Date: July 10, 2001
Time: 9:00 am
Location: 6700B Rockledge, Room 1202
Chair: John McGowan
Next Meeting: July 24, 2001, 6700B Rockledge, Room 1205, 9:00 am

Action Items

1. (All) Contact Greg Milman if you would like instruction on preparing training CDs.

2. (All) Verify rosters of eRA groups (attachment F); send changes to Megan Columbus.

3. (Eileen Bradley, Tim Twomey, Megan Columbus) Draft email for JJ to send to EPMC representatives regarding training for new IMPAC II percentile administrators.

4. (All) Contact Zoe-Ann Copeland if you would like to assist with eRA picnic planning.

5. (Zoe-Ann Copeland) Investigate arranging shuttle service to the eRA picnic.

Presentations and Discussion Topics

1. Using CDs as a Medium for Training - Greg Milman

Greg Milman presented a PowerPoint slide show on how to submit an SBIR grant application to illustrate the advantages of using CDs to train and disseminate information. The CD has been distributed to 60 small businesses as part of a pilot project.

The following are some of the advantages of using this technique:
· Many end users are still unfamiliar with locating information on the web.
· Downloading from the web is difficult for those with slow connections.
· It is possible to include a sound narration. Therefore, training is both visual and auditory and can accommodate those with disabilities.
· Users can proceed at their own pace and go back if necessary.
· Animated graphics are supported.
· Live links to the internet can be included. For those who wish to work offline, static web pages can be included in the presentation where internal links are functional.
· CDs have an auto-run capability.
· Two types of presentations are possible: kiosk (locked keyboard) and interactive.
· The presentation can include a topic list (table of contents) which specifies the time for each segment.
· CDs are very inexpensive to reproduce.

Greg's presentation was very well received by the group. Carlos Caban thought this method would be ideal for 398 training. Others suggested using CDs to announce IMPAC II enhancements. Dr. McGowan mentioned that presentations are being created in foreign languages to reach scientists in other countries.

Greg distributed copies of the demo CD. He is also preparing a CD to teach others how to create training CDs and volunteered to meet with those interested. Dr. McGowan indicated that funding to develop this form of training will be considered in FY 2002 budget planning.

2. Recommendations for SNAP Re-engineering - Marcia Hahn (See Attachments A & B)

Dr. McGowan thanked Marcia Hahn, George Stone, Bud Erickson and Carlos Caban for their work on streamlining the SNAP process. The proposals generated by the Commons Working Group (CWG) and the eRA team on May 16 have been evaluated by ePUG, POPOF, GMAC and the NIH Human Subjects Policy Liaison Committee. Marcia met with Wendy Baldwin on July 9; Marcia will present to EPMC on July 18. Final recommendations will be presented to the CWG in August with the hopes of initiating the IT requirements phase in September.

Some of the proposed changes to the SNAP affect both the paper and electronic business processes. Others are recommended only for E-SNAP which will serve as a vehicle for piloting the changes. See attachments A and B for details.

3. John McGowan's Presentation (See Attachment C)

a. DHHS IT Consolidation - As part of his initiative to overhaul and consolidate DHHS' enterprise IT systems, Secretary Thompson will visit NIH during the week of August 20. He will attend an EPMC meeting (to be scheduled at his convenience) for a two-part orientation: 1) "talking heads" to explain where we are, what we're doing and where we're going; 2) hands-on demo in Building 1 to include eRA web site, QuickView, Grant Folder, I-Edison and CRISP on the web.

b. GPRA Targets - Dr. McGowan stated that OMB is dissatisfied with our target dates and requested an accelerated schedule for achieving our goals. He will attend an ASMB meeting and expects that there may be a push for us to take the lead for the Department. The broad intent of GPRA ("The Results Act of 1993", P.L. 103-62) is to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability of government programs by requiring agencies to set goals, measure performance, and report on their accomplishments.

c. NIH IT Restructuring -- Martha Pine is serving as co-chair of the NIH subcommittee charged with addressing OMB's goal of expanding electronic government as well as DHHS' goal of consolidating and improving its IT systems. She wrote to JJ on June 28 requesting a statement of eRA's major milestones for the next five years which 1) "create a citizen-centered web presence and build e-gov infrastructures in and across agencies…" and 2) "advance an e-government strategy that includes specific outcomes…" See attachments D and E for the draft eRA response.

