PRINCETON UNIVERSITY   Office of the Dean for Research

To:  Members of the Princeton research community

From: Pablo G. Debenedetti, Dean for Research

Subject: Disclosing All Sources of Support in Grant Applications

Date: February 8^th, 2019

As you may know, on August 20^th, 2018, Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, issued a letter addressing concerns about inappropriate foreign influence on the U.S. research enterprise. You can read Director Collins’ letter here. One of the concerns raised in the letter is the failure by some grantees to disclose substantial resources from other organizations, including foreign governments and foreign institutions of higher learning, in grant applications.

I write to remind you of the need for you to provide complete and accurate information on all sources of support in your federal grant and contract applications. Below is the relevant guidance from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, two major sponsors of research at Princeton.

NIH (applies to proposal, Just-in-Time and progress report submissions): “Other Support includes all financial resources, whether Federal, non-Federal, commercial or institutional, available in direct support of an individual's research endeavors, including but not limited to research grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and/or institutional awards. Training awards, prizes, or gifts do not need to be included.”

NSF: “All current project support from whatever source (e.g., Federal, State, local or foreign government agencies, public or private foundations, industrial or other commercial organizations, or internal funds allocated toward specific projects) must be listed. The proposed project and all other projects or activities requiring a portion of time of the PI and any other senior personnel must be included, even if they receive no salary support from the project(s).”

For other agencies, please follow the relevant agency-specific application guidance regarding the disclosure of support from other organizations.

The issue of non-disclosure of sources of funding in grant and contract applications is receiving increased scrutiny at the federal level. It is therefore very important that you provide complete and accurate information about research support in your federal grant and contract applications.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to your Grant and Contract Administrator in the Office of Research and Project Administration (ORPA.)

I trust that you will give this matter the serious attention it deserves.

Best wishes,

Pablo G. Debenedetti

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Pablo G. Debenedetti, Dean for Research
Class of 1950 Professor in Engineering and Applied Science
Phone: 609-258-5480
http://research.princeton.edu