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News & Updates: June 16, 2025

New Annual Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program Certification for PIs/co-PIs 

 Starting on June 7, 2025, in accordance with the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) Chapter II.D.1.e(ii), all PIs or co-PIs named on an NSF proposal or any NSF award made on or after May 20, 2024, must certify annually in Research.gov that they are not party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP). Individuals who are currently a party to a MFTRP are not eligible to serve as senior/key personnel on an NSF proposal or on any NSF award made on or after May 20, 2024.  

 Key Points for PIs to Know: 

  • Impacted PIs and co-PIs will be prompted to complete the MFTRP certification after signing into Research.gov. 
  • PIs and co-PIs with more than one active award made on or after May 20, 2024, are only required to certify once annually.  
  • Once completed, PIs and co-PIs can view their MFTRP certification response under the Academic/Professional Information section of their profile. 
  • Sponsored Research staff cannot view/access certification status; PIs are responsible for ensuring that their certification is current and that the proposal passes all validations.  

For more information, including FAQs and MFTRP contract examples, refer to the MFTRP section of the Office of the Chief of Research Security Strategy and Policy website.  

Indirect Cost Rate Guidance for Proposals to Federal Sponsors 

At this time, Northwestern will only submit proposals to federal sponsors and accept awards from our federal sponsors using our federally negotiated indirect (F&A) cost rate. Any awards received at a 15% rate will not be accepted or set up.  

When preparing a proposal to any federal sponsor that has implemented a 15% indirect cost rate, use Northwestern’s federally negotiated indirect cost rate for your budget calculations and reference F&A Language for Budget Justifications for the appropriate language to include in your budget justification. 

The Department of Defense issued a memorandum on June 12, 2025, implementing an IDC cap of 15%. This policy is currently being challenged in the federal court. 

Advance and At-Risk Accounts Process Changes 

Sponsored Research (SR) is resuming Advance and At-Risk Account processing in CERES under new requirements. Departments should carefully determine whether their “pre-spend” request falls into an advance or at-risk category and ensure all required documentation is included to avoid delays. Approval from the Associate Dean for Research or the respective school is required in all cases and should be added as an attachment in the CERES request. 

 Key Updates: 

  • Incoming Subawards: Require documentation confirming the prime award has been funded and is in process to be sent to Northwestern. 
  • Federal Advance Accounts: Require documentation confirming the sponsor award is forthcoming. 
  • Federal Continuations: These are currently being automatically extended, eliminating the need for at-risk account requests. 
  • Non-Federal Requests: Require documentation confirming the sponsor award is forthcoming. 

School Approval: 

Please consult with your school’s Dean’s Office on the mechanism to obtain school approval. At minimum, school approval requires confirmation that: 1) the award supports an existing project and personnel, and 2) no other funds are available. 

For more detailed information reference the slides from the June 2025 CLEAR Meeting. 

Proposals and Award Acceptance Team Updates 

The SR Proposals and Award Acceptance Team has announced updates to capsule assignments and would like to share best practices for Award Modification Requests (AMRs) and guidance on handling amendments. 

 New Capsule Assignments for Associate SROs 

  • Nsa Druinaud – Capsule 5 
  • Dan Megyeri – Capsule 7 

 AMR Best Practices 

To streamline post-award requests, follow these guidelines: 

  • Sponsor Deadlines: If an AMR has a sponsor deadline, include it in the AMR short title. 
  • Update Requests: Do not use log comments for updates—email through the CERES parent award record instead. 
  • Account Code AMRs: 

Amendments 

  • Signature Requests: Send amendments requiring a signature to: sponsoredresearch@northwestern.edu. 
  • Supplemental Funding: If an amendment adds funding beyond the original proposal, a Revision FP record is required. Do not use a Continuation record. Instructions can be found on page 101 of the CERES Grants Reference Guide. [Access the guide via the “Attachments” section at right and navigate to page 101.]