NIH Relinquishing Statement Instruction

Following are the instructions for completing an NIH grant transfer from your current institution to your new institution.  You will have to coordinate the relinquishing date from the originating awardee institution and the start date of the grant at the new institution. 

If transferring out of Wayne State University, you must follow the steps as outlined in Change of PI or Institution Procedures and then also follow the instructions below.  Coordination with Sponsored Program Administration is needed for the generation of the relinquishing statement. 

If you are transferring to Wayne State University from another institution, it is important that prior to your appointment, the department or college business manager work with you to gain access to the Cayuse Research Suite which may be needed to process your transfer request (Cayuse Profile Request for Non-Employees or Pending Employees). The business manager in the department or at the college level will guide you through the University proposal process, assist with development of the transfer request, and develop the budget according to the University requirements for NIH funding.  Affiliation of Commons ID to Wayne State needed.  Submit the Request to Access NIH Commons/Affiliate form.

Questions on the transfer process can be directed to your Sponsored Program Administration Grant & Contract Officer.

From the Current Grantee Institution

The electronic application from the proposed grantee institution should include, at a minimum, the following information: 

  • Official Statement Relinquishing Interests and Rights in a PHS Research Grant is submitted via electronic Research Administration Commons (eRA Commons).  The transfer application cannot be processed until this form has been submitted.  This form provides the effective date of relinquishment, estimated unexpended Direct and Facilities and Administrative (F&A) Costs (funds from previous budget periods should not be included in these amounts), and a list of equipment costing $5,000 or more transferring with the project. 
  • Relinquishing Statement Resources:
  • Form HHS 568, Final Invention Statement and Certification. While this form is not required until 90 days after the project terminates, it is desirable to submit it with the transfer request documents.
  • Standard Form 425, Financial Status Report (FFR).  The FFR must be submitted by the original awardee institution within 90 days following termination of the project. 
  • Unobligated funds must be reflected as carryover in the required carryover field of the FSR in order for the funds to be available to the PI for expenditure at the new institution.  These funds will be issued to the new institution after the change of institution application is submitted and awarded by the NIH.

From the Proposed New Institution

  • Contact the NIH Grants Management Specialist (GMS) assigned to the existing award in order to confirm the next steps, although generally they will not diverge from the steps noted below:
  • The proposed new institution should begin preparing its transfer application (detailed below) to submit as soon as possible (prior to the date on the relinquishing statement). This is especially true if the grantee is planning to transfer to an organization that has not previously received NIH supportthe transfer will take longer to complete once it is approved because the proposed organization will need an established EIN and possibly an FWA, animal assurance, and IRB or IACUC approvals.
  • For instructions on how to complete an electronic change of institution application, please visit the NIH Parent Announcement website(link is external) and scroll to the bottom of the webpage for "Change of Grantee Organization (Type 7 Parent Clinical Trial Optional)" currently this is PA-18-590
  • Be sure to always follow the instructions provided by the NIH Grants Management Specialist (GMS) if they diverge from the NIH Parent Announcement for Change of Grantee Organization applications.
  • Wayne State Specific:  for change of institution applications being submitted by Wayne State on behalf of incoming faculty, the proposal should be built in the University's Cayuse Research Suite using the Program Announcement noted above. 
  • SF 424 (R&R) Cover Page
    • Field 4.a. (Federal Identifier) populate with the institute and serial number of the grant (e.g. CA987389)
    • Field 8 (Type of Application), select "Revision" and then mark "E. Other" and insert "Change of Grantee Organization" in the text field
  • PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement
    • Complete applicable fields
  • SF 424 (R&R) Other Project information
    • Human Subjects section:  Provide the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP) assurance number and IRB approval for the new organization, if applicable
    • Vertebrate Animals section:  Provide the Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) assurance number and IACUC approval for the new organization, if applicable
    • Facilities & other Resources: Include probable effect of the move on the project
    • Equipment:  Include detailed list of any equipment purchased with grant funds to be transferred to the new organization (inclusion of this list in the transfer application from the new organization indicates its acceptance of title to that equipment);
  • SF 424 (R&R) Project/Performance Site Location(s)
  • SF 424 Research & Related Senior/Key Person Profile:
    • Updated biographical sketches for the PD/PI and existing senior/key personnel and biographical sketches for any proposed new senior/key personnel, and updated "Other Support" page(s) as necessary if there are changes since last reporting.  https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/othersupport.htm
  • R&R Budget Form
    • The R&R Detailed Budget form must be used, regardless of the form used for the initial application for current award for all research and career mechanisms.
    • The budget should be based on the direct costs relinquished by the original grantee organization, unless otherwise instructed by the awarding IC.  On top of that, budget the F&A costs at the new institution's rates.  The budget is not typically constrained by the amount of F&A awarded originally.
    • Even if the budget for the original award was submitted in a modular format, the R&R Detailed Budget form must be used for an electronic application for change of grantee organization. For these modular budget based awards, grantees may either complete all of the fields in the R&R Detailed Budget as appropriate or, they may complete only the costs for the PD/PI (Section A), and include the remainder of the direct costs under Section F (Other Direct Costs) Item 8, and Section H (Indirect Costs).
  • Wayne State Specific:  If a detailed budget is not provided due to it being modular, a detailed budget must be routed with the other materials for internal review purposes.

  • PHS Research Plan Form
    • Include a statement indicating whether the overall research plans/aims have changed from the original submission. If the overall research plans/aims have changed, provide updated information.
    • If the overall research plans/aims have not changed, load the original research plans/aims to the change of institution proposal.
    • If transferring on the anniversary date, include the progress report for the current year that includes a statement regarding the goals for the upcoming year.
    • If transferring during the budget period (i.e., a mid-year transfer), contact the awarding IC to determine if a progress report is required. If required, the progress report should be included in the Research Strategy section.