Inside eRA for Partners, April 7, 2003 (Volume 3, Issue 3)

Development of Electronic CGAP Continues

The Competitive Grant Application Process (CGAP) Project Team has been designing the process flow and technical prototypes for the receipt and processing of electronic applications. The technical team also has evaluated technologies and methods of communication. By the fall of 2003, eRA plans to build a system to accept the equivalent of the PHS 398 application in an Extensible Markup Language (XML) file, created and transmitted by grantee institutions, their service providers, and the federal E-Grants electronic application system.

The team recently published a draft document, The eRA CGAP Information Exchange: Functional Description and Technologies, outlining the challenges and proposing solutions to the receipt of applications as XML files with attachments. This document describes the process flow for how an application is packaged by a service provider or an institution, how the request for submission is transmitted to the NIH, how the application file itself is transferred to NIH, how it is validated and processed, and how the NIH acknowledges receipt of the application. The methodology is based on a business-to-business (B2B) exchange concept whereby NIH systems and external partners communicate system-to-system according to predefined protocols.

The CGAP team also addressed the issue of peak load of application submissions (99 percent of applications arrive within 12 hours of the deadline), which occurs three times a year. They designed an e-ticket system to control the load by queuing submission requests.

The team also considered the requirement for flexible application packaging using XML technology. Based on the E-Grants initiative’s concepts of “core data” (needed by all agencies) and “non-core elements” (NIH specific), the team proposed a strategy and designed an XML schema to satisfy these requirements. The draft XML schema, mapping the Form 398 fields and components, is available online.

The Receipt and Referral (R&R) Steering Group, made up of representatives of R&R management, the NIH Extramural Policy Office, and the eRA Project Team, has spent many hours discussing the business issues associated with the receipt of electronic applications. Issues include:

• How will the signatures of the PI and the Signing Official be represented in the electronic application?   
• How will NIH formatting rules be applied to an electronic receipt, given that XML does not convey formatting information?   
• How will the grantee make changes to an application after it has been received?   
• What constitutes receipt?   
• How will the appendices be handled?   
• How will NIH deal with late applications?

Development of a prototype for some of the core components of the exchange is underway. These components will be designed to test the receipt and basic processing of the application files. The project team also is developing a more detailed plan and technical architecture for the subsequent phases of the project. NIH is coordinating all eRA CGAP efforts with the federal E-Grants initiative, and the two teams are meeting regularly. E-Grants has asked the NIH to participate in its pilot testing in this summer.

The CGAP team welcomes suggestions and comments on its draft documents. Contact askera@od.nih.gov for more information about eRA CGAP goals, project plans, schedules and accomplishments.

Fundamental Questions about the NIH eRA eCGAP

As technical teams work diligently to make electronic grants a reality, grantee officials have begun asking practical questions about the impact of E-Grants on their institutions. Understandably, grantees would like to have the assurance of clear federal goals, coordinated architecture, and a realistic timetable before developing their own short- and long-term strategic plans. Following are several fundamental questions and the NIH responses.

At the federal level, what is mandated for October 2003?

E-Grants has an October target to “deploy [a] simple, unified application mechanism”. (See http://www.Grants.gov/docs/VisionAnd Goals.pdf.) The initial deployment will support grant programs that use standard “core” data, which consists of OMB Form SF424 along with the DUNS number as a unique organizational identifier. While more than 100 grant programs across the government use just the E-Grants “core” data, most grant programs, including those at NIH, require data in addition to the core. Some grant programs that have application requirements beyond the core may be supported by E-Grants in October 2003.

In late March, the primary development contractor was selected for the federal E-Grants initiative. By the end of April, E-Grants should be able to provide more definitive timeframes.

What are NIH plans for October 2003?

By late summer, NIH plans to accept a limited number of electronic competitive grant applications (eCGAPs) in pilot mode. These will be very simple R01 applications submitted as XML data streams. Go to http://era.nih.gov/Projectmgmt/SBIR/index.htm for technical information on the data schema.

When E-Grants debuts next October, planners would like to support at least one agency that has extended the core. Since the NIH uses non-core elements, it would be a good candidate for piloting with E-Grants. The NIH and E-Grants have developed a strategic working relationship and meet regularly. eRA will communicate updates through this newsletter.

Must the NIH eRA and E-Grants use the same architecture?

The NIH eRA and federal E-Grants systems do not need to be architecturally similar. E-Grants depicts the relationship between itself and the grant-making agency as front office/back office. As long as the communication mechanisms between E-Grants and eRA are standardized, the two systems will operate seamlessly.

During the pilot period, from what sources will the NIH receive electronic applications?

