Deviations in Grant Policies

This SOP has internal roles only.

Purpose

To obtain an exception to grant regulations, policies, or procedures only when it is highly beneficial to either the scientific goals or fiscal stewardship of the project or to NIH.

Procedure

Single-case deviation -- any exception to regulations, policies, or procedures that involves a single grant or case, or multiple grants that are in response to a single RFA, e.g., a request to change the PI and grantee simultaneously. Examples of single-case deviation include:

• Simultaneous change of PI and grantee institution.
• Providing indirect costs to a conference grant.
• Administrative transfer of a domestic grant to a foreign institution.

Class deviation -- any exception to regulations, policies, or procedures that involves multiple awards or a group of grants awarded under an ongoing research program responding to an RFA with multiple receipt dates. Class deviations are used for routine terms of award rather than those used on a case by case basis, e.g., limiting the reimbursement of facilities and administrative costs on a class of awards.

Program Officers

• Include in your request the rationale for deviating from a regulation, policy, or procedure; state the unusual circumstances that justify your request.
• Address why this is necessary to accomplish the scientific goals or fiscal stewardship of the project or how it will benefit NIH.

Grants Management Staff

• Contact for NIAID Staff must approve all requests for single-case deviations from standard NIH and PHS grant policies and procedures.
• Contact for NIAID Staff must request approval of single-case and class deviations from HHS policies and procedures and class deviations from NIH and PHS policies from the director, Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration, NIH. Requests for approval of class deviations from HHS policies and regulations must be approved by the Office of Grants Management and Policy, Office of the Secretary, HHS.
• Grants management specialists document the approval process and rationale in the electronic grant file.

Contacts

Grantees with questions should contact the appropriate program officer or grants management specialist listed on their Notice of Award. For more information, see Contact Staff for Help.

Staff, see GMP Assignments by Geographic Region and Program Code for the appropriate GMP specialist.

Contact for NIAID Staff

If you have knowledge to share or want more information on this topic, email deaweb@niaid.nih.gov with the title of this page or its URL and your question or comment. Thanks for helping us clarify and expand our knowledge base.

Links

NIH Grants Administration Manual, Chapter 4.1.03.203 - Applicability

Single-Case Deviation from PHS/NIH Policy, OER Policy Announcement 1997-02.