As events evolve and additional scenarios arise, these Frequently-Asked-Questions will be updated. Please check back for edits and new additions. Also see the Information for Investigators and Institutions page for additional resources.

Additional questions/concerns may be addressed to George Gardner at NIH Grants Hurricane Recovery by phone at 301-435-0949 or via e-mail at nihghr@nih.gov.

1. I am a principal investigator from an affected organization and am planning to submit a competing application for an upcoming receipt date. I do not have immediate access to my Office of Sponsored Programs, thus obtaining the official's signature for the PHS 398 face page is a problem. What are my options?

As agreed upon with officials from Tulane University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, principal investigators from these organizations may submit competing applications directly to NIH (see the specified address listed below) without the signature of the authorized organizational official (AOO), until January 1, 2006. The application must include a cover letter stating that it is from an organization that has been directly affected by Hurricane Katrina (e.g., organizations located in New Orleans), as well as the name and signature of the investigator who has been displaced by this event. NIH recommends that the application be sent to NIH via a method that allows for tracking.

Upon receipt of the application, NIH will send the application to the AOO for his/her review and signature. The AOO will then return the application to NIH, using the address below.

Organizations directly affected by Hurricane Katrina may contact George Gardner of NIH (nihghr@nih.gov, 301-435-0949) to employ this alternate procedure for the submission of competing applications.

Suzanne E. Fisher, Ph.D.
Director, Division of Receipt and Referral Center for Scientific Review National Institutes of Health
6701 Rockledge Drive
Room 2030 MSC 7720
Bethesda, MD 20892-7720 (20817 for courier delivery)

1. I am a principal investigator from an affected organization and have a non-competing progress report due to NIH. I do not have immediate access to my Office of Sponsored Programs, thus obtaining the official's signature for the PHS 2590 face page is a problem. What are my options?

As agreed upon with officials from Tulane University and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, principal investigators from affected organizations may submit non-competing progress reports directly to the NIH funding Institute or Center, NIH, to the address listed below, without the signature of the authorized organizational official (AOO) until December 1, 2005. The application must include a cover letter, stating that it is from an organization that has been directly affected by Hurricane Katrina (e.g., organizations located in New Orleans), and an investigator who has been displaced by this event.

Also, as a reminder, grantee institutions registered in the eRA Commons have the ability to submit SNAP progress reports electronically.

Organizations directly affected by Hurricane Katrina may contact George Gardner of NIH (nihghr@nih.gov, 301-435-0949) to employ this alternate procedure for the submission of non-competing progress reports.

Division of Extramural Activities Support, OER
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Room 2207, MSC 7987
Bethesda, MD 20892-7987 (for regular or US Postal Service Express mail)
Bethesda, MD 20817 (for other courier/express mail delivery only)
Phone Number: (301) 594-6584

1. Is it necessary to obtain permission in advance for a delayed submission of my grant application due to Hurricane Katrina?

The NIH is committed to accommodating late applications from investigators directly affected by the hurricane whenever possible. There are some constraints because reviewers must have sufficient time to consider the applications prior to the review meeting. There is, however, no specific time limit for submission of such late applications from Principal Investigators at an institution that has had to suspend operations or applications where investigators at closed institutions play a major role in the applications. In order for applications to be quickly identified and processed, these should NOT be sent to the standard address listed in PHS 398 but to the address below. Please include a brief cover letter as well.

Division of Receipt and Referral
Center for Scientific Review
Room 2030 MSC 7720
6701 Rockledge Drive
Bethesda, MD
20892-7720 for U. S. Post Office deliveries
20817 for all other deliveries.

For further questions, please contact:
Division of Receipt and Referral
301-435-0715
301-480-1987 (fax)

For further information, see http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-076.html

Note: It may be beneficial for some applicants who experienced losses to consider submitting a competing application in a following cycle. Possible submission dates may be found on the following website: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/submissionschedule.htm.

1. Who is the correct person at NIH to contact with additional questions regarding the effect of Hurricane Katrina on the grant process?

Specific questions regarding an on-going project should be directed toward the affiliated Program Officer at the awarding Institute or Center. The NIH E-Mail Directory may be found at http://ned.nih.gov/. NIH program and grants management officials for active grants in New Orleans are available at: http://era.nih.gov/userreports/active_org.cfm

For general information about the NIH response to Hurricane Katrina, please reference the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Information website (specifically for investigators and institutions) at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/katrina/index.htm.

