Awardee Frequently Asked Questions

Please be sure to read the entire award letter. The letter has important information about award requirements and deliverables that need to be submitted in ProposalCentral to initiate the award. You should also forward the award notice email to your institutional grants and fiscal officers as there are award deliverables that they will need to submit.

The scheduled deliverables are listed on the Award Deliverables tab in ProposalCentral.  Deliverables are listed in Due Date order.

Please note: The AHA will not change or extend deliverable due dates as they are directly related to the release of award payments.

The AHA will not change award deliverable due dates because they are tied to the release of award payments. You can still complete and submit deliverables after the due date. The award staff will review deliverables for compliance with AHA guidelines. If there is an issue or the deliverable is past due, our staff will follow up with you.

The 12:00 a.m. time is the default set by the system. It will not limit or prevent you from submitting the deliverable. All scheduled deliverables can be submitted if there is a Plus icon (+) in the Add column.

Note: The Scientific Progress Report and the Expenditures Report will remain open for up to two years after the due date. Failure to submit required report deliverables by the scheduled due date may result in payments being held or canceled after the award ends. You must contact the awards staff if you are trying to submit a report that’s two years old or more.

The Home tab shows deliverables that are due in the next 60 days and those that are 180 days overdue. To see deliverables due outside this range, you must go to the award and view the list of scheduled deliverables.

The Scientific Progress Report is a webform in ProposalCentral. The investigator will receive an email reminder 30 days before the report is due. The report form has instructions on what should be included in each section. The report must be completed by the awardee in ProposalCentral using the report deliverable webform to be considered submitted.  We will not change the report’s due date or grant extensions, as submission of the deliverable is related to the release of award payments.

To submit a request in ProposalCentral, you must be on the Deliverables tab of the award record. On the left, above the list of deliverables, is a blue “+ Add Deliverable” button. Click the button.

• The list of options is in alphabetical order. Select the appropriate request deliverable and click Save. Do not include a Description.
• The deliverable will be added to the list with today’s date.
• Find the deliverable and click the Plus (+) button/icon to open the webform. Be sure to turn off pop-up blockers. The form will open in a new window. Enter details for your request and click "Submit to Grant Maker as Final".

See the Award Guide for information on changing institutions, relinquishing funding and other requests that may require additional documentation.

Please allow 1-2 weeks for our staff to review and follow-up regarding your request.

Requests can be made at the end of the award year or when the annual expenditures report is due. The request must include the unspent balance, an explanation of why the funds were not spent and a plan for spending the funds in the next award period if the request is approved.

A no-cost extension can be up to 12 months. A second extension is not allowed. No-cost extensions are not allowed on fellowships.

Predoctoral Fellowships (PRE), Postdoctoral Fellowships (POST), and Research Supplements (DIVSUP) require only one expenditures report deliverable that covers all years of funding. These types of awards primarily cover the salary/stipend for the awardees. Please be advised that the AHA does not make a distinction between the salary and stipend in terms of paying the awardee. The expenditures report for these types of programs are due 30 days after the award end date or an termination. Refer to the Expenditures Report Instructions and Tips for information on what to include when reporting.

You will need to submit all expenses for both award year 1 and award year 2. If you have a one-year award, your report is due at the end of that year.

Period 1 Detail Tab = Year 1 Expenses
Period 2 Detail Tab = Year 2 Expenses 

Expenditures reports are due annually for project (non-training) awards. The report can be accessed through the scheduled deliverable in ProposalCentral. Award expenses may not exceed the authorized award amount plus any approved carryover from the previous year.  Deficit balances are not allowed. Refer to the Expenditures Report Instructions and Tips for information on what to include when reporting.

Please see the program description for the year the award was funded for spending requirements and allowable costs.

Award expenses must be directly related to the approved AHA research project, unless otherwise stated in the Award Guide or program description. If there is a question about an expense that is not mentioned in the guide, please contact your awards administrator or send an email to [email protected].

The AHA makes award payments in the months of January, April, July and October. Payments are scheduled when the award is approved for funding. The first payment is scheduled three months after the award start date. Payments are released if the award is in good standing with no past due deliverables or other award items that would necessitate holding the payments.

The AHA does not make award payments by invoice. The payments are scheduled quarterly and released if the award is in good standing. If the institution believes they are missing a payment, they should reach out to the Award Administrator to review payment information and determine next steps.

This is due to system functionality.  ProposalCentral uses the total award amount for the two-year project and divides it into quarterly payments over the term of the award. For postdoctoral fellowships, the award payments for year 1 will be slightly more than the annual award amount and the year 2 quarterly payments will be slightly less than the annual award amount.

For project (non-training) awards, the AHA holds a portion of the award payments in reserve for 6 months after the award ends. The system functionality subtracts the reserved amount from the total award amount and then divides the remainder into quarterly payments over the term of the award. This results in quarterly payments that are a little less than the annual award amount. Please let us know if additional information is needed.

No, the AHA 's annual stipend matches the published NIH sliding scale for postdoctoral fellows at the time the AHA begins to accept proposals each year. Please check the program description for the cycle you applied for funding.

The awardee or institutional fiscal officer may submit a “Request Carryover” deliverable webform in ProposalCentral. The request should indicate why the funds were not spent and the investigator’s plan for spending if the request is approved. It is important to have a good estimate of the unspent balance. It is a good idea to include a budget spending plan for amounts over $20K.

Please see instructions on “How to add and submit award change requests”.

The AHA does not approve no-cost extensions in advance. You should review your project aims and try to complete the project and spend the funds as outlined in the original proposal.