Inside eRA, December 13, 2002 (Volume 3, Issue 13)

Migration Continues to NIH eRA Commons 2 and Web-Based Applications

Enrollment in the NIH eRA Commons 2 is proceeding as planned for former Commons 1 and IMPAC I FSR users. Thus far, 46 grantee institutions and 469 individuals have registered for the new version. Enrollment will be extended to members of the Federal Demonstration Partnership, and finally to all institutions. Open enrollment, likely to begin in January 2003, represents a major milestone in achieving eRA’s mission of paperless grants administration.

On December 6, the NIH eRA Commons was upgraded to Release 2.2. The new release includes Internet Assisted Review (IAR) and several interface changes and bug fixes to eSNAP and FSR. See release notes for details.

• eSNAP is a Web interface for the submission of electronic Simplified Non-competing Application Process Type-5 progress reports. Four Commons Working Group (CWG) pilot users already have successfully transmitted progress reports, an achievement that marks eRA’s first fully electronic end-to-end integration of a business process. The pilot will be extended soon to additional users; the target for full deployment is March 2003.    
• FSR enables the electronic submission of Financial Status Reports. The new Web-based FSR system replaces the IMPAC I dial-up/terminal-based program, which is slated to be turned off on December 31, 2002. Several grantees and Office of Financial Management (OFM) staff currently are piloting the system. When functionality has been verified, eRA will open the FSR interface to all registered NIH eRA Commons 2 users.    
• IAR will facilitate the scientific review of grant applications by standardizing the electronic submission of critiques and initial priority scores and enabling reviewers to examine each other’s critiques online prior to meetings. The IAR pilot, which began on December 9, will be limited to several NIH review meetings. Participating Scientific Review Administrators (SRAs) and Grants Technical Assistants (GTAs) will invite reviewers assigned to these meetings to enroll in the NIH eRA Commons 2 and submit their critiques through IAR.

For the latest news on the pilots, visit the NIH eRA Commons support page. For more information about NIH eRA Commons 2, contact the NIH eRA Commons Helpdesk at commons@od.nih.gov or 866-504-9552.

eRA Project Management Team to Finalize Top FY 2003 Priorities

Dr. John McGowan, eRA Project Manager, has proposed the top ten eRA priorities for FY 2003. This list of initiatives will be presented for approval to the eRA Project Team. Comprising eRA senior managers and advocates for each business and functional area, the team must authorize all decisions for the implementation of eRA.

• Data Quality – Improve the accuracy of institutional and personal data in eRA databases; suggest changes to policy and business processes to improve data quality; analyze and implement changes to software to effect solutions for identified data integrity problems.     
• eGrants – Deploy electronic (XML data stream) competitive grant application submission capability in accordance with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act and the President’s Management Agenda. Support and enhance new Web-based applications, including eSNAP, IAR and FSR (see article above).    
• Program Portfolio Management Interface – Implement a customized, consolidated view of information for NIH Program Officials to support tracking and managing individual portfolios through all phases of the grant lifecycle.     
• Institute and Center Staff Roles and Management Interface – Provide a flexible interface that improves the workflow and correspondence among different business areas by enabling electronic notification, customizable checklists and approval chains, annotation of electronic documents and automated document routing.     
• Committee Management (CM) FastTrack Conversion to J2EE -- Convert CM’s meeting/roster functionality from client/server to Web-based, J2EE technology.     
• Enhancement of Reporting and Query Tools – Provide integrated, easy-to-use query capabilities for customizable pre-programmed (canned) and ad hoc reports. Consolidate query tools for three levels of user expertise: novice, advanced, expert.     
• Partial Integration of Loan Repayment Program (LRP) – Enter LRP applications into IMPAC II to enable Institutes and Centers (ICs) to view, reassign and categorize applications, set up review meetings and optionally input scores.     
• Interagency Edison (iEdison) – Migrate iEdison to the Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) platform and integrate into the NIH eRA Commons. iEdison provides grantees and participating federal agencies with the technology to electronically manage extramural invention portfolios in compliance with federal reporting requirements.     
• Electronic Trainee Activities Interface (X-Train) – Migrate X-Train to the J2EE platform. X-Train offers NIH-supported trainees the means to provide the NIH with the information needed to administer their National Research Service Award (NRSA) training grants.     
• Knowledge Management (KM) Pilot – Incorporate KM capabilities into eRA. Possible pilots include using KM software to identify reviewers based on their areas of expertise, to screen reviewers for possible conflicts of interest, and to assign proposals.     
• Wireless Technology Pilot – Implement Oracle 9iAS technology to enable wireless communication between users and eRA applications, data sources and email. Possible pilots include querying grant status from a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or cell phone and scheduling review meetings remotely in real time and collaborating with attendees.     
• Scanning of Legacy Files – Expand conversion of legacy grant applications and progress reports to electronic format. Upload to IMPAC II for online access by users and authorized IC extension systems.     
• Web Site Redesign – Improve content, appearance and usability of sites for internal NIH staff and extramural grantee community.

