Communicating Grant Closeout

Things to Keep in Mind

No later than 5 business days after the fund freezes, the B.A. should email their ORS Post Award contact (we recommend ccing your ORSS Post Award contact to demonstrate to School you are doing your job and to support you in the event of any discrepancy discovered later) and notify them of the Direct, Indirect, and Total Expenses to report.
The total to report should reflect the expenditures currently on the ledger. If the fund is not ready to report, indicate a time frame (no more than two weeks) for which you plan to submit an Unfreeze Request.
Make the subject line of your email mean something. It helps the recipient find it later considering the volume of email one receives. Follow this format:

SUBJECT LINE: ACTION FUND#, P.I., DESCRIPTION
- Report 538500, Mendel, 5K23MH024680-03
- Unfreeze 538000, Frankenstein, 5R01HG012345-05
One action and one fund per email.
Notify ORS Post Award contact immediately if there is ever a discrepancy with the ledger and what was communicated and reported to the sponsor. It will be necessary to revise the financial report issued to the sponsor if expenses are lower than what was reported. Any revision of a report for expenditures higher than what was reported to the sponsor requires an explanation of why the error occurred. An unacceptable explanation will require a write-off of any additional expenditures greater than what was reported to the sponsor.

Regarding NIH Grant Closeout Reports

All applicable closeout reports are due no later than 120 days after the project end date (Penn policy is 90 days for the FFR). Failure to submit timely and accurate final reports may result in the NIH initiating a Unilateral Closeout. This is a serious action that could affect future funding to the organization and/or awards with the same Program Director/Principal Investigator.

Final Federal Financial Report (FFR, SF425)

(coordinate submission with ORS Post Award contact)

The Federal Financial Report (SF425) is a single form consolidating the collection of financial information previously collected on the Cash Transaction Report (SF 272 and the Financial Status Report (SF269). NIH grantees are required to submit all required expenditure reports using the FFR. FFR expenditure reports must be submitted to NIH electronically through the eRA Commons.

Final Research Performance Progress Report (FRPPR) or Interim Research Performance Progress Report (IRPPR)

(coordinate submissions with ORSS Post Award Specialist)(There is no need to do PennERA Child records for these submissions)

The Interim RPPR and the Final RPPR follow the same format as the current annual RPPR making it easier for recipients to navigate. The IRPPR and the FRPPR are identical in process and information required. The difference between the two is when and where they are made available to initiate and submit. The IRPPR link will be made available to the Signing Official (SO) in the eRA Commons Status screen when a grant is eligible for submission of a Competing Renewal application. The FRPPR is only available as part of the Closeout process and the "Process Final RPPR" link only appears on the eRA Commons Closeout status screen.

Final Research Performance Progress Report (FRPPR)

A Final Research Performance Progress Report (Final RPPR) is required for any grant that has ended and is not submitting an application for a new competitive segment. (Guide Notice NOT-OD-17-022). The report is used as part of the closeout process to submit project outcomes in addition to the information submitted on the annual RPPR, excluding budget and plans for the upcoming year.

If additional information is required after submission of an FRPPR, the NIH will initiate a Final Report Additional Materials (FRAM) request to the recipient. The principal investigator and the business official will be copied on the notification and links will be provided in the eRA Commons to submit the additional information online.

There is no form to download, the FRPPR data is submitted through the eRA Commons.

Interim Research Performance Progress Report (IRPPR)

Use when submitting a renewal (Type 2) application. If the Type 2 is not funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the Final RPPR for the project. If the Type 2 is funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the annual RPPR for the final year of the previous competitive segment. The data elements collected on the Interim RPPR are the same as for the Final RPPR, including project outcomes. (Guide Notice NOT-OD-17-037)

If additional information is required after submission of an IRPPR, the NIH will initiate an Interim Report Additional Materials (IRAM) request. The principal investigator and the business official will be copied on the notification and links will be provided in the eRA Commons to submit the additional information online.

There is no form to download, the IRPPR data is submitted through the eRA Commons.

Final Invention Statement (FIS, HHS 568)

(coordinate submissions with ORS Pre-Award contact and Tina Nemetz)

A final invention statement and certification form must be submitted with grant closeout (except for Training grants, Fellowships and certain other programs, e.g. R13, R25, S10). It should include all inventions which were conceived during the course of work under the grant or award from the original effective date of support through the date of completion or termination.

Termination Notice (PHS, 416-7)

(coordinate submissions with ORS Post-Award contact)

This form is required for Fellowships and Training grants, summarizing the information that must be supplied by Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) recipients on termination of their award. (Note: This form may also be used to document the termination of appointments to non-NRSA institutional research training programs, research education awards and institutional career development awards.