NIH will accept the prescribed XML data stream for the PHS 398 from the institution, from a service provider (SBIR awardee or other), and from the trusted, federal E-Grants broker (if ready). The E-Grants broker will be a simple, unified “storefront” on the Web for customers of federal grants to find funding opportunities, apply for and manage their grants.

E-Grants is developing a “downloadable forms” model for presenting grant applications electronically, which will be available to NIH applicants when E-Grants is ready to handle NIH applications. At the current time, there are no plans to develop a “398 form kit” for the NIH XML-based pilot this summer.

When does the NIH expect to begin accepting competing applications in production mode?

The estimated timeframe is mid-to-late 2004.

When will electronic applications become mandatory at the NIH?

NIH will phase in electronic grants over time. Through systematic monitoring and evaluation of the implementation, NIH will determine when to phase out paper grant applications and progress reports.

Send questions about eRA goals, plans and schedules to askera@od.nih.gov. To discuss data and user interface requirements, contact stoneg@od.nih.gov. Refer policy issues to David.Wright@nih.gov.

eRA Seeks Partners in Public and Private Sectors

As hundreds of federal IT projects come under scrutiny by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), eRA is meeting the challenge by embracing the goals of e-government. To increase efficiency by delivering government-wide services, eRA is partnering with multiple federal agencies, grantee institutions, and private businesses. eRA welcomes new partners as it responds to Public Law 106-107 and the President’s Management Agenda, both of which mandate improving access to federal grants through the Internet.

In addition to NIH’s 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) and the Office of the Director (OD), five other DHHS organizations input data into CRISP, eRA’s database of federally funded biomedical research. Users, including the public, submit queries through the CRISP Web interface for scientific concepts, emerging trends and techniques, and specific projects and investigators. Agencies contributing to CRISP include the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Eighteen federal agencies use eRA’s Interagency Edison (iEdison), a secure, interactive Web-based system that enables federal grantees and contractor organizations to electronically manage extramural invention portfolios in compliance with federal reporting requirements. iEdison is the first trans-government system of its kind.

Several HHS organizations use eRA’s IMPAC II grants processing system to varying degrees, reflecting eRA’s flexibility in negotiating partnerships. AHRQ’s grants are received, reviewed and funded through eRA. NIOSH also uses eRA systems, but has developed workarounds to meet its own business processing needs. SAMHSA applications are entered into the eRA database, but are processed elsewhere. eRA recently established a new partnering arrangement with the National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

Concurrent with eRA’s development of an electronic competitive application (CGAP), six eRA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awardees are collaborating with eRA to build tools to assist grantee organizations with the creation and submission of XML grant application files. The SBIR companies will develop software applications and services that can be purchased by or licensed to research institutions. See Meet eRA’s SBIR Awardees for more information. NIH is seeking additional partners from government, foundations, profit and not-for-profit organizations to join the CGAP endeavor.

In response to interest in eRA at higher levels, John McGowan, eRA Project Manager, met with Charles Havekost, federal E-Grants Program Manager, and Joe Alexander, Office of the HHS Assistant Secretary for Administration and Management (ASAM), on January 15. Dr. McGowan’s briefing to ASAM is part of the information-gathering phase of the HHS response to OMB guidance to “…consolidate internal grants management systems.”

At the federal level, eRA is an integral player in the E-Grants initiative, headed by Mr. Havekost. Eleven departments and agencies are working together to develop a one-stop electronic grant portal where potential grant recipients will receive full-service electronic grant administration. Today, all NIH grant opportunity announcements automatically are published in the government-wide E-Grants system through a data feed from the NIH Guide system. The future NIH eRA system, which will receive electronic competitive grant applications, is being developed to work seamlessly with E-Grants.

eRA System Usage Continues to Rise

eRA usage continues to rise dramatically as both NIH extramural staff and external grantee users establish more online sessions. Between December 2002 and February 2003, IMPAC II logons grew by about 25 percent and NIH eRA Commons logons by about 175 percent, increasing the overall number of monthly sessions from 42,000 to 60,000.

Since the deployment of the NIH eRA Commons last October, approximately 180 active grantee organizations, representing 60 percent of all funded institutions, have registered for the new system. Usage is expected to continue to increase as the NIH eRA Commons progresses toward full production and as new capabilities are added. By 2006, when grantees routinely will be submitting electronic competing and non-competing grant applications through the NIH eRA Commons interface, a conservative estimate of the total number of yearly sessions is almost 400,000. This number does not include connections to Internet Assisted Review (IAR), Financial Status Report (FSR) and other modules accessed through the NIH eRA Commons. An online graph shows detailed projections.

