|
This news update from the NIH Office of Research Information Systems (ORIS), provides the Department of Health
and Human Services (DHHS) and its partners with pertinent information about the plans and progress of the NIH
Electronic Research Administration (eRA). Through its eRA and information services, ORIS supports the Department's
research grants programs by using technology to reduce the costs of grants administration, to analyze and report on
grant data, and to synthesize grant information into knowledge for guiding the NIH research portfolio and improving
the Nation's health.
IMPAC I to Retire after FY2002 Closeout
IMPAC I will retire after FY2002 reconciliation is completed. Beginning with FY2003, IMPAC II will be NIH’s system of record for grants administration. As the phased shutdown of IMPAC I proceeds, eRA has scheduled significant milestones. Conversion to 6-digit serial numbers – In the next few months, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) will reach its own milestone when IMPAC II assigns serial number 99999 to a NCI grant application. eRA and NCI are discussing potential solutions that may enable NCI to continue using 5-digit numbers for FY2002 business. Effective October 1, 2002, new (Type 1) NCI grant applications received by the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) will be assigned 6-digit serial numbers. Serial numbers for prior-year awards will remain in the 5-digit format. As grant applications for other Institutes and Centers (ICs) are assigned serial numbers over 99999, those ICs also will begin using 6-digit numbers. Budget reports – Monthly budget reports currently generated in IMPAC I will cease on May 30, 2002. The IMPAC II Institute and Center Operations (ICO) module provides equivalent report functionality. Information about the ICO module is available on the IMPAC II Web page. Successor-of-interest and change-of-institution applications – With the July deployment of the IMPAC II Grants Management (GM) module, ICs will generate Type 6 and Type 7 records currently produced by the Office of Extramural Research (OER) System Quality Assurance Interfaces Branch (SQAIB). ICs must continue to fax application Face Pages to the SQAIB for organization verification and validation. Reverse-data bridge – FY2003 data will not be bridged from IMPAC II to IMPAC I. Revised information for FY2002 and earlier awards will continue to be reverse-bridged from IMPAC II to IMPAC I for a limited period. Updated schedules list sunset dates for IMPAC I functions and implications for ICs. Contact the Helpdesk at 301-402-7469 or by email at helpdesk@od.nih.gov with questions.
Registration Opens for eRA: What’s in it for me?
Online registration opens April 10 for eRA: What’s in it for Me? Designed for NIH staff, this half-day symposium is scheduled for 8:30 a.m.–1 p.m. on Friday, May 10, at the Natcher Conference Center. The symposium will introduce exciting new capabilities available to NIH’s eRA user community. This event will feature informative presentations, demonstrations, and practical advice on making the most of eRA systems. Three iterations of 25-minute breakout sessions will feature cutting-edge developments, including: - ECB/QVR – The Electronic Council Book (ECB) enables members of IC Advisory Councils to read, search, sort, and print any or all of the summary statements for a Council round. Designed for extramural staff, the Query/View/Reporting (QVR) decision-support system provides access to all applications and grants in the IMPAC II database.
- eSNAP – Non-competing continuation awards are a large portion of NIH staff workload. eRA’s Electronic Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process (eSNAP), a Web interface for the submission of Type-5 progress reports, is scheduled to pilot next fall. This breakout session also will focus on the transition from the current paper-based, Type-5 notification process to E-Notification for grantees and NIH staff.
- Grant Folder – This electronic version of numerous documents associated with a grant application is available in the IMPAC II Peer Review, Grants Management, Receipt and Referral, Institute and Center Operations, and QuickView modules.
- Grants Closeout System (GCS) – Now in development, the GCS will provide seamless electronic receipt and processing of closeout data.
ICSTORe – Accessible from the Grants Management, Institute and Center Operations, Peer Review, and QuickView modules, the ICSTORe Document Management System currently is used to track, print, and distribute summary statements, resumes, and abstracts. Future releases will incorporate additional documents.
- Population Tracking – Slated for May 2002 deployment, this IMPAC II module tracks racial/ethnic composition and provides counts of study populations who participate in NIH clinical research.
- Review Module – IMPAC II summary statement functionality and plans for an Internet-Assisted Review (IAR) module will highlight presentations for the Review business area.
Attendees are eligible for one ESA credit or credit toward NIH Grants Management certification. Consult the symposium Web page for the schedule of events and other information. Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact askera@od.nih.gov or call 301-451-5954.
eRA Adopts Single Point of Ownership in May
The concept of single point of ownership stipulates that after a grantee establishes a professional profile on the NIH Commons, only the grantee or a designee will be able to modify the profile. This strategy of limiting profile access results in documented improvements in the quality of information about investigators. When single point of ownership is implemented in May, most NIH users will not be able to collapse profiles, type over names, or modify information for profiles associated with NIH Commons accounts. NIH users still will be authorized to update blank profile SSN fields, as well as profile fields that are not accessible to Commons users. A modified interface will provide NIH users with continued name-change functionality. Federal Staff users will begin managing their profiles in July, following the single point of ownership concept. eRA encourages all ICs to adopt new procedures that facilitate single point of ownership. Each IC will designate one or more data quality specialists or units who will have sole responsibility within the IC for modifying profile-level information. These users will not be able to collapse profiles or type over names. In response to requests from the eRA Helpdesk, the Office of Extramural Research (OER) System Quality Assurance Interfaces Branch (SQAIB) will have authority to update and collapse profiles. A standalone Persons module will be available to SQAIB staff this summer. Future development includes an interface that will aid staff in validating profiles received from the Commons.
