eResearch Proposal Management (eRPM) Update 6/9/2009 

GRADUAL ADOPTION OF ERPM SINCE 3/30/2009

Over the last three months, most University units have adopted the use of the web-based eResearch Proposal Management (eRPM) system for creating Proposal Approvals Forms, or PAFs, and subsequent routing for approvals. The time has come to retire the paper process for proposal approvals at the University of Michigan.

ERPM REQUIRED 7/1/2009

At the end of the day on June 30, 2009, the ePAF will no longer be available. From that time forward, new proposal approvals and routing will need to be completed in the eRPM system.

TIMELINE

  1. The current ePAF option to create paper PAFs, will be retired at the end of the day on June 30, 2009.
    • Access to the site will be eliminated by DRDA, as will access to that cache of old ePAFs.
  2. All PAFs initiated on or after July 1, 2009, must be created in eRPM.
  3. PAFs initiated in paper form before June 30, 2009 will be honored and processed by DRDA through the end of July.
  4. No paper PAFs will be accepted by DRDA, effective Monday, August 3, 2009.

ELIMATION OF DRDA DROP BOX

A related change will be the concurrent elimination of the DRDA Drop Box to upload final, completed Grants.gov packages to DRDA for submission.

The new eRPM PAF includes the capability of attaching that final proposal or completing it within the system.

RESEARCH UNIT LIAISON & UNIT INVOLVEMENT IN DECISION

  • We conferred with the Research Unit Liaisons on this timeline and they agreed that the University is ready for this step.
  • Many units already require eRPM use.
  • Others are using the system, though its use has not been prescribed.
  • Still others already planned to require use by July 1.

HELPFUL RESOURCES TO ASSIST WITH THE TRANSITION:

CONTACTS FOR QUESTIONS AND ASSISTANCE

  • For technical support (e.g., navigation, connectivity, and system errors), contact the MAIS Help Desk:
  • For questions about Unit Business Policy/Requirements, contact your
    Research Unit Liaison
  • For sponsor-specific or submission questions, contact your
    DRDA Project Representative
    • DRDA Information line: (734) 764-5500