This PERA Staff Update is a monthly communication for PERA project team members and impacted stakeholders. This newsletter provides an overview of recent progress, milestones and upcoming activities related to the transition from Coeus and other software systems to PERA, which will go live on October 7th.
As we prepare for milestones such as the website update, User Acceptance Testing, and the launch of training sessions and materials, your engagement and support are crucial. In addition, we encourage you to closely review details about the cutover plan (i.e., time gap between close of Coeus and launch of PERA).
This PERA Staff Update includes information in the following categories:
- PERA Tools
- Training
- Module Development
- Cut-over preparation and impacts
- PERA deployment timeline
- FAQs
Thank you for your collaboration as we move forward with this important initiative!
PERA website update and new training modules coming
The PERA website’s transition to a new web template will enhance the user experience. Users can anticipate access to newly developed training materials available on the PERA website in mid-late August. Build-out & Testing of PERA website will proceed throughout August.
User Acceptance Testing scheduled for August
To confirm the PERA system is functioning as expected for go-live, User Acceptance Testing (UAT) will take place in August. UAT is essential to ensuring that the PERA application meets Purdue’s operational requirements. During this period, a defined set of testers will execute various tasks to validate PERA’s functionality and its connectivity with other applications such as SAP. Successful completion of UAT in August will signify our readiness for go-live with the Grants, Agreements and IACUC modules on October 7th.
New PERA email signature
We are asking for your help to elevate awareness of PERA. Please access the PERA email signature and add to your email signature line.
Additionally, depending on your current team, please consider adding the below underlined information after your PERA email signature. Doing so will help communicate key cut-over related information to investigators and research administrators.
Pre-Award:
PERA Go-Live impact:
- Proposals due 9/30/2024 – 10/11/2024: During this time, work on scientific portions of the proposal can continue, but no changes in proposal budgets will be permitted after 9/27/24.
- Proposals due AFTER 10/11/2024: PIs should complete this form as soon as possible to initiate the submissions rather than using the PIP, which will be decommissioned on 9/13/24.
Post Award:
PERA Go-Live impact: To allow for the transition to PERA, Awards will not be entered into SAP between 10/01/24 – 10/06/24
- Awards received between 10/01/24 – 10/06/24 will be entered beginning 10/07/24 when PERA goes live.
Contracting:
PERA Go-Live impact: Requests for unfunded agreements (e.g., NDAs, MTAs, DUAs) needed prior to 10/07/24 should be submitted to SPS Contracting no later than 9/16/24.
IACUC:
PERA Go-Live impact: The last day to submit any new activity (e.g., new protocols, amendments, annual continuations, triennial renewals) using Coeus will be 9/11/24. This will allow the IACUC administrative staff time to get all submissions reviewed and placed into ‘Active’ status.
- No new submissions to IACUC will be accepted between 9/12/24 – 10/06/24. IACUC will resume accepting and processing new submissions (in PERA) beginning on 10/07/24.
- New and updated Animal Use Qualification forms will be accepted until 09/27/24. The current database will be replaced by PERA, and you will submit new and updated information in PERA beginning 10/07/24.
Training materials
Training materials for several PERA modules are being finalized. Training videos and guides for the Grants (Pre-Award, Post Award), Agreements, and IACUC modules are in the final stages of design, development, and review.
PERA training sessions for the campus community begin in September
This September, a series of flexible PERA training sessions (focused on Pre-Award, Post Award, Agreements and IACUC modules) will be available. Staff members will be able to choose between in-person and online learning sessions. Detailed information about the offerings is forthcoming. Watch your email for specific training dates, times, and locations.
“We are excited to provide an update on the progress of the PERA training materials. Our team has been diligently working on developing comprehensive training deliverables including general navigational resources, videos, and guides for the Contracting, Pre-Award, Post Award, and IACUC modules. All identified deliverables have now been reviewed by module owners and are in the iteration phase, with several beginning to move to the “ready to be published” phase. This marks a significant milestone as we prepare to finalize and release these critical resources. Additionally, the planning and design for the PERA training website has been completed, and items should be able to start being added soon, creating a central hub for accessing all training materials. We thank everyone for their continued support and assistance through these tasks. Your contributions and feedback have been invaluable in helping us create effective and impactful training materials.” — Courtney Nethercutt & Katelyn Sergi, Instructional Designers for PERA
As PERA module owners work to prepare for rollout, we want to provide staff members with a snapshot of current efforts in each area.
Pre-Award:
- Pre-UAT testing and training involving Pre-Award managers/regional campuses completed in July; and additional testing is underway
- Pre-Award staff training on system functionality began end of July (includes regional campuses) and continues into August.
