C&P Tool Updates (January 4th, 2022)

The Current and Pending (C&P) Tool underwent several changes Tuesday night (1/4/2022) when a new patch was released into production. 

The C&P Tool NSF form now includes textboxes for “Overall Objectives” and “Statement of Potential Overlap” sections. This aligns with formatting requirements from the October release of the PAPPG.

The NIH Major Goals activity within the ERA Proposals and Awards module has been renamed Update Current and Pending Reporting Data. This activity now includes textboxes for the “Overall Objectives” and “Statement of Potential Overlap” sections included in NSF current and pending forms in addition to the “NIH Major Goals” textbox. This will allow RAs to update information for NSF and NIH proposals and awards to populate future C&P documents downloaded from the C&P Tool.

The following update is currently in progress for the C&P Tool and will be released in future patches: Electronic signature capabilities will be added to the updated NIH Other Support form in the C&P Tool. Additional research is currently being conducted to implement this feature. Until then, RAs should use the updated MS Word format in the C&P Tool, make any necessary adjustments, and convert to PDF before having the PI sign.

KNOWN BUG: The NIH Other Support form in the C&P Tool includes two buttons to generate the NIH document. The button located at the top of the C&P Tool once a PI name is entered (“Generate NIH Other Support Form”) downloads the latest NIH Other Support format. The button located at the bottom (“Generate NIH Document”) downloads the outdated NIH Other Support format. When generating NIH Other Support forms from the C&P Tool, RAs should use the top button until this bug is corrected.

NOTE: Knowledge Enterprise has an inquiry to NSF to clarify how in-kind effort and cost share should be included on NSF proposals as current guidelines have remained unclear. Until KE receives clarification on how these costs should or should not be included in the NSF C&P form, it is recommended that RAs exclude cost share on NSF C&Ps. Once a response from NSF is received, it will be communicated to the RA community.