FFATA Subaward Reporting is Coming

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Enacted in September 2006, the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA) requires full disclosure of all organizations receiving Federal funds. NIH has been doing our part to implement the law by providing information on all NIH awards to www.USASpending.gov, which provides the public a single searchable database on every Federal financial assistance award and contract.

Currently, a Fed-wide system is being implemented by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to collect subaward and executive compensation data on most new grants awarded by the NIH on or after October 1, 2010. This Federal Subaward Reporting System (available at www.FSRS.gov) is being designed following the lessons of quarterly Recovery Act reporting, and it will pre-populate as much data as possible from existing NIH and other government systems. Usability testing of the new system will be available on September 14 and 15. For more information and to sign up, contact Tracey Coleman at (703) 605-3438.

In addition, all NIH grantee institutions are invited to a nationwide Town Hall Meeting discussing the new reporting requirements on Thursday, September 23 from 10 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. If you are unable to attend this meeting in Washington, DC or via webinar, a taped version will also be available on www.USASpending.gov.

Initial guidance for reporting on subaward and executive compensation data was recently published by OMB, and much more detail on the FSRS system and the data collection requirements for subawards will be coming over the next few months. So stay tuned to the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts for additional information as this part of the FFATA law is implemented.