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CRISP Retired; Start Using RePORTER Today (Oct 27, 2009): An eRA Advisory announces that the CRISP searchable database of biomedical research projects funded by NIH was retired Oct. 31, 2009. It is replaced by RePORTER, which offers all of the CRISP features and more. RePORTER now is available and provides:

• A description of the award (abstract) and NIH funding for each project;
• Publications and patents that have resulted from NIH-funded research;
• Links to PubMed Central, PubMed, and the US Patent & Trademark Office Patent Full Text and Image Database for more detailed information on research results.

For many years, CRISP was one of the most common ways for the public to find information on NIH research programs, returning extensive results on scientific topics. CRISP played an important role in its lifetime and won several awards.

Major changes are happening to NIH applications for due dates on or after January 25, 2010 (Oct 13, 2009): Due to changes resulting from the Enhancing Peer Review initiative, applications for due dates on or after January 25, 2010 require:

• Restructured application forms, and follow
• New instructions including shorter page limits.

These changes affect all new, renewal, resubmission, and revision applications. [R01, R21, and R34 AIDS applicants who are appointed members of NIH Advisory Groups whose applications normally would have been due on January 7, 2010 may continue to use current forms and instructions through February 7, 2010.] Applications that use incorrect forms or following old instructions will be delayed and may not be reviewed! Please take the time to learn about the upcoming changes.

Steps for Success:

1. Read now about the changes in order to write the revised Research Strategy section of the application.
2. In December, go back to the updated FOA or reissued Parent Announcement and download the new application package and instructions (both electronic SF 424 R&R and paper PHS 398). Make sure to choose the correct application package: for SF 424 R&R: ADOBE_FORMS_B and for PHS 398: Revision date “June 2009”
3. Read the new application instructions carefully.
4. For due dates on or after January 25, submit applications using the new forms and instructions.

Get Informed!
To better understand the new requirements, the Enhancing Peer Review Website has a page dedicated to the application changes and has made available a number of resources, continually updated, including:

• A flyer
• A one page update
• PowerPoint presentations describing the changes
• FAQs
• List of policy notices
• Timeline of changes
• A video overview of the changes available mid-November on the web site under Training and Communication Resources
• Ability to sign up on the Enhancing Peer Review LISTSERV (or look out for an announcement in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts).

Restructured paper PHS398 and electronic SF424 applications announced by NIH (Sept 16, 2009):
The new versions of the PHS398 and electronic SF424 (R&R) application packages and instructions will be available by December 2009. Applicants must download and use the new application packages for submissions targeting due dates on or after January 25, 2010 (funding for FY 2011 and beyond). Applications that mix old and new paper application forms will be delayed and may not be reviewed. Please closely follow the instructions detailed in the application package. Contact OSP-MED if you have any questions about this announcement, NOT-OD-09-149. NIH guidance on the application changes and the new forms.

ARRA quarterly reporting requirements (July 31, 2009): Recovery Act of 2009: Information on Quarterly Reporting Requirements for NIH Award Recipients

F-series (fellowship) applications have moved to electronic submission and some reminders have been posted (Aug 2009). The deadline shifts to Monday, August 10, 2009 for NIH’s Individual National Research Award as the first time that NIH requires electronic submission for these awards through Grants.gov. Please note:

• Grants.gov downtime Saturday, August 8 to Sunday, August 9 to make system enhancements. Applicants will not be able to search for funding opportunity announcements; download grant application packages; submit applications; or track Grants.gov application status. However, Grants.gov will continue to process applications already in the queue prior to the downtime.
• Corrections to instructions in SF424 Individual Fellowship Application Guide for NIH and AHRQ.
• Diversity Fellowship Application Requirement for Eligibility Certification Letter.
• Reference Letter resources are posted online regarding reference letter submission. Instructions must be followed and are available in the SF424 Individual Fellowship Application Guide (Part 1, Section 5.4).
• Fellowship applications submitted without cover letters are currently receiving the following error: “A cover letter must be attached for this application on the PHS Cover Letter File.” The error must be corrected in order to complete the submission process and allow the application to move on for further consideration. Since the current Fellowship application guide and announcements do not address the requirement for a cover letter, a temporary fix in eRA Commons now is in place to change the existing error to a warning with the following text: “A cover letter was not included with this application. If submitting after the deadline for any reason, a Cover Letter must be attached in the PHS Cover Letter form. Although not required prior to the deadline, applicants are encouraged to include a cover letter with any submission. See application guide for details.” Following the deadline, NIH staff will follow-up with any necessary system changes.
• Reminder to check application image in Commons. If you are not able to view your assembled application image, NIH will not be able to move it forward.

