NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) Arlington, VA 22230 ADMINISTRATION OF NSF CONFERENCE OR GROUP TRAVEL AWARD -- GRANT SPECIAL CONDITIONS (FL 26) 1. General The grant shall be administered in accordance with NSF Grant General Conditions, GC-1 (10/95), or the FDP-III Terms and Conditions (7/1/96) as identified in the award letter, and this Attachment which identifies selected conditions which unless otherwise stated in the grant letter, are specifically applicable. 2. Selection of Participants Selection of participants must be fair and must include reasonable opportunities for the participation of women, minorities, and persons with disabilities. 3. Travel a. Allowances to individuals for transportation normally will not exceed the cost of jet economy round-trip air fare between the individual's home or institution and the conference, symposium or meeting. b. Because of the risk of catastrophic loss, NSF does not encourage the use of charter flights as a means of mass transportation for groups of scientists but U.S. - flag charter flights may be used by individuals. When an individual requests less than jet economy fare or has other support to defray part of the cost of transportation, a corresponding reduction will be made in the allowance from funds provided by this grant. c. The grant letter or approved budget may specifically provide that grant funds may be used for per diem and other applicable expenses of participants. If the grant is solely to assist in defraying the travel expenses of selected scientists to attend an international conference which will not be conducted with NSF support, grant funds may not be so used except to assist in defraying the lodging and subsistence expenses of an officially designated delegate of a Federal Agency or of the U.S. element of a recognized international organization who would not otherwise be reimbursed for such expenses. d. Funds from this grant may not be used to provide travel or related expenses to an individual whose comparable expenses are being defrayed by his/her employer or by some third party, including through another federal grant. e. Funds provided by this grant may not be used for travel or per diem expenses of dependents. f. Further NSF approval of separate trips by persons to attend the conference is not required. g. Any air transportation to, from, between, or within a country other than the U.S. of persons or property, the expense of which will be assisted by NSF funding, must be performed in accordance with Article 10. "Travel" of the GC-1, or Article 17. "Use of U.S. Flag Air Carriers" of the FDP-III Terms and Conditions. h. NSF assumes no responsibility for securing passports or visas required by any person because of his/her participation in an NSF-supported project. i. Employees of the Federal Government (other than NSF) may be compensated for their travel expenses to attend the conference/workshop provided that prior written approval is obtained from their agency, including a statement that the travel is not expected to contribute directly to the mission of their agency. Federal employees may serve as lecturers or staff members on a project and may receive compensation and/or expenses if they obtain prior approval from their agencies to participate and if services to the project are performed outside their regular working hours or while they are on leave status from official duties. Under no circumstances may NSF employees be compensated from this grant. j. Any registration or other fees paid by conference participants shall be used to defray reasonable expenses directly associated with the conference for which funds are not otherwise available. If fees exceed such expenses, the remainder shall be used to offset allowable costs otherwise chargeable to this grant. k. Costs of entertainment, amusement, diversion and social activities and any costs directly associated with such activities (such as tickets to shows or sports events, and related meals, lodging, rentals, transportation and gratuities) are unallowable. Expenses of awardee employees who are not on travel status, serving as hosts, or otherwise participating at meals that are primarily social occasions involving speakers or consultants are not allowable, even if the costs of the speaker or consultant are allowable. Grantees should consult Section 625, "Meetings and Conferences", of NSF's Grant Policy Manual which provides additional coverage on allowability of costs associated with meetings and conferences. 4. Reporting Requirements The Grantee will ensure that the Principal Investigator (PI) under group award accepts responsibility for reporting on the groups participation in the meeting. The report should be submitted utilizing NSF Form 98A (Final Project Report) and include: (1) a description of the participant selection process; (2) a list of persons for whom travel funds were provided; (3) their institutional addresses; (4) the sums awarded; and (5) information on the meeting including number of persons attending, total number of U.S. participants, and other countries represented, highlights of the program and general reaction of the U.S. participants supported under the group travel award. One copy of the NSF Form 98A should be submitted to the cognizant NSF program official listed in the grant letter within 90 days following the expiration of the grant. Group travel awardees are required to retain supporting documentation that funds were spent in accordance with the original intent of the proposal. Such documentation will be subject to audit as specified in Article 23. "Audits and Records" of NSF's GC-1, or Article 23. "Audits and Records" of the FDP-III Terms and Conditions. 5. Grant Monitoring and Evaluation The Foundation may, as part of its program evaluation activities, carry out assessments of the outcomes of selected group travel awards. Grantees are requested to cooperate with Foundation staff or designated third parties conducting these assessments. 6. Resolution of Conflicting Conditions In lieu of Article 34. "Resolution of Conflicting Conditions" of NSF's GC-1, substitute the following: a. Should there be any inconsistency between the grant letter conditions and the Grant Special or General Conditions, the grant letter conditions shall control. b. Should there be any inconsistency between the Grant Special or General Conditions, the Grant Special Conditions shall control. c. Should there be any inconsistency between the Grant Special and General Conditions and any NSF guides, brochures, etc., cited or included by reference in the grant, the matter should be referred to the NSF Grants Officer for guidance. FL 26 (07/96) 1