For researchers who submit to NIH, please note the following changes to eSubmission requirements. Please contact your Grants administrator if you have questions.
Don’t Forget Your Inclusion Data
The new FORMS-C application packages use a different approach for collecting inclusion data. In addition to reformatting the data tables themselves, inclusion data is no longer collected in PDF attachments. Instead, each package includes new Planned Enrollment Report and Cumulative Inclusion Enrollment forms. These forms allow NIH to collect the data in a format that can be leveraged throughout the lifecycle of the application/grant.
The forms are included in the application packages as ‘Optional’ and eRA systems no longer provide an error when inclusion data is omitted. However, our policies on when to include the data in your application have not changed. Applicants must carefully follow application guide and supplemental instructions to ensure the new forms are included when needed. A handy decision tree was recently posted that can also help determine whether the inclusion reporting policies apply to your specific application.
FORMS-C Budget Forms and PD/PIs
The latest version of the R&R Budget form developed by Grants.gov includes some changes in how data is entered. Although the PD/PI name provided on the SF424 R&R cover form is still used to auto-populate the first Senior/Key Person entry in Section A, the Project Role filed for that entry no longer defaults to ‘PD/PI’ and must be manually entered. As a result, more applicants have been running into the following error:
There must be a Personnel entry (with a role of “PD/PI”) listed for the PI or PD on the 424 RR Detailed Budget Page (section A&B) for budget year <x>. (5.7.1)
It is critical to type the string ‘PD/PI’ – NOT ‘PI’ or ‘PI/PD’ or ‘Principal Investigator’ or ‘Co-PD/PI’ – you must use ‘PD/PI’ or you will get that dreaded error. So, please add this to your pre-submission application checks to avoid a corrective submission.
K, F, T and D Programs Moving to Updated Electronic Application Forms (FORMS-C)
A reminder notice regarding the transition of Career Development (Ks), Fellowship (Fs), Training (Ts/Ds) programs to updated electronic application forms (NOT-OD-14-027).
- All F, K, T and D submissions for due dates on or after January 25, 2014 must use the new application forms. Applications submitted using incorrect application forms will not be accepted.
- Research Training (T), Career Development (K) and Fellowship (F) Parent Announcements will be reissued under new Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) numbers. All other active F, K, T and D FOAs will be updated to include a FORMS-C package with the existing announcement (i.e., no FOA number change). NIH is making every effort to have the new FOAs and packages in place 45-60 days prior to the first due date that falls on/after January 25, 2014.
- For the January 7, 2014 AIDS due date, applicants should continue to use the ADOBE-FORMS-B packages found in the old Parent Announcements or that remain available in non-parent announcement.
- Update: This bullet only applies to the Career Development (Ks), Fellowship (Fs), and Training (Ts/Ds) programs that don’t transition to FORMS-C until due dates on/after January 25, 2014. Grant programs that already transitioned to FORMS-C in September (e.g., Rs) must now use FORMS-C for all due dates (including the January 7 AIDS due date).
More Multi-project Activity Codes Moving to Electronic Submission
The second group of activity codes in our transition timeline (G12, P30, P40, P41, P42, P51, P60, R28, S06, U10, U41, U42, U45, U56, UC7) move to electronic application submission for due dates on/after January 25, 2014 (NOT-OD-13-075).
If you are planning to apply to a multi-project program in the near future, you may want to become familiar with the resources available to help you through the electronic submission process:
