The NIH shares grants compliance and oversight responsibilities with our grantee institutions, so we reach out to them to increase awareness and understanding of the applicable policies and regulations. We have recently added several new staff members to our Division of Grants Compliance and Oversight and are looking forward to strengthening this partnership to ensure efficient and effective management of Federal funds.
In our experience, one of the most important aspects of a successful compliance program is education. Institutions must be aware of and understand the requirements of NIH grant awards so they can take action to assure compliance. We strive to reach out to our grantees in a number of ways as we carry out NIH’s oversight responsibilities. We have developed several site visit initiatives, including proactive site visits, which were designed to promote open communication of policy issues between NIH and grantee institutions. These were not audits or investigations, but, rather, a dialogue during which we provided oral feedback and guidance to the institution. We have also performed proactive assessments and targeted site reviews of institutional compliance with the financial conflicts of interest regulations.
The Division of Grants Compliance and Oversight also works with grantee institutions when compliance issues are identified to ensure that appropriate actions have been taken to address both the effect and cause of the problem. We expect to maintain an active oversight presence in the grantee community. We are also present at many meetings where institutional and agency representatives come together, such as the NIH Regional Seminars, Federal Demonstration Partnership and the National Council of University Research Administrators. So seek us out and ask a question. You can also contact us at GrantsCompliance@nih.gov to ask a compliance-related question or at FCOICompliance@mail.nih.gov to ask questions related to the financial conflict of interest regulations. With the help of our new staff members, we are looking forward to working with our grantee institutions to ensure efficient and effective management of extramural resources.
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