In response to audits conducted by the HHS Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is taking steps to enhance its policy on foreign subrecipients. NIH Updated Policy Guidance for Subaward/Consortium Written Agreements (NOT-OD-23-182) was released on September 15, 2023.
Effective January 1, 2024, the NIH will require award recipients to address the following in subaward agreements with foreign subrecipients by including: “ a provision requiring the foreign subrecipient to provide access to copies of all lab notebooks, all data, and all documentation that supports the research outcomes as described in the progress report, to the primary recipient with a frequency of no less than once per year, in alignment with the timing requirements for Research Performance Progress Report submission. Such access may be entirely electronic.” The Office of Sponsored Projects (OSP) has updated the subaward agreement template to comply with NIH guidance.
NIH is also expecting prime recipients at proposal stage to request foreign subrecipients “to submit language in their letters of support indicating their awareness of these requirements and the subrecipient’s willingness to abide by all requirements should an award be issued.” OSP has also updated the subrecipient form in line with NIH requirements.
NIH PIs are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the roles and responsibilities to ensure access on project data from subrecipients, based on the requirements outlined in NIH NOT-OD-23-182.
- Research administrators are encouraged to attend the upcoming Collaborative Research Administrators Group meeting on Thursday, December 21, 2023 at 11:00 AM ET for a more detailed discussion of the policy and its impacts.
- NIH-funded principal investigators with foreign subrecipients are encouraged to attend a detailed briefing: "What PIs Need to Know: New NIH Guidance on Foreign Subrecipients" on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 1:00 PM ET.