NIH Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs)
Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) are required at least annually for NIH-funded projects. Learn more about RPPR types, steps and common errors to watch for.
Research Performance Progress Reports (RPPRs) are required at least annually for NIH-funded studies to document accomplishments and compliance with terms of the award. RPPRs update scientific progress, significant changes, personnel, and plans for the subsequent budget period. All non-competing renewals must submit RPPRs.
RPPR types: Annual, interim, final
- Annual RPPRs describe a grant’s scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period or year.
- Final RPPRs are part of the grant closeout process to submit project outcomes in addition to the information submitted on the Annual RPPR.
- Interim RPPRs are required if you have submitted a renewal application on or before the date by which a Final RPPR would be required for the current competitive segment or if an award has been transferred.
- In the event that the renewal application is funded, NIH will treat the Interim-RPPR as the annual performance report for the final year of the previous competitive segment. If the renewal application is not funded, the Interim-RPPR will be treated by NIH staff as the institution’s Final-RPPR. See NIH Implementation of the Interim RPPR while a Renewal Application is Under Consideration (Guide Notice NOT-OD-17-037).
- If the PI and award have been transferred to a new institution, U-M will be required to submit an Interim RPPR to provide reporting to NIH for the final period the award was at U-M prior to transfer. If the Interim RPPR link is open in Commons after the award has been transferred, the PI and/or U-M are required to complete it.
Utilize the NIH RPPR Instructions for guidance on all aspects of completing NIH progress report requirements. NIH RPPR FAQs are also a helpful resource. For more information, visit NIH’s Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR).
A few considerations:
- Per NOT-OD-24-175, grant recipients are required to provide updates on the status of data sharing in their RPPRs, as of Oct. 1, 2024. The NIH RPPR Instructions have been updated to include instructions about this and the eRA Online Help resources have updated screenshots to guide investigators completing this new requirement.
- Fellowship awards require Annual RPPRs but do not require a Final RPPR or Final Invention Statement. In place of a Final RPPR, they require a Termination Notice submission in xTrain 30 days after the end date. For questions on xTrain, contact [email protected] (a Finance-Sponsored Programs address for those who work specifically on the NIH NRSA training grants and fellowships.)
- Supplements should be reported on the Parent Award RPPR.
RPPRs at other federal agencies
Most federal agencies require progress or technical reports throughout a project’s lifecycle. Many agencies use a standardized report similar to the one detailed on this page for NIH; however, each award should be reviewed for the terms and conditions to determine the reporting schedule and how to submit reports.
Timing/Deadlines
Annual RPPRs are due either 60 or 45 days prior to the new budget period start date, depending on the kind of grant.
- Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP) RPPRs are due 45 days before the next budget period start date (for example, R or K awards).
- Non-SNAP RPPRs are due 60 days before the next budget period start date (for example, U or P awards).
- Multi-year funded (MYF) RPPRs are due annually on or before the anniversary of the budget/project period start date of the award.
- The exact start date for a specific award may be found in grants status in eRA Commons.
Interim and Final RPPRs are due 120 days after the period of performance end date for the competitive segment.
Routing Deadline: Route both the RPPR and ACR to ORSP 2 weeks prior to the NIH deadline to allow time for ORSP review and any changes needed.
Basic Steps for RPPR Submission
- If needed, update the Inclusion Enrollment Report (IER) in ASSIST and change the status to “Ready for Submission” (rather than “Work in Progress”). ORSP cannot submit an update for you unless its state is “Ready for Submission.” Updates to the IER must be completed by the PI/project team prior to routing the RPPR to ORSP for submission. The IER cannot be updated in ASSIST after the RPPR is submitted to the sponsor. Contact the eRA Commons Help Desk for any technical issues with IER forms.
- Route RPPR through the eRA Commons online system. Only the Contact PI or their delegate can initiate the RPPR process in eRA Commons. For information on requesting a Commons ID or affiliating an existing one with U-M, submit a request with ORSP. See the NIH RPPR Instructions (Section D.4 Participants) for guidance on Commons ID requirements in RPPRs.
- Input your ORSP Award Management Officer (AMO or referred to as PR in eRPM) as the Signing Official and Administrative Official on the RPPR. A U-M Signing Official (AMO) must actually submit the completed report to NIH.
- “Check for Errors.” Errors need to be corrected by the project team prior to routing to ORSP, as they will prevent submission. Contact the eRA Commons Help Desk if you need assistance.
