In mid-November, eRA will begin transitioning NIH eRA Commons Version 1 (V.1) registrants to NIH eRA Commons Version 2 (V.2). More than 180 institutions are enrolled in the V.1 system. This month, members of the Commons Working Group (CWG) are piloting the new NIH eRA Commons, which provides a virtual meeting place on the Web for the electronic interchange of information between the NIH and its grantees.

Logon to NIH eRA Commons V.2 requires a unique username and password. Over the next few months, NIH eRA staff will be contacting V.1 registrants to establish accounts for V.2. Current plans call for the NIH to open registration to all grantee institutions in the first quarter of 2003.

The upgrade to NIH eRA Commons V.2 offers both new functionality and significant enhancements to existing functionality. The first release includes:

Implementation of Single Point of Ownership--This concept prescribes that each grantee institution that creates an institutional profile (IPF) and each extramural user that creates a personal profile (PPF) is the owner of that information. Once established, only the grantee (or designee) has the authority to update the profile. Users will create and maintain profiles via the NIH eRA Commons V.2 IPF and PPF modules. This strategy of limiting profile access results in documented improvements in the quality of information about institutions and investigators. 

Support for Four Levels of Institutional Hierarchy--For each institution, uniquely identified by its IPF, the new system accommodates three subordinate levels: school, division and department. This expanded hierarchy will enable institutions to accurately and fully represent their organizational structure for internal approval, auditing and reporting purposes.

Enhancement of Status Facility--Through the new Status screen, users will be able to track the progress of pending applications, obtain contact information for the assigned Grants Management and Program Officers, link to study section rosters, and view Summary Statements and priority scores. The Status interface also will provide links to the Notice of Grant Award and access to a copy of a pre-populated face page of the PHS 2590, which will facilitate submission of the Non-competing Progress Report (Type-5).

Phased Implementation of e-Notification--As part of the first release of NIH eRA Commons V.2, NIH will post Type-5 due date information. In the near future, eRA will contact a central institutional email address for notification of pending deadlines. Down the road, the NIH plans to implement e-Notification for individual investigators and fellows.

Integration of Demo Facility--A full demo version of NIH eRA Commons V.2 is available at commons.era.nih.gov.

Improvement of Graphical User Interface (GUI)--The V.2 Web interface was designed with the assistance of the CWG as well as a Human Factors Analyst (HuFA), and it features simpler navigation, better usability and integrated help.

Gateway for New Software Applications--The NIH eRA Commons V.2 will serve as the entry point for new electronic grant administration interfaces. Three currently are in pilot mode: X-Train, eSNAP and FSR.  X-Train enables grantee institutions to capture information about trainees who receive National Research Service Awards (NRSA). eSNAP is a Web interface for the submission of Type-5 progress reports; and FSR enables the electronic submission of Financial Status Reports. An Internet Assisted Review (IAR) pilot will begin in December. The IAR module will facilitate the capture and analysis of application critiques that are made as part of the NIH peer review process. In 2003, eRA plans to release new or redesigned systems including: CRISP on the Web; an expanded version of the Electronic Non-Competing Application Process (eNAP) to enable submission of progress reports for all types of grants; Interagency Edison (iEdison) for the submission and tracking of extramural invention reports; and a Grants Closeout module. Planning is underway to enable the submission of competitive applications using datastream technology through the NIH eRA Commons V.2.

The NIH eRA Commons V.2 was developed using Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE), a non-proprietary architecture for building enterprise applications on the Web. J2EE’s open standards framework facilitates reuse, portability and easy integration with Commercial Off-the Shelf (COTS) products.

Institutional Signing Officials (SOs) and Account Administrators (AAs) at NIH eRA Commons V.1 institutions are encouraged to prepare for the transition to NIH eRA Commons V.2. As part of the set-up procedures, they will be asked to verify IPF data, create organizational hierarchy, verify existing Principal Investigator (PI) accounts and facilitate the creation of new accounts as their institutions begin using the NIH eRA Commons.

For more information about NIH eRA Commons V.2, contact the NIH eRA Commons Helpdesk at commons@od.nih.gov or 866-504-9552.