In accordance with NIH policy, investigators with joint appointments at a VAMC (VA hospital) and an affiliated university must have a valid Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that specifies (at both the university and the VAMC) the following:
- Title of the investigator's appointment
- Distribution of compensation
- Responsibilities of the proposed investigator
- Percentage of effort available for research at each institution.
All Indiana University investigators who also hold salaried VA appointments must complete an MOU prior to applying for NIH funding. The budget justification also must reference the joint appointment. This includes both direct NIH and NIH pass-through funding.
Please see the new Veterans Affairs Joint Appointment Memorandum of Understanding guidance page on the IU website for instructions on how to fill out the MOU, as well as the sample text for the justification.
Resources
- Council on Government Relations (COGR), “University and Veterans Joint Appointments” (PDF)
- NIH Grants Policy Statement (Part II, Subpart B, Grants to Federal Institutions and Payments to Federal Employees Under Grants, 17.3 VA-University Affiliations)
- NIH Grants Policy Statement (Part II, Subpart B, Grants to Federal Institutions and Payments to Federal Employees Under Grants, 17.6 Allowable and Unallowable Costs: Salary or Fringe Benefits)
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Revised Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA)