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New to eRA Commons?

eRA Commons (https://public.era.nih.gov/commons/) is an online interface where grant applicants, recipients, and federal staff at NIH and grantor agencies can access and share administrative information relating to research grants (see eRA Commons overview).

This infographic provides a high-level overview of the steps taken by applicants/recipients in eRA Commons over the grants lifecycle. Links within the page will guide you to additional resources and information. Here are the steps to navigate the system.

 

 

Step: 1
REGISTER YOUR INSTITUTION
Institutional official registers institution in multiple federal systems, including eRA Commons
 
Step: 3
SUBMIT APPLICATION

Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) submits application using ASSIST, Workspace, or institutional system. And despite the mechanism of submission, all submissions are made to Grants.gov for federal validations, and are then routed to NIH (eRA).

 
Step: 5
CHECK SCORES
PI views review outcome -- scores and summary Statement -- on the eRA Commons Status Info screen
 
Step: 7
VIEW NOTICE OF AWARD

Administrator and PI view Notice of Award (NoA) on the Commons Status screen

 
Step: 9
CLOSEOUT GRANT

SO* submits Final RPPR

SO verifies and submits Final Invention Statement, whether or not the grant has resulted in an invention

SO or delegate with Financial Status Report(FSR) role submits final Federal Financial Report (FFR)

 
STEP
1
2
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5
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9
 
Step: 2
CREATE ACCOUNTS

Account administrator creates or affiliates Commons account for Program Director / Principal Investigator (PD/PI)

PD/PI updates Personal Profile in Commons

 
Step: 4
TRACK APPLICATION

Administrator and PI check for errors or warnings on Commons Status screen (see steps for signing official (SO) and for principal investigator (PI)

If errors, AOR resubmits application through Grants.gov

No Commons errors? View assembled application in eRA Commons

Application moves on to agency staff for consideration

Applicants should check Status Info screen for communications from Division of Receipt and Referral

 
Step: 6
SUBMIT JUST IN TIME
Signing Official submits Just-in-Time (JIT) (additional application info) via Commons if requested by agency
 
Step: 8
SUBMIT PROGRESS REPORTS

Signing Official (SO)* submits
Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) annually, to document recipient acccomplishments and compliance with terms of award

(SO)* submits Interim RPPR if the SO has submitted a competing renewal application on or before the date a Final RPPR is due**

SO and PI privileges in eRA Commons
 
*  Or Principal Investigator, if delegated by SO
** If application is funded, Interim RPPR accepted as the Annual RPPR
    If application is not funded, Interim RPPR is accepted as the Final RPPR
 

Additional Resources

  • Search to see if your institution is already registered with NIH using the IPF Number Search tool.