Upcoming research workshops: NIH and NSF

The NIH is holding a Regional Seminar in Chicago, at the Palmer House, October 26-28. General registration for this seminar ends September 1st.
Visit http://regionalseminars.od.nih.gov/chicago2016/ to view the agenda and register for this seminar, which has three tracks: administrators, new investigators, and all interests (you are not limited to staying within one track).

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The NSF will be holding a Grants Conference in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University November 14 and 15. Visit http://www.nsfgrantsconferences.com/ehome/nsf/fall2016/ to view the conference site. Registration begins on September 8th. This conference is excellent for those who want to know more about the NSF's upcoming programs, the merit review process, and proposal preparation.

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These research workshops are a great opportunity to meet NIH and NSF program officers and staff. In the past, for example, more than 100 NIH employees were available at one of their regional seminars. Don't miss out!

NIH's new Rigor and Reproducibility requirement in a handy chart

The NIH has come out with a resource chart to help you make sense of their Rigor and Reproducibility in NIH Applications requirement (see http://grants.nih.gov/reproducibility/index.htm).

Click here to download the PDF version of the chart.

How can you, as a supervisor, promote research integrity?

As a PI, academic advisor, mentor or project director, you've got an opportunity to promote research integrity during day-to-day life in the lab or office among those you supervise.

The Office of Research Integrity has created a helpful infographic on how to do this, which you can download at this link.

It's the National Science Foundation's birthday!

Read about some of the exciting discoveries and inventions that resulted from NSF funding over the past 66 years in this article on Medium.

Experiment shows eliminating deadlines dramatically reduces submissions

" [Alex Isern, the head of the surface Earth processes section] eliminated the twice-a-year deadlines for four of her grant programs, in geobiology and low-temperature geochemistry, geomorphology and land-use dynamics, hydrological sciences, and sedimentary geology and paleobiology. NSF sent out a notice about the change at the beginning of 2015, and after a 3-month proposal hiatus, the no-deadline approach began in April 2015.

The number of proposals plummeted, from 804 in 2014 to just 327 in the 11 months from April 2015 to March... So far, she says, there have been no effects on the demographics of who is applying, such as the age of the principal investigator or the type of university they are applying from. Because of a lag in decisions, she hasn’t yet measured the expected rise in success rates."

Read the full story in Science.

Two upcoming research workshops

On May 11-13, the 2016 NIH Regional Seminar is being held in Baltimore, Maryland at the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel. This workshop will cover all aspects of grant-making processes with the NIH for beginner, intermediate and advanced levels, from how to find a funding opportunity to how to comply with post award requirements such as the Public Access Policy. More information here: http://regionalseminars.od.nih.gov/baltimore2016/

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The OHRP-sponsored Research Community Forum will take place June 21-22 at the Lowes Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. This year's theme is "The Changing Landscape of Research: Where do we go from here?" and will focus on recent and proposed changes to research as it pertains to human subjects. Everyone from physicians to students are invited to participate in this event. More information at this link.

Thoughts on the rules changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act and how it may affect smaller universities

David A. Armstrong, the president of Thomas More College in Kentucky, provides his opinion on the proposed increase to the federal salary threshold from the current $23,660 (which is lower than New York State's requirement) to $50,440. Read "Potentially Dire Impacts" on Inside Higher Ed's website.