Federal Sponsors, in conjunction with OSTP (the Office of Science and Technology Policy) and NSTC (National Science and Technology Council), have been working to harmonize some of the common forms and disclosures they require for senior personnel on grants and cooperative agreements throughout the award’s lifecycle, specifically the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support. They have finally been approved and sponsors like NSF and NIH are rolling out their implementation.

NSF will require using the new common forms and their disclosures in SciENcv starting May 20, 2024 when the newest PAPPG (NSF 24-1) goes into effect. NSF is the steward for the sample forms and they can be found on their website along with a table entitled, NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Pre- and Post-Award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support, which will provide guidance on how to fill out the forms.

NIH will begin using the common forms in January of 2025 and is expected to require the use of SciENcv as well by Spring 2025. Until the common forms are implemented at NIH, the currently approved forms for Biosketch and Other Support should be used. It is recommended that anyone involved in the creation of these forms should familiarize themselves with the samples on the NSF website above before implementation.

It is expected that other Sponsors like the DOD (Dept. of Defense), DOE (Dept. of Energy), and NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) will also adopt and implement the common forms soon.

Blog written by Shannon Irey, Training and Information Coordinator, OSP