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1 Programmatic Terms and Conditions Proposal Number: OIA-1946412 Proposal Title: RII Track-1: Ridge to Reef Processes and Interdependent Drivers of Small Island Resilience Institution: University of the Virgin Islands Principal Investigator/ Project Director: Kim Waddell Post Award Management This RII award will be made as a cooperative agreement and its post-award management will be guided by the Programmatic Terms and Conditions of that cooperative agreement. In addition to the required annual reporting, NSF will conduct performance effectiveness reviews during the award. These reviews will include site visits, reverse site visits, and videoconferencing. Programmatic Terms and Conditions (PTC) for the EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track-1 (RII Track-1) (NSF 19-580) Cooperative Agreement(s) General Programmatic Terms and Conditions (PTCs) (will be posted to web page) 1. Key Personnel: Except for the Principal Investigator(s) (PIs) or co-PIs identified in this award, requests to make any changes to personnel, organizations, and/or partnerships specifically named in the proposal, that have been approved as part of this award, shall be submitted in writing to the managing NSF Program Officer for approval prior to any changes taking effect. Requests for prior approval of changes to the PI(s) must be submitted through FastLane for review by the managing NSF Program Officer and approval by an NSF Grants Officer. 2. For Cooperative Agreements (CAs) please refer to any award-specific terms and conditions specifically provided in your Cooperative Agreement document for further information. Award-Specific Programmatic Terms and Conditions (PTCs) (will be included in the award letter) 1. Key Personnel: Key Personnel in this Cooperative Agreement are defined as the Principal Investigator (PI), co-PIs, and the members of the RII Track-1 management team. 2 2. Program Description: The purpose of the Research Infrastructure Improvement Program: Track 1 (RII Track-1) is to provide support for sustainable improvements in a jurisdiction’s academic research infrastructure, that is, its research capacity in identified areas of research and education in science and engineering that are supported by the National Science Foundation and aligned with the jurisdiction’s science and technology plan. RII Track-1 activities build the core infrastructure needed to develop both individual and collaborative efforts for the successful pursuit of significant jurisdictional and regional opportunities in science and engineering. The RII Track-1 award adds specific value to the jurisdiction’s academic infrastructure not generally available through other funding sources. 3. Project Governance: The Awardee will ensure that an efficient and effective project governing structure is in place throughout the award period to support all critical or significant project activities. 3.1. The approved charter/bylaws governing the operation of the statewide (jurisdiction) EPSCoR committee must be submitted to the managing NSF Program Officer via email with the RII Strategic Plan (see 4.2 below). A complete list of members and their affiliations must be provided. NSF should be notified via email of any changes to charter/bylaws or committee membership. Care should be taken to have committee members from academe, government, and private sectors, including members of underrepresented groups in STEM. 3.2. The Project Director (PD) must be the lead Principal Investigator (PI) and be employed by the fiscal agent. 3.3. In order to avoid conflicts of interests in project governance and leadership, the RII Track-1 project’s PD/PI and co-PIs must not serve as voting members, Chairs, or co-Chairs of the statewide EPSCoR committee. In addition, RII participants may not serve on the statewide EPSCoR committees of other jurisdictions. 4. Governing Responsibilities: The Awardee will ensure efficient and effective performance of all project responsibilities by the governing components throughout the award period. 4.1. The PI will provide scientific and technical leadership, as well as overall program coordination, and will (a) report to NSF and the statewide EPSCoR Committee; (b) visit the various campuses where the research is being conducted on a periodic basis; and (c) ensure that the various stakeholders operate as a cohesive research enterprise progressing towards the realization of project goals and objectives. The PI will be assisted by professional staff whose responsibilities include program management, fiscal and contract management, database administration, and communications. 3 4.2. RII Track-1 Strategic Plan: Within 90 days of the effective date of the award, the project leaders and participants must conduct an RII Track-1 strategic planning session. The strategic planning session must be led by the independent external facilitator(s) selected by NSF EPSCoR. The strategic plan must clearly define the vision, mission, baseline data (see 4.3 below), objectives, and anticipated outcomes of the RII Track-1 project. The strategic plan helps to ensure that communication is unambiguous and consistent among participants and stakeholders; that necessary and sufficient resources are identified; and that effective procedures are in place to evaluate progress. Effective strategic planning increases the probability of meeting the desired objectives. Member(s) of NSF EPSCoR will attend this session to observe and to serve as resource(s). The RII Strategic Plan will then be submitted for NSF approval within 60 days following the planning session. NSF EPSCoR will respond to the submitted strategic plan within 60 days. The RII Track-1 Strategic Plan, submitted to and accepted by NSF EPSCoR, is a prerequisite to second year funding of the RII Track-1 project. 