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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.
Commons Working Group Plans Washington, D.C., Meeting
The next NIH Commons Working Group (CWG) meeting will begin at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 19, at the State Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C., preceding the May 20–21 meeting of the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP). CWG members will finalize recommendations for reengineering the competitive application and address issues related to the July deployment of Commons Version 2 and the reopening of Commons registration. CWG meetings are open to all interested persons. For more information, contact Dr. George Stone, Advocate for the eRA Interface to the Extramural Community, at 301-435-0679 or by email at george.stone@nih.gov.
NIH Commons Version 2 Will Feature Single Point of Ownership
The deployment of NIH Commons Version 2, tentatively scheduled for July/August, will include implementation of an institution-defined organizational hierarchy and single point of ownership of professional profiles. The concept of single point of ownership prescribes that a specific grantee institution or extramural user who creates a profile in an eRA system is the owner of that information. The only sanctioned sources of profile updates will be the profile owner, and, if named by the profile owner, a designated assistant. As part of Commons Version 2, single point of ownership will allow institutions to uniquely define their institutional profile in four levels: institution, schools, divisions, and departments. Key officials at these organizations will have authority to create or modify institutional profiles. To reap the full benefits of single point of ownership, all institutions will be encouraged to register on the Commons once Version 2 is available. Registration will allow for the reconciliation of information provided by institutions on paper applications with information contained in electronic institutional and professional profiles used for electronic submissions. Unification of this profile-related information will maximize improvement in data accuracy and completeness. Registration is expected to be available in the July/August timeframe; the NIH eRA team will notify the grantee community as a more detailed schedule is finalized. If you have questions about the upcoming release, contact Commons User Support at Commons@od.nih.gov.
New X-Train Version Strengthens Data Collection Capabilities
Several enhancements will highlight the May release of X-Train, the NIH Commons interface for tracking National Research Service Awards (NRSA) training appointments. Version 1.5 will feature new Field of Training (FOT) codes and will enable a delegate designated by a training program director to enter appointment information. With this release, interface functionality provided by the electronic 2271 pilot (now closed), and X-Train will be comparable. Grantee institutions that previously registered to use the NIH Commons can participate in X-Train by contacting Commons User Support at Commons@od.nih.gov. When the schedule for new institutions to enroll on the Commons is determined, the NIH eRA team will notify the grantee community. Once enrolled, institutions will have access to X-Train. Within a year, most appointment information about NRSA trainees will be entered using X-Train. Continued feedback from current users is vital as X-Train evolves. To provide recommendations, contact Commons User Support or email Dr. Walter Schaffer, eRA Advocate for Training Activities, at schaffew@od.nih.
NIH Begins Conversion to Six-Digit Serial Numbers in June
Grantee institutions that use in-house information systems to store or process NIH serial numbers should prepare these systems to support six-digit NIH serial numbers by June 2002. Starting in June, applications referred by the NIH Center for Scientific Review to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will be assigned serial numbers over 99999. Corresponding Notice of Grant Awards (NGAs) and other NIH documents will use six-digit serial numbers. For example, NCI grant numbers will change from 1 R01 CA12345-01 to 1 R01 CA123456-01. Serial numbers for prior-year applications will be represented in NIH databases as 1 R01 CA012345-01. Serial numbers are assigned sequentially to each NIH Institute or Center (IC). Until ICs other than NCI require serial numbers above 99999, their format will be represented as six digits with a leading zero; for example, 1 R01 MH012345-01. This conversion to six-digit serial numbers will be transparent to NIH Commons users. All Commons interfaces that require or allow query by grant serial number will include logic that will screen for the leading zero. In this way, entering a query of CA12345 will be recognized in NIH databases as CA012345.
Transition to Electronic Non-Competing Grant Progress Report Notification Continues
NIH continues to transition the notification of Non-Competing Grant Progress Reports from a hard copy mailing of preprinted PHS 2590 and PHS 416 face pages to an electronic notification. To facilitate this change, NIH will continue mailing pre-printed type 5 face pages for awards with start dates through November 2002. This two-month extension from the previously announced cessation date will provide grantees and NIH staff additional time to adapt to new business practices. NIH will make information on due dates for Non-Competing Grant Progress Reports accessible electronically in two ways: Beginning in August 2002, the NIH Office of Extramural Research will host a public website of Non-competing Progress Report due date information that will provide search and sort capabilities. Grantees may choose to use this website until they register on the NIH Commons. Users of this website will not receive reminders electronically or have pre-printed face pages available.
After registering on the NIH Commons, institutional officials will be able to establish a central email address for notification of NIH pending actions and general NIH Commons activities. By this means, the institution will receive a list of pending non-competing progress reports. Once Principal investigators (PIs) create an account and provide their preferred email address, they will have the option of receiving email reminders of Non-competing Progress Report due dates with links to pre-populated face pages.
We expect NIH Commons registration to begin in the July/August timeframe.
Internet-Assisted Review Pilot Planned for Late 2002
Development of a NIH Internet-Assisted Review (IAR) system is in progress, with a pilot slated for later this year. IAR will be an external interface to the NIH Commons database and will expedite the scientific review of grant applications by providing a standard process for reviewers to electronically submit critiques and initial priority scores. More effective review meetings will result from the opportunity for reviewers to examine others’ critiques online prior to meetings and to modify their own critiques after meetings. IAR also will accelerate the grants approval and funding process by enabling easier, more efficient administration of reviews. Critiques will be available immediately after review meetings, allowing summary statements to be automatically constructed.
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