August 13, 2013

New Process for NIH Multi-Project Applications

Over the next few months, the National Institutes of Health plans to transition all multi-project applications to electronic submission. NIH has established the following transition dates:
  • September 25, 2013: All applications submitted in response to funding opportunity announcements (FOAs) with the following activity codes intended for September 25, 2013 due dates and beyond will require electronic submission: P01, P20, P50, R24, U24, U19.
  • January 25, 2014: All applications submitted in response to FOAs with the following activity codes intended for January 25, 2014 due dates and beyond will require electronic submission: G12, P30, P40, P41, P42, P51, P60, R28, U10, U41, U42, U45, U54, U56, UC7, UM1.
To submit multi-project applications electronically, PIs must use a new online application system called ASSIST (Application Submission System and Interface for Submission Tracking) to create the multi-project application. The UC Berkeley Sponsored Projects Office (SPO) will then review the application created within ASSIST and approve and submit the application to NIH via Grants.gov. NIH sponsored a webinar today to describe how such applications will be prepared and submitted using ASSIST.

Campus units planning to submit multi-project applications with these activity codes and due dates are strongly encouraged to review the ASSIST User Guide and the NIH webinar on “Electronic Submission Process for Multi-project Applications” and to notify other sites participating in the application of these new NIH requirements. NIH provides guidance and information on ASSIST on the eRA Training web site.

Please note: To access and work on the proposal within ASSIST, users must have an eRA Commons ID. UC Berkeley personnel who need to register and obtain an eRA Commons ID to use ASSIST should contact SPO for assistance with registration: spoawards@berkeley.edu. The following information will need to be provided:
First Name:
Last Name:
UCB Email:
Type of account needed for ASSIST: Principal Investigator (PI), Assistant Role (ASST) or Account Administrator (AA)
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