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104 Airport Drive Suite 2200, CB 1350
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1350
Phone: (919) 966-3411
Fax: (919) 962-5011 or (919) 962-3352
Email: resadminosr@unc.edu
RAMSeS Help desk: (919) 843-2594

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

Funding Opportunity Information (Research at Carolina)

This website provides continuously updated information about stimulus funding, appropriations by agency, special applications and reporting requirements, and other pertinent information as it becomes available. It also provides a central repository of Key Announcements regarding the Recovery Act and how it impacts UNC.

Internal Procedures for ARRA Funding (Research at Carolina)

To expedite internal processes once you have received (ARRA) funding, UNC CH has provided information and tips to assure the fastest, most efficient turn-around of requests for hiring, purchasing, and leasing space for your research project.

 

ARRA Communications to Research Community at UNC:

Quarterly Reporting Requirements Frequently Asked Questions:

  1. Where did my report go that I submitted through RAMSeS to meet the Octoner deadline?
  2. I have received an email from the agency that I need to report my ARRA-award by October 10th.  What am I supposed to do?
  3. How will UNC-CH coordinate reporting on ARRA awards?
  4. What data elements must be provided by Principal Investigators (PI) for each award (list of questions)?
  5. When are PIs required to submit these data elements?
  6. How will PIs submit these data?
  7. May someone else enter the data elements on behalf of the PI?
  8. Do PIs report on the progress for the quarter or cumulatively for the life of the award?
  9. Are reporting requirements different if UNC-CH is the sub-recipient from another institution?
  10. Are reporting requirements different if UNC-CH is the prime awardee and has subcontracted ARRA funding to another institution or business?
  11.  Are there repercussions for not following these requirements?
  12.  Should PIs read the award notification?
  13.  What award types may be issued with Recovery Funds subject to ARRA reporting?
  14.  
  15.  If the award was received the last week of September, do we still need to report the progress through RAMSeS?
  16.  Which ARRA Activity Code(s) should I choose?
  17.  How do I count jobs created or retained for the ARRA report?
  18.  Who do I contact with reporting questions?

Where did my report go that I submitted through RAMSeS to meet the Octoner deadline?

OSR removed all the progress reports from campus view (in RAMSeS) until the federal agencies complete their review (at the end of October). The reasoning behind this action was there might be changes to the reports (e.g. job numbers might need to be corrected) and if someone looks at the report at one moment in time, the information may change at a later point. Once the federal review has been completed we will either make the "official" reports viewable to campus or provide instructions for how to find them on the web.

 

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I have received an email from the agency that I need to report my ARRA-award by October 10th. What am I supposed to do?

All eProgress reports should be completed in RAMSeS.  If you have received a notification from the sponsor, but cannot find the ARRA eProgress report in RAMSeS, please contact the RAMSeS help desk at 843-2594. 

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How will UNC-CH coordinate reporting on ARRA awards?

The Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) will report on all UNC-CH ARRA activity to Federalreporting.gov. Information will be pulled from FRS and RAMSeS, as well as information collected from PIs, and subrecipients.

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What data elements must be provided by Principal Investigators (PI) for each award (list of questions)?

The eProgress report in RAMSeS captures the following general information:

The following document lists the exact questions you will see in RAMSES (link to Questions)

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When are PI required to submit these data elements?  Quarterly due dates are:
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How will PIs submit these data?

PIs and Research Account Managers in the award administering unit will receive an email notification 30 days in advance of the federal reporting deadline. The email will contain instructions for providing the required ARRA reporting data via new RAMSeS ARRA reporting functionality. Responses must be submitted on or before October 5th at 8:00 a.m.

Follow these steps to access the eProgress report in RAMSeS:

The certified report will route to OSR for processing/submission to www.federalreporting.gov  If you encounter any difficulty in accessing the eProgress report, please contact the RAMSeS help desk at 843-2594.

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May someone else enter the data elements on behalf of the PI?

Yes. Designated staff identified as Research Account Managers through the Research Contacts tool have the ability to view and edit the (ARRA) eprogress reports on behalf of the PI in RAMSeS.  Only Research Account Managers in the administering unit (NOT the PI's appointing/home unit) will be able to view/edit the ARRA reports. The PI will still be required to certify the data submitted on their behalf.

Technical assistance for Research Contacts (and other RAMSeS-related applications) is available during office hours via the Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS) Help Line at 843-2594.

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Do PIs report on the progress for the quarter or cumulatively for the life of the award?

Reports are required each quarter for cumulative data.

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Are reporting requirements different if UNC-CH is the subrecipient receiving ARRA flow through funding from another institution?

The reporting requirements are the same.  OSR will collect data elements from the PI on an quarterly basis using the same web-based tool.  The prime sponsor will determine how the data will be submitted (direct to the prime or via Federalreporting.gov).  The method of submission will be listed in the terms and conditions of the award.

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Are reporting requirements different if UNC-CH is the prime awardee and has subcontracted ARRA funding to another institution or business?

Subrecipients will be required to report information to the Lead Prinicipal Investigator, who will include this information along with their submission (see above).  The following survey form will be emailed to the subrecepient on a quarterly basis and returned to the Lead PI on the project (link to Sub-recepient ARRA form).  OSR will submit this data as part of their report to Federalreporting.gov.

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Are there repercussions for not following these requirements?

Yes, the Recovery Act stipulates repercussions for not following the mandates including:

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Should PIs read the award notification?

 

Review the award notification carefully. All ARRA awards will have specific language if they are funded with Recovery Act funds. Awards may also have additional terms and conditions. Contact your OSR Award Manager with any questions.

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What award types may be issued with Recovery Funds subject to ARRA reporting?
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If the award was received the last week of September, do we still need to report the progress through RAMSeS?

 

The latest guidance from the federal government is that recipients are required to report data on all ARRA awards received through September 30.

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Which ARRA Activity Code(s) should I choose?

 

Question 3 requests up to ten activity codes that describe the research being funded. A link to the National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute (NCCS) website has been provided which allows you to search the database by a key word or phrase or go directly to "Click Here to Choose ARRA Activity Codes"

For example on the NCCS web site, if you seach for "Cancer Research" you will retrieve eight codes with their definitions:

  1. E07.03 - Chemotherapy/Radiation
  2. E13 - Reproductive Health
  3. G02.04 - Cancer
  4. H02 - Diseases & Disorders Research
  5. H02.04- Cancer Research
  6. H02.04.02 - Leukemia Research
  7. H02.04.03 - Women's Cancers Research
  8. H02.16.03 - Lung Diseases Research

Once you have checked the box(es) next to all the relevant items (max 10 please), simply click "Select" at the top or bottom of the page and the codes will be transferred to the survey.

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How do I count jobs created or retained for the ARRA report?

 

Here are the criteria for counting jobs on the ARRA progress report:


Please Note: All positions (created or retained) should be expressed in terms of FTE. For example, a 20-hour/week position would be counted as a .5 FTE. A position may be either a “job created” OR a “job retained;” it cannot be both.

 
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Who do I contact with reporting questions?

 

Contact Andrew Reynolds 962-4396 or Mary Harris 843-2696.  Any technical issues or RAMSeS-specific questions should be directed to the RAMSeS help desk at 843-2594.

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