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Notice For All Grant Recipients
Please note that MSU Denver university policy requires that all grant sponsor correspondence be forwarded to the OSRP Executive Director upon receipt.
No Principal Investigator (PI) may sign any grant-related documents or letters.
RAG Mag Spring 2025 Issue
We are pleased to release the Research Administration Group Magazine, the RAG Mag, Spring 2025 issue. In this issue, we feature a message from Dr. Laneika Musalini, OSRP Executive Director, “Keep Going: Turbulent Times Call for Perserverance,” along with other federal grants news updates, IRB news, and other announcements. Download the Spring 2025 RAG Mag issue.
Federal Grants News
The Office of Sponsored Research and Programs is continually monitoring the news in the constantly evolving federal grants landscape. This news changes on a daily basis. If you wish to follow the news updates for federal grants programs we recommend:
This Council on Government Relations (COGR) website providing up to date information on revisions or suspensions to a wide variety of federal grant funding sponsors.
2022-2023 OSRP Annual Report
We are thrilled to acknowledge the MSU Denver faculty and staff who have been successful in securing external public funding. In this annual report we share the many wonderful things that our principal investigators and program directors have accomplished over the 2022–2023 academic year. View the 2022-2023 OSRP Annual Report here.
View the GRC Grant Funding Virtual Training Recording
Would you like to know more about finding grant funding and performing grant funding searches? OSRP worked with the Grants Resource Center (GRC) to host a virtual training on the most effective ways to perform funding searches for the MSU Denver faculty and staff. The virtual workshop was held on Tuesday, September 17th, from 2pm to 3pm MST. This workshop focused on streamlined identification of viable funding opportunities through GrantSearch©, AASCU’s proprietary higher education funding search engine. GRC talked about how their funding opportunity search works and walked through how faculty can establish their own profile to receive these opportunities in their email. RECORDING AVAILABLE HERE!
Announcements
The university supports proposals that uphold integrity and veracity, but we recognize that technology may now be used to screen grant proposals for unallowable DEI terminology dictated by Executive Orders. For OSRP guidance and for a list of allowable synonyms for use in your grant proposals please contact your OSRP Proposal Development Specialist.
Principal Investigators requesting an OSRP cash match for grant projects must complete an application and return it to OSRP by July 31. Cash match awards will be announced on August 15. Download the application form here.
OSRP Approved Budget Development Guidelines for Principal Investigators (PIs):
- Contact your OSRP Proposal Development Specialist to begin the budget development process.
- Your OSRP Proposal Development Specialist will schedule an introductory meeting to discuss budget needs and develop a preliminary list of budget lines and budget amounts.
- Your OSRP Proposal Development Specialist will enter the initial amounts into a standard OSRP budget spreadsheet and provide this initial spreadsheet to the Principal Investigator.
- Principal Investigators must use the spreadsheet format provided by the OSRP Proposal Development Specialist.
- The Principal Investigator and the OSRP Proposal Development Specialist will work together to gather feedback and revise the budget as necessary.
- Final budgets must be delivered to the OSRP Proposal Development Specialist for final review five days in advance of the proposal submission deadline.
Have you ever wondered how this entire grant process works? OSRP has created this process flowchart to illustrate the “cradle to grave” lifetime of your grant. To view the flowchart PDF click here.
Please be advised that all federal, state, and local government grants and contracts must be reviewed, approved, and submitted by OSRP staff.
OSRP recently completed another office move into 1041 Ninth Street Park. Please note that OSRP staff is currently working with hybrid work arrangements. Laneika Musalini and Kimberly Welp both work remotely from South Carolina, and Lisa Jones works remotely from California. Michael Heathcote, Tim Hawkins and Abnet Hurst are available both on site and virtually. We all continue to be available via email, phone, Teams and Zoom meetings. To schedule an in-person visit in our MSU Denver 1041 Ninth Street Park Office please contact us for an appointment. For complete staff contact information, office hours, and responsibilities, please visit our staff page.
The Principal Investigator (PI) has primary responsibility for achieving the technical success of the project, while also complying with the financial and administrative policies and regulations associated with the award. Although Principal Investigators may have administrative staff to assist them with the management of project funds, the ultimate responsibility for the management of the sponsored project award rests with the Principal Investigator.
