Recently, the NIH announced that beginning Saturday, July 25, 2020, the use of ASSIST for the submission of administrative supplements will be expanded. An administrative supplement provides additional funding to a currently funded award. Administrative supplements are noncompetitive and may be used to meet unanticipated increases in costs within the scope of a project.
Prior to applying for an administrative supplement, the Principal Investigator (PI) should be in consultation with the sponsoring agency’s Program Official (typically the pre-award contact) and the agency’s Grants Management Officer (the post-award official). Additionally, the PI should review the agency’s guidance on eligibility criteria, submission requirements, and deadlines.
Some agencies offer administrative supplements that are for specific funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) in addition to general supplements that can be requested for unsolicited programs. Agencies might also offer supplements to promote diversity in their programs or to promote re-entry into a particular field of study after interruption for family responsibilities or other qualifying circumstances.
The following table lists administrative supplements available by Federal awarding agencies as of 07/22/20.
| Agency | Supplement Title | Link/Contact |
| DOD | No standing FOA | Contact the appropriate Program Official to inquire |
| DOE | No standing FOA | Contact the appropriate Program Official to inquire |
| Dept of Education | No standing FOA | Contact the appropriate Program Official to inquire |
| NASA | No standing FOA | Contact the appropriate Program Official to inquire |
| NIH | Administrative Supplements to Existing NIH Grants and Cooperative Agreements | https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-591.html |
| Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-related Research | https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-20-222.html | |
| Research Supplements to Promote Re-entry into Biomedical and Behavioral Research Careers | https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-18-592.html | |
| NSF | General Supplemental Support | Contact the appropriate Program Official to inquire |
| Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) | https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf13001/gpg_2.jsp#IID3 | |
| Research Assistantships for High School Students (RAHSS) | https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=500035 | |
| Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) | https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf18089&org=NSF | |
| Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) | https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/faculty.jsp | |
| Research Opportunity Award (ROA) – for faculty from primarily undergraduate institutions | https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf07041 | |
| USDA | No standing FOA. May issue a specific supplemental RFA. | Consult Grants.gov or agency website. |
CSU Processes around Administrative Supplements
For any situation where CSU is requesting additional funding from a sponsor for an existing project account, KR PD should be used to develop the proposal and its budget. Use the proposal type “Supplemental/Additional Funding.”
The KR PD record will require the system Award ID number to link the proposal to the original award. You can obtain this number in RPS > Account Details section > Account ID/Award number field for the existing account, or by contacting your OSP S/RA.
The budget in this supplemental funding KR PD record should be for only the proposed supplement amount. Do not combine with the original budget.
Follow sponsor instructions/guidelines for creating and submitting the supplement in a sponsor portal or by email. If the supplemental proposal is not submitted by OSP through a system portal or by email, provide OSP with a copy of all submitted information or upload into the KR PD record
Blog post by Tricia Callahan, Senior Research Education and Information Officer, and Chris Carsten, eRA Systems Officer, Office of Sponsored Programs