2 Comments
NIH recently announced important information for grantees with progress report due dates in May 2013 or later. If you are preparing a progress report for a SNAP grant or a fellowship award with a start date on or after July 1, 2013 you will be required to use the eRA Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Commons module. Additionally, NIH has expanded the functionality of the Progress Report Additional Materials (PRAM) feature for RPPRs to allow the grantee to electronically enter, review, and submit information in response to specific requests from NIH for additional or clarifying materials following the progress report submission. Read NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-13-035 for more information on this new requirement, and access RPPR-related resources such as instruction guides, points of contact and background information on grants.nih.gov.
This form is much more time-consuming to fill out than fulfilling the earlier Progress Report requirements. And I mean MUCH more time-consuming, I tried it in my last application just to get used to it (another waste of my time). As an NIH funded investigator for over twenty years, I am dismayed by the tremendous increase in time I have seen is now needed for compliance issues, many of which result from changes in NIH requirements (animal care and use, conflict of interest, hazardous and biosafety concerns, etc etc.). Now the Progress Reports will be considerably more time consuming. Why? As a bleeding heart liberal democrat I have always supported the role of government agencies that are beneficial to society. However, I personally would like to see cuts in the NIH budget directed first and specifically at the offices and officials who have decided over the years to whittle away the amount of time I have to think of and plan solid research so I can complete required red tape like this new form. Now there’s an across-the-board cut I could support!
I must agree. I now am engaged in what feels like a constant struggle against paperwork that is either CYA by my institution or compliance oriented by the agencies. With the shrinking paylines the feeling is now what I imagine a career politician must feel like – constant campaigning to the point of not being able to perform the job I was meant to do. I wonder if NIH understands that institutions push additional paperwork directly at PIs, instead of actually assisting in meeting administrative burdens. I don’t think I’m alone in this.