- Review Warnings: Although warnings will not prevent submission, they may require PI action. Any Public Access Compliance warnings should be addressed by the PI ASAP because funding will be withheld until all publications are compliant. See more information below under “Common System Errors/Warnings – Section C.”
- Once all above items have been addressed, “Route to Next Reviewer” and choose your AMO from the dropdown box.
- Request RPPR submission from ORSP
- Route an “ACR-Reports” to notify your AMO that the RPPR is ready for review and submission. Attach a Non-UM Multiple Principle Investigator (MPI) Approval form for each Multi-PI not affiliated with U-M. Approval by U-M MPIs will be captured directly on the ACR.
- If routing a Final RPPR, do not route the ACR until the Final Invention Statement has also been completed by the PI in eRA Commons and routed to the AMO. Both items will be reviewed and submitted by ORSP simultaneously.
- Address post-submission issues, if needed
- If there are issues with an RPPR, NIH may request that a Progress Report Additional Materials (PRAM) or Final Report Additional Materials (FRAM) be submitted. To address these requests, the PI or their delegate must navigate to the PRAM/FRAM link in eRA Commons, upload the requested materials and route to the Signing Official (AMO) in eRA Commons.
- Then route an “ACR-Reports” in eRPM requesting review and submission of the PRAM/FRAM. When routing the ACR, include a copy of the sponsor’s PRAM/FRAM request and a copy of the document that has been uploaded in the PRAM/FRAM link in eRA Commons.
Once submitted, an RPPR cannot be reopened for edits or routed back to U-M.
Issues That Delay RPPR Submission
ORSP will send RPPRs back to the project team for the following issues. The resolution information below covers how to address them to avoid back-and-forth and submission delays.
Issue: D.1. Effort Reduction during the reporting period may require a Prior Approval
Resolution: If the PI or other senior/key personnel reduced their effort by 25% or more during the reporting period, sponsor prior approval was required.
Route an “ACR-Reduction in Effort Requiring Approval” on the award record. ORSP will need to receive this ACR in addition to the “ACR-Reports.”
If prior approval was not requested at the time of the reduction, it will need to be requested before the RPPR is submitted.
Issue: D.2.a Level of Effort – Will there be, in the budget period, either (1) a reduction of 25% or more in the level of effort from what was approved by the agency for the PD/PI(s) or other senior/key personnel designated in the Notice of Award, or (2) a reduction in level of effort below the minimum amount of effort required by the Notice of Award?
Resolution: Route an “ACR-Reduction in Effort Requiring Approval” on the award record. ORSP will need to receive this ACR in addition to the “ACR-Reports.” This process captures the internal materials and approvals necessary to comply with U-M and sponsor policies.
Issue: G.10 a. & b. Estimated unobligated balance
Resolution: If the unobligated balance (including prior year carryover) reported is greater than 25% of the current year’s total approved budget, G.10.a should be answered Yes. The total approved budget equals the current fiscal year award authorization plus any approved carryover of funds from a prior year(s). The numerator equals the total amount available for carryover to the next year and denominator equals the current year’s total approved budget.
Note: Avoid a PRAM by providing a clear explanation of the unobligated balance in G.10.b.
Issue: D.2.b New Senior/Key Personnel – Are there, or will there be, new senior/key personnel?
Resolution: Route an “ACR-UM PI/Key Person Change” for new senior/key personnel indicated on the RPPR. ORSP will need to receive this ACR in addition to the “ACR-Reports.”
Issue: D.2.b & D.2.c Other Support document not meeting below requirements:
- Total “Active” effort of individual investigators cannot exceed 12 months.
- Effort cannot be listed as “0” on active projects (Exception: Mentor or consultant roles)
- Expired support has been removed
- In-Kind section is included
- Overlap statement is included
- Signed with an NIH-approved method of signature
Resolution: Revise Other Support document(s) to be compliant with the requirements above.
Issue: Changes to the project may result in a change of scope.
Resolution: If any of the changes noted in section F result in a change of scope, route an “ACR-Change of Scope” on the award record. ORSP will need to receive this ACR in addition to the “ACR-Reports.”
Issue: G.8 – Project/Performance Sites – Regents of the University of Michigan is not delegated as the primary performance site, subrecipient institutions are listed multiple times, and/or the U-M congressional district is incorrect.
Resolution: Edit or Delete (if listed multiple times). The U-M congressional district should be listed as MI-006 for the Ann Arbor campus.
Issue: Final Invention Statement not reported when the Final RPPR is being routed.
