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News & Updates: December 9, 2025

NIH Implementation of Common Forms: January 25, 2026 

The NIH has announced (NOT-OD-26-018) that for due dates on or after January 25, 2026, applicants must use the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support. This requirement applies to all NIH applications, Just In Time, and Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs). This announcement comes after an initial postponement (in Spring 2025). 

Key Changes  

  • SciENcv will generate a digitally certified PDF for NIH applications for all Senior/Key Personnel.  
  • A new NIH Biographical Sketch Supplemental form will capture three required agency-specific data elements: Personal Statement, Contributions to Science, and Honors.  

 ORCID ID Requirement  

  • Senior/Key Personnel must obtain an ORCID ID and enter it in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the Common Forms.  
  • ORCID IDs must also be linked to eRA Commons Personal Profiles.  

Resources 

Research Administrators:   

 Encourage your Faculty to:   

Research Security Training (RST) Requirements  

As of October 1, 2025, Northwestern requires verification of Research Security Training for all Federal proposal submissions. This is to streamline internal processes as various agencies implement their specific requirements in recent and coming months. This is an internal, hard-stop requirement, similar to Conflict of Interest (COI) training. 

Compliance with RST is also checked at the following stages:  

  • Just-in-Time 
  • Award set up 
  • Progress report submission 
  • Award modifications including NCEs or those that add new senior/key personnel 

Northwestern verifies compliance using the Training Verification Tool, which captures completion of the Northwestern RST module in MyHR. Note: If off campus, VPN is required to access the verification tool. 

Subawardees and Other Collaborators 

Subawardee compliance will be verified by certification language provided in the Letter of Intent. If a subawardee does not use Northwestern’s LOI template, their LOI must include an equivalent statement confirming that the institution complies with all federal agency research security requirements. 

In instances where a consultant or other non-subawardee collaborator is considered senior/key personnel, you may have to provide copies of training certificates with the CERES record to document compliance. 

NIH 

Research Security Training (RST) Requirements for NIH (NOT-OD-26-017) 

NSF 

Important Notice No. 149: Updates to NSF Research Security Policies 

Note: NSF has added RST certifications to the new Common Forms; please ensure that PI’s are using the most up-to-date versions.  

Resources    

Final Report Compliance 

In accepting an award, the University and principal investigator accept responsibility for all sponsor reporting requirements, including both technical/programmatic deliverables and financial reports. 

Sponsored Research has received a significantly higher-than-usual number of overdue notices for NIH Final RPPRs as of December 1. This trend is concerning, as timely compliance with reporting requirements is essential to maintaining the University’s eligibility for continued research funding. Failure to submit required reports can have serious consequences for both individual PIs and the institution as a whole. 

We recognize that some overdue notices are tied to Final Financial Reports (FFRs), which cannot be submitted until the University receives payment. These reports will continue to trigger overdue notices, but Sponsored Research expects them to clear once funds are released. 

By contrast, Final RPPRs are not impacted by the federal funding freeze (except for awards subject to termination or appeal). These reports must be submitted on time, and late submissions are not acceptable. Please note that Sponsored Research only submits final performance reports when our involvement is needed due to a sponsor signature policy or system requirement (e.g., Commons or ProposalCentral). All other technical reports are the responsibility of the Principal Investigator and should be submitted in a timely manner.  

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