The limited business model is a telecommuting model for our teams. For several years, we have allowed staff to telecommute and work flex hours for up to 2 days per week. This has been good practice for this unprecedented time in which we have all been sent home. We feel we are well positioned to make this transition with minimum disruptions to our processes while continuing to provide good customer service. We do have staff with small children that are normally in daycare or schools. With these being closed now, the staff may not always be able to respond during normal office hours so flexibility is requested. We appreciate your understanding and we are working hard to provide excellent service during this unique time.

• The NIH released Notice NOT-OD-20-086 on March 12, 2020 to alert the research community of administrative flexibilities that apply to NIH applicants and recipients. The flexibilities address, pre-award costs, extension of required reporting, prior approval waivers, and expenditure of award funds (i.e., stipends, travel, and conference expense). This Notice can be found at:
  https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-086.html.
• Please contact your OSP Officer for specific issues pertaining to your grant(s). NIH FAQs can be found here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-20-083.html.
• NSF has special deadline guidance here: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappg19_1/pappg_1.jsp#deadlineexcept.
• The Council on Governmental Relations, of which UAB is a member, is an excellent resource for policy and sponsor information during the COVID-19 national emergency: https://www.cogr.edu/institutional-and-agency-responses-covid-19-and-additional-resources

Conducting work relating to COVID-19 will require approval and prioritization from RBO leadership and may require multiple offices to review and negotiate the terms of the sponsored award and to assist you in obtaining required institutional approvals (e.g., IRB, IBC, etc.). Please submit the project to OSP or MTO in the standard way but note COVID-19 in Extramural Checklist title or MTA submission title. We will be on the lookout for these and tag them as a high priority.

• Office of Research - COVID-19 Funding Opportunities
• NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts - search results for "COVID-19"
• NSF - Dear Colleague Letter: Provisioning Advanced Cyberinfrastructure to Further Research on the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• Grants.gov – search results for COVID-19

As of March 11, 2020, OSP can accept completed electronic Extramural Checklists. Please follow the instructions at the link below to complete the form and then send to OSP along with the other required documents.
https://www.uab.edu/research/home/images/documents/osp/forms/Electronic_DocuSign_Extramural_Checklist.pdf

Grants will be processed and reviewed in the same manner they have been without any anticipated significant delays due to the limited business model.

Yes, all teams are working remotely and we do not expect any significant delays in contract negotiation. Implementing DocuSign in 2019 allowed us to go paperless, which has been a real money and time saver.

Yes, the MTO team is working remotely. We do not expect any significant delays.

You can contact your assigned OSP staff member by phone or e-mail. Office phones are being monitored remotely or callers are being directed to alternate phone numbers through the out of office message or forwarded lines. Use our Find your Officer tool to determine the best direct contact. To contact the MTO, simply email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and we will respond as soon as possible.

RBO staff are working remotely and glad to assist you with any issues you may encounter. Please see FAQ #9 regarding contact options. For OSP, you can call 934-5266 to reach a live person. For MTO, please visit the website for all your MTA needs.

Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari browsers work best on both Macs and PCs at this time. Occasionally Safari does not save your changes – if you experience this please log a ticket with This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Anyone with an active assignment in Oracle and UAB Graduate Students.

• Email a request to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to update the record with the correct award manager and/or contact name.
• Use form https://www.uab.edu/research/home/images/documents/osp/forms/Request_to_Update_Award_Manager_Contacts.pdf