SRS Updates

New Videos Available at AnSRS4U Express

AnSRS4U Express are short 5-to-7-minute videos on various research topics.   These videos are designed to give you the necessary information in a brief time frame.   Some recent topics that have been added to the TAMU Sponsored Research Services (SRS) webpage are as follows:  

• Acknowledgement of Federal Funding
• Is it a Gift or a Grant
• Incoming Principal Investigator / Sponsored Project Transfers
• Principal Investigator Departures / Project Transfers
• Cost Transfers

These are located on the SRS website under the Resources tab at AnSRS4U Express – Sponsored Research Services (tamu.edu)

NASA Requires Inclusion Plan for Selected Proposals

Inclusion Plan Pilot Study – A growing number of program elements in ROSES require an Inclusion Plan. Those that do so will indicate this clearly. In general, two pages are allocated for this plan but see individual program elements for the required proposal location and page limits for Inclusion Plans.

Inclusion is defined here as the full participation, belonging, and contribution of groups and individuals within an organization or endeavor. Note that inclusion is distinct and different from diversity. Inclusion requires that all individuals can participate fully, regardless of the diversity dimension, do their best work and advance, and feel welcomed, valued, connected, engaged, and supported to reach their full potential. The Inclusion Plan should focus on inclusion, not diversity or accessibility.

The Inclusion Plan shall clearly state goals for creating and sustaining a positive and inclusive working environment and describe activities to achieve these goals including

• Identify barriers to creating a positive and inclusive working environment that are specific to the team carrying out the proposed investigation.
• Address ways in which the investigation team will work to attenuate or reduce these barriers.
• Describe roles, responsibilities, and work effort for all team members who will be participating in Inclusion Plan activities.
• Show a timeline for completing or carrying out proposed activities.
• Contain assessment mechanisms for evaluating progress towards achieving the proposed Inclusion Plan activities or goals.

Any funding requested for Inclusion Plan-related activities shall be explicitly identified and justified in the Inclusion Plan section and clearly identified in the proposal’s main budget. These will be assessed for reasonableness.  The Inclusion Plan will be assessed for adequacy, appropriateness, and completeness separately from the standard evaluation of the proposal.

NSF New Requirement for a Safe and Inclusive Work Environment

Effective January 30, 2023, with the implementation of the NSF 23-1 PAPPG, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has a new requirement which states that there must be a plan for a safe and inclusive work environment created and distributed to each participant, in advance of departure for an off-campus research activity. Off-campus or off-site research is defined by NSF for this requirement as “data/information/samples being collected off-campus or off-site, such as fieldwork or research activities on vessels and aircraft.”

At the time of proposal submission for each proposal that proposes to conduct research off-campus or off site, the Authorized Organizational Representative must complete a certification that the organization has a plan in place for that proposal.   Thus, prior to the submission of the proposal, Sponsored Research Services (SRS) will require the PI to certify that a plan has been created.  

Several solicitations from the Directorates for Biological Sciences (BIO) and Geological Sciences (GEO) will soon require the submission of a Safe and Inclusive Work Environments Plan that will be considered as part of the Broader Impacts criteria during the review process.

As a reminder, this 2-page supplementary document must address the following four sections:

1. a brief description of the field setting and unique challenges for the team;  
2. the steps the proposing organization will take to nurture an inclusive off-campus or off-site working environment, including processes to establish shared team definitions of roles, responsibilities, and culture, e.g., codes of conduct, trainings, mentor/mentee mechanisms and field support that might include regular check-ins, and/or developmental events;   
3. communication processes within the off-site team and to the organization(s) that minimize singular points within the communication pathway (e.g., there should not be a single person overseeing access to a single satellite phone); and   
4. the organizational mechanisms that will be used for reporting, responding to, and resolving issues of harassment if they arise. 

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