New Oracle Release Provides Foundation for Technological Progress

In March 2003, the eRA Operations Team plans to upgrade eRA database and middle-tier software to Oracle9i Database (Oracle9iDB) and Oracle9i Application Server (Oracle9iAS), Release 2, respectively. Oracle9iDB provides enhanced performance, availability and content management facilities. Oracle9iAS Release 2 contains new features that will enable eRA to develop state-of-the-art applications.

Oracle9iAS is the industry’s fastest Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE)-certified application server. Release 2 adds more than 250 new features including wireless capability, which will allow eRA to develop tools to make its applications and data accessible from portable devices. This technology will facilitate NIH’s Flexible Workplace initiative.

The new server release also contains enhanced J2EE tools, including cluster support for Java Server Pages (JSPs), Servlets and Enterprise JavaBeans (EJBs). eRA developers will be able to use these tools as they migrate IMPAC II functionality to J2EE.

If you have questions about these upgrades, contact the eRA Helpdesk at helpdesk@od.nih.gov. For technical information about Oracle9iAS, Release 2, go to http://www.oracle.com/ip/deploy/ias/.

eRA to Upgrade End-User Workstation Software in January

eRA plans to upgrade the workstation software by which users access IMPAC II applications on January 10, 2003,. These upgrades are a prerequisite to the March 2003 migration of eRA database and middle-tier software to Oracle9i Database and Oracle9i Application Server, Release 2 (see article above). NIH staff, who access IMPAC II client/server applications directly, use Oracle Forms Tools software on their workstations. NIH personnel that access IMPAC II applications via the Web use Java Initiator (JIT) workstation software. Both will be upgraded on January 10.

The Information Technology staff in each IC will be responsible for installing the new versions on IC workstations. Oracle Forms Tools will move up to a later patch set of Version 6i. The new JIT version will be 1.1.8.16. These software changes should be transparent to end-users.

On January 3, 2003, the eRA User Support Branch (USB) will make the new software available to IMPAC II Technical Coordinators for testing. On or before January 10, the Technical Coordinators will update the software on each PC according to their IC’s procedures.

If you have questions about these upgrades, contact the IMPAC II Technical Coordinator for your IC or the eRA Helpdesk at helpdesk@od.nih.gov.

Loan Repayment Program to Integrate with eRA in FY 2003

At the Extramural Program Management Committee (EPMC) meeting on November 20, Dr. John McGowan, eRA Project Manager, presented a plan for utilizing some facilities of eRA/IMPAC II for the Loan Repayment Program (LRP). The LRP provides repayment of educational loan debt of qualified health professionals who agree to conduct research for two years.