Upcoming IRDB Changes and Enhancements
The IMPAC II Reporting Database (IRDB) “redesign” team announces scheduled modifications that will enhance IRDB performance. Legacy PowerViews will be dropped from the IRDB on June 3 and will be replaced with faster, more efficient Materialized Views (MVs). Materialized Views are pre-computed tables that accelerate query response by pre-calculating database joins and aggregations and storing the results in an Oracle database.
The updated PV_GRANT_PI_MV, which includes significant Persons data enhancements, will go into production on April 29.
The revised PV_ICD_ASSIGNMENTS_MV will be available in mid-to-late April.
Human embryonic stem cell (HESC) data will be added to the IRDB in late April when PV_STEM_CELL_LINES_MV goes into production.
- In May, the redesign team will begin a two-phase approach to integrating committed-year dollars by common account number (CAN) data.
The addition of Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) reference tables to the IRDB during the next few months will enable users to extract descriptions for various “code” columns.
Columns will be dropped from ALL_PERSON_DEGS_MV and base table PROJECT_VERSIONS_T on June 3.
Details of all IRDB changes are available on the IMPAC II Web page. Contact the Helpdesk at 301-402-7469 or by email at helpdesk@od.nih.gov with questions.
Program Officials Look Forward to Added Functionality
New IMPAC II functionality soon will facilitate the work of NIH Program Officials, one of eRA’s largest user communities. Program representatives and the eRA Project Team recently reviewed a prototype Program portal that will provide Program Officials with customized, single-logon access to Web-based IMPAC II modules and other applications, websites, and tools needed to perform their responsibilities. A pilot version of the Program portal is scheduled for deployment in October 2002. Development of a transaction-based IMPAC II Program module will begin this spring at Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions. The module, which will be designed using eRA’s new J2EE™ platform, will expand on functionality currently available in IMPAC II. Program Officials will participate in a thorough review of business practices to ensure that the module fully meets the community’s requirements.
eRA Selects New Reporting Tool
Oracle® Discoverer is eRA’s selection for an enterprise reporting tool that will complement functionality provided by the Query/View/Reporting System (QVR) and ICSTORe. Discoverer will be integrated with IMPAC II to offer easy-to-use query capabilities for both pre-programmed (“canned”) and ad hoc reports. Discoverer will allow users to manipulate any standard IMPAC II report. For example, users will be able to move columns and rows, add formatting, sort information, and export selected data elements to other applications, such as Microsoft® Excel. As an ad hoc report tool, Discoverer will enable users to craft, save, and share queries as well as extract data from the Online Transaction Processing (OLTP) database and the IMPAC II Reporting Database (IRDB). The eRA Reporting Team will demonstrate Discoverer to user groups during the next few months and will incorporate user feedback in their implementation. Peer Review users will pilot Discoverer this spring.
IMPAC II Releases as of April 9, 2002
Release notes are available online for all IMPAC II modules deployed on March 22. Look for highlights of the May 17 deployment in the next issue of Inside eRA. For information about upcoming releases, contact the Helpdesk at 301-402-7469 or by email at helpdesk@od.nih.gov.
IMPAC II Training Schedule as of April 9, 2002
The Human Resource Development Division (HRDD) has scheduled the following IMPAC II courses. Unless otherwise noted, all classes are held at Executive Plaza South. Course Title | Number | Date | Time | Tuition | Committee Management for CMOs and CMAs | 5834 | 05/01/02
06/12/02 | 9 am – 4 pm | $221 | Committee Management for GTAs and Review Staff | 5833 | 08/07/02 | 9 am – 4 pm | $221 | Committee Management for SREA Staff | 5835 | 08/28/02 | 9 am – 12 pm | $184 | Grants Management | 5827 | 06/13/02 | 9 am – 4 pm | $221 | Peer Review | 5825 | 04/17/02
06/19/02 | 9 am – 4 pm | $221 |
The following courses also are offered; however, there are no scheduled sessions at this time or scheduled classes are full. For more information or to request a class, visit the HRDD website at http://learningsource.od.nih.gov or call 301-496-6211. Course Title | Number | Duration | Tuition | CRISP Plus | 5829 | ½ day | $141 | Institute and Center Operations (ICO) | 5828 | ½ day | $184 | QuickView | 5830 | ½ day | $141 |
|
