Prior Approval - Change of PD/PI

There are a number of scenarios where an awarded institution may need to add or remove a program director/principal investigator (PD/PI) to/from a research project. These changes require prior approval from NIH and can be accomplished electronically using the Prior Approval, Change of PD/PI feature in eRA Commons.

Only the signing official (SO) can initiate and submit the Change of PD/PI request and the request can only be made for a grant year that is currently awarded, and within the budget period.

Basic Task (step-by-step instructions)

• Requesting a Change of PD/PI on a Grant (online help)

Main Screenshots

Figure 1: Access Prior Approval from the Main menu/eRA logo in upper left of eRA Commons

Figure 2: The Prior Approval landing screen, showing the Request Types dropdown

Figure 3: The Change of PD/PI screen after initiating in Prior Approval module

Resources

• Prior Approval Module (online help)
• Change of PD/PI Requests (video tutorial)

Policy Links

• NIH Grants Policy Statement: Change in Status, Including Absence of PD/PI and Other Senior/Key Personnel Named in the NoA
• NOT-OD-18-172: Clarification of NIH's Policy Regarding a Change in Program Director's/Principal Investigator's Status