During FY 2002, there was no common system for Institutes and Centers (ICs) to retrieve, process and track applications submitted to the LRP Web site. In FY 2003, Phase 1 of the LRP-eRA integration will enable access to all LRP applications in IMPAC II, reassignment via 901 transfers, planning of review meetings using Committee Management (CM), and optional scoring of applications in the Peer Review module (REV).

The integration also will permit the ordering of CDs with application images for LRP reviewers, the posting of LRP meeting rosters on the Office of Extramural Research Web site, and the reimbursement of LRP reviewers in the same manner as other reviewers.

To accommodate the tracking of LRP applications, five new activity codes will be added to IMPAC II: L30 (Clinical Research); L32 (Clinical Research for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds); L40 (Pediatric Research); L50 (Contraception and Infertility Research); and L60 (Health Disparity Research). There also will be a unique Program Announcement (PA) number per LRP activity per year. Currently, LRP opportunities are posted as NIH Guide notices.

For FY 2003, applicants will submit their applications electronically to the LRP Web site, where they will be checked for eligibility. The Office of LRP then will make the application available to the CSR Division of Receipt and Referral (DRR) by generating an abbreviated paper version in PHS 398 format (Application for Public Health Service Grant) from their XML data stream. DRR staff will enter limited information from the application into the IMPAC II Receipt and Referral (R&R) module. DRR staff also will make appropriate primary and secondary assignments and refer the application to the primary IC for review. Since the application is received electronically, there is no need for scanning; images will be made available in the Grant Folder.

Subsequent phases of the LRP-eRA process will automate conflict checking, make the application available to other IMPAC II modules (QuickView, ICO, and ICSTORe) and permit Council processing. A long-term goal is to integrate the electronic receipt of LRP applications with the receipt of other competing and non-competing applications.

For more information about eRA support for the LRP, contact Sara Silver at silvers@od.nih.gov.

IMPAC II Usage Grows

IMPAC II usage continued to rise throughout FY 2002 to a total of 540,058 online sessions. This number represents a 32 percent increase over FY 2001 and a 67 percent increase over FY 2000. See line graph for a month-by-month comparison.

During the first two months of FY 2003, Peer Review (REV) and QuickView (QV) were the mostly frequently accessed modules, with 21,423 and 18,481 logons respectively. Usage of REV has been increasing at the highest rate, up 98 percent since the first two months of FY 2001. Grants Management (GM) follows closely behind with an increase of 93 percent during the same period.

eRA attributes the rise in IMPAC II logons to the usefulness of new features such as Summary Statements, grant images, and the Grant Folder and the new reporting capabilities of IC Search-Track-Order-Report (ICSTORe).

Current statistics do not include the new J2EE applications such as Closeout; eRA plans to begin capturing J2EE utilization data in the near future. For more information, contact the User Support Branch (USB) at 301-435-0690.

Committee Management Prepares for J2EE Pilot

Pilot testing of the initial phase of the redesigned Committee Management (CM) module is expected to begin this January. Developers are completing the conversion of CM’s meeting/roster functionality from client/server to Web-based, J2EE technology. Rather than releasing all upgraded functions and screens during a single deployment, the new CM software will be released in several phases over the next two years.

The Committee Management User Group (CMUG) and the CM Joint Application Development (JAD) team have been meeting for several months to identify new functional requirements, additional reporting needs, and desired improvements in navigation and usability. Meeting/roster functionality, one of the most heavily used parts of the CM module, was selected to be “fast tracked” for migration to J2EE. Once again, CM will play a pivotal role in the evolution of eRA by being the first IMPAC II application to be converted to the new technology.

Pilot users will begin testing the redesigned meeting/roster screens between January and March 2003. Participants have been selected from the following ICs: CSR, NHLBI, NCI, NIMH, NIAID and NIDCD. The Office of Federal Advisory Committee Policy (OFACP) also will be involved in the pilot and will provide guidance throughout the test period. The CM client/server application will continue to run in parallel with the J2EE version until all modules of the CM application have been built.

