NIH RPPRs

The NIH requires PIs to submit Annual, Interim, and Final Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) to document accomplishments and compliance with award terms.

PIs complete the NIH RPPR in the eRA Commons and SPA submits the report as the Signing/Business Official.

• 1

  Complete the RPPR section of the eRA CommonComplete.

• 2

  Route the RPPR to the Signing Official - The Signing Official for NIH RPPRs is Sarah Senechalle, SPA Associate Director.

• 3

  SPA will review the information to ensure it is complete and that all information is provided per RPPR instructions.

• 4

  SPA submits the report as the Signing Official on behalf of the PI.

Types of RPPRs

• Annual RPPR – The Annual RPPR is used to describe a grant’s scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period. Occasionally, an Institute may require an Annual RPPR even if the project is in a no cost extension.
• Final RPPR – The Final RPPR is used as part of the grant closeout process to submit project outcomes.
• Interim RPPR – The interim RPPR is used when a competing renewal (Type 2 application) has been submitted. If the competing renewal is not funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the Final RPPR for the project and no other report is required. If the renewal application is funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the annual RPPR for the final year of the previous competitive segment.

Submitting the RPPR

SPA will not submit the RPPR unless all sections of the report follow NIH guidelines and internal policies and procedures. Check your draft RPPR for errors and correct them before submitting the report to SPA. This will avoid delays caused by system glitches or incomplete information. PIs can access the Annual and Interim RPPR links through the eRA Commons Status tab under ‘Available Actions’.

RPPR Due Dates

Annual RPPR:

• Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP) RPPRs are due approximately 45 days before the next budget period start date.
• Non-SNAP RPPRs are due approximately 60 days before the next budget period start date. 
• Multi-year funded (MYF) RPPRs are due annually on or before the anniversary of the budget/project period start date of the award. R15 AREA/REAP awards are MYF awards.

Interim and Final RPPR:

• The Interim RPPR link will appear one day after the project segment end date, but before it has moved to closeout. The Final RPPR link will become available through the closeout module once the grant is eligible for closeout.
• These reports are due within 120 days from the period of performance end date for the competitive segment.

Information Needed to Complete the RPPR

The following information is needed for most RPPRs and is intended as a general guide for the level of detail required for these reports. Requirements may be different depending on your individual award, always consult your NIH Notice of Award (NOA) and the NIH RPPR Instruction Guide (PDF) to determine the exact items needed for your specific project’s RPPR.

• An eRA Commons username for the project director/principal investigator and all scientific staff reported on the RPPR (including graduate students and post-docs) 
• An eRA Commons username and delegate access if the PI is delegating access to another individual to help complete the report

Individuals requiring a Commons account should contact asosp@niu.edu with the subject line “eRA Commons Account Request” to request eRA Commons usernames for staff mentioned in the RPPR (grad students, postdocs, and PIs). Allow for at least three (3) business days for account setup. SPA will inform the PI when the account(s) are set up. 

• Accomplishments: NIH requires up to two pages of accomplishments exclusive of graphs and charts.
• Participants: Names and effort of all personnel that have worked at least one person-month on the project during the reporting period, regardless of the source of compensation. The PD/PI’s effort must be listed regardless of if it was less than one person per month. As a reminder, all PD/PIs on NIH awards must have measurable effort. Remember, these individuals will need an eRA Commons username. 

To calculate person months, multiple the % of grant effort by the type of appointment. For example, 10% effort * 9-month academic year appointment = .90 person months.

       See NIH What is a “Person Month” and How Do I Calculate It?

• Changes in ‘Other Support’: If there have been changes in active Other Support of Senior/Key personnel since the last reporting period, an updated Other Support page is required. 

Changes include termination of a previously active grant or activation of a pending grant.  Any changes from the previous reporting period must clearly annotate the changes from the previous submission (please note this is not needed for a Final RPPR).    

• Changes in Level of Effort: It must be reported if there will be, in the next budget period, either a reduction of 25% or more in the level of effort from that approved by the agency for the PD/PI(s) or other Senior/Key personnel designated in the NIH Notice of Award, or a reduction in level of effort below the minimum amount of effort required by the Notice of Award. Two examples of effort adjustments and calculating their percentages follow.

Example 1: A PI indicates 30% effort commitment on a funded proposal. After the award is made the PI wishes to reduce their effort to 25%.

Change Calculation: (30% - 25%) ÷ 30% = 16.6% change in effort (Notification is NOT necessary).

Example 2: A Co-PI indicates 20% effort commitment on a funded proposal. After the award is made the Co-PI wishes to reduce their effort to 10%. 

Change Calculation: (20% - 10%) ÷ 20% = 50% change in effort (Notification IS necessary.) 

Note: The 25% reduction threshold is cumulative and may be reached over multiple successive reductions. 

Unobligated Balance/Carryover greater than 25%:  Any anticipated estimated unobligated balance (including prior year carryover) greater than 25% of the current year’s total NIH approved budget must be reported along with a reason for the balance. 

Contact your SPA Grants and Contracts Associate (GCA) for your unobligated balance when completing the report. The SPA Award Acceptance Team will confirm the balance with the GCA prior to submitting the report. 

• Publications and Inventions: Publications (compliant with NIH Public Access policy), conference papers, presentations, website(s) or other Internet site(s), reportable technologies or techniques or inventions, patent applications, and/or licenses should be listed on the RPPR. 

• Training and Professional Development: Describe any opportunities for training and professional development on the project. 
• New Senior/Key Personnel: For any new Senior or Key personnel joining the project during the reporting period, a biosketch and other support for each new Senior/Key person is required.
• Changes in any human, animal, biohazard, select agent research, or foreign components, as applicable. SPA will confirm that necessary protocols are in place. 

See the separate RIPS Foreign Influence page for more information about NIH foreign components (click the Agency Requirements drop-down and scroll to National Institutes of Health NIH).