eRA Newsletter: Thursday August 4, 2005
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Welcome to the latest edition of RAMS’ ERA Newsletter - compiling the latest news, events and articles on electronic grant application and submission. You are receiving this newsletter because you expressed interest in this area when speaking with one of our staff members.
Visit our website: http://www.ramscompany.com
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NIH News
NIH SBIR/STTR Conference
NIH held their 7th Annual SBIR/STTR Conference July 28th-29th. The big news: The December 1, 2005 SBIR/STTR applications (R41-R44) MUST be submitted electronically, either through Grants.gov’s PureEdge forms or a service provider like RAMS Company.
This is a major milestone in two ways: NIH will require the 424 R&R form versus the PHS-398 form for electronic submission, and it will be received through Grants.gov – a portal used like a post office for receipt and distribution of electronic grant application packages to agencies. It is also the first time the 424 R&R NIH specific form will be required to be submitted electronically.
NIH gears up for increased volume of electronic submissions
In addition to adding a second server for load balancing, storage of e-submissions will be directed to a larger , shared SAN (Storage Area Network) instead of server hard disks. The two servers will have a total of 8 processors and 16 GB of RAM. This upgrade will enable better performance on NIH’s side of the process. The changeover will be transparent to the users of service provider solutions.
Source: Electronic Receipt Update presentation July 28th by Jennifer Flach, Task Order Manager, Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration, NIH
Benefits of NIH Electronic Receipt
– Data Quality
§ eRA business rule validations
§ Re-use data from the Commons
– Integration with Grants.gov
– Use of service providers’ grants management systems at institutions
– Allows faster processing in Receipt and Referral and Review
– Grant image is clearer and in color on-line
Grants.Gov News
APPLICANT SYSTEM TO SYSTEM INTERFACE IS OPERATIONAL
The Applicant System to System (S2S) Interface, which allows for institutions to submit electronic applications via their grants management systems rather than via PureEdge, is now in production and is operational. The S2S Interface:
• Eliminates the need to re-enter data into the Applicant Organization’s grant management system;
• Supports integration with Applicant Organization grants management systems;
• Simplifies and decentralizes user registration requirements; and
• Promotes usage of Research & Related (R&R) forms in research institutions and promote usage of the Standard Form (SF) 424 family of forms.
Institutions interested being a part of the certification process for this system with a solution provider are encouraged to contact us.
Participating in the pilot and certification process with a solution provider like RAMS Company is a great way to get your office and investigators familiar with the process before electronic submission becomes required. Contact RAMS Company below for more information.