As NIH proposal submissions continue to transition to the new Common Forms and SciENcv requirements, OSR is seeing an increase in system validation issues that are delaying submissions. To help avoid last-minute problems, please be aware of the most common issues currently affecting NIH applications:
1. ORCID ID Not Linked or Linked Incorrectly
- The most frequent issue is an ORCID ID that is not linked, not publicly visible, or not properly connected to the investigator's eRA Commons profile.
- Even when an ORCID ID is entered, mismatches between ORCID and eRA Commons records can trigger validation errors.
- Investigators should verify their ORCID connection in both eRA Commons and SciENcv well before proposal submission.
- See NOT-OD-26-079 for Reminders on linking ORCID ID to eRA Commons and SciENcv.
2. General Validation Errors Are Taking Longer to Resolve
- NIH and Grants.gov are no longer consistently providing detailed error messages that clearly identify the source of validation failures.
- As a result, troubleshooting often requires additional review by OSR and, in some cases, opening help desk tickets with Grants.gov, eRA Commons, or other federal systems.
- Resolution timelines are no longer predictable and may extend beyond a proposal deadline.
3. Early Submission Is Now Critical
- The historical practice of submitting on the sponsor deadline date is becoming increasingly risky.
- Due to new federal requirements, system integrations, and validation challenges, applications should be finalized and submitted at least 1–2 business days before the sponsor deadline should be the priority for principal investigators.
- This provides time to identify and resolve validation issues that may not be apparent until after submission and sometimes take hours or a day to resolve..
Plan Ahead for Systems
Federal proposal submissions are no longer as streamlined as they have been in the past. The combination of new Common Forms requirements, ORCID validation checks, and evolving NIH system processes has increased the likelihood of unexpected errors. Early preparation and submission are the best ways to reduce the risk of delays or missed deadlines.
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