NIH Grants'gov Proposal Development

1
NIH Grants.gov Proposal Development
2
What is the SF424 (RR)?

• Stands for Standard Form 424 Research and
  Related.
• Is a combination of separate forms focusing on
  the many aspects of a proposed grant.
• Is used government-wide
• Used by 15 different Federal agencies
• Based on overall needs of the agencies, not
  tailored to specific agencies, funding
  opportunities or grant programs
• Agency-specific forms are allowed where
  appropriate
• A complete application to the NIH will include a
  combination of RR and PHS 398 components.

3
What is the SF424 (RR)? (contd)

• The applicant must complete the application using
  the package attached to the specific Funding
  Opportunity Announcement (FOA).
• Sample forms or forms from other FOAs should not
  be used.

4
Adobe Reader Compatibility

• Grants.gov has transitioned from PureEdge to
  Adobe Reader and a compatible version of Adobe
  Reader is required (Adobe Reader 8.1.2 or higher
  is recommended) in order to successfully submit
  proposals through Grants.gov. Grants.gov offers a
  tool that will verify whether you have an
  acceptable version of Adobe installed on your
  computer. The link to this tool is
• http//www.grants.gov/applicants/AdobeVersioningTe
  stOnly.jsp

• Grants.gov has transitioned from PureEdge to
  Adobe Reader and a compatible version of Adobe
  Reader is required (Adobe Reader 8.1.2 or higher
  is recommended) in order to successfully submit
  proposals through Grants.gov. Grants.gov offers a
  tool that will verify whether you have an
  acceptable version of Adobe installed on your
  computer. The link to this tool is

5
Application Components

• Components of Applications to NIH or Other PHS
  Agencies
• Required Components
• SF424 (RR) Cover
• SF424 (RR) Project Performance Site Locations
• SF424 (RR) Other Project Information
• SF424 (RR) Senior/Key Person Profile(s)
• SF424 (RR) Budget (unless using PHS398 modular
  budget)
• PHS398 Modular Budget (unless using SF424 (RR)
  budget)
• PHS398 Cover Page Supplement
• PHS398 Research Plan
• PHS398 Checklist

6
Application Components (contd)

• Optional Components
• SF424 (RR) Subaward Budget Attachment Form - may
  be required under specific circumstances.
• PHS398 Cover Letter - may be required under
  specific circumstances.

7
Tips for Successfully Preparing and Submitting an
Application

• Make sure that the PD/PI is registered (a one
  time process) in the NIH eRA Commons at least two
  weeks in advance of the deadline. No registration
  is required in Grants.gov.
• Review the Funding Opportunity Announcement
  thoroughly before beginning.
• Complete the SF 424 RR cover sheet first it
  populates fields in several other forms.
• Make sure to complete all mandatory documents and
  fill in all mandatory (yellow) fields. In
  addition, make sure that all fields that are
  mandatory to NIH are completed.
• Consult the SF424 RR Application Guide for NIH
  for guidance. It is a valuable resource.
• Hover over help is available for many fields.
• Do not recycle previously submitted applications
  or use sample applications.
• Make sure that all attachments are in PDF format.
• Provide OSPRA with the final version of the
  application at least five days prior to the
  deadline.

8

• Lets complete an application!

9
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov

• Accessing the Application Package
• The Grants.gov application package may be
  accessed in one of two ways
• Through the NIH Website http//grants.nih.gov/gran
  ts/guide/index.html (recommended)
• Through Grants.gov http//grants.gov
• Review the solicitation and make note of specific
  requirements such as
• Funding Caps
• Limited Submissions
• Indirect Cost Recovery
• Other Solicitation-specific Requirements

10
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd) Locating the Application Package
through the NIH Website
11
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd) Locating the Application Package
through the NIH Website (contd)
12
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd) Locating the Application Package
through the NIH Website (contd)
13
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd) Locating the Application Package
through Grants.gov (contd)
14
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd) Locating the Application Package
through Grants.gov (contd)
15
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd) Locating the Application Package
through the NIH Website (contd)
Make sure the closing date has not expired!
16
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)
17
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Application Filing Name We recommend using the
  PIs name, agency name and deadline date. This
  makes it easier for OSPRA to identify it when the
  first validation e-mail is received from
  Grants.gov.
• Mandatory Forms
• SF 424 RR Refer to the OSPRA website for
  guidance on completing this form.
• RR Project/Performance Site Location(s)
• Enter University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
  as the organization name.
• The primary performance site is normally the UIUC
  campus. The official site for UIUC is
• 506 S. Wright Street
• Urbana, IL 61801-3620 (the entire nine digit ZIP
  code is now required)
• List all additional performance sites.

18
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Mandatory Forms (contd)
• RR Other Project Information
• Respond to questions 1-5 as applicable
• Upload Project Summary/Abstract and Project
  Narrative making sure to comply with guidelines
  for size limitations.
• Sections 8-11 Upload attachments as applicable
  and in accordance with guidelines.
• RR Senior/Key Personnel Profile
• PD/PI, Senior/Key personnel and other significant
  contributors (if desired) should be listed.

