Post Award Management

Reporting Requirements: After an award is conferred, the awardee shall provide a semi-annual financial report to the GRP to report on expenditures to date under the award. The awardee shall provide an annual written report to the GRP to report on activities being carried out under the award, including but not limited to project accomplishments to date and expenditures. No later than sixty (60) days after the expiration of the award, the awardee shall provide in writing a final report that addresses the original objectives of the project as identified in the application, describe any changes in objectives that were approved by the GRP, describe the final project accomplishments, and include a final project accounting of all award funds.

Mid-Point and Final Evaluation: Annual and final reports are one mechanism the GRP will use to understand, manage, and learn from the work of its grantees. The GRP may also make site visits to review project accomplishments. At the mid-point and at the end of the project, Project Directors will be required to submit an extended narrative report that addresses the technical and programmatic achievements of their projects. These reports may be reviewed by peers or other technical experts and evaluated by the GRP. After the mid-point evaluation, Project Directors may be requested to update their project plans for the remaining project duration. Failure to submit timely reports, to respond to peer review comments, or to meet project objectives due to problems in program management, may result in withheld payments.

Collaboration: Applicants are expected to engage with the GRP to meet UGOS goals. This will minimally include working with the GRP Program Officer(s), participation in at least one meeting annually and quarterly teleconferences with all UGOS project teams. The travel expenses for the UGOS annual meeting will be reimbursed by the GRP. Project Directors must actively participate in cross-project collaboration among other UGOS funded projects. The GRP will be substantially involved by coordinating partners and teams to accomplish the work. Failure to participate in collaborative activities may result in withheld payments.

Data Management: Implementation of the data management plan must follow FAIR guiding principles and will be monitored through the annual and final report process. Annual project reports required for all multi-year awards must include an account of ongoing data management and the accessibility (e.g., sharing) of research information products (e.g., digital object identifiers [DOIs] or accession numbers for digital information; citations of relevant publications, conference proceedings, and conference presentations; and other types of dissemination). In addition, the report must articulate any current or foreseeable changes to the original plan. Continued funding for subsequent years of multi-year projects will be contingent upon acceptable performance, which includes adherence to the data management plan. All observational and modeled data shall be made available with minimal time delay to be negotiated with the GRP for each dataset, through submission at least to GRIIDC (link) and national archives for use by intermediate and end-users.

Final project reports, which are required for all awards, must describe the implementation of the data management plan. They must clearly describe any changes from the original plan. At a minimum, the final report should include descriptions of the following:

• Data, datasets, and information products produced during the award period.
• Metadata (that describe the project and that describe the data and other information products) produced during the award period.
• Data, other information products, and associated metadata that will be maintained or curated after the award expires.
• Dissemination activities (e.g., publication of results and data, presentation of results and data).
• The curation facility or facilities (e.g., digital repository) where project data and other information products have been deposited or are being curated for long-term management and accessibility.
• Verification that the data and other information products are, or at least will be, widely discoverable and accessible (e.g., DOIs for data and other information products).
• In addition to evaluating the final report descriptions, the GRP may review any digital products curated in digital repositories or otherwise curated to ensure that they are properly preserved, documented, and accessible.

Scientific Integrity: A fundamental purpose of the GRP is to facilitate the advancement of knowledge and the application of the science to address challenges relevant to the Program’s mission. All activities of the GRP will be conducted to meet the highest standards of scientific integrity. All grantees have a responsibility to use the funds as specified in the application to advance the project goals and objectives. To continue the emphasis on scientific integrity throughout the award period, the GRP will ask all researchers, trainees, and fellows to comply with professional standards as defined by the the National Academies report "On Being A Scientist: A Guide to Responsible Conduct in Research."

Grant Terms and Conditions: The GRP expects Applicants to review the Grant Agreement prior to submitting an application to ensure that the Applicant is aware of the applicable terms under which the grant is offered. It is the policy of National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to entertain potential modifications to the Grant Agreement only under the most exceptional circumstances. Rather, successful Applicants are strongly encouraged to sign the Grant Agreement as presented.

Sample Grant Agreements for:

• Public Institutions
• Private Institutions