Funding Agency Guidance on COVID-19

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) have issued a temporary waiver of the US residency requirement contained in the STScI General Grant Provisions and the NASA Hubble Fellowship policies. This waiver is in effect through September 30, 2021.  For more information, see: https://www.stsci.edu/scientific-community/grants-administration. 

Contact STScI Grants Administration with any questions:  gms_mail@stsci.edu or 410-338-4200.

The NIH hosts a comprehensive list of COVID-19 related information for applicants and awardees and general FAQ for COVID-19 related questions.

Please note that RSP staff are working remotely, and the departments responsible for proposal submission and award management remain fully operational.  For this reason, at the present time, please do not plan to rely on institutional closure as the basis for negotiating extended deadlines or alternate requirements for your award. To the extent that your research activities have been hindered due to COVID-19 precautionary measures and/or illnesses, please be ready to provide documentation to NIH describing the effects, and how long your NIH-related research, clinical practices, or instruction was/will be affected.

Updated timelines for NIH reviews:

An updated infographic describes the peer review process during COVID-19, highlighting policies in effect for the upcoming round of due dates through May 2021. 

The NSF has established a landing page for information about the novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19).

This page is updated frequently and includes links to the agency's latest guidance on upcoming program deadlines, as well as budget and logistics questions pertaining to existing awards that may be affected in various ways. It is a good starting place for help in answering questions about disruptions to your NSF-funded work. NSF will make efforts to facilitate the continuation of research and education activities as much as possible during this challenging time. Additionally, we provide the following specific information:

Program Deadlines:  NSF is assessing program deadlines on an ongoing basis. The Impact on Existing Deadline Dates page will be updated as decisions are reached about particular deadlines.

NSF Operations:  As with many other workplaces, NSF is now in a maximum telework mode, but the work of the agency continues. NSF continues to update existing FAQs and other resources to reflect all new guidance and will keep you informed at their Coronavirus Information page.

Any questions about the policies described in the NSF Guidance should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. Questions specific to a particular award should be directed to the cognizant NSF Program Officer.

Applicants and Awardees

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is maintaining a web page on Information for Arts Endowment applicants and grantees, which is updated as things evolve.

Resources for Artists and Arts Organizations

The NEA has created a page on their website to aggregate resources and links provided by our colleagues at the service organizations: https://www.arts.gov/covid-19-resources-artists-and-arts-organizations. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) received $75 million in supplemental funding to assist cultural institutions affected by the coronavirus as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act economic stabilization plan. As detailed in the Supplemental Funding FAQ on the NEH website, this emergency funding will support at-risk humanities positions and projects at museums, libraries and archives, historic sites, colleges and universities, and other cultural nonprofits that have been financially impacted by the coronavirus.

The Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) at the USDA/NIFA has updated application submission deadlines for 2021 and 2022. Please review the resources, deadlines, and integrated reporting links below for more information.

NIFA’s AFRI resource page
NIFA’s AFRI Deadline page
NIFA’s POW and REEport Integration

The Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) has made a new FAQ available that provides guidance for all OPE grant programs. Topics include salary for grant-funded staff and students unable to work from home, documentation requirements, services provision with and without virtual options, no-cost extensions, carryover, annual project and financial reports, and more.

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For current funded programs, please contact your Department program officers or send your questions to: COVID-19@ed.gov. The USDE is also maintaining a general page for COVID-19 Resources for Schools, Students, and Families at Coronavirus-related updates.

The Department of Defense (DOD) is aware that many in the research community have been impacted by COVID-19.  The DOD is taking action to provide greater flexibility to the research community in this challenging time.

For more information in regards to COVID-19, please visit the following links:

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
• What the U.S. Government is Doing
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• U.S. Department of Defense
• U.S. Army
• U.S. Navy
• U.S. Air Force

The US Department of Energy and the Office of Science (SC) will maintain updated information about SC’s responses to COVID-19 at https://science.osti.gov/grants/Policy-and-Guidance/COVID.

Previously, the Department of Energy issued guidance implementing OMB Memorandum M-20-17. Pursuant to OMB guidance, these administrative relief flexibilities were intended to be time limited. DOE COs and recipients are reminded of the requirement to maintain appropriate records and documentation necessary to support any relief or charges to DOE awards, and to check with the DOE directly for the latest information.

The CDFA provides a list of resources for the food and agriculture industries and posts updated information regarding guidance related to COVID-19 on this website. For grant funded projects, please reach out directly to your grant contact for more specific information.

All guidance related to COVID-19 from the CDPH is provided here. 

Please keep your assigned Program Consultant informed on the status of your project, as we understand that some grant objectives and activities may be temporarily postponed or conducted with an alternative plan. 

In recognition that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a serious impact on the public humanities field across the state, California Humanities will direct funds from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, through the National Endowment for the Humanities, to meet the emergency relief needs of organizations in order to help sustain and grow the public humanities field in California.

In keeping with California Humanities’ mission, California Humanities Relief and Recovery Grants aim to provide support to organizations that have experienced critical challenges as a direct result of COVID-19 including a decrease or loss of revenue, programming opportunities, paid staff, or venues. 

Due dates and other information can be found at: https://calhum.org/programs-initiatives/initiatives/relief-recovery-grants/.

CalOES provides updated information regarding safely reopening, vaccines, masks, assistance, education, and more on their website. You may also use this site to get a digital copy of your vaccination record. 

The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) provides updates to COVID-19 related activities for children and families on this website. LA County is also provided updates on COVID-19 news, recovery, and vaccines on this website. 

The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) has published information about their American Rescue Plan implementation on this website.

SAMHSA has a number of resources for grants, training, and technical assistance related to COVID-19, mental health and substance use disorders on this website. Information specifically collected for discretionary grant recipients, including FAQs, can be found here.