The University of Wisconsin-Madison
Research and Sponsored Programs
Notice 2019-3
October 10th, 2019

TO:
Principal Investigators
FROM:
Kim Moreland, Associate Vice Chancellor
SUBJECT:
Changes in Other Support Reporting

The Chancellor and Interim Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education recently communicated to campus about research security and transparency. Their blog post affirms our university's commitment to international research collaborations. It also describes federal agency concerns about threats to the U.S. research enterprise. University leadership is taking these concerns seriously.

One step to help mitigate concerns relates to the Outside Activities Report (OAR). The OAR process has been modified recently to ensure that relationships with foreign entities, including foreign governments and foreign academic institutions, are disclosed.

Another step is disclosures in Other Support documents, which are also known as Current and Pending Support. Other Support information must provide full transparency about relationships with foreign entities. That requirement includes relationships that are either financial or non-financial in nature. There have been instances where information disclosed to federal agencies was not complete and accurate. Therefore, federal agencies are seeking to clarify their expectations about what information must be disclosed to them in Other Support documents.

Going forward, the information that senior/key personnel include on Other Support may differ from previous practice. To help researchers understand what must be provided, RSP has posted guidance on Other Support: https://rsp.wisc.edu/other-support-information.cfm. Remember that Other Support information may be required during the proposal process, as part of Just-In-Time, or in progress reports. All of these areas will be closely monitored by funding agencies.

Agency guidance on Other Support is evolving, and we recognize that challenges exist. For example, while the National Institutes of Health has released an updated Guide Notice and FAQs, they have not yet revised their Other Support template. A new template, we understand, is forthcoming. Investigators are now also expected to report information that they may not have previously reported, such as an unpaid appointment at a foreign university. The best advice at this point is to be sure to disclose any and all activities that involve a foreign entity.

We urge you to pay close attention to Federal agency guidance when preparing Other Support. We will update RSP's website as new information becomes available.

If you have any questions or concerns about Other Support, please reach out to your Dean's office or a member of the RSP Proposal Team: https://rsp.wisc.edu/proposalprep/. Thank you for your consideration.

CC:
Deans, Directors, Department Chairs, and College/School Research Administrators