NIH closes out grants as soon as possible after the project period end date. This process requires the recipient's timely submission of all required reports. Learn more about the steps required for award closeout.
Grants closeout is a feature of eRA Commons that allows a grantee to electronically file the information necessary to complete grant closeout requirements. Required reports are listed below.
- The final Federal Financial Report (FFR)
- The final Research Performance Progress Report (Final RPPR)
- The Final Invention Statement and Certification (FIS)
All close out reports are due within 120 days of the end of the grant support period. Failure to submit timely and accurate final reports may affect future funding to the organization or awards with the same principal investigator.
Final Research Performance Progress Report
Recipients will submit one of two types of progress reports (also known as the RPPR), depending on whether a renewal (Type 2) application has been submitted.
| Report | When Report is Used |
|---|---|
| Interim RPPR | Used when submitting a renewal (Type 2) application. If the renewal application is not funded, the Interim RPPR will serve as the Final RPPR. If the renewal is funded, then it will serve as the Annual RPPR for the final year of the previous competitive segment. |
| Final RPPR | Used when a renewal has not yet or will not be submitted. This will be used to submit project outcomes in addition to the information submitted on the Annual RPPR, except budgets and plans for the upcoming years. |
Project Outcomes
Recipients should pay special attention to the Outcomes section of the Final RPPR, as all project outcomes will be made available to the general public via NIH's Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORTER). As such, it is critical that this section is written in lay language for public use.
Explore the links below for guidance on how to draft a Project Outcomes section.
Final Progress Report Additional Materials Requests
While reviewing a submitted Final RPPR, your program officer may determine that additional materials related to the submitted report are required. These materials will be requested through a Final Progress Report Additional Materials (FRAM) request. When a FRAM request is made, recipients are notified via email and the Final RPPR status on Closeout Status is updated to "FRAM requested." Visit the eRA instructions on FRAM to learn how to respond to a FRAM request.
Failure to respond to a FRAM request will result in delays to the closeout process.
Final Federal Financial Report
At the end of the award’s project period, recipients are required to submit a Final Federal Financial Report (referred to as FFR or SF 425) through the Payment Management System (PMS).
Important things to remember:
- The final FFR must cover the entire competitive segment.
- Recipients must indicate the exact balance of unobligated funds.
- Unliquidated obligations are not allowed on a final FFR.
- There must be no discrepancies between the Federal share of expenditures reported on the final FFR and the net cash disbursements reported to PMS on the Transactions section of the FFR.
Beginning April 1, 2022, recipients are no longer required to submit quarterly cash transaction reports 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter. Instead, the PMS will pre-populate the cash transaction section of the FFR using recipient real-time cash expenses information. See NOT-OD-22-099 for additional information on this recent change.
Final Invention Statement and Certification
Recipients must submit a Final Invention Statement (referred to as FIS or HHS 568) whether or not the funded project results in any subject inventions, and whether or not inventions were previously reported. The completed form should cover the period from the original effective date of support through the completion date or termination of the award.
Unilateral Closeout
If recipients have not submitted all applicable closeout materials within 180 days of the final project period end date, NIH will initiate Unilateral Closeout without the cooperation of the recipient. After making reasonable efforts to obtain the final reports, NINDS must close all awards no later than 270 days after the project end date.