4.3. Baseline Reporting: Baseline data for publications and proposals submitted to NSF during the three years prior to the award must be reported to the managing Program Officer within 90 days of the effective date of the award and be available for discussion at the Strategic Planning Meeting (4.2 above). Baseline data will be reported for each of the three years prior to the start of the award: total annual number of publications in the areas of research covered by this award, total annual number of proposals submitted to NSF (and total annual monetary request), and total annual number of proposals funded by NSF (and total annual funding amount). The baseline data will be reported for RII Track-1 participants active at the initiation of this award. NSF EPSCoR will provide a template table for reporting the baseline data. 4.4. Hiring of Faculty and other Key Personnel: The PI is responsible for ensuring that participating institutions follow through recruiting and securing all proposed hires of faculty and other key personnel as established by the original project proposal, any award conditions, or the approved RII Track-1 Strategic Plan. Any changes require prior NSF EPSCoR approval. The annual or final report must report on the status of faculty (and other key personnel) hires. 5. Reporting Requirements: The Awardee will provide ad hoc and regular reports as designated by the NSF managing Program Officer, with content, format, and submission timeline established by NSF and the managing Program Officer. The Awardee will submit all required reports via Research.gov in accordance with RII Track-1 annual reporting guidelines disseminated by NSF EPSCoR; for any type of report not specifically mentioned in Research.gov, the Awardee will use the “Interim Reporting” function to submit reports. 5.1. Project reports must include the following: 4 5.1.a. Project Outcomes: Annual and final reports must provide concise and substantive evidence of efforts, accomplishments, commitments, and plans to ensure that the positive outcomes of the project will be sustained beyond the duration of the award. This should include quantitative data (e.g., numbers of new hires recruited and retained, proposal submissions, award success rates, students involved in research, etc.). These reports must also describe project outcomes, including those related to sustainability of research infrastructure improvements, and key findings of evaluation reports describing project impacts. These reports may also include qualitative information such as descriptions of policies or programs proposed or implemented to enhance research competitiveness, integrate research and education, and promote partnerships and alliances that increase research capacity and support. The awardee will submit quantitative data to NSF EPSCoR annually through a set of EPSCoR Reporting Tables A-H. In these tables the awardee will submit data on: A. Salary Support for senior RII participants; B. Numbers and demographics of RII participants (including breakdown by male, female, underrepresented minorities (URMs), persons with disabilities, and new investigators) by institution and participant type (including faculty, staff, and students); C. Collaborations by institutional type; D. External engagement of males, females, and URMs by institutional type; E. Outputs, including publications, NSF proposals, patents, new faculty hires, postdocs, and graduate and undergraduate students; F. Expenditures by research theme and other project activities; G. Cost sharing; and, H. Leveraged support by research theme and other project activities. The completed NSF EPSCoR reporting templates (Tables A-H), the external evaluator’s annual report, other evaluative reports, and highlights (including the completed permission forms and high-quality photos in separate files), must be sent via email to the managing Program Officer at the time the annual or final report is submitted. 5.1.b. Broadening Participation: The annual and final reports, including reporting templates sent to the managing Program Officer, must provide the total number of participants in the activities funded by this award, including faculty, staff, students, and members of all external advisory boards. In addition, the reports must indicate the numbers of women and groups underrepresented in STEM that participated in award activities. These data must be reported in aggregate for the project and for each participating institution. Demographic data by race, gender, and disability should be provided in addition to education level (postdoctoral, graduate, undergraduate, K-12). Provision of demographic information by participants is voluntary. Data must be collected in adherence to federal laws as 5 well as the laws of the jurisdiction. The first year of the RII Track-1 project serves as a baseline for reporting year over year improvements on increasing the participation of women and underrepresented minorities in RII project activities, including STEM research and education projects. 5.1.c. Institutional Engagement: Annual and final reports, including reporting templates sent to the managing Program Officer, must provide evidence of broadened engagement of the jurisdiction’s institutions in RII Track-1-supported activities. Reports must also include evidence of enhanced collaboration among the jurisdiction's universities and colleges, including primarily undergraduate institutions and 2-year institutions, and utilization of resources residing therein. 5.1.d. Leveraging NSF Programs: Annual and final reports must include evidence of linkages, coordination and collaboration with other NSF-funded programs, including the jurisdiction's participation in NSF programs that support research and infrastructure (human, physical, cyber) development beyond RII Track-1. These reports must also demonstrate how leveraging NSF programs enhances research and education competitiveness. 