Hello colleagues! November has us feeling thankful for the feast of opportunities we all help provide for our students. We wish you all a restful break that will energize you to finish this semester strong.

Proposal Deadlines

The second round deadline for the Catalyst Grant for Research and Creativity, Collaborative Research and Creative Activity Initiative, and Affiliate Faculty Support Fund will be here before you know it. There are two remaining submission cycles this year with deadlines on February 2nd and March 16th.

30th Annual Student Scholar Day - Hold the Date! Get Involved!

The 30th Annual Student Scholars Day (SSD) will happen on Wednesday, April 8, 2026. Please join us in recognizing the curiosity, dedication, and intellectual risk-taking that define our scholarly community. Our Theme is SSD at 30: Reimagining the Purpose of Our Scholarship - we invite students to explore how academic knowledge can inspire, educate, and catalyze when shared beyond traditional boundaries. Our Keynote Speaker: Dr. Keivan G. Stassun, Stevenson Professor of Astrophysics and Director of the Frist Center for Autism & Innovation at Vanderbilt University. Tuesday, April 7, 2026, 4-5:30 PM, Pere Marquette Room, Kirkhof. Encourage your students to participate!

Research Security Training Requirements for NSF and NIH Submissions

The NSF (effective October 10, 2025), and NIH (effective January 25, 2026) require all Principal Investigators and Key Personnel listed on grant submissions to complete Research Security training. This training must be completed PRIOR TO GRANT SUBMISSION. The training takes approximately 1 hour to complete. Please be sure to account for this training when planning your grant proposal submissions. See the GVSU Responsible Conduct of Research website for more information.

Traveling internationally over the semester break?

Export control regulations are frequently changing and may apply to your planned international activities. Please contact the Office of Research Compliance and Integrity at least 30 days (if possible) prior to departure if you will be traveling internationally on behalf of GVSU and/or taking any GVSU equipment, such as a GVSU laptop. ORCI staff will review your planned activities and alert you of any potential export control concerns/restrictions. Note that the office will be closed during the University's winter break (December 20 - January 4).

Compliance Corner

Q: I'm working with an outside collaborator on a human subjects research project. Do we both need to submit IRB applications?

A: Most likely, no. Most universities, including GVSU, are often willing to "rely" on another IRB's decision. GVSU can serve as either the reviewing IRB (i.e., the IRB making the initial determination/approval) or the relying IRB (i.e., the IRB accepting the reviewing IRB's decision). For more information about reliances, including how to request one, please visit the IRB Reliances website.

Continued Federal Government Shutdown and Your Active Grant

Federal grants are impacted by the shutdown, because federal personnel in the granting agencies are furloughed and can't process awards and funds transfers. In the short term, if you are working on an active grant, you should continue to work and meet reporting deadlines unless you receive a stop-work order from the funding agency. You likely received a general message about the lapse in appropriated federal funds, and you may receive a message more specific to your project. Please reach out to your Grants and Contracts Specialist for assistance in interpreting these messages and for advice on how to proceed.

Continued Federal Government Shutdown and Your Grant Proposal

Federal grant proposals are impacted by the ongoing shutdown, because federal personnel in the granting agencies are likely to be furloughed and can't work on evaluating new proposals or communicate with applicants. If you are applying for a grant, you should presume until you see otherwise that all previously posted deadlines are still active. The submission portals are still active and accepting submissions, however federal staff won't be available to answer questions. Planned webinars about specific opportunities are likely to be cancelled.

New Initiative to Bolster Nonprofit Literary Arts

The Mellon Foundation announced last week that they, with a coalition of charitable foundations, are launching the Literary Arts Fund, a five-year, $50 million effort to boost the nonprofit literary arts field in the United States. The Office of Sponsored Programs will be watching this effort to see if there will be any new grant opportunities to share with GVSU faculty. There will likely be newly available funds for writing residencies, publishing support, etc.

GVSU Office of Sponsored Programs Survey

Recently, OSP sent out a survey to all principal investigators (PIs) who have submitted grant proposals or contracts through OSP in the past 2 years. Our aim is to hear directly from you about what's working well and where we can do better. Your input will help us reimagine OSP, and the survey is anonymous, so please let us know what you think! If you have worked with our office in any capacity (as PI, senior personnel, approver, etc) in the past, either check your email (it may have gone to your "Other" tab), or follow this link: https://gvsu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_81wJDLjx0Ax5bTw

OSP is revamping our website!

We are hard at work improving the OSP website, and are excited to share that we've completely overhauled our page about Applying for Funding, and it now has information about many aspects of developing a proposal, which we hope will be handy. More changes to come!