NIH electronic Research Administration: NIH Commons Interface to the Extramural Grantee Community

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NIH electronic Research AdministrationNIH
Commons Interface to the Extramural Grantee
Community
George Stone, Ph.D. Extramural Inventions and
Technology Resources Branch OPERA/NIH george.stone
_at_nih.gov [phone]
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Objective Full Electronic Grants Administration
Applicant/Grantee Interface NIH Commons
Common File
NIH Grants Database Interface IMPAC II
NIH Institutes and Centers
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NIH Electronic Grants Administration Components

• NIH and OER Web Sites Information
  dissemination to public
• Awards Database Public site
• Commons Registration Secure access for
  grantee institutions
• Accounts Administration Secure access for
  grantees
• Application/Award Status Monitor pending
  grant applications
• Institutional Professional Profiles
  Maintain repetitive
• information about institutions and investigators
• Competitive Application Competing Grant
  Application
• Submission of non-competing progress reports
  (e-SNAP)
• Trainee Appointments (X-Train) Appointment
  and
• administration of grantee trainees
• Fellowship applications
• Financial Status Report (FSR)
• Interagency Edison Invention Reporting

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System Design to Complement Diverse User Community

• High Level User Requirements
• Human-to-computer interfaces required for some
  business processes
• Human-to-computer or computer-to-computer option
  for some business processes
• Security is critical
• System design must accommodate low-end
  institutions/users
• Minimize redundant data entry
• Minimize duplication of data entry
• Exact representation of complex documents, I.e.
  rich text Users want customizable Information
  push proactive notifications
• Software to support and allow for control of
  complex organizational hierarchies and workflow
• Open systems, open code, avoid proprietary
  software solutions

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eRA Concept of Operations

• Existing Infrastructure
• IMPAC Mainframe
• IMPAC II Client/server
• Oracle DBMS
• C/S Oracle Forms
• Fully Secure Trans-NIH
• Network

NIH IC Staff
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eRA Concept of Operations
NIH IC Staff
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Information Dissemination Unlimited Access
Through any Web Browser
http//www-commons.cit.nih.gov
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Exchange of Confidential Information Requires
Institutional Registration and Account Creation
for Logon
http//www-commons.cit.nih.gov
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NIH eRA Systems Design Principles-
Accommodating Extramural Business Partners -

• All eRA systems will adhere to a public data
  standard
• Common Data Dictionary (194 Data Set) for grant
  application
• http//grants.nih.gov/grants/era/era.htm
• Build all database systems to this standard
• All eRA systems will offer security for grantee
  data
• Data Access Data Transmission
• Build all networks with security
• All eRA systems will avoid proprietary software
  solutions
• You dont need to buy proprietary software to do
  eRA with NIH
• All eRA systems will adhere to standard interface
  options
• Interactive Web Forms human-to-computer
  
• Datastreams XML/EDI computer-to-computer
• These formats will provide options for
  institutions of all sizes and levels of IT
  sophistication

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Ways to Proceed with eRA

• Grantee Institution Efforts
• Assess level of institutional commitment to eRA
• Leadership is critical top-down is crucial
• Level of Support for change/reengineering
• Level of financial and human resource allocation
• Analysis of existing IT infrastructure
• Hardware/software
• Staffing
• Status of grants administration hierarchy and
  business process
• Well-defined vs. diverse
• Simple vs. complex

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Cost and Implementation Issues

• How much will it cost? How easy/difficult will it
  be to implement? What about maintenance and
  operations?
• Answers determined according to selection of
  interface format
• Interactive Web human-to-computer
• Datastream computer-to-computer
• Electronic Forms
• Substitute format for paper submission
• Interim solution until full eRA

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Interface Option Interactive Web
Human-to-Computer

• Minimal IT Infrastructure Requirements and Cost
• Internet Access
• Internet Browser
• No database or LAN required
• Limited Business Process Requirements
• Well-defined application handling/routing
• Interactive Web workflow is generic
• NIH is NOT Microsoft

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Interface Option Interactive Web
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Interface Option Datastreams
Computer-to-Computer

• Sophisticated IT Infrastructure
• Typically expensive software and hardware
• System development, operations and maintenance by
  dedicated staff or vendor
• Greatest Business Process Control
• Content, display, and workflow completely
  determined and customized by grantee organization

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Interface Option Datastream
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NIH Role as eRA Consultant

• No Charge
• Respond to any technology and/or business process
  questions
• Share any code we have written for NIH Commons
• Any/all documentation Requirements or Design
  documents
• Database schema and table structure
• Software application code
• Work closely with vendors
• Publish Application Programming Interface (API)
  specifications
• Assist in implementation testing of
  vendor-derived software

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Current NIH Development/Deployment Efforts

• Unrestricted Access Interfaces in Production
• OER Site
• Grants policy, RD Contracts, NIH Guide,
  Funding Opps.
• 500,000 hits per month
• http//www.nih.gov/grants
• CRISP Interface
• Records include 1972 thru Current Awards
• 30,000 CRISP queries per week
• http//crisp.cit.nih.gov

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Current eRA Development/Deploymentcont.

• Restricted Access Interfaces
• Interagency Edison Production Deployment
• 390 Grantee Organizations Registered
• Reporting for 16 Federal Agencies through single
  IEdison gateway
• Currently in redesign planned deployment Sept.
  2002
• Commons Registration/Accounts Application/Award
  Status Interfaces
• 185 Grantee Organizations Registered
• 4,810 User Accounts created
• Maintain current operations for existing
  institutions
• No new registrations pending deployment of new
  Commons Version June 2002

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Current eRA Development/Deploymentcont.

• Restricted Access Interfacescont.
• X-Train Pilot Deployment October 1, 2001
• 12 Grantee Organizations Participating
• 36 trainee appointments processed
• Proceed to Production Deployment by May 2002.
• Development of new Commons architecture
• Migration to J2EE implementation of N-Tiered
  architecture
• Deployment scheduled for June 2002

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NIH Commons V 2.0 User Interface

• Deployment of new NIH Commons user interface
  June 2002
• New GUI standards
• Production deployment to all grantee institutions
• Interfaces
• Commons registration
• Accounts admin
• Application/award status
• All institutions to register whether submitting
  electronically or in paper
• Improve data quality for electronic and paper
  submissions

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Planned eRA ImplementationFY 2003

• Deployment of e-SNAP October 2002
• Non-competing progress report
• Introduction of further streamlining of this
  business process
• Development and deployment of Financial
• Status Report (FSR) October 2002
• Design/develop Electronic Competing Grant
  Application
• Pilot deployment possible near end of FY03
• First deployment limited to datastream
• Interactive web version FY04

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Commons Version 2.0 Implementation Schedule
Jan Jul Dec Jan
Jul Dec Jan
Jul Dec
Commons Version 2
Phase 1 Infrastructure
Phase 2
Phase 3
SNAP Progress Report
E-SNAP
Competing Application (R01) CGAP (XML
Datastream)
Legend Analysis
Development
Deployment
Start
Continuing
Includes business process reengineering and
design