As reported in the December 2002 issue of Inside eRA, overall IMPAC II usage in FY 2002 was 32 percent higher than the previous year. So far, the first five months of FY 2003 have shown the same rate of growth when compared to October 2001 through February 2002. eRA attributes the rise in IMPAC II logons to the usefulness of new features such as Summary Statements, grant images and the Grant Folder. The new Program module, being designed to enable Program Officials to perform their research administration tasks in an electronic environment, is expected to generate a large number of sessions beginning later this year. See full article in last month’s issue.

In the future, eRA plans to combine the NIH eRA Commons (current external-facing system) with IMPAC II (current internal-facing system) into one integrated eRA system. Although references to “IMPAC II” will disappear, eRA will continue to track and report on NIH staff and grantee usage.

CWG Plays Vital Role in Fine Tuning New Applications

The Commons Working Group (CWG) continues to play a critical role in shaping and perfecting new Web-based eRA applications. As representatives of the grantee community and pilot users of eRA systems, CWG members communicate their business requirements, suggest improvements to interface appearance and usability, identify problems and bugs, request additional features, and share valuable ideas with their colleagues. The dedicated CWG participation in the current eSNAP pilot has enabled eRA to create a better product for full deployment in 2004.

Following is a partial list of eSNAP suggestions that eRA has implemented or plans to implement in future releases:

• Create live training demo instead of static screen shots. See article in March issue.      
• Enable update of Professional Profile (PPF) from eSNAP module.      
• Add ability for PI to delegate PPF update authority.      
• Change system timeout from 30 minutes to 45 minutes.      
• Enable institutional official to reset user password.      
• Create standard format for automated email messages generated by the NIH eRA Commons.      
• Add purge function for eSNAPs that were started but never completed.      
• Display business and performance site information on separate screens.      
• Remove restrictions concerning concurrent role designations.

There are several outstanding issues regarding roles/rights and eSNAP routing support. eRA’s goal is to accommodate the diverse organizational structures and business practices of its user community. CWG members will discuss these concerns at their next meeting on April 30 at 11:00 a.m. The meeting will be held at the National Academies of Science in Washington, . CWG meetings are open to all interested persons. For information, contact George Stone or David Wright.

J2EE Version of iEdison to Debut This Spring

eRA will deploy Interagency Edison (iEdison) Version 2 this spring for a brief pilot prior to the full production release. This software, which enables grantee and contractor organizations to electronically manage extramural invention portfolios, will migrate from client-server to new J2EE Web technology. J2EE scripting is expected to result in better transactional processing, better auditing and better performance. Coupled with the use of the Rational Unified Process (RUP), J2EE should lead to a more rapid design/development cycle for future enhancements.

The new J2EE interface will introduce enhanced functionality. Users will be able to upload all required documents for invention disclosure: the written description of the invention, the government’s confirmatory license, and the government support clause that, by law, must appear in the patent. With the current client-server version, these reporting documents had to be mailed or faxed. Furthermore, all documents submitted in PDF or TIFF format using iEdison Version 2 will be displayable to users through their Internet browser.

Version 2 also will offer improved report generation for institutional administrators. Most importantly, iEdison will support the display of a graphical representation of any invention. This functionality will allow the user to view the hierarchical association between an invention and its related patents.

During the requirements-gathering phase for iEdison, eRA met with other government agencies through the Interagency Invention Reporting Subgroup of the Post-Award Working Group of the CFO Council Grants Management Committee. Input from extramural grantee and contractor organizations was solicited through an iEdison Working Group, made up of institutional representatives of the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) and the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM). iEdison currently supports the reporting of inventions resulting from awards made by 18 federal agencies.

Version 2 Capabilities

• Upload of required PDF and TIFF documents for invention disclosure records and associated patent filings.    
• Display of online PDF and TIFF documents for invention disclosure records and associated patent filings.    
• Account management within an institution.    
• Graphical representation of any invention in relation to its associated patents. 

For more information, visit the iEdison Web site at iedison.gov.

eRA Project Team Approves Proposal for OLAW Interface

The eRA Project Team approved short- and long-term strategies for integrating PHS Animal Welfare Assurances and annual reports into the eRA system. This decision was made on January 14, following a presentation by Carol Wigglesworth of the OLAW Office of the Director. OLAW is responsible for the general administration and coordination of PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. This policy is applicable to the use of vertebrate animals in research conducted or supported by any component of the Public Health Service.

PHS policy requires that institutions submit Animal Welfare Assurances every five years. In addition, policy requires annual reports to document program changes, evaluations and inspections. Institutions now submit both assurances and annual reports on paper; data then is entered into an OLAW database. In accordance with federal legislation, OLAW would like to partner with eRA to give grantees the option of transmitting these documents electronically.

In the first phase, OLAW proposes that the NIH eRA Commons serve as the interface for submitting PHS assurances and annual reports. In this way, OLAW could take advantage of existing NIH eRA Commons logon and authorization mechanisms. OLAW data would continue to be maintained in the OLAW database.

