Sneak Preview: NIH Issues Guidance, FAQs on Covered Technologies
(The following was excerpted from a recent Thompson Grants 360 article.) The Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) has provided multiple documents aimed to ensure that recipients of NIH awards understand the implications under the new provision in the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) revised uniform guidance related to the prohibition on procuring certain telecommunication and video surveillance services or equipment (§200.216).
During the Federal Demonstration Partnership’s (FDP) recent virtual meeting, NIH Policy Analyst Adam Graham explained that NIH has released clarification guidance (NOT-OD-21-041), which discusses the provision that became effective Aug. 13, 2020, and prohibits federal award recipients from using government funds to procure or obtain, or enter contracts to procure or obtain equipment, services or systems that use covered telecommunications equipment or services. NIH has modified its award terms and conditions for awards issued on or after that date, and the agency is updating its NIH Grants Policy Statement to include this prohibition within Section 4 — Public Policy Requirements, Objectives and Other Appropriate Mandates.
The NIH guidance explains that the agency’s national public policy requirements mandate that applicants and recipients must certify compliance with this provision, whereby the authorized organization official must sign the face page of the application. It adds that recipients must: (1) certify compliance at the time of drawdown of funds from the Payment Management System; (2) maintain documentation on file to demonstrate that they have not used grant funds to procure equipment or services or enter into contracts prohibited by §200.216; and (3) maintain appropriate internal controls to ensure ongoing compliance.
(The full version of this story has now been made available to all for a limited time here.)
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