Resolution: PI must update the Final Invention Statement in eRA Commons to either add Inventions or Save with No Inventions, and route it to the AOR. Only the PI can enter inventions, or save with no inventions. The Final Invention Statement is required, even if there are no inventions to report.
For All RPPRs: The PI is responsible for reporting inventions to Innovation Partnerships, so they can be reported in iEdison, prior to submission of the RPPR.
Common System Errors/Warnings
If system-generated errors or warnings exist, the appropriate error or warning message displays for each failed occurrence. All errors must be corrected prior to submission; the system will prevent submission of an RPPR containing errors. However, the system will not prevent submission of an RPPR when a warning message is displayed. Below are common errors that may be encountered, and how to address them. In eRA Commons, run “Check for Errors” to ensure all issues have been addressed.
Error: A.2. Personal Profile information for the Signing Official/Administrative Official assigned to the RPPR has errors and must be corrected.
Resolution: Ensure that the ORSP AMO (PR on the AWD record) assigned to the AWD is listed as the Signing Official and Administrative Official.
WARNING: Non-Compliant Publications
Resolution:
- The NIH Public Access Policy requires investigators to submit final peer-reviewed journal manuscripts that arise from the NIH funds to PubMed Central immediately upon acceptance for publication. Review Working With NIH for additional resources about bringing publications into compliance with the Public Access Policy.
- U-M Library has individuals available to assist faculty with submitting publications. If any publications are non-compliant in the NCBI report, contact [email protected] for assistance.
NOTE: If the RPPR is submitted with Non-Compliant Publications, a Publication PRAM will be issued the day after submission requiring an updated My NCBI report. Funding will be withheld until all publications are compliant.
Issue: D.1 A eRA Commons ID is missing
Resolution: A Commons ID is required for all individuals with a PD/PI, postdoctoral, graduate or undergraduate role.
Warning: G.4 Human Subjects Errors
Resolution:
- If updates are made to the Human Subject System (HSS) records, the ASSIST records should be in the state of “Ready for Submission” at the time the RPPR is routed to ORSP.
- The updates in the Human Subjects Study Record will not be reflected in the RPPR until the study record in ASSIST is submitted by ORSP. ORSP will submit the updated HSS records prior to submitting the RPPR.
- For assistance in completing the HSS tables, see the following resources or contact the eRA Commons Help Desk:
Text box character limits – Most text entry boxes have an 8,000 character limit; this limit is standardized across federal agencies implementing the RPPR and entry of more than 8,000 characters is prevented by the system.
- PDF file uploads (attachments) do not have page limits, but may not be more than 6 megabytes (MB).
- PDF files uploaded to the RPPR are required to be flattened.
- eRA systems cannot support “Bunding” or “Portfolio” features. Use of these features may result in delays in agency acceptance of the progress report.
No-cost extensions and RPPRs
If a no-cost extension has been approved for an award, this extends the final budget period and no Annual RPPR is required to be submitted via Commons until the Final/Interim RPPR is due.
Note: A no-cost extension requiring Prior Approval from NIH does require a brief (no longer than one page) Progress Report to be submitted as part of the request, but NIH does not have a format for this.
For reporting Participant effort during a no-cost extension in the Final/Interim RPPR, NIH instructs recipients to only report on the individuals/staff that worked on the project during the last budget period minus any approved no-cost extensions.
MFTRP certifications and form
NIH now requires Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program (MFTRP) certifications with RPPRs annually for senior/key personnel (NOT-OD-26-018). This is to ensure that investigators are not part of an MFTRP, which is against federal and U-M policy.
For NIH awards with RPPRs, senior/key personnel must certify annually that they are not a party to an MFTRP by either: 1) Including updated Other Support documentation that incorporates the digital certification for this requirement or 2) If not providing updated Other Support documentation, uploading a certification statement in Section G.1, Special Notice of Award and Funding Opportunity Announcement Reporting Requirements in the RPPR, as a flattened PDF. The file for each senior/key person must be named “MFTRPcert_[Name].pdf” without quotations, where “[Name]” is the name of the senior/key person.
Use the U-M MFTRP Certification Form to complete this certification.
Updating ClinicalTrials.gov records
If a project’s ClinicalTrials.gov information doesn’t match the study reported on the RPPR, visit Maintaining and Updating ClinicalTrial.gov Records for information on how to resolve this.
Questions?
For questions about RPPRs: Contact your ORSP Award Management Officer.