Based upon my experience that would fall into the urban legend category. However, to be fair, I have no experience with R15 grants.

Jessica Ruth Moise
Grants and Contracts Officer
Associate Dean for Sponsored Programs
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
(formerly Mount Sinai School of Medicine)
 (212) 824-8300
 (212) 241-3294 (fax)

GCO has moved to 770 Lexington Avenue!

-----Original Message-----
From: Research Administration List [mailto:xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org] On Behalf Of Johnson, Landy (Director of Grant Development)
Sent: Thursday, June 06, 2013 8:28 AM
To: xxxxxx@lists.healthresearch.org
Subject: [RESADM-L] No Cost Extensions - Unwritten Rule?

I have a first-time NIH grant PI with a question about an "unwritten rule" on no-cost extensions.  She is requesting her first no-cost extension, and under expanded authority I can grant that to her and enter it in the NIH Commons electronically.  She has been told by other researchers  at a large research university that if she has more than 20% of her funds left it cannot be done this way because she will have to provide justification to NIH.

I cannot find anything anywhere about this alleged 20% rule; in fact a no cost extension is supposed to be based on work remaining to be done, not on funds.  However, I asked her to ask her colleagues where they obtained their information, and they tell her the rule is unwritten.  Before I call NIH and potentially sound like an idiot asking about unwritten rules, I thought I'd ask my wonderful colleagues.

Are you aware of the "unwritten 20% rule?"  If it exists, does it pertain to R-15 AREA grants?  Or, is it a vestige of a pre-expanded-authority world?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Landy

----------------------------
Landy C. Johnson, MPA, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Economics and Geography Director of Grant Development Assumption College Provost Suite
500 Salisbury St., Worcester, MA 01609-1296
508-767-7666
xxxxxx@assumption.edu

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 Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including
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