Regular reporting on the progress of your NSF award is one of the obligations under the terms and conditions of your award. Failure to provide NSF with timely and accurate reports will prevent you and any of your co-PIs from receiving additional awards, including the release of continuing grant increments on your award. NSF requires that all project reports be filed through Research.gov by the PI or Co-PI. Annual and final reports are required in the standardized federal Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) format.
Report Types:
- The Annual Report must be submitted and approved every year of an award and must describe activities of the project during the year of the reporting period.
- The Final Report must be submitted and approved at the end of the project. It should cover the activities during the last year of the award.
- The Interim Report can be submitted at any time during the life of the award to inform NSF of activities related to the funded project such as significant publications or a completed dissertation. PIs are cautioned not to confused Interim Reports with Annual Reports; Interim reports do not fulfill the annual reporting requirements.
- The Project Outcomes Report must be submitted at the completion of the project. This report is for the general public and should be written in a manner that is accessible to a broad audience.
Progress reports are submitted via the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) feature in eRA Commons. It is important that reports are submitted on time, late reports can delay the release of additional funding. RPPRs are initiated by the PD/PI or their delegate but must be submitted by NU-RES. The NU-RES Grant Officer will need to conduct a full review of the report before submission. It is important that the report be routed to our office ahead of the deadline, NU-RES will not submit the report until a full review is conducted.
Report Types:
- The Annual Report is used to describe a grant’s scientific progress, identify significant changes, report on personnel, and describe plans for the subsequent budget period or year.
- The Final Report is used as part of the grant closeout process to submit project outcomes in addition to the information submitted on the annual RPPR, except budget and plans for the upcoming year.
- The Interim Report is used when submitting a renewal (Type 2) application. If the Type 2 application is not funded, the Interim report will serve as the Final report for the project. If the Type 2 is funded, the Interim report will serve as the annual report for the final year of the previous competitive segment. The data elements collected on the Interim report are the same as for the Final report, including project outcomes.
