Dear Faculty Colleagues,
You are receiving this message because you are listed as personnel on a National Institutes of Health (NIH)-funded award.
We would like to remind you of NIH requirements related to Current and Pending Other Support for active awards.
What is Other Support?
NIH defines Other Support as all resources available to you in support of your research, whether or not they have monetary value, and regardless of where the work is conducted. This includes support from both domestic and foreign sources, such as:
- Funding for personnel
- Access to high-value materials (e.g., biologics, chemicals, model systems, technology)
- Other resources that support your research activities
Reporting changes to Other Support
- Any changes during the project period must be reported in your RPPR
- Disclosing a new Significant Financial Interest in LIRA does not replace this requirement. If it qualifies as a change in Other Support, it must also be reported to NIH in the RPPR.
Omitted information
If you realize that something should have been included in a prior Other Support disclosure but was not, it must be reported to NIH immediately. Please contact your Contract and Grant Specialist (CGS) as soon as possible to assist you with this process.
Foreign Components
Foreign Components require prior NIH approval—even if NIH funds are not used for the activity. Foreign Components should:
- Be included in proposals if known at the time of submission
- Be reported and approved before beginning the activity if added later
A Foreign Component involves performing a significant part of the NIH-supported project outside the United States. Examples include:
- Collaborations with researchers at foreign institutions that may lead to co-authorship. NIH’s definitions and FAQs indicate that the existence of a foreign co-author on a publication supported by NIH may or may not constitute a Foreign Component. However, NIH has also directly advised some institutions that the existence of a publication citing NIH support and including a foreign co-author constituted an unapproved Foreign Component. Keeping these inconsistencies in mind, and while we await clarification from the NIH, please contact your CGS if you have questions about whether co-authorship constitutes a Foreign Component.
- Use of facilities or equipment located outside the U.S.
- Receiving financial support or resources from a foreign entity
Acknowledgement of Federal Funding and Stevens Amendment
Finally, please be aware that acknowledgments of funding from the NIH must continue to conform to the requirements of the Stevens Amendment. This amendment requires recipients of these awards to include specific disclosures in any statements, press releases, requests for proposals, bid solicitations, or other documents describing projects or programs funded in whole or in part with federal funds from these agencies. More information is available here.
Additional guidance is available in Lehigh’s NIH Current and Other Support Training policy and NIH FAQs on Foreign Components and Other Support.
If you have any questions, please contact your Contract and Grant Specialist.
Best regards,
Cynthia Kane, Associate Vice Provost
Office of Research and Sponsored Programs