d. eRA/NBS Coordination - Dr. McGowan is looking to Earl Hodgkins, Nancy Vess, Tim Twomey, Marcia Hahn and Mary Kirker to coordinate planning between the two enterprise systems.

e. FY 2002 eRA Planning - Dr. McGowan reviewed the roles of the management support teams in moving the project forward. By October, JJ would like Soza to provide a summary of what eRA has accomplished and what it has spent. We also need a firm handle on redesign efforts¾what is going well and what is not¾along with realistic projections for future budgets. This preparation is vital to the success of the November retreat. Group Advocates will be asked to validate Soza's findings.
Gantt charts with tasks ordered by priority and also grouped by business area are being posted to the eRA web site. Sherry Zucker is revising her management decision charts to follow the RUP model. At the next Project Team meeting, she will explain the integration of management decision points into the software development process.

Announcements and Status Reports

1. New Member of the eRA Commons Team - Dr. McGowan introduced Jerry Stuck (NSF) who will help coordinate our Commons efforts. Jerry currently devotes 50% of his time to the FDP.

2. Inside eRA - Megan Columbus explained that the newsletter will be published as soon as a sufficient number of articles (about six) are ready. It is anticipated that there will be about two issues per month. Dr. McGowan reiterated that all new software releases will be announced one month in advance. He also urged the Group Advocates to suggest topics for articles.

3. All-eRA Roster - Megan Columbus and Dave Carter are assembling a comprehensive list of participants in all eRA groups. The draft list is attached for validation.

4. IMPAC II Release Schedule - Sherry Zucker announced that the software schedule for the next six months is now available at http://odoerdb2.od.nih.gov/oer/impac/ ("Upcoming Releases"). New versions will be deployed in July for most business areas: CM 3.9.7.0; Review 2.0.4.2; RR 1.2.6.0; CRISP 3.4.4.0; GM 1.9.4.0; ICO 2.7.5.0, QV 1.8.2.0; TA 2.7.3.0. The subproject screen shared by REV, ICO and CRISP Plus will be fixed. The shared R15 Mailer (1.0.0.0) and Assignment and Change Mailer (1.2.6.0) will also be deployed. See the IMPAC II web site for details.

Jim Cain announced that the implementation of Review 2.1.0.0 (originally planned for August 17) will be postponed until August 24. Database changes and the migration of percentiling data from IMPAC I to IMPAC II will be completed in July. At that point, Eileen Bradley will make the decision whether to proceed with plans to switch scoring and percentiling to IMPAC II in August.

Eileen Bradley was very concerned that only 10 or 12 ICs had designated a primary and alternate for the new percentile administrator role (i.e., a "superuser" who will define and refine rules for percentile bases for the IC using new Review screens). For ICs that define their own bases, it is critical that administrators receive training before Review 2.1.0.0 is deployed on August 24. Training sessions for one or two persons from each IC have been scheduled on July 25 and August 14. Tim Twomey and Megan Columbus will work with Eileen to make sure that all ICs are informed.

5. eRA Picnic on July 27 - Jim Cain extended a personal invitation to the Group Advocates. A detailed flyer has been emailed. Zoe-Ann Copeland asked for volunteers to help coordinate. Jay Silverman inquired about transportation. Since parking is limited at Cabin John Park, the possibility of shuttle bus service will be investigated.

6. QVR - Thor Fjellstedt announced that QVR is now available to IMPAC II users.

Attendees

Benfer, Claire	Erickson, Bud	Martin, Carol	Rasmussen, Earl
Bradley, Eileen	Fadeley, Vickie	McGowan, John	Reifsnider, Bob
Caban, Carlos	Fjellstedt, Thor	Milman, Gregory	Sampson, Irene
Cain, Jim	Frahm, Donna	Monheit, Madeline	Seto, Belinda
Carter, Dave	Geaney, Stefanie	Morton, Larry	Silver, Sara
Columbus, Megan	Hahn, Marcia	Morton, Pete	Tucker, Jim
Collie, Krishna	Hausman, Steve	Panniers, Richard	Twomey, Tim
Copeland, Zoe-Ann	Hodgkins, Earl	Porter, Yvette	Van Brunt, Virginia
			Zucker, Sherry

Attachments
A. SNAP Recommendations for EPMC
B. Expanded SNAP Summary Chart
C. John McGowan's July 10 Presentation to Project Team
D. Draft eRA Milestones for Restructuring Committee
E. Draft Restructuring Committee Response
F. Draft eRA Participation Matrix