Progress Reports for NIH Awards
NIH Commons Overview:
The Electronic Research Administration (ERA) Commons is a virtual meeting place where the National Institutes of Health (NIH) extramural grantee organizations, grantees, and the public can receive and transmit information about the administration of biomedical and behavioral research. The ERA Commons is divided into both unrestricted and restricted portions that provide for public and confidential information, respectively.
In its current format, NIH Commons is a useful tool for PI's to check the status of their proposals, submit or verify any up-to-the-minute information required for pending awards, and submit progress reports for awards they currently hold. If a PI is also currently serving as an NIH reviewer they also work within Commons in this capacity.
To obtain an NIH Commons account, Letters & Science faculty and staff should contact Linda Johnson or Berta Ostrander and provide the following information:
- Your UW-Madison NetID. This is also known as your WiscWorld username, or username to the left of @wisc.edu or @facstaff.wisc.edu. If you have not activated your NetID, please go to the NetID Activation website.
- Valid preferred email address. Commons communicates with users by email including notification of the temporary password.
- Role in University: Principal Investigator, Departmental Administrator, Assistant to PI, etc.
- If requesting a PI account, please allow sufficient time for account verification process. The NIH will match the Commons account to existing records in their systems. Because of this verification, creation of PI accounts may take several days.
Progress Reports via eSNAP
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) have implemented an online system for submitting Streamlined Non-Competing Application Process (SNAP) Progress Reports.
This is called the “e-SNAP” system and is a part of the "NIH Commons" electronic research administration web site. These reports are required mid-award for each year of additional funding, and as a final report at the end of the award period.
Note: Some awards are not “SNAP eligible,” and those reports continue to be handled in paper format. See below.
Within the “e-SNAP” system a PI (or designee) can prepare the progress report and then route the report electronically to a university Research Administrator for approval and formal submittal to NIH.
- General e-SNAP process, developed by the UW Office of Research and Sponsored Programs ("flash" presentation)
- NIH: eSNAP information page
- NIH: eRA Commons User Guide [pdf] - 10/07/2011
Non-SNAP Eligible Progress Reports
Progress Reports to NIH that do not go through the eSNAP system are handled by RSP using the WISPER system.
According to NIH Progress Report (Form 2490) Instructions, "Those mechanisms routinely excluded from SNAP are generally those that do not have the authority to automatically carry over unobligated balances (centers, cooperative agreements, institutional training including Kirschstein-NRSA grants, non-Fast Track Phase I SBIR and STTR awards), clinical trials (regardless of mechanism), Program Project Grants (P01s) and Outstanding Investigator Grants (R35s). All NIH award notices identify whether the grant is subject to or excluded from SNAP."
For more information, see the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs.
