Re: NSF PO telling PI that NSF does not like to provide summer support Lawrence Waxler 14 Oct 2014 13:19 EST
Carolyn, My guess would be that your PI has potentially encountered a new rotator PO who does not yet fully understand the meaning of the regulations contained in the GPG. I would have him/her go back and, quoting Section 2.g.i.(a) Salaries and Wages, ask if there is something they are not understanding or if there has been a recent reinterpretation of that section - the old play dumb routine might work? That tact has worked for us when we encountered a new PO. Larry ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Larry Waxler, Director Office of Sponsored Programs University of Southern Maine 1 Chamberlain Avenue P.O. Box 9300 Portland, ME 04104-9300 Telephone: 207-780-4413 Telefax: 207-780-4927 >>> Carolyn Elliott-Farino <xxxxxx@KENNESAW.EDU> 10/14/2014 1:37 PM >>> Colleagues, We have a PI who has informed me that his program officer at NSF told him that NSF "does not like to provide summer support, and it is the first thing that goes when they negotiate budget just before awards are to be made." I told our PI that this is not true but he reiterated that this is what his PO told him. Our PI also said his colleague at a private, more research intensive institution (we are a public, predominantly undergrad institution) "expressed a similar sentiment - basically, NSF does not like to pay for effort." We have always received funding on NSF grants for PI and co-PI support, except for MRI grants. Has something changed? I am very confident that either our PI has misunderstood his PO, or the PO is sadly misinformed (and hopefully wouldn't actually be able to cut out all PI salary), but this PI has already had an unpleasant interaction with NSF so I am treading lightly. Wouldn't NSF wonder why a PI included zero effort on a project (you can't cost share, remember)? Frankly, my belief is that the PO is either assuming our PI will request two months during the AY and therefore would not allow summer salary (perfectly logical), or assumes our PI will request two summer months and is saying no to AY salary. Given the tender psyche of this PI at the moment, I don't want to be cavalier and tell him to just budget the two months. I would like to offer him assurance that it's really okay to request effort on the project. Thanks in advance for any reassurance you can provide me to pass on to our PI. Carolyn Elliott-Farino, MA, CRA Executive Director, Office of Research Kennesaw State University 585 Cobb Avenue NW, room 3143m MD 0111 Kennesaw, Georgia 30144; Tel: 470.578.6381 www.kennesaw.edu/research This email, and any attachments, is intended only for use by the addressee(s) named herein and may contain privileged and/or confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient of this email, you are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this email, and any attachments thereto, is strictly prohibited. ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner) A link directly to helpful tips: http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help ====================================================================== ====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.healthresearch.org (click on the "LISTSERV" link in the upper right corner) A link directly to helpful tips: http://tinyurl.com/resadm-l-help ======================================================================