NIH eRA Commons What’s in it for me? Grants-for-Lunch November, 2005

What is the eRA Commons? Electronic Research Administration (eRA) is the NIH infrastructure for conducting interactive electronic transactions for the –Receipt –Review –Award –Monitoring and –Administration Of NIH grant awards to organizations and investigators

What is the eRA Commons? NIH eRA Commons is the external face of eRA and the way NIH interacts electronically with the extramural research community The eRA Commons is divided into both unrestricted and restricted portions that provide for public and confidential information, respectively

Who can access the Commons? Acess to the NIH Commons requires institutional and individual PI registration affiliated with the institution UTMB is a registered institutional user of the NIH Commons Many UTMB faculty also are registered users of the NIH Commons

Why should PIs register for the Commons? Commons PI users are able to: –See the status of your grant –See the reviewer summary statements (beginning 10/1/2005, NIH will no longer mail paper copies of the summary statements) –Submit Just-in-Time documents –View latest NOGA –AND IN THE FUTURE: Submit applications electronically (PIs must register in the eRA Commons before submitting grant applications electronically.)

How do I register? Contact your Research Services’ Office of Sponsored Programs Pre-Award Specialist via or call He/she will create a Commons account for you

What are the ‘roles’ within the Commons? SO Role (Signing Official) –Institutional authority to legally bind the institution in grants administration matters –At UTMB, this is the Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs

What are the ‘roles’ within the Commons? AO Role (Administrative Official) –Reviews grant applications for accuracy before the SO signs/submits the final application to NIH –At UTMB, this is the Office of Sponsored Programs Pre-Award Specialists

What are the ‘roles’ within the Commons? PI Role (Principal Investigator) –Directs the project or activity being supported by the grant –Responsible and accountable for the proper conduct of the project or activity –Completes the grant process either by completing the required forms via the Commons or by delegating this responsibility to another individual –Can access information on only those grants for which he/she is the designated PI

What are the ‘roles’ within the Commons? ASST Role (Assistant) –Designed to allow PIs to delegate certain responsibilities for data entry or grant information and upkeep of their personal profiles –Has no other functions in the Commons system

QUESTIONS? eRA Commons Homepage: OSP Guide to eRA Commons: NIH eRA Commons Support Page: Web sites

What do faculty users have to say about the NIH Commons? Dr. Cheryl Watson, Professor, HBC&G to share her experiences: –How long have I been a Commons user? –Why did I initially register? –What follow-up communication did I receive from NIH? –How does use of the Commons benefit me? –How easy is it to use? –What does the future hold?