Inside eRA, May 19, 2006

eRA System Growing Up

When the current eRA program was in its adolescence in 2000, the IMPAC site had around 50,000 logons a year. The program was a technical one struggling to develop electronic programs that all of NIH could use. Its mission was to make a centralized and computerized grants management system for all NIH ICs, replacing homegrown systems in each IC. There was much skepticism in the ICs, and eRA was more often than not viewed as a passing fancy of current management that would eventually go away as so many other changes had in the past.

Proving the skeptics wrong wasn’t eRA’s goal but it fueled the energy and commitment that did just that. Today, there are more than 4 million system logons per year including 2.6 million Commons logons, and the eRA System—eRA Commons and IMPAC II—is used by all ICs, several HHS operating divisions (OPDIVs) and the grantee community. The NIH-wide electronic submission initiative finally put the eRA System in range of the goal of a paperless environment—in so doing, it became an integral part of the fundamental changes in the way the NIH does business.

The program itself now is part of the Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS) in the Office of Extramural Research (OER), with 23 contracting companies contributing 80 percent of eRA staff. Most staff members are information technology experts, trained in building complex information systems that span large, complex organizations such as the NIH.

A new management team took charge last summer and realigned the organizational structure of eRA to better reflect the project functions. At the same time, the new team inventoried ongoing projects and found that there were simply too many, some having been initiated without clear management or funding plans. 

To meet SBIR/STTR eSubmission targets last fall, eRA had just two months to realign its ongoing electronic submission efforts to work through Grants.gov and convert to a new application form—the 424 Research & Related. The weeks between October and the end of December saw 24-hour work days and unprecedented teamwork to roll out the system on time. But make no mistake, this was a widespread NIH effort spearheaded by DDER, Norka Ruiz Bravo, and Megan Columbus from OPERA. Despite the typical start-up issues, we managed to receive and process 2,300 applications. Technically, the major components of the eSubmission system were in place. Follow-up “lessons learned” meetings spawned additional important changes in the system. Thanks to the efforts of Scarlett Gibb and her team along with others we worked with on the CIT Helpdesk, we were able to build a restructured and beefed-up Helpdesk as well as an increased number of targeted communications. All of these efforts have reduced the number of dissatisfied applicants and resubmitted applications.

Each of the existing eRA modules constantly undergoes optimization and enhancements to address the challenges of managing increased amounts of data in the database. The increase in data volume since December 2005 is equal to the increased volume it experienced in the last three years.

While electronic submission takes precedence right now, eRA continues work on several other projects. Enhancements required by OPDIVs so that they can use the system for their grants management are being put into place. The new “OneView” is on track for release this year. Among other features, OneView will enable users to access all system modules from a single screen. The team is continuing the conversion of old client-server modules to Web-accessible functions and services. The team also is implementing the ability to recognize multiple principle investigators and institutions on grants, a step towards supporting the enhancement of research collaboration.

Multiple PI Implementation Reflects New Policy

The NIH is adopting adopted a multiple principal investigator model to provide support for multi-disciplinary efforts and collaboration in the scientific research it funds. The multiple-PI model will supplement, not replace, the traditional single PI model. eRA is building the electronic tools that will allow multiple PIs, and, in the future, multiple institutions to be reported on its grant applications and awards and reflected in its databases and corresponding system modules and applications.

The eRA multiple-PI implementation will include the following:

• All named PIs on multiple-PI applications will have to establish an account in eRA Commons prior to submitting an application  
• All PIs will be able to view summary statements and status reports in eRA Commons  
• NIH requests for information will be conveyed to the multiple PIs through a Contact PI, who must be designated in the eRA Commons  
• All PIs on funded multiple-PI grants will eventually be credited through CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information on Scientific Projects)

The technical team, led by Inna Faenson, has to be sure that accommodation for multiple PIs is built into every module and application in the eRA System, from standbys like Review and the Grant Folder to new applications like OneView that are still in development. 

The project began in October 2005 and by mid-January, the team completed the changes in the OLTP and IRDB databases and made modifications to the bridge. Throughout 2006, the team will develop and implement changes at regular intervals. It is likely that the first phase of the multiple-PI option will be available for most investigator-initiated research grant mechanisms submitted for January 2007 and later application receipt dates.

The second phase of development will likely include:

• Linked awards  
• Apportionment of funds to individual PIs  
• Recognition of all key personnel

By mid-2007, most changes to the eRA System to accommodate multiple PIs will be implemented, and by June 2008 the last enhancements will be available. 

For more information about multiple-PI policy and issues, go to http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/multi_pi/index.htm .

Training Activities Module Converts to J2EE

The Training Activities (TA) module is the latest eRA System computer application to convert to J2EE so that it can be accessed through a Web browser. TA supports NIH’s National Research Service Award business operations for processing training appointments, reappointments and amendments. It also is used for terminating appointments and fellowships and for calculating payback obligations for trainees and fellows.

The client-server version still is available for a short period of time and any data changes made in either version appear in both versions, except for the Termination Notice enhancements, mentioned below, which only are used by the J2EE version. The functionality of TA J2EE is the same as the client-server version but the screens use the same conventions as other eRA Web sites and could look different from the client-server screens. Users are encouraged to switch to the J2EE version as soon as possible. When the J2EE version is issue-free, the client-server will be shut down.

The new version has a few differences, such as some changes in terminology—“hold” is now “Save WIP”—and offers WebQT as a new search option along with the standard Person, Grant Number, and Work in Progress. Several sections now offer drop-down menus instead of buttons, and a bar shows progress rather than an hourglass. Users also can go directly to the Grant folder through a link.

Additionally, the revised termination notice collects some additional information in the J2EE version.

For information and a link to the application, go to http://impacii.nih.gov/webapps/index.cfm.

Tech Tips: Finding User Guides

Do you know where user guides for the Commons and IMPAC II modules and applications are located? They are easy to find!

Commons—From the Commons home page, https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/, click the “Commons Support Page” link, which is the first link in the “Links” section located on the lower-right hand side of the page.

IMPAC II—From the IMPAC II Web site, http://impacii.nih.gov/impac.cfm, scroll over “Applications” and select the module or application to which you would like the user guide. You will be able to download the documentation.

This Tech Tip was contributed by Samuel Smith, eRA Helpdesk.

Do you have a Tech Tip to share or have a question you’d like answered? Send them to the editor, seppalas@mail.nih.gov.