if you are an avid reader of NIH news and notices, you may have seen this announcement.
If not, this is an alert we want to make sure you catch! We expect this to be an easy transition, but it is short notice.The Final Research Performance Progress Report (F-RPPR) will replace the Final Progress Report (FPR) for grants closeout, effective January 1, 2017. The F-RPPR will be available for use in eRA Commons on January 1, 2017.
What This Means for You
If you have a final progress report due, and you wish to use the old FPR format of an uploaded document, you must submit the FPR before January 1, 2017. NIH will no longer accept any of the old format FPRs on or after January 1, 2017.
Type 2 Renewals (Competing Continuations)
Additionally, according to NOT-OD-17-022, Principal Investigators must submit an "Interim-RPPR" while their Type 2 renewal application (previously referred to as a “competing continuation) is under consideration.
In the event that the Type 2 renewal application is funded, NIH will treat the Interim-RPPR as the annual performance report for the final year of the previous competitive segment.
If the Type 2 is not funded, the Interim-RPPR will be treated by NIH staff as the institution's Final-RPPR.
The Format
The format of the Final RPPR is very similar to that of the annual RPPR. The notable differences being the F-RPPR does not have sections D (Participants), F (Changes), and H (Budget). The F-RPPR does have a new section: Section I (Outcomes).
Project Outcomes (Section I) will be made publicly available, allowing recipients the opportunity to provide the general public with a concise summary of the public significance of the research.
In addition, yesterday NIH announced related changes have been made to the Inclusion Management System (IMS).
What This Means for Inclusion Data Reports in IMS
The ‘last budget period’ Inclusion Data Records (IDRs) will be replaced with ‘final’ IDRs. If IDRs already exist, final IDRs will now be automatically created by the system for the last support year of each competitive segment.
Users will be able to edit existing final IDRs. If additional IDRs need to be created, users can create them using the existing method.
Once the grant is closed, this ability to create or edit IDRs will no longer be available. The Manage Inclusion Data Records (IDRs) screen in IMS will display a ‘Grant Closed’ message. At that point, users will be able to only view final IDRs.
Accessing IDRs for the Final RPPR is the same process as for annual RPPRs. When the Final RPPR is initiated, users will go to Section G.4.b and click on the Inclusion link. This action takes you to the Inclusion Manage Inclusion Data Records (IDRs) screen.
For details, including screenshots, please see the latest updates in the IMS Online Help which will be posted at the end of December.
