Initiate/Edit State Department Clearance Request (SDCR)

Users with the Institute/Centers (IC) State Department Clearance (SDC) Submitter role can initiate a State Department Clearance Request (SDCR).

To initiate or edit a SDCR for a country, Foreign Component (FC) data must exist for the country.

For additional guidance on requesting State Department Clearance and writing the research objectives in State Department Clearance requests see Additional Staff Resources on the OER Intranet Foreign Grants page (http://nih-extramural-intranet.od.nih.gov/d/nih/topics/foreign_main.html).

NOTE: An SDCR is not required for each site within a country.

ClosedThe State Department Clearance screen opens when you click the Initiate State Department Clearance Request button or Edit State Department Clearance Request hyperlink on the Foreign Component Data screen:

State Department Clearance screen

Actions

    Country information screen, expanded

Use the radio buttons in the country section to select the clearance type (New or Renewal).

Saving and Sending Clearance Requests

You must select the Send to Agency request option for at least one collaborator site per clearance request. ClosedIf all sites are set to None or Tracking Purposes Only, a validation message displays above the Request Options column and the Save Request and Send to Agency action buttons are hidden.

Initiate SDCR screen showing validation message "Select 'Send to Agency' for at least one record

ClosedWhen at least one site is marked Send to Agency, the Save Request and Send to Agency action buttons appear.

Initiate SDCR screen showing at least one site with Send to Agency request option selected and displaying enabled Save Request and Send to Agency buttons

Site Marked for Tracking Purposes Only

When initiating an SDCR for a country, the system does not include sites are marked for Tracking Purposes Only in the SDCR, and the collaborators at that site do not receive a notice of the clearance request.

You can select the Tracking Purposes Only checkbox when editing a collaborator/site, making Tracking Purposes Only the default Request Option setting for this site.

You can manually change the Request Option using the drop-down field for any site, regardless of the default setting.

Notes:

ClosedAbout Status and Action History

If a previous SDCR was submitted, the ClosedStatus and Action History section appears and displays history information about that SDCR.

The following hyperlinks are available:

  • Expand ALL - when clicked expands the Action Comments column of each Action Comment
  • Collapse All - when clicked collapses complete text of each Action Comments into one line
  • More - when clicked expands the complete Action Comments column(s)
  • Less - when clicked collapses the Action Comments column(s)

SDCR - Status and Action History Section

ClosedAbout State Department Clearance Data

The State Department Clearance Data/Info section displays information regarding the foreign country and contacts. This section displays the following hyperlinks:

  • View/Edit Notes - when clicked, displays the SDCR Notes screen
    • Only appears if editing a SDCR
    • Notes can be viewed by FIC/DIR and State Department
    • NOTE: Clicking the Save Note button on the SDCR Notes screen does not submit the SDCR to FIC/DIR. Clicking the Send to Agency button submits the SDCR to FIC/DIR.
    • For more information, please refer to the Create/View SDCR Notes topic.
  • View All Collaborators/Sites/Dollars for this Country - when clicked, displays Foreign Component Data screen snapshot (Please refer to the View Foreign Component topic for more information.)
  • Edit under IC Contact: - when clicked, displays the Edit IC Contact screen
  • Email addresses for:
    • IC Contact: - displays work profile information
    • Agency Contact: - displays FIC/DIR person assigned to the country for which the SDCR is being submitted
    • Program Officer: - displays work profile information
    • Grants Specialist: - displays work profile information

ClosedAbout Initiating /Renewing a SDCR

  1. To initiate/renew a SDCR, complete the following information in the State Department Clearance Data/Info section:
    1. Clearance Type: - select New or Renewal
    2. Select the appropriate site(s) associated with the SDCR.
    3. Research Objectives: - enter all aspects of the research (4000 characters maximum)
    4. Action Comments - enter an comments regarding any actions to be taken (4000 characters maximum)
  2. Click the Save button to save the changes or click the Cancel button to exit the screen.

NOTE: For most countries, SDCRs are automatically approved by the system fourteen days after submission of the request.

ClosedAbout Editing SDCR/IC and Contact Information

  1. To edit the SDCR, make the appropriate changes and click the Save button.

NOTE: If the SDCR was returned by FIC/DIR for additional information, then the SDCR is editable. If the SDCR is returned for other reasons, it is not editable.
When the SDCR is returned for additional information, all originally selected sites display as selected.

If the Save button is clicked, the system returns to the Foreign Component Data screen.

  1. To edit IC Contact information, click the Edit hyperlink to the right of the IC Contact: field.

The system displays the ClosedStage Department Clearance - Edit IC Contact screen.

State Department Clearance - Edit IC Contact Screen

You can update the following fields:

  • Person Last Name - Required (30 characters maximum)
  • Person First Name - Required (30 characters maximum)
  • Email Address - Required (80 characters maximum)
  • Phone - Optional (25 characters maximum)
  1. Perform the appropriate updates and click the Save button or click the Cancel button to cancel the changes and exit the screen.

Clicking the Save button on the State Department Clearance screen saves the changes. Clicking either button returns to the State Department Clearance screen.