FYI Research:
Paperless IPFs coming soon

The piece of paper most familiar to Carolina faculty and staff applying for research grants will soon not be a piece of paper at all.

The Internal Processing Form (IPF), which the University requires with every grant application for outside funding, will become an online form that users fill out and submit using the World Wide Web.

The first version of the online IPF will be accessible by the time this article appears, said James Peterson, associate vice chancellor for research and director of the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR). Users will be able to log into a web site with their University ONYEN, then fill out the form online. In this first phase, users will print the completed IPF and route it for signatures as usual. The current Microsoft Word version of the IPF will be available for a couple more months and then will be phased out.

Eventually, users will route the IPF electronically, by simply pressing a "submit" button on the online form. They will also be able to electronically track the IPF's progress through the signature process. "Probably within the next year we'll have electronic routing and signature available." Peterson said.

The IPF provides information for the Coeus Grants Management System and to the UNC Office of the President, and it helps OSR ensure that researchers applying for grants comply with Carolina policies and procedures. Each investigator participating in a grant proposal must obtain the signature of his or her school dean on the IPF.

The new form will be portable. Users will be able to partially fill in the form, save it online, and then log in to finish it later, from any web browser. "You don't have to have any special software installed. You can access it from pretty much any computer," said John Stevens, an independent contractor who works with Andy Johns, director of operations for the Office of Technology Development. Johns and Stevens used a web-development scripting language called Cold Fusion to create most of the online IPF's features.

Peterson hopes the electronic form will reduce work both for people applying for grants and for OSR staff. For instance, the electronic form protects against typos because users can fill in much of the information, such as investigator name or funding source, by choosing from drop-down menus and searchable lists. And once electronic submission begins, duplication of data entry by OSR and other campus offices will be reduced. "This will allow us to communicate electronically with other campus databases," Peterson said.

If you've used tax software such as Turbo Tax or Tax Cut, you probably won't have trouble using the online IPF, said Andrew Reynolds, reporting and operations analyst in OSR. Evie McKee, University administrative manager in the Department of Biostatistics, helped OSR test the new form and said that it is not hard to use.

"Most of the questions are the same as on the old IPF," McKee said. "There are a few differences, but I think we can easily get used to it." The electronic form contains new questions about intellectual property and export control (regulations that restrict exports of equipment or information about a small percentage of the research done at Carolina). Because the Microsoft Word version of the IPF will still be used for a couple months, it will be updated to include those questions as well.

"It's definitely a big step in the right direction," McKee said. "Especially once we're able to route it electronically, it will be a big benefit to everybody."

How to get started

To access the online IPF, visit the OSR web site at research.unc.edu/osr/osr_prop_ dev.html. OSR offered training sessions on the new IPF on May 17 and 18 in the House Undergraduate Library. To learn about or register for future training, contact Phyllis Daugherty, OSR director of training & development, phyllis_daugherty@unc.edu. Or visit the OSR training web site at research.unc.edu/osr/osr_training.html.

Provided by Research and Economic Development.
Editor: Neil Caudle. Writer: Angela Spivey.

Technology transfer update

The Office of Technology Development helps Carolina faculty, students and staff develop and commercialize patentable inventions resulting from their research. In April 2004, the University executed three license agreements and had two U.S. patents issued.

A patent is a legal document granting inventors the exclusive right to prevent others from making, using or selling an invention for a number of years. A license agreement is a written contract granting permission for a person or company to use an invention under certain terms. For more information about OTD, go to research.unc.edu/otd.