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Inside eRA for Partners, a news update from
the NIH Office of Electronic Research and Reports Management
(OERRM), provides its partners in the grantee community with pertinent
information about the plans and progress of the NIH Electronic Research
Administration (eRA). Through developing enterprise–level services
for researchers and science managers, and through the support of
critical information services, OERRM provides the grants programs
of the NIH and the Department with technologies that reduce the
costs of grants administration, capture and analyze grant data,
and synthesize research information into knowledge that guides our
research portfolio towards improving the Nation’s health.
If you have technical questions about NIH eRA Commons software, email
the Helpdesk or call 301-402-7469
(toll-free 866-504-9552). Address other questions or concerns to members
of the NIH Commons Working
Group, who serve as liaisons to the grantee community.
Why Inside eRA for Partners?
Inside eRA for Partners is a new e-publication that will provide an opportunity for NIH to dialogue with you, its partners, about current issues involving electronic research administration (eRA), informing you about deployment plans, providing new sources of information, and soliciting your input. Some of you may have received Inside eRA, an e-publication distributed primarily to an internal NIH audience. In Inside eRA for Partners, we are redistributing some of the articles to the wider NIH extramural research community. During fiscal year 2000, NIH used hundreds of millions of pieces of paper to deal with some 60,000 competing and non-competing grant applications. Additional funding for extramural research means that these figures will inevitably mount. Since 1996, the IMPAC II and NIH Commons database systems have developed to the point that now they handle some 576,000,000 transactions annually. The eRA (electronic Research Administration) Project is in the process of combining these systems with the goal of developing an end-to-end electronic information environment for NIH extramural activities. By 2003, NIH is mandated to shift to an electronic grant processing system that will ensure speedy, high-quality processing and storage of information. Processing e-grants will significantly change the way NIH staff and the extramural community work. eRA offers an opportunity to revise business principles and practices. It can lighten workloads, reduce waste, boost quality, and open up fresh opportunities. Inside eRA for Partners is in experimental mode. Please, let us know what you would like to see in it. What have you always wanted to know about the planning and priority process of NIH e-business? What approaches do you think readers would appreciate? Do you prefer news or tips, or a bit of both? Are you interested in our plans for the future, including technological innovations? Are developments outside of the module(s) you usually work with of interest to you? How can we make format and distribution more helpful to you? This is a chance for you to contribute to shaping your work environment and to participate in the development of a cutting-edge U.S. Government information system.
NIH eRA Commons: Grantee Gateway to NIH Electronic Grants Administration
eRA is changing workflow and information management not only for NIH staff, but also for NIH's extramural business partners. NIH developed the Commons for the purpose of exchanging research grants administration information with grant applicants. The NIH Commons also serves as a virtual meeting place where NIH extramural grantee organizations, grantees, and the public can exchange information about the administration of biomedical and behavioral research. The NIH Commons is a web-based environment where authorized users at registered institutions conduct grants administration business with NIH electronically. Staff at extramural institutions working closely with eRA are familiar with the NIH Commons and know how it will change the way NIH does business. For those new to the project, here is the vision for how the NIH Commons will help transform paper grant applications and administrative systems into fully electronic processes. The NIH Commons is made up of modules that provide the extramural community with the ability to query, receive, manipulate, and submit various types of information with the NIH. In brief, the modules automate routine activities, like automatically populating electronic applications with information on the principal investigator (PI) and institution and ultimately allowing for the full electronic submission of NIH grant applications; improving the quality of information, such as having institutional staff and PIs maintain their own contact and professional information in the database; and increasing the availability and timeliness of information, by providing access to information on the status of applications, summary statements and priority scores. Upon registering for the NIH Commons, an institutional official creates an account that establishes a formal electronic working relationship between NIH and the grantee organization. The originator of the organization's account assigns one or many signing officials for the organization. Signing officials are institutional staff who have the legal authority to submit an application on behalf of the institution. For any given institution many accounts can be created, each with its own privileges to accommodate the varying roles of signing officials, account administrators, PIs and trainees at the institution. The accounts are set up in such a way that PIs can view only their own grant information, including summary statements and priority scores, while institutional administrators have rights to information on all applications for an organization (excluding privileged information such as summary statements). Assigning roles to Commons accounts assures appropriate security and confidentiality of information. Once an organization is registered for the NIH Commons, and PI and staff accounts are established, the organization is ready to begin to transact business with NIH electronically: accessing application information through Status, administering Trainee appointments through X-Train, and eventually submitting grant applications using several data transmission format options. Full integration of the NIH Commons with IMPAC II, the NIH enterprise-level grants administration database, will allow NIH staff to process electronically whatever information is submitted by grantees through the NIH Commons. Integration efforts are underway and a timeline for completion of this critical aspect of the eRA system is being developed. NIH eRA Commons Working Group The description for the proposed Working Group and a request for volunteers appeared as an Announcement in the October 6, 2000 issue of the NIH Guide. The eRA Project Team recommended members representing faculty and grantee organization professionals having administrative or technical expertise. The NIH eRA Steering Committee approved the selection of the NIH eRA Commons Working Group. During the 3 to 5 planned meetings per year, the Working Group will provide the following assistance in support of the eRA effort: - Review planning documents related to NIH Commons design, deployment, operations, maintenance, and enhancements.