- Pre-Award specialists will be communicating cutover impacts directly to their faculty, in addition to broader communication that will be sent out by Research Communications
Post Award:
- Post Award staff training in PERA – 3 sessions scheduled (2 for Launch; 1 for Sub-award staff); all Post-Award staff will be trained in August
- Post Award PERA team – meeting in person 2 days a week for 4 hour sessions through the end of August
- Continued development of training and reference materials for Award, Award Modification and Agreements
- UAT testing to begin August 5th
Contracting:
- Training of Contracting staff is proceeding
- Final list of reports completed
- Continued development of training and reference materials for Agreements
- UAT testing to begin August 5th
IACUC (Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee):
- Continued development of defining system impacts to business processes
- Continued creation of training and reference materials for end users
- Concluded end-to-end testing of system functionality with the IACUC team, IACUC Chair and others in July.
- Lisa has reached out to researchers with existing IACUC protocols to make them aware of upcoming cutover impacts as we transition from Coeus to PERA
- UAT begins August 5
Safety-IBC (Institutional Bio-Safety Committee):
- Review of specification documents completed
- Huron has begun building the Purdue Safety Module based on the specification documents.
- Testing of the module build will begin in August
Export Control:
- Work on this module is underway in Onboarding sessions with Huron.
- Onboarding is Huron’s deep dive into system functionality so that Purdue can understand and begin to document requirements.
CUT-OVER PREPARATIONS AND IMPACTS
As you know, the launch of the Purdue Excellence in Research Administration (PERA) platform on October 7th will bring several benefits for all of Purdue. To make the switchover from Coeus and the Proposal Information Portal (PIP) to PERA both successful and seamless, we will ask for everybody’s help. A key request we will make to investigators and research administrators currently using these systems is to plan ahead for the transition. We are providing you with key transition details that we will be communicating widely so you can reinforce them if asked.
During the transition from Coeus and PIP to PERA, these systems will be offline from 9/30/2024 to 10/6/2024. During this period, several research administration related activities will be impacted. Research teams should be aware of impacts on specific activities leading up to and during the transition.
Impact on Proposal Submissions:
If a proposal is due between 9/30/2024 – 10/11/2024:
- During this time, work on scientific portions of the proposal can continue, but no changes in proposal budgets will be permitted after 9/27/24.
- Submissions must have a final title and final budget with Pre-Award no later than 9/27/24.
- Development of proposal documents may continue after 9/27 (if they meet the SPS Proposal Deadline Policy due dates) but no changes to the title or budget should be requested.
If a proposal is due after 10/11/2024:
- PIs should complete this Pre-Award form as soon as possible to initiate the submissions rather than using the PIP, which will be decommissioned on 9/13/24. After submitting this form, a Pre-Award specialist will immediately work with PIs on a plan to begin the work and complete it within PERA as necessary.
Impact on Post Award Set-Up: Awards will not be entered into SAP between 10/01/24-10/06/24.
Impact on Contracting: Requests for unfunded agreements (e.g., NDAs, MTAs, DUAs) needed prior to 10/07/24 should be submitted to SPS Contracting no later than 9/16/24. This will allow sufficient time for processing prior to the switchover period.
Impact on Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC):
- The last day to submit any new activity (e.g., new protocols, amendments, annual continuations, triennial renewals) using Coeus will be 9/11/24. This will allow the IACUC administrative staff time to get all submissions reviewed and placed into ‘Active’ status.
- No new submissions to IACUC will be accepted between 9/12/24 – 10/06/24. IACUC will resume accepting and processing new submissions (in PERA) beginning on 10/07/24.
- New and updated Animal Use Qualification forms will be accepted until 09/27/24. The current database will be replaced by PERA and you will submit new and updated information in PERA beginning 10/07/24.
The two-year phased rollout of PERA, which was initiated in 2023, is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2025. Below are some key upcoming activity dates:
Aug 2024
SPS and IACUC functional areas will be delivering training to their own internal staff to prepare for daily use of the system.
PERA Information sessions (round two) for investigators and research administrators. Four sessions planned:
- August 26: 3-3:45 pm
- August 27: 9-9:45 am & 3-3:45 pm
- August 28: 3-3:45 pm
Sept 2024
University-wide training and resources to be rolled out for the Grants, Agreements, and IACUC modules.
Sept 30 to Oct 6
Cut Over Period when Coeus, PIP, PERA are offline. Faculty will still be able to work on many of their activities but should reference specific cutover dates for additional guidance.
Oct 7, 2024
Grants (Pre/Post Award), Agreements, and IACUC modules deployed.
Feb 2025
Safety-IBC module is tentatively scheduled deployed.
Summer 2025
Export Control module deployed
Fall 2025
Conflict of Interest and Commitment (COI/COC) and Institutional Review Board (IRB) modules deployed.
Dec. 2025
PERA system fully deployed.
*All dates after October 2024 are tentative.
When individuals submit PERA questions to peracomms@purdue.edu, they receive personalized answers sent directly from the PERA Project Team. Additionally, those questions and answers are posted on the PERA website under the appropriate category such as:
Have a PERA question or comment? We want to hear your thoughts. Email peracomms@purdue.edu with questions or comments about the PERA implementation.