NIH Requiring Mandatory Use of the Electronic Financial Status Report System in the eRA Commons Beginning October 1, 2007

Notice Number: NOT-OD-07-078

Key Dates
Release Date: July 27, 2007

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov/)

Mandatory:  NIH requires all Financial Status Reports (FSRs) (domestic and foreign) due on or after 10/01/2007 to be submitted using the electronic FSR system located in the eRA Commons.  This includes all initial FSRs being prepared for submission and any revisions being submitted or re-submitted to NIH..This requirement does not affect other Federal agencies and how they may handle FSR’s.  The eRA Commons web-based FSR system allows participants to view information on currently due and late FSRs and to submit FSRs electronically to the NIH.

For those institutions not already registered in the Commons, registering in the eRA Commons allows your faculty and staff to take advantage of the electronic submission and retrieval of grant information. Only an individual with signatory authority for the institution or organization in grant-related matters can register an institution.  This individual is known as a Signing Official (SO). To register in the eRA Commons, open the NIH eRA Commons homepage and click on the Grantee Organization Registration link. Follow the step-by-step instructions. The institution is registered when the information is completed, submitted (by pressing the Submit button) and confirmed by the NIH. An account with the SO role is created along with the institution registration.

Once an institution is registered, the SO can log into eRA Commons, create individual user accounts and designate the roles associated with each account.  Roles provide the authority within eRA Commons to perform specific tasks.   The FSR role allows institutional or organizational staff to process FSRs for submission to the NIH electronically. An account for an individual can include multiple roles, including the FSR role; however, an account with only the FSR role assigned can only perform FSR tasks.

Additional resources concerning the FSR system including a User Guide and an on-line demonstration can be found on the eRA Commons Support Page:  http://era.nih.gov/commons/ 

Reminder:  Unless the Grants Management Officer of the awarding Institute or Center approves an extension, grantees must submit a final FSR, final progress report, and Final Invention Statement and Certification within 90 days of the end of grant period. Failure to submit timely and accurate final reports may affect future funding to the organization or awards under the direction of the same PI.

Inquiries

Questions concerning specific financial matters in the eRA Commons electronic FSR system should be directed to the Government Accounting Branch, 301-451-9210 or e-mail at: WhatleyA@od.nih.gov 

General questions concerning using the eRA Commons should be directed to the eRA Commons Helpdesk at:

eRA Commons Help Desk
Web : http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/ (Preferred method of contact)
Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552
Phone : 301-402-7469
TTY : 301-451-5939
Hours : Mon-Fri, 7a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

General inquires about this change may be directed to:
Division of Grants Policy
Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 350
Bethesda, MD 20892
Phone: (301) 435-0938
FAX: (301) 435-3059
Email: GrantsPolicy@od.nih.gov


Weekly TOC for this Announcement
NIH Funding Opportunities and Notices


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