Additional questions/concerns may be addressed to George Gardner at NIH Grants Hurricane Recovery by phone at 301-435-0949 or via e-mail at nihghr@nih.gov.

1. I have moved my work to another institution until my lab reopens. Do I need prior approval to add a consortium to my project if I have funds available?

The grantee institution has the authority under all mechanisms supported by NIH to transfer substantive programmatic work to a 3 rd party (by consortium agreement) without prior approval from NIH under the following conditions: 1) The consortium is not a foreign component and 2) the addition of the consortium would not result in a change of scope. Accordingly, these actions must be coordinated with your institution.

If the action requires additional funds, the grantee must contact the Institute or Center with a prior approval request. As with any change in a project, if the grantee has any questions or concerns regarding an action, they are advised to contact their NIH Program Officer for scientific questions and the Grants Management Specialist for administrative issues. Prior approval information can be found in the Grants Policy Statement at http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part7.htm.

1. Are there funds available for alterations and renovations (A&R)?

In cases where funds are needed for A&R, you may request such support in an administrative supplement. As with other administrative supplement requests for this recovery, the grantee institution should confirm in writing that the requested support does not represent a duplication of benefits, e.g. from insurance.

In addition, the grantee is allowed to rebudget up to $300,000 for A&R in a single budget period unless such rebudgeting would constitute a change in scope. Whether this constitutes a change in scope is best determined through discussion with the relevant project officer. Final charges for A&R must reflect offsets of all recoveries from other parties (insurance).

If the rebudgeting results in an A&R project exceeding $300,000, NIH will consider the rebudgeting to be a change in scope. The grantee must then submit the documentation specified in “Construction Grants” in the NIH Grants Policy Statement to the NIH Institute or Center. This Construction section of the NIH Grants Policy Statement may be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2003/NIHGPS_Part9.htm#_Toc54600155.

1. How will the indirect (F&A) costs be handled for investigators that must temporarily relocate?

The NIH policy is to provide full indirect cost recovery as appropriate for the type of grant. This policy applies to these temporary relocations. If a project is temporarily relocated and a consortium is developed between the two institutions, the host institution can receive their full F&A costs. If deemed necessary, administrative supplements may be requested to provide additional funds, but are subject to the availability of funds.

1. As a PI, what should I do if I cannot access my lab for a period of time or the lab is displaced? What about the costs?

Investigators need to contact their institutions to obtain approval for the provision of interim space. Once the lab is re-opened and research activity can resume or an interim location has been established, investigators may purchase replacement supplies and/or equipment with current funds. Unless restricted by term of award, unobligated balances may be used without prior approval. If specific funds are restricted, you should contact your Grants Management Specialist noted on your current Notice of Grant Award.

1. What if there was significant damage to the hospital's infrastructure which will result in losses or delays to the clinical research?

After a full assessment of the status and requirements for a project can be determined, investigators should contact their NIH program official to discuss the status of the project and what is needed to resume productive research (in accordance with the approved aims of the project.)

1. What if a shared resource is damaged or lost by the storm?

The NIH will consider administrative supplements to provide for major shared resources. Leasing may provide institutions with the ability to resume some core activities fairly quickly and delay more significant costs until sufficient funding can be secured.

1. What should be done if there has been significant losses of animals, research tools and/or possibly repositories of information?

Where there have been significant losses to animals and/or unique research tools and repositories of information, investigators should work with their project officers to develop a plan to determine what must be restored in order for the research to continue. The focus should be on what needs to be replaced in order to resume approved research, even if this does not restore everything that was lost. If necessary, an administrative supplement will be considered to add funds and time.

If you have shared a resource in the past, it may be possible to make use of that avenue. For example it may be possible to restore a line of animals from a pair that were shared with another researcher or other research tools and data that has been shared and could now be regained. You may also have your investigators explore the links to the various scientific resources that are available from NIH Institute and Center home pages.

1. If Hurricane Katrina resulted in harm or death to animals does the institution need to report to OLAW under IV.F.3. of the PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-034.html)?

