Current and Pending / Other Support for Proposals and Awards

Many funding agencies require the submission of information about active and pending support for ongoing projects and proposals to prevent scientific, budgetary, or commitment overlap. This information is used by the funding agencies to assess the capacity of the individual to carry out the research as proposed as well as to help assess any potential overlap/duplication with the project being proposed. It includes all resources made available to an individual in support of and/or related to all of their research efforts, regardless of whether or not they have monetary value. Current and pending support information may need to be submitted to the federal agencies for the PI and other key personnel on the project as applicable during proposal submission and at various points of sponsored award lifecycle.

Below is general guidance on what to include in Current and Pending/Other Support documents, as well as the role of the Principal Investigator (PI), Local Research Administrator (LRA), and the OVPR Pre-Award in preparing these documents. Please be sure to check the specific guidelines of your funding agency. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Science Foundation have issued detailed guidance (see NIH Other Support and NSF Current and Pending Support). NIH and NSF have also provided templates/tools for creating this information for submission:

NIH format: Other Support sample - competing; Other support sample – non-competing.

NSF Approved formats for creating current & pending support are SciENcv and NSF Fillable PDF.

What to include in Current and Pending/Other Support:

  • Sponsored awards from federal and non-federal sponsors
    • For NIH, the proposal/award for which current and pending support is submitted does not to be included
      • For Just-in-Time (JIT) for new completing NIH grants include ACTIVE, PENDING, OVERLAP (including plan to reduce effort if applicable)
      • For NIH Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) include: ACTIVE, OVERLAP, INACTIVE
    • For NSF, include the proposal/award for which current and pending support must be included
  • Sponsored awards on which the PI has a time/financial commitment that are administered by institutions other than Tufts University, including institutions in foreign countries
  • Internal awards – Include when the award is in direct support of the research project in question and when it supports effort
  • Commercial funds
  • Consulting agreements – Include if the individual’s consulting efforts support their research endeavors. Consulting that is considered part of an individual's appointment/agreement with Tufts University and consistent with the university policies and procedures regarding outside activities for faculty do not need to be disclosed
  • Start up packages from organizations other than Tufts University
  • In kind lab and office space provided by an organization outside of Tufts University
  • Appointments outside Tufts University for all positions, domestic and international, including titled academic, professional or institutional and regardless whether full-time, part-time, voluntary, adjunct, visiting, or if remuneration is received
  • Affiliations (even if described as honorary) with foreign entities or governments, including talents programs
  • Foreign scholarships, awards, and other financial support made directly to laboratory personnel, including graduate students or postdoctoral fellows, who are working on the research in the investigator’s lab
  • Mentoring activities that are not part of Tufts University appointment and for which in-kind support is received either directly or through Tufts University
  • An items or services given with the expectation of an associated time commitment, including scientific materials even if they have no monetary value.


What not to include in Current and Pending/Other Support:

  • Tufts University start up packages
  • Salary from Tufts University budget, including endowed professorships
  • Internal awards if the award does not directly support the research project in question
  • Consulting agreements if the individual’s consulting efforts do not support their research endeavors
  • Mentoring activities that take place as part of the regular appointment at Tufts
  • Prizes
  • Gifts: if an item or service meets the definition of a gift, it is not reported. A gift is given without expectation of anything in return.
    • A gift includes any gratuity, favor, discount, entertainment, hospitality, loan, forbearance, license, special access, equipment time, samples, research data, or other item having monetary value.
    • A gift also includes services as well as gifts of training, transportation, local travel, lodging, meals, research hours, whether provided in-kind, by purchase of a ticket, payment in advance, or reimbursement after the expense has occurred.
    • Please note that for NIH and NSF the in-kind contribution that is intended for use on the project/proposal being proposed must be included as part of the Facilities and Other Resources section of the proposal and need not be replicated in the individual’s current and pending support submission.

Who does what to prepare Current and Pending / Other Support:

LRA: List active awards and pending proposals recorded in Tufts systems. This is the only included information that an LRA has access to within Tufts. For Current and Pending/Other Support information from collaborators, LRA obtains the information from the partnering institutions.

PI: Add all other required information, and review all information for accuracy.

Pre-Award review: Ensure listed effort adds to no more than 100% or 12 months, adherence to minimum effort requirement on award if any, note any significant changes that may require prior approval. Pre-Award receives Current and Pending/Other Support information from the LRA and submits to the sponsor.

 

Links and Resources:

Tufts FAQs about New NIH Requirements for Biosketches and Other Support

NIH Other Support 

NOT-OD-19-114: Reminders of NIH Policies on Other Support and on Policies related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components

NIH Open Mike: Clarifying Long-Standing NIH Policies on Disclosing Other Support

NIH Other Support sample - competing; Other support sample – non-competing

Person Months Conversion Chart

NSF-Approved Formats for Current and Pending Support

NSF FAQs on Current and Pending Support

SciENcv