5.1.e. Progress on Program Element Planning and Implementation: Annual and final reports must include evidence of progress in the development and implementation of plans required for the RII Track-1 project, such as the workforce development and diversity plans. All such plans are expected to be included in the project’s Strategic Plan. The Strategic Plan’s goals, milestones and metrics for the reporting period must be documented in the annual and final reports, including progress made during the reporting period against those Strategic Plan parameters and any modifications made since the last annual report. 5.1.f. Evaluation: External evaluation of key components of the project must be conducted annually. An annual written evaluation report from the external evaluator is required. The annual project report submitted via Research.gov must include a summary of the evaluators’ findings, and a description of the course corrections, if any, made by the project management team based on the findings and recommendations of the evaluation report(s). For the Year-1 annual project report, a detailed external evaluation plan may be submitted in lieu of a written evaluation report. 5.1.g. Unobligated Funds: The annual or final report must include an estimate of the funds expected to remain unobligated at the end of the current support period. If that estimate is greater than 20% of the current year award amount, the PI also must provide a plan and timeline for expenditure of those funds. If more than 20% of the current year award amount continues to remain unobligated by the yearly anniversary date of the award, approval to carry that amount forward must be granted by NSF EPSCoR. The awardee’s Sponsored Projects Office should prepare the request, which must include a plan and timeline 6 for expenditure of the funds, and submit the request via email to the managing NSF Program Officer. 5.2. Cost Sharing: Cost sharing at a level of at least, and no more than, 20 percent of the amount provided by NSF is required over the duration of the award. The sources and uses of cost sharing must be consistent with the policies of NSF and the awardee institution(s) as well as all applicable federal and state (or territorial) laws and regulations. Cost sharing must be allowable and allocable to the project. In particular, projects and activities supported under the “Seed Funding and Emerging Areas” element of the RII Track-1 project, which are funded through cost share, must relate to the scope of the RII Track-1 project as defined by the proposal and RII Track-1 Strategic Plan. All cost sharing amounts are subject to audit. Failure to provide the level of cost sharing reflected in the approved award budget may result in termination of the NSF award, disallowance of award costs, and/or refund of award funds to NSF. 5.2.a. Cost Share Reporting: Cost sharing must be certified and approved by NSF EPSCoR on an annual basis. The annual cost sharing notification must indicate the sources of the cost share and certify that the uses were allowable and allocable to the project. In addition, the use of cost share to meet the goals and objectives of the project must be described in the annual and final project reports. 6. NSF Ongoing Project Oversight: The Awardee will ensure full commitment and cooperation among the governing structure components, and all project staff during all ongoing NSF project management and oversight activities. The Awardee will ensure availability of all key institutional partners during any desk or on-site review as well as timely access to all project documentation. 6.1. The project team must cooperate with NSF EPSCoR program evaluation activities by providing data as needed to assess program performance. Program level evaluation activities complement, but do not replace, those required of individual projects. 6.2. RII Track-1 awardees must participate in site visits, reverse site visits, videoconferencing, and other program management activities to demonstrate progress relative to established goals and objectives of the project. 7. Maximum Overlap of Awards: Jurisdictions will be allowed to have a maximum overlap period of six months between two active RII Track-1 awards (i.e., the concluding duration of a previous award and the initial period of a new award may overlap up to six months). In cases where no-cost extensions are employed, the maximum overlap for two awards still cannot exceed six months. Jurisdiction-Specific Terms and Conditions 7 8. Jurisdiction-Specific Terms and Conditions 8.1. Hiring of Faculty and other Key Personnel: The following two tenure-track faculty hires will occur during the first two years of the project. i. A tenure-track restoration ecologist, to be hired in Year 1 or 2, who will contribute to Goal 3. ii. A second tenure-track position that will contribute to the project will be hired by Year 3. Currently this position is undefined, and its nature will be determined and justified during the strategic planning meeting for NSFs approval. Any changes must first be approved by NSF EPSCoR. 8.2. Within 90 days after the Strategic Planning meeting, VI EPSCoR will provide a plan describing how the educational activities of the project may be leveraged or modified so that they can prepare undergraduate students directly for the job market or graduate school post-graduation. 8.3. At the time of the strategic planning meeting, VI EPSCoR will provide a clear management plan and timeline of the project that shows integration of all activities with one another where applicable. In addition, this document will link investigator and staff to all activities listed in the proposal. This should also contain all responsible parties required for the completion of each activity. 8.4. Within the first year of the project, VI EPSCoR will produce a plan that shows a clear protocol for the strategy behind building collaborations. This will include strategies for determining how a collaboration will fit into and benefit the project, protocols for agreements for memorandums of understanding, publication agreements, and intellectual property agreements.