Just when you thought you had the NIH Grants Policy Statement memorized, they go and revise it. The new policy applies to all NIH grants and cooperative agreements with budget periods that begin on or after October 1, 2011. For a quick overview, see the Significant Changes Document.

For prior budget periods, the 2010 policy statement still applies.

The National Science Foundation is making it easier to be a parent without jeopardizing one’s scientific career. It’s expanded its practice of allowing researchers to take a year off from their grants to care for a newborn or newly adopted child as well as to meet other family needs. They are also trying to minimize loss of career momentum under these circumstances.

It’s all part of the NSF Career-Life Balance Initiative, which aims to provide more flexibility for working scientists.

Do Conflict of Interest (COI) regulations keep you awake at night? You do the right thing but worry you’ll accidentally violate the rules. If so, you should check out the new FAQs issued by the U.S. Public Health Service and HHS that deal with recently revised Financial COI standards. They apply to NIH funding. Arranged topically, the questions indicate whether the institution, the individual, or both are responsible for compliance.
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