Institution Profile Module (IPF)

Institutions must be registered in Commons to use its features. The Institution Profile (IPF) module is a central repository of information for all Commons registered applicant organizations. It is designed so that each applicant organization establishes and maintains the profile data concerning their institution. The IPF module lets the institutional SO electronically maintain external organization profile information necessary for all grant applications from their institution and upload an institutional financial conflict of interest policy.

Following the creation of an Institutional account in eRA Commons, the IPF is populated with the organizational information from registration and assigned a unique IPF number. The IPF number is an official code that uniquely identifies and associates institutional information within the NIH enterprise database.

The Institution Profile consists of three main tabs:

Institution Basic Information

Institutional Assurances and Certifications

Policy Documents (SO only)

The tabs include information such as:

  • Preferred institution name and contact information
  • Name, email, and phone number for the SO(s)
  • Unique entity identifier (UEI)
  • Institutional Assurances
  • Email addresses for electronic distribution of NoA and other communications notifications
  • Financial conflict of interest policy (SO only)

IMPORTANT: Access to the Institution Profile is limited by role. Not every Commons user has access to the Institution Profile, and only users with the SO role can edit it. Only SOs see the Policy Documents tab, which contains the Institutional financial conflict of interest policy.