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Closeout

Three steps to closeout process

  • Technical report: PI is responsible for writing and delivering the technical report to the sponsor.
  • Intellectual Property:  SAM representative is responsible for completing and delivering the IP report to the sponsor.  The SAM representative will confirm with both the PI and IP office if any IP was reported during the grant award.
  • Fiscal closeout:  CGA is responsible for completing and delivering any necessary financial paperwork to the sponsor.  The PI and the departmental business manager(s) are responsible for making sure that all expenditures are reported to CGA before the Final Financial Report (FFR) is submitted the sponsor.

USC Closeout: https://sc.edu/policies/ppm/fina315.pdf

NIH Closeout: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/closeout/index.htm

NSF Closeout:

1.  Final Project Report

The final project report should address progress in all activities of the project, including any activities intended to address the Broader Impacts criterion that are not intrinsic to the research. This report is not cumulative; it is the last annual report of the project and should be written specifically for the most recently completed budget period. By submitting the final project report, the PI is signifying that the scope of work for the project has been completed and that he/she does not anticipate that any further research activities (including a no-cost extension, supplemental funding, or transfer of the grant) need to be completed on the project. Submission of the final project report, however, does not preclude the grantee from requesting any further payments for costs incurred during the period of performance.

Unless otherwise specified in the award, the final project report should be submitted electronically no later than 120 days following the end date of the grant. As reflected in the Project Report System, the report is considered due during the 120-day period. The report becomes overdue the day after the 120-day period ends. In addition, the grantee also shall provide to the cognizant NSF Program Officer, within 120 days following the end date of the grant:

  • any unique reports or other end items specified in the grant, including any reporting requirements set forth in any NSF brochure, guide, solicitation, etc., referenced in the grant as being directly related to either the award or the administration of the grant.
  • a final cost share notification documented and certified by the AOR for grants where there is mandatory cost sharing established for the program.

Final project reports may not be required for institutional graduate research fellowships. However, final reporting requirements for individual fellowships are established in the applicable program solicitation.

2.  Project Outcomes Report for the General Public (POR)

This report serves as a brief summary, prepared specifically for the public, of the nature and outcomes of the project.

Section Contents:

a. Describe the project outcomes or findings that address the intellectual merit and broader impacts of the work as defined in the NSF merit review criteria. This description should be a brief (generally, two to three paragraphs) summary of the project's results that is written for the lay reader. PIs are strongly encouraged to avoid use of jargon, terms of art, or acronyms.

b. NSF will automatically include all publications associated with the grant that are reported in annual and final project reports. Other products that have resulted from the grant may also be listed. Examples of other products include collections, data sets, software, as well as educational materials.

c. Information regarding anticipated publication of project results, as well as any other information that would be of interest to the public also may be included in this section.

Grantees are to ensure that the report does not contain any confidential, proprietary business information; unpublished conclusions or data that might compromise the ability to publish results in the research literature; or invention disclosures that might adversely affect the patent rights or those of the organization, in a subject invention under the award. PORs are not to contain any personally identifiable information such as home contact information, individual demographic data or individually identifiable information collected from human research participants. This report will be posted electronically by NSF exactly as it is submitted and will be accompanied by the following disclaimer:

"This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content."

The POR must be submitted electronically no later than 120 days following end date of the grant. By submitting the POR, the PI is signifying that the scope of work for the project has been completed and that he/she does not anticipate that any further research activities (including a no-cost extension, supplemental funding, or transfer of the grant) need to be completed on the project. Submission of the POR, however, does not preclude the grantee from requesting any further payments for costs incurred during the period of performance.

3.  Compliance with Technical Reporting Requirements

PIs must submit final technical reports within the time period specified. Failure to provide these reports on a timely basis will delay NSF review and processing of pending proposals for all identified PIs and co-PIs on a given award.

Challenge the conventional. Create the exceptional. No Limits.

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