In response to user demand, the eRA Helpdesk has extended its hours of operation and now is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on weekdays. As a rule, the Helpdesk is closed on weekends; however, during peak processing periods, the Helpdesk will provide limited service on weekends. We will post weekend hours in advance at https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/index.jsp. There will not be Helpdesk support on official federal holidays. 

Since the beginning of the eRA Project in CY2000, NIH user sessions have increased from an average of 29,000 per month to an average of 53,000 per month in CY2003. The need for additional Helpdesk coverage also is consistent with the growth in Commons usage over the past 18 months. There now are 1,552 registered institutions and 22,800 active users. In addition, the extended schedule will accommodate normal business hours for users on the West Coast.

You can reach the Helpdesk by telephone or by email to request information or to report problems or issues:

To expedite the handling of your request, you will need to provide the following information:

• Full contact information: your name, address, email, telephone number, Commons username, and institution name. 
• The name of the software application and the action you are performing. Describe the problem in detail, the more information, the better. 
• The error messages you receive. If you send an email, provide a screen shot of the error message or problem. 
• Your request ticket number (for follow-up inquiries).

Callers will receive a ticket number from the Helpdesk specialist at the end of the telephone conversation. Email users will receive an email from the Helpdesk specialist with a ticket number. The goal of the Helpdesk is to respond to tickets within four working hours.