketches, Other Support, and Current and Pending Support disclosures.

General Guidance

General Rules of Thumb

  • All means all: “All” means any time commitment and any resources available to the research program, whether at Northwestern or elsewhere, including: funding (whether contributing salary support or not), access to lab space, funded visitors, and materials/in-kind resources not generally available to all
  • If you’re unsure about including something, it’s better to be transparent and include it rather than leave it out.

In addition to Other Support / Current and Pending documents, other opportunities to disclose support include:

  • Biosketches
  • Facilities/other resources
  • Progress reports

Note: Current sponsor guidance should always take precedent over general advice provided on this page.

Inclusions & Signatures

Other Support: Required Inclusions 

Effective January 25, 2022, and subject only to sponsor-announced changes, Other Support must include the following:

  1. Active support
  2. Pending support
  3. In-kind support
  4. Foreign appointments and contract documentation (subject to NIH criteria)
  5. Investigator signature (see additional information below)

Completed or inactive support will no longer be required as part of Other Support.

Other Support: Acceptable Signatures 

NIH will not accept wet signatures on Other Support. Other Support submissions must be submitted as a flattened PDF, after all signatures are obtained. See Format Attachments for more details. A typed name is not an electronic signature and is not acceptable. For Northwestern University investigators, compliant signatures must be DocuSign signatures or Adobe-verified signatures with a digital ID. For subaward institutions, Northwestern will defer to the determinations made by those institutions regarding compliant signatures under the NIH rules.

Note on Adobe signatures: Using the signature functionality built into Adobe Acrobat Pro (“Fill & Sign”) is not an acceptable option. This methodology is not the same as digitally signing and certifying with Adobe and does not yield an Adobe-verified signature.

Investigator Responsibilities

Investigator Responsibilities for Completion of Other/Current and Pending Support Documents

Consistent with federal agency expectations and requirements, Northwestern University requires that every disclosure to an external funding agency of an investigator’s active, pending, or previous sources of support for research and other sponsored activities be true, complete, and accurate to the best of the investigator’s knowledge. It is the investigator’s responsibility to ensure the accuracy of other support documents, in accord with the application guidelines or the sponsor’s instructions. False, fictitious, or fraudulent statements or claims (including intentional omissions) may result in administrative, civil, or criminal penalties.

As sponsor guidance may change, Sponsored Research recommends that investigators and departmental staff pay close attention to the sponsor’s instructions in the solicitation and/or related policy guide on how to prepare these documents.

Time Commitment Specifics

Any activity conducted within the scope of an Investigator’s Northwestern appointment that provides funding or requires a quantifiable commitment of time must be reported. Commitments are regular obligations of time (part of an investigator’s regular activities, except teaching), but not short-term obligations, such as attending a meeting and making a presentation.

  • Activities that provide funding or have a quantifiable commitment of time are typically – but not exclusively – Federal or Non-Federal sponsored projects.
  • Reportable outside activities and collaborations occurring in the summer should be included.
  • If an investigator has a quantifiable commitment for an activity but is receiving no salary support from the activity (salary is cost shared by the University), that activity must be reported.
  • Awards resulting from internally-funded competitions, should be included only if there is measurable effort.
  • All collaborations and affiliations that provide funding, resources (even in-kind), or require a commitment of time must be reported, whether foreign or domestic.

As appropriate:

  • Include the proposal being submitted as a pending proposal.
  • Address potential overlap or over-commitments. As this is a primary concern of Federal agencies, please be clear in your explanations.
  • List projects with no-cost extensions.
  • Update information as much as possible (e.g., remove outdated proposals or expired awards) unless specifically requested by sponsor, such as DoD.

Foreign Influence

Please refer to the following guidance from the Office of the Vice President for Research:

Federal Agency Guidance

NIH

NSF

Other Federal Agencies

Department of Defense (DOD)

Reference the eBRAP Funding Opportunities and Forms page and click on the relevant funding opportunity. 

  • A link to the current/applicable version of the Application Instructions for that opportunity will be included.
  • Navigate to the Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile section, which includes guidance on Previous/Current/Pending Support, Research Support, Positions and Appointments, Resources, and Other Projects and Activities.

Department of Energy (DOE)

Department of Energy Current and Pending Support Disclosure Guidance