Version 7.1

The eResearch Proposal Management system (eRPM) was updated with several enhancements to version 7.1 on July 24, 2023. 

• Standardized eRPM system colors for greater contrast and accessibility. 

• Updated language of NSF Safe and Inclusive Working Environment Plan for off-site locations in PAF General Space question 4.4.1, and in the Unit Approve activity.  

Awards (AWD), Award Modifications (MOD), and Award Change Request (ACR) Enhancements

Automated Compliance Hold for PEERRS Training

If an active investigator has not completed a required PEERRS module, the eRPM system will now automatically stop the award in a Compliance Hold state. Other updates to reflect this change include:

• Updated Compliance Status meter (traffic signals) on AWD and MOD workspaces to include missing or expired “PEERRS” as one of the indicators.
  

• Highlighted rows for expired or missing courses display on the PAF Contacts tab and on the AWD Compliance tab.

• PEERRS courses can be verified on the AWD Compliance tab

• Updated email notifications sent to the Project Team (Primary Post-Award Contact, Additional Post-Award Contact, and all active U-M Principal Investigators and Sponsor PIs) to indicate when missing or expired PEERRS courses are a reason for a Compliance Hold.  Note: Other investigators will not get an email, so the Primary Post-Award Contact should follow-up with that investigator about completing the required training.

• Updated applicable workspace messages.

• Data Conversion: ITS recalculated PEERRS compliance holds for AWDs and MODs in active states.

Other enhancements

On the Transfer to New Department ID type of ACR, updated the department chooser to allow entering the dept. "ID" or "Name" when using the type-ahead feature.

SF424 (Grants.gov) submissions

• SF424 was updated to the most recent vendor version, 10.5.2. This update addresses:

  • Bug fixes to less frequently used forms for the Department of Education and Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) agencies.

  • Office of Management and Budget (OMB) expiration dates on the forms in generated PDFs.

• Updated the copy map value on cover forms to reflect Shandra White as Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR).

For Central Offices

Export Controls Office

• Finished adding system functionality of the Technology Control Plan (TCP) Amendment process for Export Controls office only to include additional types. 

• Resolved an issue where TCP Amendments could be stuck in UFA processing because a department had no approvers or notifiers. 

• On the TCP workspace, updated TCP Manage Factors from a view to an activity. This enables the central office to edit a few more form fields without having to make a formal amendment (outside of a TCP Amendment cycle). For active TCPs, the Export Controls office will have control over whether the Final TCP document is regenerated.

U-M Medical School Data Office

• Provided ability for the Data Office for Clinical & Translational Research to assign UFA records to individuals.

Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP)

• As part of the automation of Compliance Holds for PEERRs Training enhancements described above, ORSP PRs no longer have to manually evaluate and Manage the Hold (for PEERRS), saving time and rework. Also, the Compliance Factors - Personnel pages was removed from AWD worksheets and MOD worksheets, since they are no longer needed to enter information.

• MOD: eRPM will now bypass the Compliance Hold for De-obligation Modifications where the "Project End Date" is in the past. This prevents awards from getting stuck in a compliance hold when they are reopened to process a modification. 

• MOD: Added an Import PAF Investigators button to the UM Investigators page, which allows for copying key investigators and personnel from a new PAF into a MOD. The Activity History will show that the import ran.
  

• To more prominently display records that are due today, a new “Deadline Today” column is available on the ORSP - Staff workspace, Proposals Inbox tab, 'Proposals Ready for Submission' list, and on the ORSP - PR workspace, Proposals tab, 'Proposals Ready for SO Approval' list. If the deadline date is today, then a highlighted “Yes” will display in the column.
  

• On the Multi-Record Search, added an Active/Inactive column to the External Entity selector lookup to distinguish between Active (A) and Inactive (I) sponsors.