Enhancements to eRA Commons scheduled for release on Monday, January 26, 2026, will implement changes to align the Prior Approval Change of PD/PI Request, Just-in-Time (JIT), and Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Participants section with the Common Forms requirements detailed in NOT-OD-26-018.
The use of the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) Common Forms and the NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement will be required for all individuals required to submit one of the above documents, including all Senior/Key personnel, on or after January 25, 2026.
These changes in Prior Approval, JIT, and RPPR will require all Senior/Key and any new Other Significant Contributor participants on an application or award to have an active CommonsID which is linked to their ORCID iD. The ORCID iD will be used as the unique identifier in SciENcv to produce certified PDF forms for participants’ Biosketches and CPOS forms. For information on how to link your ORCID iD to your CommonsID please visit the video Link Your ORCID iD to Your eRA Commons Account.
Overall Changes for Participants:
- All people listed as Senior/Key Personnel or New Other Significant Contributors must have a CommonsID and that CommonsID must be linked to the ORCID iD they use in SciENcv
- All Biographical Sketch and CPOS Common Form documents must be created in SciENcv and certified by the owner of the information
- When required, all Biographical Sketch and CPOS Common Form documents must be uploaded in the PDF format generated by SciENcv.
- The file name of the PDF may be updated once certified and downloaded from SciENcv. No other alterations may be made to the PDF. Do not flatten the PDF once certified and downloaded from SciENcv
NOTE: Due to eRA’s deployment of updated user interfaces for implementation of the Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) and NIH Biographical Sketch Supplement:
- Users who have initiated but not submitted their Change of PD/PI Prior Approval or JIT as of January 25,2026 will need to redo the submission.
- Users who have initiated but not submitted their RPPR as of January 25, 2026, will need to redo the Participants section.
Additional details, including screenshots of affected eRA Commons modules at https://www.era.nih.gov/news/era-enhancements-changes-prior-approval-just-time-and-rppr-be-released-monday-january-26-align.
Full Article and Related Announcement
eRA Commons Enhancements (January 14, 2026)
NIH’s Implementation of Common Forms (December 2, 2025)
