eRA eSubmission Items of Interest
NIH eSubmission Items of Interest – May 6, 2009
All Caught Up
As of late Monday, May 4, Grants.gov and eRA had processed all queued applications and returned to standard service levels (up to 2 business days for Grants.gov and 1 business day for eRA).
Two is NOT Always Better Than One – Beware of Duplicate Applications
With applications taking longer to process than usual, some applicants decided to submit their applications multiple times. In most cases, the eRA system identifies duplicate submissions and prevents more than one submission for the same application from completing the submission process. There are some scenarios; however, the system will not “catch” and duplicate applications may exist.
If you are a multiple-submitter, please make sure you have one and only one application available for further NIH consideration.
Process Review for New Applicants: When eRA receives an error-free application, the system will assemble an application image and make it available in eRA Commons. Signing Officials (SOs), PD/PIs and delegated Assistants (ASSTs) have the next two business days, known as the “application viewing window”, to check that assembled application. Within the viewing window, a “Reject eApplication” action link is available to the SO to stop an application from moving forward (the PD/PI will not see the link from within their account). If no action is taken (e.g., subsequent submission overwrites entry before the window elapses or SO Rejects eApplication), the application will automatically move forward after two business days to the Division of Receipt and Referral for further processing.
Detecting and Addressing a Duplicate Application:
PD/PIs find applications that are still within the application viewing window (“Pending Verification” status) in the “Recent/Pending eSubmissions” section of eRA Commons. SOs use the Recent/Pending eSubmission search to find the same applications.
PD/PIs find applications that have passed the application viewing window (“Submission Complete” status) in the “Listed Applications/Grants” section of eRA Commons Status. SOs use the General Search in Status to find the same applications.
You have a duplicate application if:
- You have multiple entries for the same application
in “Pending Verification” status
- The SO MUST use the “Reject eApplication” feature to stop all
but one application from moving forward.
- The SO MUST use the “Reject eApplication” feature to stop all
but one application from moving forward.
- You have multiple entries for the same application
in “Submission Complete” status
- The duplicate MUST be officially withdrawn by faxing (email
not allowed) a letter identifying the duplicate application
by accession number (e.g., AN:123456), PD/PI and Application
Title to 301-480-1987. The letter must be signed by an Authorized
Organization Representative (AOR) or Signing Official (SO).
Letters from the PD/PI will not be accepted unless that individual
also serves as an AOR or SO for the organization.
- The duplicate MUST be officially withdrawn by faxing (email
not allowed) a letter identifying the duplicate application
by accession number (e.g., AN:123456), PD/PI and Application
Title to 301-480-1987. The letter must be signed by an Authorized
Organization Representative (AOR) or Signing Official (SO).
Letters from the PD/PI will not be accepted unless that individual
also serves as an AOR or SO for the organization.
- You have a
submission in “Pending Verification” status and an entry for the same application in “Submission Complete” status
- The SO can use the “Reject eApplication” feature to stop an application that is still within the viewing window.
- If the application that is within the viewing window was submitted on-time and you feel strongly that it should be used as the final version of your application, you can withdraw an application in “Submission Complete” status and allow it to move forward.
eRA Commons Help Desk
Dave Hunter, federal supervisor of the eRA Commons Help Desk, asked us to pass on his thanks for your continued patience as his team works through the large number of support requests that accompanied our recent large Recovery Act closings. We obviously aren’t getting back to everyone as quickly as we like. However, the team is working hard to make sure each issue is worked through to completion. We aren’t out of the woods yet, so please continue to bear with us.
Please remember that the help desk is there to assist you with your issues; you can help them help you by remaining calm and focused on problem resolution. If have concerns specific to your support or would like to provide feedback (positive or constructive) on the support you’ve received, you can email the help desk management team at eRAUSBTL@mail.nih.gov. We are glad to address any other general concerns or feedback regarding the eSubmission process or eRA Commons separate from your production support (email askera@mail.nih.gov.)
Take care,
Sheri Cummins & Scarlett Gibb
Customer Relationship Managers
eSubmisssion and eRA Commons
NIH Office of Extramural Research
askera@mail.nih.gov
