Key Dates

Related Announcements

• March 30, 2012 - Notice of Requirement for Electronic Submission of Just-in-Time Information and Related Business Process Changes Beginning April 20, 2012. See Notice NOT-OD-12-101

Issued by

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH)

Purpose

This Guide Notice informs the extramural research community that the eRA system-generated email notification announcing the availability to submit Just-in-Time information for an application in eRA Commons will be retired as of October 1, 2024. This change has no impact on an applicant’s ability to submit Just-in-Time information upon request from staff at the awarding institute or center.

Background

NIH uses Just-in-Time (JIT) procedures for certain programs and award mechanisms; each Notice of Funding Opportunity will include specific guidance on the use. These procedures allow the principal investigator (PI) or signing official (SO) to provide certain elements of an application to be submitted later in the application process. This information is typically sought later in the cycle (after review when the application is under consideration for funding) to reduce the administrative burden on the extramural research community and allow them to provide the most up-to-date information.

The standard application elements include Other Support information (both active and pending) for senior/key personnel; certification of IRB approval of the project's proposed use of human subjects; verification of IACUC approval of the project's proposed use of live vertebrate animals; and evidence of compliance with the education in the protection of human research participants requirement. Other program-specific information (such as the SBIR/STTR Foreign Disclosure Form) may also be requested using this procedure. 

As communicated in NOT-OD-12-101, NIH began sending automated Just-in-Time email notifications (generated by the eRA system), to all applicants based on the overall impact score of their application(s) (currently 30 or less). These standard JIT notifications are intended to indicate the importance of beginning the JIT process, particularly the need to obtain any necessary IRB and IACUC approvals. They are not the official request for JIT submission.

The official notification requesting JIT material(s) is sent directly by NIH staff from the awarding Institute/Center to those who have applications under consideration for funding.

As mentioned in NOT-OD-12-101, NIH has continued to review the automated JIT notification trigger level to determine if additional adjustments are needed to improve the process. Based on feedback we have received over the past 12 years from our internal and external stakeholders, we have determined that the automated JIT notification is no longer needed.

Therefore, to avoid any confusion for applicants moving forward, the automated JIT notification is being retired effective October 1, 2024.

Update to JIT Business Processes

• The automated Just-in-Time email, generated by the eRA system and sent to applicants for all applications that receive an overall impact score of 30 or less, will be retired effective October 1, 2024.
• Official notification of the need for JIT material(s) will continue to be sent directly by NIH staff from the awarding Institute/Center to those who are required to provide the material(s).
• The JIT link to submit the materials, when requested, will also continue to be available in eRA Commons until the application is awarded. The JIT link is accessed:
  • By SOs, on the Status Results screen by clicking on the three-dot ellipsis in the Application/Award ID column and choosing JIT from the dropdown menu.
  • By PIs, on the Status screen, by expanding a grant application and clicking the JIT link in the Available Actions column.

As a reminder, a request for JIT information is not a Notice of Award, nor should it be construed as an indicator of possible funding by the NIH. If you have any additional questions, contact the Grants Management Specialist assigned to your application.

The NIH Grants Policy Statement, Section 2.5.1 Just-in-Time Procedures, as well as resources on the eRA and NIH Grants and Funding webpages, will be updated to reflect this process update.

Resources

eRA Submit Just-in-Time (webpage)

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

NIH Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA)
Division of Grant Systems Integration (DGSI)

Systems Policy Branch
[email protected]