RPPR Explained: Sections, Due Dates, and the FFR

The Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) is the standard federal format for reporting progress on a research award. NIH recipients submit it in eRA Commons, usually once a year, and NIH uses it to decide whether to release the next year's funding; NSF uses the same format for project reports in Research.gov. The RPPR covers the science. The money is reported separately on the Federal Financial Report (FFR), and closeout requires both.

The four kinds of NIH RPPR

• Annual RPPR: the non-competing continuation report filed once per budget period on most multi-year awards.
• Final RPPR: filed at the end of a project period when there is no renewal, or when a renewal was not funded.
• Interim RPPR: filed at the end of a project period when a competing renewal is pending. If the renewal is not funded, the interim RPPR serves as the final RPPR.
• Multi-year funded RPPR: a shorter annual report for awards funded in one lump sum for several years, such as many fellowships.

Due dates

eRA Commons shows the exact due date for each award. The notice of award tells you whether the award is under SNAP (Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process), which also determines whether you complete the budget section.

For NSF, annual project reports are due no later than 90 days before the end of the current budget period, and the final project report and the public Project Outcomes Report are due within 120 days after the award ends.

Section by section

NIH's RPPR has up to nine sections:

• A. Cover page. Mostly pre-filled; confirm the contacts and reporting period.
• B. Accomplishments. The core narrative: the major goals, what was accomplished under each, opportunities for training, how results were disseminated, and plans for the next period. The specific aims are entered in the first non-competing RPPR and pre-populate after that.
• C. Products. Publications (which must comply with NIH's public access policy), websites, technologies, datasets, and other products from the reporting period.
• D. Participants. Everyone who worked at least one person-month on the project, with their effort, and any changes to senior or key personnel. New senior or key personnel need a biosketch, which since January 25, 2026 must be the Common Form biosketch built in SciENcv; see our NIH biosketch example in the new format.
• E. Impact. Effects on the discipline, other fields, technology transfer, and society, if any. "Nothing to report" is acceptable where true.
• F. Changes. Changes in approach, problems or delays and how they are being handled, significant changes in the use of human subjects, animals, or hazards, and changes in effort or other support.
• G. Special reporting requirements. Award-specific items, inclusion enrollment data for clinical research, and other required updates.
• H. Budget. Non-SNAP awards only.
• I. Outcomes. Final and interim RPPRs only: a plain-language summary of the project's outcomes, which NIH makes public.

Writing the accomplishments section

Report against the aims you were funded for, not against what turned out to be interesting. For each aim, say what the plan was for this period, what was done, the key results, and what comes next. Specific beats impressive: "Enrollment reached 212 of 300 participants; recruitment at the second site began in March after a delayed institutional review board approval" tells a program officer more than a paragraph of adjectives.

Use the Changes section honestly. If the approach shifted, effort dropped, or a key person left, disclose it here rather than letting it surface later; some changes need NIH prior approval regardless. Strong reporting is much easier when measurable milestones were set at the start, which is the job of a good plan for measuring outcomes.

Routing and submission in eRA Commons

The principal investigator, or a delegate the principal investigator has named, prepares the RPPR in eRA Commons. When it is complete and passes the system's checks, the principal investigator routes it to the institution's signing official, who submits it to NIH. A signing official can delegate submission authority to the principal investigator, in which case the principal investigator submits directly. Many institutions add an internal step first, such as routing the report through the research office's own system, so check your institution's process and deadline, which is usually earlier than NIH's.

The FFR: the financial side

The Federal Financial Report (SF-425) reports, for a period, the federal funds authorized, the expenditures made, the unobligated balance, and the indirect costs charged. Program officers read the RPPR; grants management staff read the FFR.

For NIH awards:

• Since January 1, 2021, recipients submit the FFR in the HHS Payment Management System, not in eRA Commons, though eRA Commons still links to it and shows its status.
• The annual expenditure FFR is due 90 days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the budget period ends, under the NIH Grants Policy Statement.
• Cash transactions are reported quarterly in the Payment Management System.
• The final FFR is due within 120 days after the period of performance ends, alongside the final RPPR.

Other agencies name their own systems and schedules in the award terms. Under 2 CFR 200, agencies may require financial reports no more often than quarterly and no less often than annually.

Reconcile the general ledger to your drawdowns before filing. If the numbers do not match, fix the ledger, not the report. For how both reports fit the wider compliance picture, see our overview of federal and foundation reporting rules and the plain-language guide to 2 CFR 200.

Keeping the two reports consistent

Reviewers cross-check them. The effort reported in the RPPR's Participants section should match the salary charged in the FFR, and heavy spending with thin progress, or major progress with almost no spending, invites questions. Closeout needs the final RPPR, the final FFR, and, where applicable, the Final Invention Statement, all within 120 days; late closeout can delay future awards. Our guide to post-award compliance covers the calendar that keeps these on time.

If reporting is straining your team, our grant reporting service prepares RPPRs and FFRs reconciled to your ledger before filing.