The NIH Commons may be accessed at: http://commons.era.nih.gov.

A PI may use eSNAP only if his or her Notice of Grant Award from NIH indicates that the award is eligible for the Streamlined Non-competing Award Process (SNAP). PIs should consult the PHS 2590 Instructions for detailed guidance regarding the preparation of a Non-Competing Grant Progress Report. The PHS 2590 Instructions can be obtained at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/2590/2590.htm.

(1) Login to Commons at http://commons.era.nih.gov.

(2) Click on the Personal Profile tab to update your personal information, if necessary.

(3) A PI may designate another registered Commons user (such as a departmental Administrator) as a "PI Delegate." The PI Delegate has the ability to prepare an eSNAP report on behalf of the PI. To designate a PI Delegate, click on the "Administration" tab, the "Accounts" tab and finally, the "Delegate PI" tab. Select the name of the person to whom PI authority will be delegated from the box on the left. Click the "Assign" button and then the "Save" button when the confirmation screen appears. A confirmation e-mail is sent to the selected PI Delegate.

(4) Click on the eSNAP tab to open the Manage eSNAP page.

(5) Click on the hyperlink for the appropriate grant number. This will open the eSNAP Menu page.

(6) Click "Initiate" to begin the eSNAP.

(7) Click on the "Edit Business" Tab. Complete each of the applicable "Business" sections of the eSNAP: (a) Organizational Information, (b) Performance Sites, (c) Key Personnel, (d) Research Subjects, (e) SNAP Questions and Checklist, and (f) Inclusion Enrollment. Be sure to click the "save" button at the bottom of each page.

(8) You may also click the "Designate As Complete" button if you feel you have completed the section. Clicking the "Designate As Complete" button does not prevent further work on the section. It serves only as a tool to help PIs track which sections of the report they have already finished.

When completing the "Organizational Information" section of the report, the PI must select the OSP Proposal Development Assistant Director Responsible for your school or department as the "Administrative Official" and Joan Kirkendall as the "Signing Official." These are the individuals who will submit the report to NIH when it is approved.

(9) Click on the "Upload Science" tab. Using the "Import" button, upload your Progress Report file, your Research Accomplishments file, and, if necessary, an additional file. Files can be uploaded as Microsoft Word (*.doc), text (*.txt), or Adobe Portable Document Format (*.pdf). The Commons system will automatically convert Microsoft Word and text files to PDF.

(10) Peer-reviewed publications directly related to the proposed project can be associated with the eSNAP. If you have added publications to your Personal Profile, they will appear on the Upload Science page in the Publications section. To associate any of these publications with your eSNAP report, simply click the check box next to the desired publications and then click "Save." You can also add information about a new publication by entering the citation text in the Publication Information text boxes.  Please note: You must include the PMCID number for all articles accepted for publication on or after April 7, 2008.

(11) Use the "Manage eSNAP" tab to return to the Manage eSNAP page.

(12) Click on the "Validate" button to confirm that all required fields have been filled out.

(13) Click on the "Route" button to forward the eSNAP report to the OSP Assistant Director responsible for your school or department.

Reminder: the OSP Assistant Director responsible for your school or department must be listed as the Administrative Official (AO) in the "Organizational Information" section of the eSNAP Business items.

(14) Once the OSP AD and the PI agree that the report is ready to be submitted to NIH, the OSP AD will route the eSNAP report to the Signing Official (SO) and will coordinate the submission of the report with the SO.

(15) After clicking the "Route" button, PIs will no longer be able to edit the eSNAP report. If the PI wishes to edit the report, he or she should use the "Recall" button on the "Manage eSNAP" page. This will pull the eSNAP report out of the Routing sequence. After making the desired changes, the PI will have to click the "Route" button again to re-route the report.