Initiating the RPPR

Agency-Specific Instructions: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE. For DOC awards, see these DOC-specific instructions for initiating an RPPR: Initiating the Department of Commerce RPPR

Only the program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) or their PD/PI delegate can initiate an RPPR and only a signing official (SO) can submit it. When there are multiple PIs (MPI), only the Contact PD/PI or the Contact PD/PI’s delegate can initiate the RPPR.

To initiate, the user can choose from one of two ways to access the RPPR functionality:

Access RPPR from Status.
1. Navigate to the Status module in eRA Commons.
2. Click the List of Applications/Grants link from the Status screen or from the menu options.
1. From the Status Result - List of Applications/Grants screen, locate the award and click the RPPR link from the Actions drop-down menu in the Available Actions column for the specific grant (use Flat View). The RPPR link for the current reporting period is available once the Notice of Award for the prior year has been issued. This link remains available until the RPPR for the current reporting year has been submitted.
  For multi-year funded awards, the link will display as RPPR Year <X>, the <X> representing the reporting year. The link for a multi-year funded award is available two months prior to the RPPR due date for the current reporting period and remains available until the RPPR is submitted. Note that AHRQ has not yet implemented the RPPR for multi-year funded awards.
  NOTE: While RPPR Year <X> links for multiple years may appear at the same time in Status, you are prevented from initiating a progress report until the previous progress report(s) have been submitted.

-OR-

Access RPPR by clicking RPPR in eRA Commons navigation (not applicable for DOC Awards).
1. Navigate to the RPPR module in eRA Commons.
  
  The Manage RPPR screen displays, which shows grants that require RPPRs or have RPPRs in progress. The user can select a progress report in order to perform various actions.
  Signing officials and authorized officials see search options on Manage RPPR, which let them search for specific awards (see ). Search results are listed below.
  Principal investigators or their delegates see only the list of progress reports to which the logged in user has access.
1. Select a specific award by clicking its link in the Award Number column on the Manage RPPR screen.

If an RPPR exists already, Commons displays the report for editing.

If the RPPR is not yet started, the RPPR Menu screen displays with an Initiate button.

The RPPR Menu screen includes the following fields:

Award Number

This is the complete number of the grant

PD/PI Name

The PD/PI of the grant award for which the progress report is being prepared. In the case of MPIs, a list of PD/PI names displays with the Contact PD/PI indicated by the word Contact.

Project Title

The project title of the grant

Due Date

NIH

The due date of the progress report for awards issued under the SNAP (Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process) provisions is the 15th of the month preceding the month in which the budget period ends (e.g., if the budget period ends 11/30, the due date is 10/15). If the award is not issued under SNAP provisions, the progress report is due the first of the month preceding the month in which the budget period ends (e.g., if the budget period ends 11/30, the due date is 10/1). If the due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the due date is automatically extended to the next business day. Progress reports for Fellowships are due two months before the beginning date of the next budget period. Occasionally the Notice of Award (NoA) will indicate a different due date that will supersede these dates. Grantees should consult the NoA to determine when SNAP procedures apply.

AHRQ

All AHRQ RPPRs are due 3 months before the anniversary of the award. For example, for an FY2021 award issued with a start date of 2/1/2021, the annual progress report (RPPR) for the award to be issued in FY2022 is due 11/1/2021 (i.e., three months before the FY2022 budget period start date of 2/1/2022). If the due date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the due date is automatically extended to the next business day.

Current Reviewer

Status

Buttons or Actions Available in Three-Dot Ellipsis Menu

Available actions, most of which are found by clicking the three-dot ellipsis icon next to the Award Number, vary depending on the status of the RPPR and/or the limitations of the current user’s role. See RPPR Menu for a list of all possible buttons and actions (under the three-dot ellipsis icon) available on the RPPR Menu screen.

Click the Initiate button to begin the RPPR.

Once initiated, Commons creates the RPPR in a PD/PI Work in Progress status and sets the current reviewer. A message displays as follows:

The RPPR has been successfully initiated.

NOTE: If initiation fails due to business rules validations, error or warning messages display on the screen.

Once initiated, begin editing by clicking the three-dot ellipsis icon next to Award Number and selecting Edit RPPR. The RPPR is accessed for editing via the RPPR Menu screen. The steps for accessing each type of RPPR are outlined in other topics. Refer to Accessing a Single-Project RPPR for Editing or Accessing a Multi-Project or Single-Project with Complicated Structure for Editing.

Accessing a Work-in-Progress RPPR

If an RPPR is due but not started or already initiated, you can access it via the RPPR module. See Manage RPPR Screen.

You can edit an RPPR only if you are the current reviewer. The PI who initiated the RPPR is automatically the current reviewer. When the RPPR is routed to someone else, that person becomes the current reviewer and can edit. See Routing the RPPR.