- The NAVREF Annual Conference sessions are still available for all registered attendees. Please check out those sessions you missed the first time! Additionally, the survey instruments are still open, please help us gather feedback:
- The overall survey on Survey Monkey consists of 10 questions and less than 5 minutes of your time. Go to: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/NAVREF2020
- The session surveys are on your NAVREF App. Go to the Schedule tab, click on the session you attended, click on “Leave Feedback”, rate the session and the presenter on a 1-to-5 scale and add any additional comments—that’s all!
- Note that ORD has approved the Sterling IRB as the third commercial IRB that may be used by VA facilities participating in cooperative research activities.
- New Requirements for Gifts-in-Kind. Last week, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-07, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958): Presentation and Disclosures by Not-for-Profit Entities for Contributed Financial Assets. The new standard aims to increase transparency and improve disclosures related to in-kind gifts of nonfinancial assets. The standard will require that in-kind gifts be presented separately in the revenue section on the Statement of Activities, and will require additional disclosures including:
• Disaggregation by type of nonfinancial contribution received;
- A description of any donor restrictions on the use of the gift;
- Whether the gift was used or was monetized (converted to cash);
- If used, a description of the programs or other activities in which the gift was used; and
- A description of the method used to determine the fair value of the gift, including the principal or most advantageous market used to arrive at the fair value measure.
The ASU is effective for annual periods beginning after July 15, 2021. The standard is required to be applied on a retrospective basis and early adoption is permitted.
- Legislative Update – Last Wednesday, the House unanimously passed S. 785, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act, sending it to the President’s desk to be signed into law. The Senate-crafted bill addresses a wide range of mental health and suicide prevention measures, including opening the care aperture for more veterans. It also include two provisions supported by NAVREF to solidify the ACT for Veterans initiative:
- Sec. 704 – to allow sponsored clinical research of VA to use accredited commercial IRBs
- Sec. 705 – to establish within the VA Office of Information and Technology an Office of Research Reviews to perform centralized security reviews and complete security processes for approved research sponsored outside the VA, with a focus on multi-site clinical trials.
Upcoming calendar events:
- Oct 5, 12-4pm ET NAVREF Quarterly Board of Directors Meeting (virtual)
- Oct 6-22 SCRS Global Site Solutions Summit (virtual)
- Oct 22 NAVREF Webinar “Fundraising Registration 101: Why, Who, Where and How to Comply with State Laws”
- Oct 28-29 VHA Innovation Experience (virtual)
