Electronic signatures were formally adopted by OSP in 2019. OSP uses "e-signing" on outgoing subaward agreements and amendments in addition to standard grants & contract documents. For example, many foundations now require the use of the Docusign tool for award endorsement. 

At the proposal stage, we encourage electronic signature on internal forms including Investigator Certifications when a Certified Digital Signature is used. Using Adobe’s “Fill & Sign” tool is not secure or certified, so these signatures cannot not be accepted. Instead, use the Digital Signature option in the Adobe “Certificates” tool. Adobe's instructions can be found here and we've prepared our own instructions here.   

If you have questions or a digital signature isn't possible for whatever reason, please reach out to your OSP Representative and we'll find a solution