Meet eRA’s 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.