In fiscal year 2008, eRA registered 3.7 million logins to its eRA Commons system from 171,000 users around the world.
In that period, the NIH Electronic Research Administration (eRA) unveiled an extensive number of high impact business process changes to benefit the extramural user community and internal NIH staff, including:
- Allowing grantees to electronically report identification of Financial Conflict of Interest (FCOI), which will help grantee institutions analyze and track FCOI reports (October 2008). See previous Nexus article: NIH Encourages Use of New Electronic Process for Reporting Financial Conflicts of Interest
- Providing a decision tool to aid in the assignment of grant applications (October 2008): eRA, in partnership with the Center for Scientific Review (CSR), launched a pilot to provide a decision tool to aid in the assignment of grant applications to CSR Integrated Review Groups. The Automated Workflow Referral System suggests CSR review committees that might be a good match for a particular application.
- Processing of electronic training grant appointments through xTrain (June 2008): xTrain is an electronic tool for processing training grants appointments, also known as National Research Service Award institutional research training grants, that support predoctoral and postdoctoral research training.
- Securing grant application information (May 2008): Implemented password protection and encryption of the compact disks containing grant application information given to reviewers.
- Permitting multiple simultaneous active applications until time of award (January 2008): Allowed more than one active grant application to be in the eRA system, thereby allowing both the original and the amended application to be in play for funding consideration
- Introducing electronic reporting of reviewers’ conflict of interest (December 2007): Introduced electronic Conflict of Interest forms for reviewers to indicate whether they have a conflict with the grant applications they are reviewing.
- Moving NIH a step closer to paperless grant files (October 2007): Introduced the ability for review, receipt & referral and grants management staff to upload supplemental material to the grant folder.
In fiscal year 2009 eRA will accommodate electronic submission of Career Development Awards (Ks), Fellowships (Fs) and Training (Ts) grant program applications; implement Peer Review changes and more! Look to a future Nexus for details.
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