For the long term, Jim Cain, eRA Operations and Implementation Manager, stated that it would be best to build OLAW data structures into eRA and to store OLAW data in the common eRA repository. This strategy would enable OLAW to take advantage of eRA facilities. The eRA Project Team approved Mr. Cain’s proposal.

eRA’s next step toward achieving the integration will be to assign an Analyst to gather requirements, draft a scope document, and determine how development of an OLAW interface will fit into the overall project schedule.

Direct questions about the planned eRA/OLAW integration to Stephen Hughes, Chief eRA Architect.

New Software Automates eRA Application Testing

In keeping with its commitment to continuous improvement, eRA has acquired Mercury Interactive LoadRunner® and WinRunner®, automated tools for load, stress and functional testing of new and revised IMPAC II and NIH eRA Commons applications. eRA will execute these Mercury products prior to deployment to ensure that new eRA code works as expected without negatively impacting system performance.

LoadRunner is a load-testing tool that predicts system behavior and performance. It does so by emulating the normal number of users (load test) and the maximum number of users (stress test). Performance monitors identify and isolate problems. By using LoadRunner, eRA expects to minimize testing cycles, optimize performance and accelerate deployment.

WinRunner is an automated tool for enterprise-wide functional and regression testing, which is performed to ensure that older programming still works with the new changes. This product simplifies the creation of test data and test scripts. WinRunner compares the expected and actual results, validates applications across different browsers, and facilitates error recovery. By using WinRunner, eRA hopes to reduce testing time by automating repetitive tasks, to optimize testing efforts by using a single testing tool, and to maximize its return on investment by modifying and reusing test scripts as an application evolves.

Direct questions about eRA testing procedures to Brad Sachar.

Upcoming NIH eRA Regional Seminars

Are you looking forward to submitting grant applications electronically? David Wright will provide the status of NIH eRA initiatives and a demonstration of the NIH eRA Commons at the next NIH Regional Seminar on April 25. The April seminar will be hosted by Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA. For information about the program, on-line registration, cost and logistics, go to http://www.stanford.edu/dept/ORA/training/nihconf03/index.html.

David Wright will repeat his presentation on June 12 at the June NIH Regional Seminar, which will be hosted by the University of Maryland in Baltimore, MD. A website with program, registration, cost and logistical information is in development at http://www.ord.umaryland.edu/nih/. If unable to access the website, please send a message to nih-conference@ordmail.umaryland.edu to be placed on a mailing list for further information.

The NIH eRA Commons Helpdesk also is available to answer user questions about how to register and use the system. Contact the Helpdesk at commons@od.nih.gov or toll free at 866-504-9552.

FAQs for Grantees New to the NIH eRA Commons

The following basic FAQs are designed to assist potential new users of the NIH eRA Commons.

What is the NIH eRA Commons?

NIH has developed a system to facilitate the discrete exchange of essential information between NIH and applicant organizations. The “Commons” is a Web interface where NIH and the grantee community are able conduct their extramural research administration business electronically.

NIH eRA Commons Registration: Who? What? How?

An institution must be registered in the NIH eRA Commons before faculty and staff can submit or retrieve grant information electronically. Only an individual with signatory authority for grant-related matters may enroll an institution. To register, the signing official (SO) should open the NIH eRA Commons homepage at https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/ and click on the Grantee Organization Registration link. Follow the step-by-step instructions. The institution is registered when the information, submitted by the signing official, is confirmed by the NIH.

Do I have to use a specific browser in order to connect to the NIH Commons?

Yes, for now, you must use Internet Explorer in order to access the NIH eRA Commons. Currently Netscape does not function properly in this environment. We are making efforts to broaden our compatibility with additional browsers.

Do I have to configure my browser in a certain way? 

Yes,  to use the functionality of the NIH eRA Commons, you must enable JavaScript. For instructions on making these changes, please check your browser’s help text.

What is an Institutional Profile (IPF) number? 

The IPF number is an identifier that uniquely identifies and associates institutional information within the NIH enterprise database. The NIH assigns an IPF number after the institution submits its request for registration..

What do you mean by the term "account"? 

The term "account," as used by the NIH eRA Commons, is a personal account that an individual would use to log into the NIH eRA Commons. An account is identified by a unique combination of username and password. 

I need an account for myself or someone in my office. Whom do I contact? 

Contact the Sponsored Research Office (or equivalent) at your institution.  If you cannot locate the appropriate person, contact the NIH eRA Commons Helpdesk at commons@od.nih.gov for assistance.

How do I choose a username?

You may select any username you would like as long as it is at least 6 characters and no more than 20 characters in length. It may be a combination of letters and numbers. Each username must be unique within the NIH eRA Commons community.