To serve as PI, one must be a full-time employee of MSU Denver. Several employment titles automatically confer PI/co-PI status due to the roles and responsibilities that come with that title. Titles of Professor, Associate Professor, and Assistant Professor and to library faculty holding the titles of Senior Librarian, Librarian, and Associate Librarian. Other administrative titles are also eligible for automatic PI status provided the individual is a full-time employee: Vice President, Associate Vice President, Assistant Vice President, Dean, Associate Dean, Assistant Dean, and Director. However, Emeritus faculty do not automatically confer PI status. Emeritus faculty may serve as co-PI or senior key personnel but not as PI.
The PI must have an active appointment with MSU Denver and is responsible for executing and financially managing the grant or project. Since a proposal and subsequent award are a commitment for MSU Denver in many ways, it is important to establish the qualifications and ability of PI’s and Co-PI’s to carry out the work on externally funded grants and sponsored projects.
Please note, because the updated Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate Agreement (NICRA) has not yet been received from the US Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS) and its receipt will likely have a lengthy delay, on July 1, 2025, and until further notice, we will temporarily revert to the previous IDC rates of 33% on campus, and 21% off campus, for all grant budgets created after July 1, 2025.
Also note that many federal agencies have now capped IDC rates at 15%, but that IDC revision is currently working its way through the courts. Please consult your OSRP Proposal Development Specialist to confirm the IDC rate to be used in your grant budgets.
Our representatives at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Grant Resource Center (GRC) are available to conduct customized funding searches for MSU Denver faculty and staff, and can also create related future funding alerts for you. To access the Grant Resource Center first create your personal institutional account. After creating your account you will be able to access all of the GRC resources, as well as having the ability to request customized funding reports.
Proposers must now prepare the biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support using SciENcv.
One significant change implemented in the 2024 Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) is the removal of Synergistic Activities from the Biosketch. Synergistic Activities are now required to be included as a separate one-page document.
On April 25, 2024 NSF held a webinar on NSF Implementation of the Common Forms for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support. The webinar is available here.
For additional information on completing the Common Forms:
- The SciENcv online portal is available here.
- For a tutorial about the requirements and processes for creating the documents online, this video tutorial was created at Clemson University and is being generously shared with us by Sheila T. Lischwe, Ph.D., Director of Sponsored Programs art Clemson University. The demonstration of the SciENcv online portal functionality begins at 26:25.
National Science Foundation Funds Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine
On January 29, 2024, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced funding for the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine. The CO-WY Engine will initially receive up to $15 million for the next two years, totaling up to $160 million over ten years. The CO-WY Engine is a groundbreaking initiative focused on driving innovation in climate resiliency which will catalyze a series of significant outcomes to reshape the landscape of reliable climate technologies and economic development in Colorado and Wyoming. The award includes $375,000 to support the participation of MSU Denver interns.
Advanced Manufacturing Institute EDA University Center Grant
With a 5-year $997,200 grant from the US Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration (EDA) University Center Program, the MSU Denver Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute has partnered with other higher-education institutions on the Auraria Campus to create the Industry 4.0 Center of Excellence, a downtown hub of manufacturing innovation. This center will grow to become a focal point of advanced manufacturing for the entire state by showcasing technologies such as sensors, robotics, AI and additive manufacturing. For an in-depth look watch MSU Denver President Dr. Janine Davidson visit the Advanced Manufacturing Sciences Institute.
Featured Grant Deadlines
Upcoming HSI and MSI grant program deadlines are updated regularly. The anticipated deadlines calendar for January-June 2025 is available here.
Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent
Fostering the capabilities of learners, workers, educators, researchers, mentors, innovators, and community members—or STEM talent—across the country is critical both to enable all individuals to achieve their own aspirations in STEM fields and careers and to ready the nation to pursue new opportunities. Individuals, families, communities, educational and academic institutions, industry, nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, and government must all work together to advance STEM education and to engage and expand the nation’s STEM talent. Learn more in the recently published Federal Strategic Plan for Advancing STEM Education and Cultivating STEM Talent
OSRP can help facilitate each of the steps in the grant process
The OSRP Post Award Manager assists with award management tasks
A sub-award is an award to a subrecipient to carry out a part of a Federal award
OSRP is governed by the policies and procedures adopted by the MSU Denver Board of Trustees
Resources, documents, and institutional data for your grant proposals
Office of Sponsored Research and Programs
Supporting faculty and staff fundraising goals
Mailing Address:
Metropolitan State University of Denver
Office of Sponsored Research and Programs (OSRP)
Campus Box 4
P.O. Box 173362
Denver, CO 80217-3362