Can I still submit my research proposals?

Can I still submit my research proposals?

As COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) has transitioned to a virtual office environment and is continuing to provide full service and staffing to maintain our normal levels of faculty and staff support.  Please contact your OSP Research Administrator by email with any request that you may have for assistance with the submission of a proposal, the setup of an award, or any other questions that you may have. See more information here.

What guidelines are to be followed for remaining essential activities in labs?

First, practice social distancing, including laboratory-specific guidance

  • Keep at least 6 feet between people when together for prolonged periods.
  • Shift work spaces to maintain distance.
  • Stagger shifts to maintain no more than two people in the lab at any given time.
  • Work elsewhere for non-laboratory work, such as writing, planning, or data analysis.
  • Establish access connections and communication tools to ensure effective remote work.

Second, plan for contingencies:

  • Plan research activities such that essential functions can be carried out by designated lab members, who could serve as essential personnel if needed.
  • Coordinate with colleagues and consider if cross training of personnel is feasible for managing critical activities.
  • Order crucial research supplies and materials now to ensure availability if there is a disruption in supply chains.
  • Connect with your departmental leadership to learn about their plans for operations on which you depend, such as facility needs like loading docks or IT support.
  • Even in the case of essential activities, plan procedures to idle or shut down experiments and equipment, should it become necessary.
  • Document contingency plans and share the plan with lab members.

Note, per Syracuse University guidance, anyone who has traveled outside the Central New York region (defined as the counties of Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga, and Oswego) should remain away from campus for 14 days, following their return to Central New York.

What are essential research activities?

Essential research activities are things, which if halted will have an irretrievably detrimental impact to a long-term research program or to the maintenance and care of high value research material. Essential research activities may also include those that respond to the current world health crisis. Some examples of these activities are:

  • A long-term ongoing research experiment which cannot be stopped without jeopardizing the entire experiment
  • Longitudinal study that is already underway that addresses an important topic relevant to human health
  • Care of animals, plants, cell lines, microbial strains, freezers containing valuable research material, major pieces of equipment, and other specific items/agents that are of high research value and are extremely difficult or very expensive to replace
  • Activity that maintains critical equipment in facilities and laboratories
  • COVID-19 related activity that has a timeline for deployment that could address the current crisis
  • Activity that has US government-mandated security and access requirements, cannot be performed remotely, and whose activity is deemed critical by the US government
  • Activities specifically requested by a US Government sponsor to continue during this time

If I am not supposed to come to campus, what do I do about my ongoing and planned research projects?

For currently active projects, researchers are required to discontinue campus-based research activities and when possible move all non-essential lab research to home/online modalities. Researchers must postpone the start of any new data collection activities that cannot be carried out remotely until further notice.

All non-essential campus-based research activity must pause, and essential research activities conducted in campus-based facilities scaled back to a minimum. Effective immediately, no more than 2 people from any lab should occupy the lab at one time. These individuals should be those who have not traveled outside of Syracuse area within last 14 days. Those that remain must be conducting essential research activities only.

Approval for the continuation of essential research activities must be received by the Vice President of Research from your Department Chair and Associate Dean for Research. Please submit your disclosure of essential research activities here.