eRA Information: Overall Impact Score and Summary Statement(s) Available to Signing Officials Starting June 24

Effective June 24, 2020, summary statements and the overall impact score will be available on the eRA Commons Status Information screen to users with the signing official (SO) role.

Background

HHS has modified the system of records notice maintained by the NIH, as published on September 20, 2019 in the ‘Federal Register’, 09–25–0225, allowing NIH to disclose information to applicant organizations for the purpose of communicating about matters related to agency award programs.

This means that the NIH will make the overall impact score and all current and previously issued summary statements available to the applicant organization through the NIH eRA Commons.  The user must have the signing official (SO) role in the eRA Commons in order to view the impact score and the summary statement.

Steps for SO to access overall impact score and summary statements via Status in eRA Commons

  • The SO will log in to eRA Commons, go to the Status module and click General Search.
  • The SO will search for a grant application and click the grant number from the Application/Award ID column.  The Status Information screen will appear, with expandable sections.
  • To view scores, the SO will click to expand the Review section, where the impact score will be listed, and a percentile may be available.
  • To view summary statements, the SO will click to expand the Other Relevant Documents section and click the Summary Statement link to see a PDF of the summary statement, which includes bulleted critiques from assigned reviewers, a brief summary of the discussion, the overall impact score, criterion scores from assigned reviewers and more.

Overall impact scores are made available in eRA Commons ahead of the summary statement.

Program directors/principal investigators (PD/PIs) will continue to receive notification of the availability of the summary statement and continue to access it in the eRA Commons as they do currently.  

For information regarding this change, please refer to Guide Notice NOT-OD-20-126.