Questions? eRA Helpdesk: 301-402-7469; eRA Helpdesk.

Don’t have duplicate applications in eRA Commons! read more on deleting unwanted submissions.

NIH Alert! (5/1/09): Under NOT-OD-09-091 the error-correction window has been extended to May 8 for RC1 applications and any application with a deadline Apr 27 through May 1, 2009. Despite the extension, please complete the submission process as soon as possible, since it is much preferred to have applications in processing than not having started them in the process at all; not only will you be relieved but eRA Commons will be able to assign it more rapidly and you will gain time over the next cycle. (The additional time to correct errors does not apply to Competitive Revision applications (NOT-OD-09-058), see below.)

Competitive Revisions: If you were affected by a system issue (as outlined in April 21 Items of Interest) and followed the correct ticketing process to document your inability to meet the deadline due to that issue, then Commons assures us that it is tracking those tickets and continues to investigate each ticket individually. Continue to respond quickly to help desk contacts and complete your submissions within two business days from receiving help desk guidance, and your application will not be considered late. Applicants who have already documented their issues should expect to hear back by close of business on Tuesday, May 5.

Calls to the eRA Commons Help Desk and backlog of Help Desk Tickets: Email, web and call volume is almost five times the normal. Not to worry if you have not heard from the Help Desk. They have a record of your contact and there is no need to submit a duplicate request. The backlog is expected to clear over the next week.

Tips from recent experience on use of Adobe-based forms for NIH submissions (Feb 2009) Read the rest of this entry »

BU will no longer submit new applications to FAMRI in support of sponsored research projects (Oct 30, 2009): The Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) recently decided to use a standard non-negotiable contract for all new agreements. Previously FAMRI was amenable to making contract modifications during award negotiations. The template agreement imposes terms that are either very broad or hard to enforce, or potentially impact BU’s ability to collect payment for work completed. It also requires BU to accept restrictions on receiving funds from, or working with, certain entities. No changes to agreements for active, funded awards from FAMRI are anticipated. OSP-MED will inform the research community if a change in FAMRI’s position changes BU’s decision.

Major changes in application forms! (Oct 13, 2009)

ARRA reporting requirements (Sept 16, 2009): To date, Boston University Medical Campus has received 44 awards totaling more than $15.2 million funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. As outlined in the notice of award, all ARRA funded projects are subject to special quarterly reporting requirements.

To ensure consistency in reporting and minimize the additional administrative burden on award recipients, all ARRA related quarterly reporting will be handled centrally by OSP-MED with PIs and/or departmental administrators being asked to verify limited information (including an estimate of the number of jobs created and/or retained, and the completion status of the project or activity). Each quarter, OSP plans to be in touch with the PI to update information on these items.

OSP-MED will be holding a training/information session soon to discuss reporting process responsibilities and answer any questions related to this topic. At least one person associated with each award (PI and/or departmental administrator) is requested to attend this session. In some cases, one departmental administrator or PI may represent multiple awards. ARRA FAQ.

Restructured paper PHS398 and electronic SF424 applications announced by NIH (Sept 16, 2009):
The new versions of the PHS398 and electronic SF424 (R&R) application packages and instructions will be available by December 2009. Applicants must download and use the new application packages for submissions targeting due dates on or after January 25, 2010 (funding for FY 2011 and beyond). Applications that mix old and new paper application forms will be delayed and may not be reviewed. Please closely follow the instructions detailed in the application package. Contact OSP-MED if you have any questions about this announcement, NOT-OD-09-149. NIH guidance on the changes.