Prior to the pilot, there will be three training sessions; additional written materials also will be available for pilot users, and the eRA User Support Branch will respond to inquiries emailed to the Helpdesk.

New Members Appointed to eRA Steering Committee

The eRA Steering Committee, providing broad oversight and advice to the eRA project, welcomes two new members: Dr. Brent Stanfield and Mr. Thomas Murphy, who were appointed by Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the NIH.

Dr. Stanfield, deputy director of the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), replaces Dr. Ellie Ehrenfeld on the committee. Stanfield was formerly director of the Office of Science Policy and Program Planning at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Before that, he ran the NIMH unit on developmental neuroanatomy in the Laboratory of Neurophysiology.

Dr. Stanfield (stanfieb@csr.nih.gov) received a B.S. with honors from the University of California at Irvine and a Ph.D. in neurobiology from Washington University in St. Louis. After postdoctoral training, he was appointed to the faculties of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego. He moved his laborabory to the NIMH intramural program in 1987.

Mr. Thomas Murphy (Tom.Murphy@nih.gov), also appointed to the Steering Committee, serves as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and director of the Office of Information Technology of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). In this capacity, Murphy oversees the NIDCR IT infrastructure, plans and coordinates all Internet and Intranet services, and develops and implements IT policies and procedures for his institute.

Mr. Murphy has been with the NIH for more than 10 years. Before coming to the NIH, he was the director of Academic Computing Services for the College of Education at the University of Maryland. Prior to that, Mr. Murphy was an educational software developer, curriculum development instructor, and high school mathematics and computer science teacher.

Meet the SBIR Awardees

The six recipients of eRA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards have begun work on new tools for facilitating electronic interaction between grantee institutions and the NIH. At the conclusion of Phase 1, these companies will demonstrate proof-of-concept for software applications and services that can be purchased by or licensed to NIH grantee organizations. Six NIH institutes (NCRR, NIAID, NIAAA, NIBIB, NIDA and NDDK) collectively have allocated $2.5 million this year to support development efforts.

SBIR Awardees

ERA Software Systems, Inc.—Diane Bozler, PI
ERA Software Systems proposes to enhance their Grants Applications and Management System (GAMS™) with standards-based interfaces for the submission of competing and non-competing proposals using XML data stream submission. During Phase 1, ERA Software Systems plans to deliver accurate XML data streams for competing grant applications and for populating the NIH eRA Commons organizational and professional profiles. They also propose to convert the 194 EDI transaction set to an XML data stream.

Research & Management Systems (RAMS), Inc.—William Kirby, PI
RAMS proposes to enhance their ecGrant™ product (currently used by 38 institutions) to support optimal creation, submission and tracking of institutional and professional profiles. RAMS will determine the best methods and feasible technology for moving data from the ecGrant databases to NIH and for allowing grantors and other authorized parties to access profile information in local databases.

InfoEd International—Edward Johnson, Sr., PI
InfoEd International proposes to develop a secure NIH Portal for moving information among the external community, the NIH eRA Commons and IMPAC II. The portal will accept new proposals, continuations, invention reports, etc. and will enable the NIH to communicate back to the originator.

Cayuse, Inc.—Christian T. Harker, PI
Cayuse proposes to enhance its GrantSlam™ software, currently used by more than 3,000 investigators to create their paper-based NIH grant proposals. During Phase 1, Cayuse will align GrantSlam organizational and professional profiles with NIH definitions, generate and parse XML from and to GrantSlam, and upload GrantSlam proposal data to the NIH eRA Commons through a secure connection.

Clinical Tools, Inc.—T. Bradley Tanner, PI
Clinical Tools proposes to develop a Web-based solution called HealthProposal.net to enable grant application preparation and submission to the NIH. Investigators will input their research proposal in word processor format at a JPartner Web site; the proposal then will be uploaded to a Clinical Tools server where it will be translated to PDF for the grantee’s online viewing. The finished product will be converted to XML and transmitted to NIH as a data stream.