- Oversee the establishment of, and solicit input from Commons User Groups.
- Serve as early adopters of new versions of Commons interface software. In the "beta test user" role members of the Group and diverse secondary users in the extramural community can play a significant role in uncovering software bugs to accelerate acceptance of new software and speed deployment.
- Be actively involved in eRA Project Team actions where extramural budgetary concerns will be discussed and perspectives entertained.
By the second week of December, the Commons Working Group members had been selected. The Group includes 20 named individuals representing 4 medical schools, 9 undergraduate and graduate institutions, 2 independent research institutions, and 1 foundation. Ten institutions are affiliated with the FDP, and 13 with COGR. NIH Commons Working Group Decides Next Steps The NIH Commons Working Group convened its first meeting in conjunction with the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) meeting held at the Beckman Center in Irvine, CA, on January 10-11, 2001. Below are a number of the short and long term recommendations that the Group identified as important for NIH. Short Term Recommendations The NIH Commons should continue development in a way that is complementary to what is being designed for the Federal Commons. Only by doing so will the NIH be able to meet the mandate in P.L. 106-107, as well as provide their grantee organizations with a plan that they can use as they further develop their respective eRA systems. The NIH should maintain production systems, namely IEdison and CRISP, and keep other existing interfaces without spending further funds or resources for enhancements or modifications. Registration of additional sites would not be encouraged. Key to NIH staff was the agreement that submission of non-competing applications via e-SNAP will be suspended until business practices redesign and new technology is available. Long Term Recommendations To complement these activities, the Working Group agreed to organize itself into two subgroups: The Interface Specifications subgroup will focus on the functionality in the existing NIH Commons to ensure that the existing Commons modules will serve the community adequately while the new architecture of the system is being developed. The information will form a basis for enhanced functionality to be included in version 2 of the Commons. A second subgroup will be devoted to the grant application process. The first effort of this applications subgroup will be to conduct a thorough analysis of non-competing awards. Out of this analysis they expect to make recommendations for changing existing grants policy to streamline the non-competing applications; then they will turn to the R01 application process. Proposed changes will be reviewed for endorsement by NIH staff, and the changed policy and procedures will be incorporated into future eRA system iterations. The next Commons Working Group meeting will be held in the late spring, likely in conjunction with the FDP meeting to held in Washington, DC in May.
eRA Management Structure Open to Maximum User Input
Successful information systems are defined by users and built to suit their needs. That's why we put together an eRA Project Management Team that is structured to enable users at all levels to give input and be heard. The foundation of the Project Management Team are the advocates. Group advocates are IC staff members who have volunteered to consolidate and prioritize wish lists for module requirements proposed by IMPAC II and Commons groups and functional committees, develop business plans, and represent their groups. The advocates, who are engaged in a consultative process with their constituencies, come together in biweekly Project Management Team meetings to develop a consolidated view of current requirements and future visions and directions. The eRA Steering Committee, comprised of upper level NIH managers, reviews the activities of the Project Team, deals with broader issues, and provides general guidance, while the IT Board of Governors (the "BOG") makes recommendations to the CIO and NIH. You are strongly encouraged to provide input through your user group to the group advocate or to any Project Team member directly, if you have suggestions or concerns that are not addressed in the current plans for development. The more clearly the Project Team understands your needs, the more quickly and cost effectively improvements can be made.
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