Progress Reports

Many National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grants are funded for more than one year. If your grant is funded for more than one year, you must complete an annual progress report—also known as a Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) . All progress reports for NIH grants must be submitted electronically using the RPPR module in eRA Commons (see the NIH Office of Extramural Research RPPR webpage  for details). Progress reports document recipient accomplishments and compliance with the terms of the award. There are three types of RPPRs, all of which use the NIH RPPR Instruction Guide .

1. Annual RPPR – Used to describe a grant’s scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period or year.
2. Final RPPR – Used as part of the grant closeout process to submit project outcomes in addition to the information submitted on the annual RPPR, except for budget and plans for the upcoming year.
3. Interim RPPR – Used 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.

NIMH must approve the progress report before funds can be released for the next budget period.

The focus of this page is R01 annual progress reports, but in most cases, the information on this page also applies to any NIMH grant mechanism requiring a progress report. Some mechanisms allow the use of the Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP). 

On this page:

• What should be included in a progress report?
• Can I use a SNAP (Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process)?
• When are progress reports due?
• How are progress reports reviewed?
• Forms and instructions

What should be included in a progress report?

Applicants should refer to the RPPR instructions for detailed instructions for all sections required for the progress report. The following is helpful information about select required items.

Section B: Accomplishments

The RPPR Accomplishments section allows NIH to assess whether satisfactory progress has been made during the reporting period. Including:

• What were the major goals and objectives of the project?
• What was accomplished under these goals?
• What opportunities for training and professional development did the project provide?
• How were the results disseminated to communities of interest?
• What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals and objectives?

Program officers look to this section for critical information concerning the project's continued viability. Please note that you should report ONLY research progress directly related to the grant in question. The Progress Report should NOT summarize all of your lab's research activities from the past year. 

Section C: Products

section allows NIH to assess and report publications and other products to Congress, communities of interest, and the public. In this section, the recipient will report on the following:

• Publications, conference papers, and presentations
• Website(s) or other Internet site(s)
• Technologies or techniques
• Inventions, patent applications, and/or licenses
• Other products, such as data or databases, physical collections, audio or video products, software, models, educational aids or curricula, instruments or equipment, research material, interventions (for example, clinical or educational), or new business creation

Citations may be sent by providing links to a journal. You can also link to your manuscripts from the National Library of Medicine's PubMed Central  website. As a principal investigator, you can upload your manuscripts at NIH Manuscript Submission  or have others submit them on your behalf.

Program Directors or Principal Investigators (PD/PIs) and recipient organizations are expected to make the results and accomplishments of their activities available to the research community and the public at large. For additional information, please see NIH Sharing Policies . If the initial research plan addressed or the terms of award requires a formal plan for sharing final research data, model organisms, Genome-Wide Association Studies data, or other such project-specific data, describe the progress in implementing that plan.

Non-Compliant Publications

Publications that fall under the NIH Public Access Policy and are non-compliant must be reported. NIH awardees are responsible for public access compliance with all publications in section C1. Generally, it takes weeks to bring non-compliant publications into compliance; PD/PIs are advised to do so as soon as possible to ensure their award is renewed promptly. For more information, see Managing Compliance with the NIH Public Access Policy  in My NCBI and the NIH Public Access website.

Section D: Participants

Provide or update the information for PIs and each person who has worked at least one person month per year on the project during the reporting period. Provide the name and identify the role the person played in the project. Indicate the person’s months, rounded to the nearest one-tenth that the individual worked on the project. Section D also includes Personnel Updates regarding effort changes, new key personnel, and any changes in other support.

Section F: Changes

Significant changes in objectives and scope require prior approval of the agency.

This section describes significant deviations, unexpected outcomes, or changes in approved protocols for human subjects, vertebrate animals, biohazards, and/or select agents during the reporting period.

Changes in Human and Animal Subject Usage

You are required to seek approval for any significant change in the use of human or animal subjects. This includes a change or addition of an animal species to your protocol.

You may not engage in research involving human subjects without express approval from NIMH. If your original grant application did not propose the use of human subjects, you must contact your program officer and request permission before using grant funds to support such research. Do not report your research activities involving human subjects if the grant did not directly support that research.

Section G: Special Reporting Requirements

Human Subject Inclusion Enrollment Reporting

If your grant has proposed using human subjects, you must update the inclusion enrollment with the total cumulative enrollment data collected to date on the inclusion enrollment report(s) for each study record. Recipients may have more than one inclusion enrollment report.

Each inclusion enrollment report must have a unique title. If new clinical studies have started and planned enrollment was not previously provided, create a new Planned Enrollment record in the Human Subjects System (HSS).

Recipients are required to access HSS to update inclusion enrollment reports. Recipients can access HSS through the Human Subjects link in the RPPR or the eRA Commons Status page. Inclusion enrollment data updates must be submitted in the Human Subjects System before submitting the RPPR.

Can I use a SNAP (Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process)?

SECTION III – STANDARD TERMS AND CONDITIONS of the Notice of Award indicates if the grant is subject to SNAP.

When are progress reports due?

Annual RPPR due dates:

• Streamlined Non-Competing Award Process (SNAP) RPPRs are due approximately 45 days before the next budget period start date.
• Non-SNAP RPPRs are due approximately 60 days before the next budget period start date.
• Multi-year funded (MYF) RPPRs are due annually on or before the anniversary of the budget or project period start date of the award.
• The exact start date for a specific award may be found in the grants status in eRA Commons.

Interim and Final RPPR Dues Dates:

• 120 days from the period of performance end date for the competitive segment

NIH will send an email notification two months before the due date, and you will receive another notification two weeks after the deadline if you still haven't submitted the report. It is your responsibility to submit these reports on time.

A late progress report can delay and possibly reduce your award.

How are progress reports reviewed?

Unlike the initial funding request, non-competing continuation applications (i.e., progress reports) are NOT peer reviewed. Instead, an administrative review is done by NIMH staff. This review is done in parallel by the program officer and the grants management specialist assigned to your grant.

The program officer is responsible for assessing the scientific progress of your grant. The Grants Management Specialist conducts a fiscal and regulatory review. Both must agree before the progress report is approved and ready for the next funding period.

Forms and instructions

There is no RPPR form available for download. Submit RPPR data through the eRA Commons . The links for each type of RPPR are accessed through the Commons Status tab.

Learn more in the NIH RPPR Instruction Guide .