Formatta Corporation—David Garver, PI
Formatta proposes to improve their existing electronic forms product line, which enables users to fill out forms online or offline, create electronic signatures, and securely transmit the completed forms over the Internet. The system based on this technology would allow research institutions to utilize FREE, Internet downloadable software to fill out, save, route, encrypt, print, email and submit electronic grant applications to the NIH and other grants-sponsoring organizations.

Three New Members Join DEIS Team

The Division of Extramural Information Systems (DEIS)—overseeing the Information Technology (IT) hardware and software infrastructure of the eRA Project—welcomes three new members to its staff: Mr. Steve Hughes, Ms. Penny Colbert, and Mr. Mike Goodman.

Stephen Hughes, former technical architect in the Office of the Director of the National Cancer Institute, is the new chief architect for the Office of Extramural Research. In this capacity, he will supervise eRA structural design, ensuring that the architecture meets the needs of the project and allows the incorporation of new technology.

Mr. Hughes has worked with IMPAC I and IMPAC II for more than 25 years, serving as chair of the NIH IMPAC II Technical Coordinators, member of the eRA Project Team, advocate for IC Technical Perspective, and participant in numerous Joint Application Development (JAD) teams for IMPAC II modules. He was part of the Technical Evaluation Panel that reviewed the initial IMPAC II contract.

Before coming to the NIH, Mr. Hughes earned a B.S. in Physical Science from the University of Maryland. He plans to complete coursework for a M.S. degree in Information Management in the near future.

Penny Colbert is another new member of Sherry Zucker’s team. She will work on various eRA initiatives, including the upgrade of the Grants Management module.

Ms. Colbert has been with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) since 1975, working in the Intramural, Information Resources Management, and Grants Management areas. She also has served as the IMPAC II coordinator and technical representative as well as NICHD’s point of contact for IMPAC II reporting. Prior to joining NIH, Ms. Colbert studied medical secretarial administration at Tripler Hospital in Hawaii and served as a medical secretary at WalterReed Hospital in Washington, D.C.

Michael Goodman also will join the Software Analysis and Development Branch (SADB) as a systems analyst and task manager. Mr. Goodman, a former Northrop Grumman Information Technology (NGIT) software developer, who has worked on the IMPAC II system since 1995, will be responsible for XML data specification and database mapping for the Competing Grant Application Process (CGAP) and will assist in the development of interfaces with external systems such as the NIH Business System (NBS). In addition, he will work on the migration of IMPAC II applications to J2EE and the integration of the NIH eRA Commons and IMPAC II databases. In this capacity, Mr. Goodman hopes to make electronic CGAPs a reality and to guide the eRA Project toward the highest quality software solutions.

During his seven years at R.O.W. Sciences (now NGIT), Mr. Goodman created software for several eRA business areas, including Grants Management, Population Tracking, CRISP on the Web, NIH eRA Commons and others. He also was the principal developer for shared IMPAC II systems, such as the Person Module. Prior to entering the workforce, Mr. Goodman was a student at Loyola College in Baltimore, where he received a B.S. degree in Computer Science.

Project Team Explores eRA’s Future at October Retreat

On October 10-11, the eRA Project Team participated in a planning retreat at the Airlie Conference Center in Warrenton, Virginia. Attendees reflected on eRA accomplishments to date, and explored future initiatives and directions in view of emerging new technology, such as wireless communications.

Sessions at the retreat centered around two fundamental questions: 1) one year from now, what capabilities will eRA support; and 2) where does eRA offer opportunities for business process improvements? Discussion at the retreat resulted in the establishment of focus groups to continue studying these issues and to come up with recommendations.

What Training Do You Need?

During the month of December, we are accepting course suggestions for eRA/IMPAC II training during calendar year 2003. If you have a topic for our consideration, please email your request to Patty Austin at patty_austin@nih.gov.