Generalinterest-News: USDA/NIFA - REEport to replace CRIS for reporting; October 15, 2011

NIFA is pleased to announce plans to deploy REEPort, a critical component of its One Solution reporting initiative.  REEport will become NIFA’s grant and formula project reporting system, building on and replacing the existing CRIS web forms system.  REEport implements the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR), a standard progress report format that all Federal research agencies will be required to use.  NIFA implemented a nearly final version of the RPPR in the CRIS Transition Standard Report in October 2007.  REEport will better address NIFA accountability and reporting needs by supporting limited use of program-specific data fields and the ability to upload documents such as PDF files into reports.  REEport will eliminate the need to submit AD-419 data for non-formula grants (AD-419 data will still be required for formula grant projects).  REEport will allow Hatch and Evans-Allen projects to be linked to planned programs in the AREERA Plan of Work Information System which will simplify the preparation of State Annual Reports.  Deployment of REEport will facilitate the transition to the REEIS system for information retrieval currently hosted by the CRIS system, including REEIS’ Leadership Management Dashboard.

Version 1 of REEport will be deployed in the following four stages:

· Stage A – New non-formula grant initiation – to be implemented October 1, 2010

· Stage B – Progress and termination reports for all new and existing non-formula grants – to be implemented January 14, 2011

· Stage C – New formula project initiation – implementation is targeted for October 1, 2011

· Stage D – Expenditure, progress, and termination reports for all new and existing formula projects – implementation is targeted for October 1, 2011

Further information about each of these stages can be found on the REEport page on NIFA’s web site (under “Managing a Grant” or directly at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/business/reeport_imp.html) which will include updates and other information as it becomes available.  NIFA will send out monthly updates with further information to the new REEportDeploy Lyris email list, which has been created from the CRIS and Plan of Work contacts lists.  Bart Hewitt will send a message to all members of the new list confirming membership with instructions for deletion or addition to the list.  Interested parties may subscribe to the list by sending an e-mail message to lyris@lyris.nifa.usda.gov. Skip your subject line and type subscribe REEportDeploy in the body of your message.  Be sure you receive an e-mail confirming your subscription.

Please forward this announcement to others at your institution who may need to know about it.

For further information on the REEport deployment, contact Bart Hewitt at bhewitt@nifa.usda.gov or Bob MacDonald at rmacdonald@nifa.usda.gov.