Dear Colleagues:

The Foundation has issued a revision to NSF’s implementation of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Memorandum (M-20-17), entitled, Administrative Relief for Recipients and Applicants of Federal Financial Assistance Directly Impacted by the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) due to Loss of Operations. Revisions include:

• Prior approval requirement waivers (# 8) has been revised to update the specific situations that require NSF prior approval. Additional guidance also has been added for Major Facility Recipients;
• Extension of financial and other reporting (# 10) has been supplemented with information on the processing of payments via NSF’s Award Cash Management Service; and
• Extension of closeout (# 12) has new guidance extending award closeout from 120 days to 180 days.

Questions about the policies described in the NSF Guidance should be directed to : policy@nsf.gov. NSF is working to update existing FAQs and other resources to reflect NSF’s new guidance and will keep you informed at: nsf.gov/coronavirus.

Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution and Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance & Award Management
National Science Foundation