In preparation for every major electronic submission milestone, NIH conducts a thorough analysis of lessons learned to date and current system status. After a significant review of all available data, NIH has confirmed its February R01 transition to electronic submission using the SF424 (R&R) form set. All R01 applications in response to the February 5, 2007 receipt date or beyond will require electronic submission.

Not surprisingly, the agency expects the R01 transition to set new application submission records at Grants.gov and within eRA Commons. It is confident that the electronic systems can handle the load within published service targets (two days to process the application in Grants.gov and one additional day for processing in eRA Commons). Remember that the timestamp provided by Grants.gov at the initial application submission determines “on-time” submission. In the off-chance that a system failure occurs, we have plans in place to ensure that applicants are not penalized for system failures.

By mid-November the NIH will begin posting R01 announcements including an R01 “Parent” announcement for unsolicited, investigator-initiated research. Did you notice the new Parent Announcement page on the NIH Office of Extramural Research website? Once posted, you will find the R01 Parent announcement on this page or through the new search element on the Advanced Search feature of the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

Over the next few weeks you will see the start of a communications and outreach effort to heighten awareness of institutions and investigators of the R01 transition. If you have suggestions on how to spread the word about this important change in NIH application submission, the NIH would love to hear them (NIHElectronicSubmiss@mail.nih.gov).