Federal Sponsor Guidance

General Information:

Awards from federal agencies are currently governed by the Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (UG) 2 CFR 200. These regulations are better known as the Uniform Guidance, or UG. The UG superseded the previous Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars that governed Federal awards, such as circulars A-21, A-110, and A-133. The Uniform Guidance became effective on December 26, 2014. On August 13, 2020, the first major revisions to the Uniform Guidance went into effect. These revisions enacted a provision that prohibits use of federal grant funds to purchase "covered telecommunications equipment or services," which included items provided by Huawei Technology Company, ZTE Corporation, or any of their many subsidiaries or affiliates. Additional revisions, touching on a variety of issues, will go into effect on November 12, 2020.

The following list provides award guidance for the federal agencies that provide the majority of federal funding for research at UCSB.

The NSF uses their Research.gov electronic system for award management.

Awards from NSF are governed the Uniform Guidance and by terms set forth in the NSF Proposal & Award Policies Procedures Guide (PAPPG) and the National Science Foundation Grant General Conditions (GC-1).  

The NIH uses their eRA Commons electronic systems for award management.

NIH awards are subject to the Uniform Guidance, as well as the terms and conditions set forth in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.

The terms and conditions of NIH awards include the requirement to obtain prior approval before any PD/PI or Senior/Key Personnel specifically named in the NIH notice of award:

  • withdraws from the project entirely;
  • will be absent from the project during any continuous period of 3 months or more;
  • reduces time devoted to the project by 25% or more from the level that was approved at the time of the initial competing year award. Reductions are cumulative, i.e., the 25% threshold may be reached by two or more successive reductions that total 25% or more.

It is the PI(s)' and department's responsibility to monitor the status and level of effort of PD/PIs and Senior/Key Personnel. See the NIH Grants Policy Statement section 8.1.2.6 for additional details and information that must be included in the prior approval request. Contact your Sponsored Projects team if you have any questions.

NASA uses their NSPIRES electronic systems for most award management actions.

NASA awards are governed by the Uniform Guidance and the NASA Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook. NASA has supplemented the UG with their own guidance, which is published in the Code of Federal Regulations as 2 CFR 1800.

The DOE utilizes their Portfolio Analysis and Management System (PAMS) for award management.

DOE awards are governed by the Uniform Guidance. DOE has supplemented the UG with their own guidance, which is published in the Code of Federal Regulations as 2 CFR 910.

ONR awards are not currently managed by any electronic system.

ONR awards are subject to the Uniform Guidance and the R&D General Terms and Conditions.

Similar to the agencies listed above, some of the following federal agencies also function with their own award terms and conditions in addition to those incorporated by the Uniform Guidance.

For agencies that have their own award terms and conditions in addition to the UG, they are linked after the name of the agency below. Always be sure to read the award document for any special terms and conditions and links to updated award guidance.

State of California Guidance