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Research and Sponsored Programs

NSF Revised Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs)

Page Updated: June 30, 2021

Introduction

Effective Oct. 5, 2020, the National Science Foundation (NSF) made the following updates to the Research Performance Project Report in Research.gov to add several new questions. Please click to expand the sections below to review guidance and resources for each question.

Guidance and Resources

Edit Participants Screen

Has there been a change in the active other support of the PI/PD(s) since the last reporting period?
Guidance
  • If Principal Investigators (PIs)/Project Directors (PDs) and co-PIs/co-PDs select “Yes,” they will be required to upload their most up-to-date Current and Pending Support document in an NSF-approved format to notify NSF that active other support has changed since the award was made or since the most recent annual report.
  • The NSF-approved formats for Current and Pending Support are SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae and an NSF fillable PDF. Additional NSF information about Current and Pending Support is available here.
  • Current and Pending Support documents not in an NSF-approved format will trigger a compliance error preventing document upload and submission of the annual or final project report.
Additional Current and Pending Support Resources

Impact Tab

What percentage of the award’s budget was spent in a foreign country?
Guidance
  • NSF RPPR instructions:
    • Describe what percentage of the award’s budget was spent in foreign country(ies) for this reporting period. If more than one foreign country was involved, identify the distribution of funding between foreign countries.
    • U.S.-based recipients should provide the percentage of the budget spent in the foreign country(ies) and/or, if applicable, the percentage of the budget obligated to foreign entities as first-tier subawards.
  • What should be reported? Per the NSF, the recipient should report any funding that is actually spent in the foreign country and/or obligated to a foreign entity.
    • Use best judgement to determine reportable expenses. The NSF guidance does not provide specific examples.
    • Examples of best judgement reportable expenses:
      • All funds obligated to foreign subawards
      • Foreign travel costs spent within the foreign country (ie, meals, hotels, transportation)
      • Payments to individuals for work/services performed in a foreign country and/or if the payee address is a foreign location.
      • Salary paid to an employee telecommuting from a foreign country
      • Purchases of equipment or supplies from a vendor located in foreign country
    • Examples of best judgement non-reportable expenses:
      • Facilities and Administrative (F&A) costs associated with foreign transactions
      • Fringe benefits associated with an employee telecommuting from a foreign country
      • Airfare purchased through a domestic carrier to a foreign destination
      • Salary to foreign nationals living and working in Madison
      • A purchase of an item from US business of a product manufactured by a foreign company
Additional UW Madison Foreign Spending Review Resources
  • Foreign Subawards
    • Visit the RSP Subaward Portal to identify foreign Subawards
      • Search by Award ID or Project ID to identify the relevant award
      • Click on the Award ID hyperlink from one of the lines of the resulting search. This will take you to a summary screen for all subwards under this award. There is a field for “Foreign” that indicates either “Y” (Yes) or “N” (No).
        • If there is a “Y” next to any of the subaward names, please review to include the cumulative total listed for your reporting.
        • Annual RPPRs: If the cumulative subaward amount has been fully reported on a previous RPPR period, you do not need to repeat the reporting for it each year. If the cumulative has changed since your last report, only report the difference in spending
        • Final RPPR: For the final RPPR that covers the entire award, you will need to reiterate the total foreign subaward spending.
  • All Other Transactions
    • Review your award level financial transactions in WISER and obtain assistance from your departmental purchasing expert if needed.
      • Within WISER, adjust the period of the report to match your reporting period in order to narrow expenses.
      • Review the “Line Descr” field in WISER to look for “WIRE” or “WIRETRF”. (Foreign vendors frequently use wire transfer as a payment mechanism.)
      • Helpful UW Account Codes to review (Note: this is not all encompassing)
    Account Code(s) Short Description Detailed Description Reportable?
    2623 Non-Tax Reportable Services and Expenditures Use this Account Code to report Non-U.S. Source Income in compliance with policy at Non-U.S. Source Income (Foreign Source Income) Payments to Non-Resident Aliens (NRA) for Income where the location of the activity for which the payment is being issued is outside the U.S. Non-U.S. Source Income must include a completed and signed Form W-8BEN (Individual) or Form W-8BEN-E (Entities).Also include payments to Nonresident Alien (NRA) individuals or foreign companies who provide a service outside the U.S. Yes
    2802 Transportation - Foreign Long distance transportation such as airfare. Also includes airfare change/cancellation fees, baggage fees and agency fees. Airfare purchased from a foreign carrier is reportable. Airfare purchased from a domestic carrier is not reportable.
    2812 Car Rental - Foreign Payment of car rentals and gasoline in a foreign country Yes
    2822 Local Transport - Foreign Local transportation charges incurred via airport/hotel shuttle, taxi, public transportation, etc. Local transportation occurred in a foreign country is reportable. Local transportation to/from a domestic airport is not reportable.
    2832 Mileage - Foreign Reimbursement for miles driven for UW-related business when the traveler takes his/her privately owned vehicle. Reimbursement for use of a personal vehicle in a foreign country is reportable. Local mileage to/from a domestic airport is not reportable.
    2842 Registration Fees - Foreign Fee charged to attend a foreign event such as a conference, workshop, seminar, training session or meeting. Yes
    2852 Lodging - Foreign Expenses incurred by traveler(s) for lodging in a foreign country (includes extended lodging). Yes
    2862 Meals - Foreign Meals associated with UW business in a foreign country Yes
    2872 Incidentals - Foreign Other miscellaneous travel-related expenses occurring in a foreign country Yes
    2893-2895 Hosted Event expenses Catering, AV Equipment, Meeting Space Reportable if expenses are to a foreign entity
What was the impact on teaching and educational experiences?
Guidance
  • For example, has the project:
    • developed and disseminated new educational materials;
    • led to ideas for new approaches to course design or pedagogical methods; or
    • developed online resources that will be useful for teachers and students and other school staff?

Changes/Problems Tab

Has there been a change in primary performance site location from that originally proposed?
Guidance
  • If yes, please provide the location of your new primary performance site and reason for the change in location.

Additional NSF Project Reports Resources