COVID-19 Sponsored Projects Guidance
Institutional Guidance
Effort
Charging of salaries and wages, and associated benefits is considered allowable and should be consistently applied to Federal and non-Federal funds during periods when faculty and staff continue to stay in a paid work status regardless of the work location or work schedule. Except in cases where funding agencies do not allow the charges, sponsored projects affected by COVID-19 may continue to provide salaries and wages, and associated fringe benefits to the project personnel involved in conducting the research affected by the outbreak, if they would have otherwise been allowable. Except in cases where funding agencies do not allow the charges, sponsored projects affected by COVID-19 may continue to provide stipend payments to fellows and trainees who may be unable to work as a result of or related to COVID-19
Personal Protective Equipment PPE
Tufts University has issued guidance regarding on personal protective equipment (PPE) and mask use in research laboratories and the procurement of COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and supplies.
PPE items can be directly charged to a sponsored project account if the:
- project was budgeted for and/or utilized these PPE items pre-COVID, or
- PPE is required by the established SOP for the building, lab or research space, or
- PPE is required to conform with research re-opening needs.
PPE not required to conform with research re-opening requirements (e.g. PPE acquired for the personal preference of the individuals involved) may not be charged to sponsored projects.
The university has a central inventory of PPE that can be used to meet PPE needs. When provided from the central inventory, the costs of PPE provided will be charged to sponsored projects based on the principles for Allocating Expenses to Sponsored Awards.
Sponsor Agency Guidance
Flexibilities Available to AHRQ Recipients and Applicants Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Due to Loss of Operations (NOT-HS-20-010)
Institute of Education Sciences FAQs about the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) for IES Grantees
Fact Sheet: Select Questions Related to Use of Department of Education Grant Funds During the Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019
COVID-19 ("Coronavirus") Information and Resources for Schools and School Personnel
March 17, 2020
“The Education Innovation and Research Program is closely monitoring the situation with COVID-19. We trust that grantees and their partners will comply the national, state, and local directives in response to the continuously emerging issue. As it specifically pertains to Investing in Innovation (i3) as well as Education Innovation and Research (EIR) grants, please be in communication with your program officer regarding any program implications (e.g., cancelled conferences, delayed data collection etc.). We are in the process of establishing general and specific plans on how to handle grant activities that are implicated by the issue and will share further updates soon. “
American Heart Association (AHA)
“AHA will support interim-year carryover requests due to suspension of research projects and allow rebudgeting. AHA will also allow payment of salaries on grants and fellowships for up to 60 days without pre-approval during periods of work stoppage. Should inability to conduct research exceed 60 days, please contact AHA.”
Annie E. Casey Foundation (March 20, 2020)
“If we need to make changes to deadlines or scopes of work — or table some things entirely — please know that we will work with you to craft the best solution possible.”
John Templeton Foundation (March 20, 2020)
“Our first priority is to do all that we can to ensure you have the resources you need to complete your work on time or to make adjustments to project timelines and stated outputs for the grant. We are willing to work with you to consider your requests to revise budgets, change outputs and adjust project timelines.”
MacArthur Foundation (March 20, 2020)
“We not only support you in canceling your current travel and meeting plans through April—we encourage you to do so, as we have. Program Officers will discuss with you any necessary re-purposing of your existing grant funds. Program Officers will also discuss needs to extend grant terms, as well as modification to the terms of your grant agreement, in cases where work cannot be carried out. They will also talk to you about updating reporting deadlines and payment schedules.”
Rockefeller Foundation (March 18, 2020)
“If your grant included funding for an event that was canceled, we are ready to support you to work on a refund or credit, donate goods, hold payments and/or extend or amend the contract to reschedule the event later in the year.”
Sudbury Foundation (April 8, 2020)
“All grant programs are currently on hold for 2020 while we focus funding first on emergency access to food and basic needs, and then on the longer-term impacts of the crisis on our nonprofit partners. The trustees are committed to fulfilling all previous commitments due in 2020.”
Information on NEH and COVID-19 (March 13, 2020)
Personal Protective Equipment FAQs (12/10/2020)
Guidance for Applicants Preparing Applications for the Fall 2020 Due Dates During the COVID-19 Pandemic (July 8, 2020)
Applicant/Recipient COVID-19 Update History (4/7/2020)
Information for Applicants and Recipients of Funding (March 20, 2020)
FAQs on COVID-19 Flexibilities for Applicants and Recipients (3/17/20)
Guidance for NIH-funded Clinical Trials and Human Subjects Studies Affected by COVID-19 (3/16/20)
NIH Guidance on Travel and MeetingsHosted by NIH (3/12/20)
NIH Extramural Response to Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies (3/11/20)
NIH Extramural Response to Natural Disasters and Other Emergencies (3/11/20)
Impact on Existing Deadline Dates
Guidance on NSF’s implementation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum (M-20-20), entitled, Repurposing Existing Federal Financial Assistance Programs and Awards to Support the Emergency Response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).
Important Notice to the Science and Engineering Community (3/23/20)
Coronavirus Information (3/17/20)
NSF Guidance for Major Facilities and Contracts Regarding COVID-19 (3/9/20)
M-20-26: Extension of Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance (COVID-19) (6/18/20)
M-20-22: Preserving the Resilience of the Federal Contracting Base in the Fight Against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (4/17/20)
M-20-21: Implementation Guidance for Supplemental Funding Provided in Response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) (4/10/20)
M-20-20: Repurposing Existing Federal Financial Assistance Programs and Awards to Support the Emergency Response to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) (4/9/20)
M-20-18: Managing Federal Contract Performance Issues Associated with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) (3/20/20)
M-20-17: Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) due to Loss of Operations (3/19/20)
M-20-11: Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) (3/9/20)
The state of Massachusetts has also issued guidance on this topic.
The OVPR will notify the research community of additional guidance where available. Currently federal agencies advise to rely on institutional guidance.
Page updated on July 28, 2020, 11:55 AM