Although institutions do need to report animal harm or death as a result of the Hurricane, OLAW is temporarily waiving the requirement for prompt reporting to allow institutions affected by Katrina to focus their efforts on recovery, assessment of damage, and stabilization of programs. Institutions should report when feasible, and after they have had opportunity to fully determine the extent of losses.

1. A PI and his lab staff from an institution affected by Hurricane Katrina will be hosted at my institution for an undetermined period of time to conduct his research that involves animals. His home institution in New Orleans will remain the awardee institution. Does the PI need a protocol with our institution? Does he need to participate in our animal user training and occupational health program? What is our institution’s responsibility?

In this unusual circumstance, and to ensure accountability and appropriate conduct under the host institution’s Animal Welfare Assurance, it is strongly recommended that the host institution require the PI to complete the host institution’s animal protocol form and obtain the approval of the host IACUC. It is further recommended that the host IACUC provide a copy of the approval to the awardee institution’s IACUC, and also keep the awardee institution informed of any subsequent significant changes in the protocol or issues that arise with respect to the protocol. For tracking purposes, the host IACUC should know the grant ID number.

It is important that the PI and his staff are appropriately integrated into the host institution's animal care and use program, including training (particularly of institutional policies or procedures that may be unique to the host institution)and occupational health programs. If the PI is able to provide documentation of training or occupational health information, the decision to accept such information rests with the host IACUC.

Requests by PIs to be added to an existing similar protocol at the host institution should be handled in the same manner that the institution handles modifications to existing protocols.

1. Can I request supplemental funds and/or time for my project?

As noted in Guide Notice NOT-OD-05-074, http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-074.html, the following process should be utilized regarding an administrative supplement request:

1. As soon as investigators and institutions are able to assess the damage to their NIH-supported research programs and communicate with NIH Program staff, NIH will consider administrative supplement requests for extensions in time that include personnel costs; and replacement of equipment, supplies and unique resources damaged or lost as a result of the storm.
2. Each supplement request should confirm that the requested support does not represent a duplication of benefits, e.g., from insurance.
3. The e-mail request must be submitted by the Authorized Organizational Official (AOO) to the funding Institute or Center’s NIH Grants Management Officer (GMO) who signed the grant’s Notice of Grant Award.
4. The request must reflect the complete grant number in the subject line; include the name of the grantee, the name of the initiating PI, the PI’s telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address; and comparable identifying information for the AOO.
5. Requests may also be submitted using the PHS-398 face page, budget page, and budget justification page, but in all cases requests should be sent to the GMO in the Institute or Center that made the award. Under no circumstances should requests be sent to the Center for Scientific Review.

1. Considering the end of the fiscal year, will NIH fund pending non-competing applications to affected institutions? What about pending competing applications? If so what kind of restrictions will be referenced on the NGA?

It is anticipated that the NIH awarding components will proceed with issuing the non-competing continuation awards (Type 5s) as planned.

However, in regards to competing awards, a determination will be made by individual Institutes and Centers (ICs) on the appropriate manner to handle the award. There are numerous factors that NIH program and grants management staff will consider in determining the viability of the research at the present time. Possible scenarios include the following:

1. It is possible that some projects and research teams may be able to regroup and proceed.   In the case of missing certification (humans/animals) due to the temporary move, the IC will apply a restriction on the associated funds.
2. An IC may decide that the project is not viable because of its dependency on a group of subjects which may or may not have significant numbers available in the near or the long term. In this case, the IC may elect to defer a funding decision until this issue can be addressed. 
3. Large, complex projects that are dependent on skilled teams would also be a serious concern until the key personnel can be located and brought together. 
4. For projects that are dependent on shared resources, an assessment of the availability of the resources may need to be made.

The NIH will keep applications under consideration until later this month in the hope that the situation will improve sufficiently and an appropriate determination can be made regarding funding this fiscal year. If an application is carried over into FY '06, the Institute/Center will carefully reconsider funding the project as the institution begins to recover from the affects of Hurricane Katrina.

2. How will applications pending peer review be evaluated, in particular the “Environment” section of an application?

Reviewers will be instructed to review the application as submitted. NIH Staff will address ‘environment' after the completion of peer review. This consideration is comparable to the evaluation of environment when an investigator changes institutions prior to award.

1. Who can I contact at NIH to discuss my National Research Service Award (NRSA) training situation as a result of Hurricane Katrina?

