Vanderbilt University - Office of Sponsored Programs

Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)

What is the RPPR?

Progress reports are required annually to document grantee accomplishments and compliance with terms of award. They describe scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period or year.

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has mandated that federal agencies implement a federal-wide research performance progress report (RPPR) for submission of required annual or other interim performance reporting on research grant and cooperative agreement awards to standardize recipient reporting on federally-funded research projects.

Each federal agency has a different implementation timeline. These timelines are available on the RPPR site hosted by NSF.

What kind of information does the RPPR collect?

The RPPR asks for data and compliance information that you may not have needed to provide previously at the interim report stage. The draft format provides the questions and fields required for the RPPR.
This includes:

Basic institutional and project identifying data
Accomplishments from past activity period and goals for the upcoming activity period
Outcomes or "products" from the activity such as technologies and publications
Participants, including all persons that have contributed significantly to the activity, the role, their activity and their funding support. This section also asks about collaborators, including foreign collaborators
Impact of the project and major contributions: e.g. to the discipline, human resources (e.g. teaching, training), public knowledge, social conditions
Changes to the project: delay in plans, changes in approach, compliance (animal use, human subject involvement, biohazards), project expenditures

When will NSF expect grantees to use the RPPR?

NSF plans to develop the RPPR as a new service within Research.gov. The service will provide a common portal for the research community to manage and submit annual project reports to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and to partner agencies. This new RPPR service will replace NSF’s annual and interim project reporting capabilities which currently reside in the FastLane System.

Anticipated Implementation Date: January, 2013

More information will follow regarding NSF transition once released.

When will NIH expect grantees to use the RPPR?

NIH is providing the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) institutions with early access to the RPPR module. During the initial pilot and early access phase, the RPPR may be used for most progress reports under the Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP) authorities and for individual fellowships. NIH plans to mandate the use of the RPPR in early 2013. Notice Number: NOT-OD-12-083

NIH implementation also includes the following PHS agencies that use existing progress reports maintained by NIH:

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ),
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Implementation of the RPPR will replace the:

PHS Non-competing Continuation Progress Report (PHS 2590)
eSNAP module in the eRA Commons
NIH and AHRQ Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Individual Fellowship Progress Report for Continuation Support (PHS 416-9).

I have an NIH grant that is eligible to submit progress reports under the Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (eSNAP). Will I now be required to use the RPPR format?

Not yet, but as an FDP institution, Vanderbilt is currently eligible and can use the RPPR in eRA Commons. Therefore, all VU PIs with SNAP eligible awards and fellowships (F-series) may choose to submit the progress report via the RPPR format in eRA Commons. This pilot is now in effect, and OSP will begin submitting for those that choose to use the RPPR feature on August 1^st.

When I begin my progress report in eRA Commons, what should I do?

When clicking on the "eSNAP" tab in eRA Commons, the PI will have two choices: to click on the RPPR link or the eSNAP link. Once the RPPR link is chosen, the PI is taken into the fields to complete the RPPR and route to the Signing Official (OSP).

Does the RPPR differ from NIH’s current progress reporting requirements?

Although the information that grantees will provide in the RPPR is not significantly different from information provided in an eSNAP or paper PHS 2590 progress report, the format of the RPPR will be new. The RPPR will consist of a series of 8 screens where grantees will answer questions using a checkbox, by entering text or uploading a PDF, or selecting “Nothing to Report.” Learn how the RPPR differs from eSNAP.

Information and training materials will be available on the NIH RPPR website.

What if I start the RPPR in eRA Commons and decide I would rather use the eSNAP format?

According to NIH, once the RPPR link is chosen, the user cannot click cancel and start over with an eSNAP format. If you begin an RPPR, and decide to start the progress report over again via eSNAP, please contact your Sponsored Programs Specialist or contact Scarlett Gibbs at NIH (gibbs@od.nih.gov). NIH can re-set the eRA Commons system to allow you to start over using the eSNAP format.

VU Office of Sponsored Programs