The National Institutes of Health Renews Grants Management Contract with Quality Associates.

COLUMBIA, Md. -- Quality Associates, Inc., an established provider of services and solutions for document management, imaging and archiving, announced that its contract has been renewed with The National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical

Under this contract, Quality Associates will supply all imaging components, staff, and services required to deliver the scanning, PDF conversion and CD-ROM production required to provide electronic copies of tens of thousands of grant proposals for distribution to NIH grant review teams worldwide.

Quality Associates has been providing these services to NIH since 2001. In 2006 alone, Quality Associates processed over 54,000 grant applications exceeding more than four million pages.

Scott Swidersky, director, Information Systems Division, Quality Associates, said, "We look forward to continuing our relationship with The National Institutes of Health. As a valuable public resource, NIH provides leadership and financial support to researchers in every state and throughout the world. By helping streamline the grants application and review process, Quality Associates is enabling NIH to better achieve its mission to promote and support important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives. Looking ahead, we hope to work on additional enterprise document management initiatives with various other Institutes and Centers within NIH."

Each year, NIH receives more grants than it did the previous year, and the organization found that it was spending an increasing amount on copying and shipping costs. Knowing that the volume of grant applications would only continue to increase, NIH replaced its paper-based process in 2001 with a totally new approach involving digital document management. To reduce the time, effort and cost associated with the grants management process, NIH turned to Quality Associates.

Founded in 1986, Quality Associates is a GSA Federal Supply Service (FSS) contractor that has developed a strong track record in providing data conversion and archival services and systems for local, state, and federal government agencies.

About Quality Associates, Inc.

Quality Associates, Inc. (QAI) offers customized document and knowledge management solutions that enable organizations to maximize productivity by ensuring that information is captured, converted, and accessible. As a value-added reseller (VAR) that partners with the industry's leading electronic content management (ECM) hardware and software providers, QAI offers a wide range of services and solutions that include scanning and imaging; document and media conversion; storage and electronic archiving; and full systems integration and support with customized training programs. QAI also provides strategic quality assurance consulting and auditing services. QAI's broad client base includes federal, state and local government agencies; chemical and manufacturing companies; financial, accounting, and law firms; and medical research facilities. For more information, call (800) 488-3547 or visit www.qualityassociatesinc.com.

About The National Institutes of Health

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) -- The Nation's Medical Research Agency -- includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.