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Applications go electronic; MUSC is ready

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will require applicants to submit all Research Project Grant R01 applications electronically beginning Feb. 5. No paper applications will be accepted. The change is consistent with the federal governments move toward an all-electronic reporting system that is intended to cut costs and time.
 
The transition to electronic submission is complex, but MUSC has taken major steps to be ready, said R. Darren McCants, associate director of MUSC’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs (ORSP). McCants said MUSC began taking steps when the initiative was announced Dec. 1, 2005.
 
The new application process requires that two systems with their own registration and validation processes work together. One system is http://Grants.gov, is the federal government’s single online portal that enables users to find and apply for federal funding. A second system, eRA Commons, allows applicants to interact electronically with NIH. The transition also involves the simultaneous shift from the long-used PHS 398 application form to a new trans-agency standard form. It fundamentally changes the process by which investigators and grant applicant institutions manage their grant submissions.
 
NIH expects that the R01 transition will set new application submission records both at http://Grants.gov and within the NIH eRA Commons. NIH recently made performance and capacity improvements in its systems and helpdesks, and is positioned to handle the expected increased load. In addition, NIH has developed contingency plans to ensure that any issues that do arise can be addressed quickly, and that applicants are not penalized for system problems.
 
McCants said that for more than a year, the ORSP has been preparing MUSC for the upcoming Feb. 5 R01 deadline in many ways. So that it does not miss a beat in assuring RO1 funding from NIH, MUSC has taken steps that include:
  • Communicating to the principal investigators and campus/departmental research administrators what is expected and involved with submitting electronic grant applications via quarterly research round tablemeetings, the research administration list serve or MUSC broadcast e-mail messages and direct contact between MUSC’s grant administrators with their customers.
  • Registering all necessary persons with the eRA Commons and Grants.gov to allow them access and the ability to submit electronically through the grants.gov portal and NIH. If someone is not registered prior to submitting, they will not be able to submit. Thus, registering everyone early is a must to ensure success. (Toregister and for instructions call 792-3838).
  • Training principal investigators and necessary staff in the processes and procedures to follow when submitting electronically. This has been accomplished through a variety of approaches that include: one-on-one, face-to-face meetings with ORSP grant administrators with anyone interested in learning the new processes, monthly and now weekly in-depth training sessions held around campus with ORSP’s IT manager, Robbie Lee. The training is hands-on and allows for specific questions and answers. ORSP also has been invited by several departments to present an overview and provide training on the process to specific divisions or groups around campus and ORSP has encouraged MUSC’s researchers and staff to attend training videos, teleconferences and Web-casts presented by NIH throughout this roll-out year.
  • Updating the research community at MUSC of the constantly changing procedures relating to electronic submissions.  Since the program’s inception, the necessary electronic forms have changed three times (version 1, version 2, and now version 2a.) This kind of information and other helpful hints and/or lessons learned have been shared via ORSP’s Web site whereby a section is dedicated to electronic submission issues. People can access this information according to their needs. Another way ORSP updates is through MUSC’s grant administrators, who make direct contact (phone, e-mails, meetings) with their departmental customers. A lot of updating occurs at training sessions held on campus. ORSP has encouraged people to visit NIH’s Web site for useful information about the process (http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/), which also provides updates and information about the electronic submissions.
  • Investigating or exploring the possibility of purchasing a new software package for MUSC to serve as an interface with the electronic submissions process. ORSP reviewed and studied several different software options available in the market today to help make this a smooth transition for MUSC’s research community. ORSP is reviewing bids received from various software vendors whereby their software would simplify and make the current electronic submissions process more user-friendly and similar to what everyone was accustomed to with paper submissions.
“Our goal with this purchase would be to alleviate some of the problems or pitfalls encountered with the electronic submissions process, such as the following: issues with using Macintosh computers (the government system was built around the IBM platform), allowing our researchers to view their entire proposal instead of individual sections that are forced with the current electronic system,” said McCants, adding that his goal for MUSC also is to “have the ability to ensure all MUSC proposals clear the grants.gov and NIH verifications process PRIOR to the deadlines, hopefully alleviating any proposals from being rejected due to formatting issues.”
 
And finally, ORSP has ensured compliance by:
  • Revamping internal procedures, policies and forms to ensure ORSP is meshing with these new electronic application approaches. ORSP has converted paper Proposal Data Sheet (ORSP’s old routing form) to an electronic version now called our ePDS (new routing form). In addition, ORSP has formulated a work group committee representing MUSC’s research community to further enhance and develop the ePDS to be more useful and user friendly for our customers. This committee has been instrumental in identifying opportunities for improvement with the ePDS that ORSP can incorporate, thus allowing ORSP to deliver exactly what its customers really need.
 
“Needless to say, we have done a considerable amount of work to this point,” McCants said. “And we are always looking for other ways to ensure that come Feb. 5, 2007, our researchers are able to continue to submit their proposals accurately and efficiently. Taking the above steps and others will ensure MUSC’s researchers will remain competitive and successful when applying for extra-mural funding.”
 
For more information, contact McCants at 792-3832, or e-mail mccantsd@musc.edu.
   

Friday, Dec. 15, 2006
Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. To place an ad in The Catalyst hardcopy, call Island Publications at 849-1778, ext. 201.