Affiliation and Entitlements Use Cases

Institutional Signing Official

The label, "Signing Official," is used in conjunction with the NIH eRA Commons and refers to the individual that has institutional authority to legally bind the institution in grants administration matters. The individual fulfilling this role may have any number of titles in the institution, but is typically located in its Office of Sponsored Research or equivalent. The Signing Official for the Requester reviews Data Access Request, Project Renewal, and Project Close-out applications submitted by Principal Investigators and legally binds the Requester to agree to adhere to the terms described in this Agreement if the application is submitted to NIH. The Institutional Signing Official for the Submitting Institution enters into the Institutional Certification and signs on behalf of the Submitting Investigator(s) who has submitted data.

The investigator who prepares Data Access Requests (DARs), Project Renewals, and Project close-outs. The Principal Investigator plays a lead role in ensuring that management and use of controlled-access data remains consistent with the terms in the Data Use Certification Agreement. To be able to submit a DAR, a Principal Investigator must be designated as such by their institution in eRA Commons and be a permanent employee of their institution at a level equivalent to a tenure-track professor or senior scientist with responsibilities that most likely include laboratory administration and oversight.

A user approved by the relevant Data Access Committee(s) to access one or more datasets for a specified period of time and only for the purposes outlined in the Principal Investigator (PI)’s approved Research Use Statement. The Information Technology (IT) Director indicated on the Data Access Request, as well as any staff members and trainees under the direct supervision of the PI are also Approved Users and must abide by the terms laid out in the Data Use Certification Agreement.