Preparing and Submitting Reports

Della Brown White, Ph.D.Program Officer, Office of Health Equity

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Overview• Annual Progress Reports• Federal Financial Reports• Inventions• Audits• Final Reports

Progress Reporting for NIH• Non-Competing Continuation Award Process– Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP)– Non-SNAP

See Notice of Award (NoA), under Section II: Terms and Conditions

Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP)• Modified annual progress report• IRB and IACUC approval dates not required but available upon

request• No detailed budget information submitted, but report– Changes in Other Support of senior/key personnel– Significant changes in level of effort of senior/key personnel, including

PD/PI– Anticipated unobligated balance greater than 25% current year’s total

approved budget

Non-SNAP Progress Reports• Serve as official requests for funding for next year• Explain the grant’s progress, including detailed budget and

other changes such as key personnel• Current IRB and IACUC approvals are required

Progress Report Submission• Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP)– Awards with start dates of July 1, 2013, submitted through

new Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) module– RPPR located in the eRA Commons

• Non-SNAP– Currently still submitted via mail using PHS 2590 paper forms– Plans to move toward RPPR module submission– See Notice of Award for mailing address

Progress Report Due Dates• SNAP Progress Reports– Due on the 15th of the month preceding the one in which the

budget period ends– Grantee may delegate the authority to submit the progress

report to the PD/PI• Non-SNAP Progress Reports– Due two months prior to the anniversary date of the award

(beginning of the next budget period)– Must be signed and submitted by institutional signing official

Key Components of SNAP Progress Report

• Cover page• Accomplishments• Products—publications, websites, inventions• Participants—project personnel• Impact on physical, institutional, or information resources• Changes• Special Reporting Requirements—human subjects enrollment,

foreign components, unobligated balances

RPPR Module

Key Components of Non-SNAP Progress Report

• Face page• Detailed budget page• Budget justification• Progress report summary• Checklist • All personnel report• Other support

PHS 2590 Forms

A Word About Public Access• All investigators funded by the NIH must submit to the

National Library of Medicine’s PubMed Central an electronic version of their final, peer-reviewed manuscripts upon acceptance for publication

• Publications must be made publicly available no later than 12 months after the official date of publication

Assessment of Progress• Program Officer: Reviews the progress report to make sure

you have made sufficient progress to justify our continued funding of the project

• Grants Management Specialists: Perform an administrative and sometimes a fiscal evaluation of the progress report

• Submitted progress reports may require revisions and clarifications by program or grants management

SNAP: Progress Report Additional Materials (PRAM)• PRAM: Allows the grantee to electronically enter, review, and

submit information in response to specific requests(s) from NIH for additional materials following the submission of an RPPR

• Currently, PRAM use is voluntary, but NIH expects to mandate PRAM for resolving progress report issues

Progress Report: Ensuring Timely Submission• Signing Official: Find a list of your institution’s progress reports

in the eRA Commons

Late Progress Reports May Result in Late and/or Possibly Reduced Awards

Federal Financial Reports• Federal Financial Report (FFR): A statement of expenditures

reported against funds awarded to a grantee institution• FFRs provide an effective mechanism to account for grant

funds• FFRs can only be submitted electronically through the eRA

Commons• FFRs must be submitted in U.S. dollars and in English• Grantees are to submit timely and accurate reports

Federal Financial Reports: Due Dates• Foreign SNAP: FFR required only at the end of a competitive

segment. – Must be submitted within 90 days after the end of the

competitive segment – Must report on the cumulative support awarded for the

entire segment• Foreign Non-SNAP: Annual FFRs are due within 90 days of the

end of the quarter in which their budget period end date falls.

Inventions• Fully disclose invention to NIH, in writing, within two months

after the inventor provides written disclosure to his/her institutional official

• Renewal applications and noncompeting renewal reports should include one of the following: – List of all inventions– Certification that no inventions were made

• Use NIH’s iEdison to comply with invention reporting requirements

Audits• Audit: Systematic review or appraisal made to determine

whether internal accounting and other control systems provide reasonable assurance of the following:– Financial operations are properly conducted – Financial reports are timely, fair, and accurate– The entity has complied with applicable laws, regulations,

and other grant terms – Resources are managed and used economically and

efficiently– Desired results and objectives are being achieved effectively

Audits (cont.)• You will need to arrange for an annual audit if your institution

spends $500,000 or more of HHS award money per year. • Institutions can pay for the audit using funds from the 8% F&A• Foreign grantees can satisfy audit requirements with either of

two audit types: – A financial-related audit. See the

Government Auditing Standards (the “Yellow Book”). – An audit that meets the requirements of

OMB Circular A-133.

Final Progress Report• At a minimum, the final progress report should include: – Summary of progress made toward the achievement of the

originally stated aims– List of significant results (positive or negative)– List of publications that provides NIH Manuscript

Submission or PubMed Central reference numbers• Enrollment data, inclusion of children, deliverables that can be

shared (e.g., software, cell lines)• Submitted via the eRA Commons or via mail (see Notice of

Award for address)

Final Federal Financial Report• A Final FFR is required for– Any grant that is terminated, – Any grant that is transferred to a new grantee, or – Any award, including awards under SNAP, that will not be

extended through award of a new competitive segment.• Final FFRs must indicate the exact balance of unobligated

funds and may not reflect any unliquidated obligations• Final FFRs must be submitted through eRA Commons

Final Federal Financial Report (cont.)• SNAP: Covers the entire competitive segment or as much of

the competitive segment as has been funded before termination

• Non-SNAP: Must cover the period of time since the previous FFR submission

Final Invention Report• Must submit a Final Invention Statement and Certification

(HHS 568)—regardless of whether there are any subject inventions to report– Submit even if inventions were previously reported – Submit even if there were no inventions

• List all inventions that were conceived or first actually reduced to practice during the course of work under the project

• Should cover the period from the original effective date of support through the date of expiration or termination of the award

Tips for Success• When in doubt, ask questions– Program officer– Grants management specialists

• Create a plan for timely submission• Follow available instructions and policies– NIH Grants Policy Statement– Notice of Award