Key changes include:

1. Shortened page limits, 6 or 12 pages, for the newly-retitled Research Strategy section, depending on the FOA. One additional page will be allowed for Specific Aims. As always, if the FOA requires page limits that differ from the application instructions, the FOA page limits should be followed. For resubmission and revision applications for most programs, the Introduction will be limited to one page. For individual Career Development (K) applications, the Research Strategy includes Candidate Information, and will be limited to 12 pages.
2. Alignment of application with enhanced peer review criteria. To coordinate with enhanced peer review criteria, changes will be made to the Research Plan, Resources, and Biographical Sketch sections of the application forms and instructions, as follows:
   • Research Plan. Three sections of the current Research Plan (Background and Significance, Preliminary Studies/Progress Report, and Research Design and Methods) will be consolidated into a new single section entitled ‘Research Strategy.’ The new Research Strategy section (a single PDF upload in the PHS 398 Research Plan Component of the SF 424 (R&R)), will be sub-divided into three parts: Significance, Innovation, and Approach. The Approach sub-section will include both Preliminary Studies for New Applications and Progress Report for Renewal/Revision Applications.
   • Resources. The Facilities and Other Resources section will be changed to require a description of how the scientific environment will contribute to the probability of success of the project, unique features of the environment, and for Early Stage Investigators, the institutional investment in the success of the investigator (e.g. resources, classes, etc.). The Facilities and Other Resources section is part of the R&R Other Project Information in the SF 424 (R&R) application, and part of the Resources Format Page in the paper PHS 398 application.
   • Biographical Sketch. A new Personal Statement will be incorporated as Part A, changing the parts formerly called A, B, and C to Parts B, C, and D. Applicants will limit the list of selected peer-reviewed publications to no more than 15, chosen on the basis of recency, importance to the field, and relevance to the proposed research.

Manuscript number no longer to be used as proof of compliance with NIH Public Access Policy (8/17/09): Effective August 21, 2009, NIH will not allow an NIH Manuscript Submission Reference Number (NIHMSID) to be used as proof of compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy three months after paper is published. This number is used as a temporary substitute for the Pub Med Central reference number and is intended to be used only in cases where an awardee needs to cite a paper soon after its acceptance by a journal, when there is not enough time to complete every step of the NIH manuscript submission process. At issue is the fact that many months after publication of the paper, the temporary number still is being used, an unacceptable use of the NIHMSID.

Delayed electronic submission (6/26/09): The following mechanisms, originally scheduled to transition to electronic submission for applications due on/after September 25, 2009, have been rescheduled to electronic transition beginning with submissions on/after January 25, 2010:
• Institutional National Research Service Awards (T32, T34, T35, T36, T90, TU2)
• Other institutional training grants (T&D Series, D43, D71, T14, T15, T37, U2R and K30)
• Institutional career development programs (K12)

Please continue to submit these applications using the paper PHS398 application forms until then. NOT-OD-09-113

Cannot charge admin support under ARRA…(5/15/09): OMB considered a request to allow charging administrative salary costs directly to research grants funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and determined that no, ARRA’s reporting requirements are not sufficiently burdensome to justify this departure from usual policy.

ARRA Update…(5/13/09): BUMC submitted 366 applications in response to funding opportunity announcements under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, 102 of those for the Research Challenge Grant (RC1) deadline alone. In just a few weeks NIH received roughly the total number of applications it receives in a four-month submission round. Regarding RC1 only, NIH received approximately 20,000 applications. Those applications are now working their way through submission to assignment, and with such volume, eRA Commons reminds the research community that it may take staff longer to respond to support and status inquiries. Read the rest of this entry »

Notes from meetings

• Slides from IPA training 8/25-26/2009
• April 2009 Research Administration meeting
• Dec 19, 2008 Career Development Retreat
• Dec 18, 2008 Grant Writing Workshop, Writing Successful Grants and Finding Funding
• Sept 2008 Research Administration meeting

The Komen Grants Management System (KGMS) is online(4/9/09): Susan B. Komen grantees have been notified during the past several weeks of their awards’ management being transitioned into the new site. Post-award administration, change of institution requests, and annual reporting are now available in KGMS, as well as other significant improvements in rapid reporting and communication with grantees.

The The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grand Challenge Exploration Grants, due May 28, 2009 (4/7/09): Round 3.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Five-year, $100 million initiative to encourage bold and unconventional research on new global health solutions. Initial grants will be $100,000 each. Projects showing success will have the opportunity to receive additional funding up to $1 million. The Explorations initiative focuses on research areas where creative, unorthodox thinking is most urgently needed. The topic areas for which proposals will be accepted in Round 3 are: Read the rest of this entry »