A list of NIH Training contacts for all Institutes/Centers can be found at: http://grants.nih.gov/training/tac_training_contacts.doc (MS Word - 139 KB). You may also contact the NIH program official and/or grants management specialists listed on your Notice of Grant Award.

2. I currently have an active individual NRSA fellowship (F32) and due to the hurricane need to replace lost reagents necessary for my research. How can NIH help?

Supplemental Institutional Allowance can be requested to replace the lost supplies. You should contact the awarding NIH component immediately to discuss the specifics of your situation. Requests for supplemental funds will need to be processed through the appropriate administrative channels at the sponsoring institution.

3. I hold an active individual NRSA fellowship (F30, F31, F32). Due to Hurricane Katrina, I've been forced to relocate to a temporary laboratory at another institution. How can NIH help?

Supplemental Institutional Allowance can be requested to accommodate special travel needs and temporary (no more than 6 months) off-site training expenses. You should contact the awarding NIH component immediately to discuss the specifics of your situation. Please note that relocations of more than 6 months will require NIH prior approval. Requests for supplemental funds will need to be processed through the appropriate administrative channels at the sponsoring institution.

4. I'm currently supported by an institutional NRSA training grant and have had to temporarily transfer to another institution. How can NIH help?

Your training grant program director should contact the awarding NIH component immediately. The NIH program director can request supplemental trainee travel to accommodate special travel needs and temporary (no more than 6 months) off-site training expenses. Note: Relocations of more than 6 months will require NIH prior approval. If you are unable to locate the training grant program director, contact the NIH awarding component that funds the training grant for assistance. Requests for supplemental funds will need to be processed through the appropriate administrative channels at the grantee institution.

5. I'm the program director of an institutional NRSA training grant. Can my institution request additional funds to help subsidize the replacement of supplies for NRSA-supported trainees?

Yes. You should contact the awarding NIH component immediately to discuss the specifics of your situation. Requests for supplemental funds will need to be processed through the appropriate administrative channels at the grantee institution.

6. I am an NRSA-recipient. As a result of Hurricane Katrina, can I temporarily reduce my time and effort devoted to the training program?

All NRSA-recipients impacted by Hurricane Katrina may reduce time & effort down to 50% for a 6-month period without NIH prior approval; however, you should notify the NIH awarding component of this temporary arrangement. Should you need more than 6 months in a part-time status, contact the NIH awarding component. NIH prior approval will be required for periods greater than 6 months.

7. I have an active NRSA individual fellowship and as a result of Hurricane Katrina, I wish to permanently transfer my fellowship to another institution. How can NIH help?

You should first discuss this situation with your current sponsor and sponsoring institution's business official. Then, you should contact the NIH awarding component. The ICs can accommodate a change of sponsoring institution & sponsor through standard administrative & programmatic review/approval procedures.

1. How has the NIH implemented the guidance issued by Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on October 5, 2005 for Hurricane Relief on Federal Research Awards (see: http://www.ostp.gov/html/Hurricane%20relief1.pdf) - (PDF - 23 KB)

NIH has made these flexibilities available to all NIH grantee institutions in New Orleans, Louisiana with active NIH grants.

These institutions are:

• Children's Hospital New Orleans
• Louisiana State University - Health Science Center New Orleans
• Louisiana State University - University of New Orleans
• Loyola University in New Orleans
• Ochsner Clinic Foundation
• Tulane University of Louisiana
• Xavier University of Louisiana

NIH will consider extending some or all of these items to additional institutions, which were not as severely impacted by the storms on a case by base basis.

NIH offers the following additional information and guidance on these items:

• Institutions are reminded that the limitations on rebudgeting for Alterations and Renovations remain in effect for NIH awards. See Construction /Alterations and Renovations FAQ.
• The effect of the three month extension of the Federal Cash Transaction reports (PSC 272 Report) deadline is to extend this deadline to February 15, 2006.
• Institutions are granted an institution-wide extension of time for all invention reports due at the funding agency under 37 CFR 401.14(c). Extensions will apply to those reports that are due from 8/1/05 through 12/31/05 for 180 days from the initial due date. This extension does not apply to any statutory period outside of the federal agency's discretion as described in 37 CFR 401.14(c). This extension will also apply to annual utilization reports where required by individual agencies (under 37 CFR 401.14(h).

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