The Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) has become aware of time-sensitive issues affecting SciENcv generated documents.
SciENcv updated the digital certificate used to sign Biosketch and Current & Pending (Other) Support (CPOS) documents without notification. The old certificate expires Saturday, September 26, 2026. Documents downloaded from SciENcv before that date may fail validation in eRA Commons and generate errors that delay or block submission.
This certificate change affects applications and RPPRs to NIH, AHRQ, CDC, NIOSH, FDA, and VA submitted on or after September 26, whether they are submitted in PERIS™ MyFunding/System-to-System, ASSIST, or Grants.gov Workspace. Because SciENcv is also used to prepare Biosketch and CPOS documents for NSF, DOE, NASA, and USDA proposals, investigators with imminent submissions to those agencies are encouraged to regenerate their documents as a precaution.
What to do
Investigators should log back into SciENcv and regenerate their Biosketch and CPOS documents. When 'Download PDF' is selected, SciENcv will prompt the investigator to certify. The new PDFs should replace any older versions in in-progress applications.
October 5 R01 deadline
Any in-progress application that already includes Biosketch or CPOS documents will need those documents regenerated and replaced this coming week.
When Pitt is the lead applicant
For any Pitt-led application with subrecipients, we will also need updated Biosketch and CPOS documents from every subrecipient. Please reach out to your subrecipient collaborators now, notify them of the certificate change, and ask them to regenerate their SciENcv documents and send the new PDFs to you.
When Pitt is a subrecipient
The same applies in reverse: please regenerate Pitt investigator documents and provide the new versions to the lead applicant.
OSP will continue to monitor for additional information as it becomes available.
FEDERAL AGENCY ROUNDUP
Stay up-to-date and informed by visiting the Pitt Research Executive Orders and Federal Funding website.