Responding to Additional Materials Requests from the Funding Agency

Some award types, such as "Other Transactions" (OT) types, let awardees upload and submit additional materials to the funding agency. In the Status module of eRA Commons, awardees for these award types can submit relevant information for the award. Examples of what an additional materials request might be used for:

Progress reports, at the frequency required by the awarding agency
To provide a response to an ad-hoc request made outside the eRA system.

"Other Transactions" (OT) are funding mechanisms other than contracts, grants or cooperative agreements. Awards funded under Other Transactions Authority (OTA) are referred to as OT or OTA and have "OT" as the activity code portion of the award number.

Contact principal investigators (PI) can start the process by uploading requested documents and notifying the signing official (SO), who then logs into eRA Commons and ultimately approves the submission by submitting it to the agency. Requests for additional materials may take place outside the Status module through email or some other communication mechanism or as part of the Notice of Award conditions.

Only signing officials can actually submit the additional materials. Contact principal investigators can add the requested materials and notify the SO via the Submitting Additional Materials to Agency screen, but the SO must sign into eRA Commons and actually submit the materials.

In a Status search results list, awardees initially see Add Additional Materials in the Action column (PIs) or under the three-dot ellipsis menu (SOs) for their award. If materials have been added but not yet submitted, the option is labeled Edit Additional Materials.

Principal Investigator View of Status Results

NOTE: In the signing official view of Status, the actions Add Additional Materials and Edit Additional Materials appear under the three-dot ellipsis menu an award.

To Submit Additional Materials for an Award:

Log in to eRA Commons with your PI or SO credentials.
Open the Status module and locate the award that requires additional materials.
See How Does an AOR or SO Check Submission Status? or Status for Program Directors/Principal Investigators (PI Role).
Select the Add Additional Materials option in the Actions column (PI) or three-dot ellipsis menu (SO). The Submitting Additional Materials to Agency screen appears.

Drag and drop file(s) in the "Drop Files Here.." area, or click the browse link and choose file(s) from your drive. The drop fileS area specifies how many files and what file types are allowed. For uploaded files, you can:
- Click the Download icon and the browser will open or download the file.
- Click the Delete icon to remove the file.

NOTE: You can upload multiple files simultaneously by dragging and dropping the files to the upload files area of the screen.

In the comments field, enter details on what the material is or why it is being submitted. Any comments entered by the PI and/or SO can be viewed by agency staff. The PI/SO can also review submissions, including comments, on the Status Information screen.
At the bottom of the form, click one of the buttons, which are different if you are an SO vs. a PI:
- Save. Saves the submission and attached materials without submitting. Do this if you plan to come back to the request later and add or edit materials.
- Delete. Removes the submission and attached materials. Do this if you decide you do not need to add additional materials at this time.
- Notify SO. If you are a PI, you see the Notify SO button. Only the SO can submit the materials to the agency. Click the Notify SO button if you are ready for the SO to review and submit the additional materials, then click OK in the confirmation message that appears. The SO will subsequently receive a notification email to log in and submit materials.
- Submit. If you are an SO, you see a Submit button whether you uploaded files yourself, or if the PI uploaded files. As an SO, you can also view documents and make any desired changes to the submission before submitting.

After you submit additional materials, you will receive an email notifying you of the submission. Agency staff will view the submission in the Grant Folder, and will return the submission if it is found to be insufficient. All submissions, including those that are returned, are accessible to you in the Submissions by Awardee area of the detailed Status Information screen, which will include a rationale for returning the submission.