Seek Prior Approval (If Needed)

Information on how to electronically obtain prior approval for certain activities from the awarding agency, using the Prior Approval module in eRA Commons. 

Prior Approval is the process wherein an applicant or recipient must have written approval by an authorized official to undertake a certain activity. The Prior Approval module lets recipients make these requests, which are submitted to the awarding agency for approval. 

eRA now supports seven kinds of Prior Approval requests post-award:

• Request for No Cost Extension (NCE) 
• Making an Other Request
• Making a Withdrawal Request
• Request for Carryover
• Making a Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan revision request
• Request for Change of PD/PI 
• Responding to a 500K request

Basic Tasks (step-by-step instructions from the online help)*

• Requesting a No Cost Extension via Prior Approval
• Other Request
• Withdrawal Request
• Carryover Request Process
• DMS Request
• Change of PD/PI on a Grant
• 500K request

* You must be logged into eRA Commons with appropriate role(s) to complete these activities. 

Main Screenshot

Figure 1: The Prior Approval screen showing the options for request types

Policy

• NIH Grants Policy Statement: Prior Approval Requirements
• Prior Approval Requests for Revisions to an Approved Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Plan Must be Submitted Using the Prior Approval Module (NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-23-185)