Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)/National Institutes of Health (NIH)

FYI: Revised PHS 2590 (Noncompeting Continuation Progress Report) Now Available – Policy Changes Implemented

NIH has revised the PHS 2590 instructions and forms, used for the submission of Noncompeting Continuation Progress Reports. The newly revised instructions and forms are required for all annual progress reports due on or after October 1, 2009. The newly revised instructions and forms are available at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm.  

Corresponding changes to the eSNAP Commons Module will be released on October 9, 2009.  For eSNAPs due October 15th, NIH encourages grantees to delay submitting eSNAP reports until after the October 9th enhancements are made in order to implement use of the revisions for all progress reports submitted for FY 2010 funding.  For eSNAPs due by October 15th, grantees are encouraged to submit them on time; however, an additional grace period to November 1, 2009 is permitted to accommodate these changes.

This revision of the PHS 2590 implements a number of important policy changes, including:

New All Personnel Report:  The Senior/Key Personnel Report has been replaced with an All Personnel Report (Form Page 7) that collects information on all personnel who participate in the project for at least one person month or more.  The All Personnel Report also implements a new NIH requirement that all individuals with a postdoctoral role with one person month of more of measurable effort must have an eRA Commons user ID. A postdoctoral user role has been established in eRA Commons, and individuals who need to be registered in Commons and assigned this new role should contact Kathleen Foster (kfoster@bu.edu) in the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) as soon as possible. Please note that this new Commons Postdoctoral role should NOT be used for individuals submitting Individual Fellowships.  The PI role will continue to be used for those submissions. For additional information about this requirement, please see NIH NOT-OD-09-140 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-140).

New Assurance for Institutions Receiving Awards for Training of Graduate Students for Doctoral Degrees: Institutions receiving NIH awards for graduate training through Institutional training grants (D43, TU2, T15, T32, T37, T90, U2R, U90, and U54/TL1 mechanisms) are now required to report annually to NIH the following information for graduate students that have been supported by NIH training awards: (1) the percentage of such students admitted for study who successfully attain a doctoral degree, and (2) the average time (not including any leaves of absence) for such students between the beginning of graduate study and the receipt of a doctoral degree. Beginning October 1, grantees must provide information on completion rates and time to degree in the new Program Statistics section of Table 12A (Predoctoral Trainees Supported by this Training Grant) when submitting a renewal application (PHS 398) or non-competing continuation progress report (PHS 2590).

In addition, institutions must provide this same information to all applicants to doctoral programs supported by NIH training awards. To ensure compliance with this new requirement, NIH has also adopted a new Graduate Student Assurance Requirement. In submitting an application or progress report for one of the specified activity codes, the Signing Official verifies the applicant organization's compliance with this assurance. Institutions may decide how best to present the required information to applicants and may wish to consider consolidating data by department or broad program to which candidates apply, or providing additional information in order to provide context. Institutions need not notify NIH of their plans for complying with new assurance. However, they must include the new data as part of Table 12A in all annual progress reports and competing applications submitted on/after October 1, 2009. For additional information about this requirement, please see NOT-OD-09-141 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-141).

Inclusion of Changes to Innovative Potential:  As part of the NIH Enhancing Peer Review Initiative, PD/PIs will now be asked, if applicable, to address any changes to the innovative potential of the project.  This information is now part of the Progress Report Summary, Section B. Studies and Results. 

Changes to the Biographical Sketch:  A biosketch is required as part of the progress report for new senior/key personnel since the previous submission. The biosketch now includes a Personal Statement, which requires senior/key personnel to address why their experience and qualifications make them particularly well-suited for their role on the project. Instructions for the biosketch encourage the list of publications to be limited to 15.

For a complete list of all significant policy changes implemented by the most recent revision of the PHS 2590 instructions and forms, please see NOT-OD-09-139 (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-09-139). If you have questions or concerns, please contact the OSP Assistant Director assigned to your school or department at x3-4365.