Announcement of Upcoming System Enforcement of Common Forms and End of NIH’s Leniency Period
On April 21, 2026, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released Notice NOT-OD-26-079 which requires use of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support, and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement for all application due dates and Just-In-Time (JIT), Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), and Prior Approval submissions on or after May 8, 2026.
New NIH FAQs posted about MFTRP Certifications
The NIH published new FAQs related to RPPR and Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) certification requirements:
Yes, if a senior/key person on the project (regardless of level of effort) has had a change in active support, then you need to include them in Section D.1 of the RPPR, answer the applicable question as “Yes”, and upload an updated Current and Pending (Other) Support Common Form document and Supplemental Documentation (as needed).
The date of the individual’s signature on the certification statement is valid for 12 months, so the same document could be used in multiple RPPRs during that 12-month period. However, the individual must upload a document in each RPPR because the RPPR is the mechanism for tracking compliance with this requirement.
In response to FAQ #16, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) updated its MFTRP certification template linked on the OSP Forms & Waivers page. If senior/key personnel are already submitting a SciENcv form that includes the MFTRP statement, a separate MFTRP statement is not required in the RPPR.
Yes
No. For Final and Interim RPPRs, the three questions related to Changes in CPOS, New Senior/Key Personnel and New Other Significant Contributors now contained in section D.1 Participants should always be answered “No”. These questions were previously contained in Section D.2, which is not applicable to Final and Interim RPPRs. These questions were moved to D.1 out of the need for system verification of an individual’s digital certification on the Common Forms, but not to alter the requirements of Final and Interim RPPRs.
By definition, Other Significant Contributors (OSC) are not considered senior/key personnel by NIH and do not need to provide the MFTRP certification statement. Generally, consultants are also not considered senior/key personnel. However, in exceptional cases, NIH may name consultants as Senior/Key personnel on the notice of award; in these cases, the MRTFP certification statement should be provided.
FEDERAL AGENCY ROUNDUP
Updates from federal agencies for the week of 04/20/2026
- NIH released: NOT-OD-26-076: Notice to Rescind NOT-OD-24-077 "Technical and Business Assistance (TABA) Funding May be Added to an SBIR/STTR Award by Administrative Supplement."
- NIH released: NOT-OD-26-074: Notice of Information: Policy Changes to SBIR and STTR Foreign Disclosure and Risk Management.
- NIH released: NOT-OD-26-073: Notice of Information: Implementation of HHS Annual SBIR/STTR Application/Proposal Limit.
- NIH released: NOT-OD-26-075: Notice of Information: Policy Changes to SBIR and STTR Discretionary Technical and Business Assistance.
- NIH released: NOT-OD-26-072: Update - NIH Implementation of Uniform Administrative Requirements for Federal Financial Assistance.
- NIH released NOT-OD-26-079: Upcoming System Enforcement of Common Forms and End of NIH’s Leniency Period.
Stay up-to-date and informed by visiting the Pitt Research Executive Orders and Federal Funding website.