19
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Mandatory Forms (contd)
• RR Senior/Key Personnel Profile (contd)
• The credential e.g., agency login field is a
  required field for anyone who is assigned the
  role of PD/PI. If it is omitted, the application
  will be rejected with errors in the NIH Commons.
• The project role must be selected from the drop
  down list for all participants except the PD/PI.
• NIH does not recognize the role of co-PI. Other
  (specify) should be selected and co-investigator
  typed into the Other Project Role Category field.
• A biographical sketch is required for all key
  personnel.

20
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Mandatory Forms (contd)
• RR Senior/Key Personnel Profile (contd)
• The organization name is required by NIH for all
  Senior/Key personnel or the application will be
  rejected with errors in the NIH Commons.
• Current and Pending Support is normally not
  required at the time of proposal submission
  unless indicated in the FOA. This will be
  requested during the Just-in-Time process.

21
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Mandatory Forms (contd)
• PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement
• The PI name will be pre-populated.
• Indicate whether the PI is a new investigator
• Complete other sections as applicable.
• A portion of the Applicant Organization Contact
  section is pre-populated and the remainder should
  be populated as follows
• Title Director, OSPRA
• Street 1 1901 S. First Street, Suite A
• City Champaign
• State IL
• ZIP 61820-7406

22
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Mandatory Forms (contd)
• PHS 398 Research Plan
• Research Plan Attachments
• The Research Plan has been restructured and page
  limitations have changed effective for due dates
  on or after January 25, 2010.
• Introduction to Application (resubmission/revision
  only) limited to one page
• Specific Aims one page
• Research Strategy 6-12 page limit depending on
  funding mechanism
• Includes Background and Significance, Preliminary
  Studies and Research Design and Methods

23
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Mandatory Forms (contd)
• PHS 398 Research Plan (contd)
• NIH and OSPRA recommend that the Research
  Strategy be constructed as a single Word document
  to ensure that page limitations are not exceeded
  and then separated into sections and converted to
  distinct PDF attachments before uploading.
• Upload other required documents in accordance
  with solicitation and mechanism guidelines.
• PHS 398 Checklist
• Complete as applicable.

24
Preparing an NIH Application in Grants.gov
(contd)

• Optional Documents
• PHS 398 Cover Letter
• This is normally optional, but applicants are
  encouraged to include it.
• It is required when submitting a
  Changed/Corrected application.
• PHS 398 Modular Budget
• This budget format is required by some programs.
  Refer to the specific funding opportunity.
• Research and Related Budget
• When a detailed budget is required by the
  program.
• RR Subaward Budget Attachment(s) form
• Must be completed when a detailed budget is
  required and project includes a subaward.

25
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component

• Refer to the program-specific guidelines to
• determine the appropriate budget
• component
• Modular Budget Guidelines
• Applicable to certain grant applications
  requesting 250K per year in direct costs.
• Consortium (subaward) FA costs are not factored
  into the direct cost limit. Consortium FA may be
  requested in addition to the 250K limit.
• Modular budgets are simple, therefore, detailed
  categorical information is not to be submitted
  with the application. OSPRA does not require
  detailed budgets with modular applications. In
  fact, detailed budgets are not reviewed when they
  are provided with modular applications.
• The modular budget is applicable only to R01,
  R03, R15, R21 and R34 applications.

26
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• Modular Budget Component
• Total direct costs that reflect appropriate
  support for the project in modules of 25,000
  should be requested.
• A typical modular grant application will request
  the same number of modules each year.
• Section A Direct Costs
• Direct Costs less consortium FA.
• Consortium FA, if applicable.
• Total Direct Costs automatically calculates.
• Section B - Indirect Costs
• Indirect Cost type is typically MTDC.
• Cognizant Agency ONR, Linda Shipp, 703-696-8559
• Indirect Cost rate agreement date 2/20/08
• Budget justification is attached on the
  cumulative budget page.

27
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Budget Component
• Should be used if specified in the guidelines.
• A separate detailed budget must be prepared for
  each year of support requested.
• The form will generate a cumulative budget for
  the total project period.
• All of the required fields must be completed
  (i.e., those fields that are highlighted and
  noted with a ). If no funds are being
  requested for a required field, enter 0.
• Round to the nearest whole number.
• Effort should be represented in person months.
  Resources to calculate this are located at
  http//grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/person_months_
  faqs.htm

28
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Budget Component (contd)
• A. Senior/Key Person allows eight as separate
  named individuals
• All mandatory (yellow) fields must be completed.
• The base salary may be left blank, if desired.
• Effort must be included and should be represented
  in person months.
• B. Other Personnel
• Postdocs, Grad Students and Undergrads Only the
  number of personnel is required.
• Provide more detail in the budget justification.
• Consultants should not be included in this
  section.
• C. Equipment
• Per the UIUC definition, equipment is any item of
  property that has an acquisition cost of over
  500. Items of equipment should be listed
  separately and justified in the budget
  justification.
• D. Travel
• Domestic travel includes travel to Canada, Mexico
  and US possessions.

29
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Budget Component (contd)
• E. Participant/Trainee Support Costs
• Unless otherwise stated in the announcement, this
  section should be left blank. Graduate student
  tuition remission should be included in section
  F, Other Direct Costs.
• F. Other Direct Costs
• 1. Material and Supplies
• Categories less than 1,000 do not have to be
  itemized.
• 2. Publication Costs
• 3. Consultant Services
• The names and organizational affiliations of all
  consultants, along with a description of the
  services to be performed should be provided.

30
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Budget Component (contd)
• 4. ADP/Computer Services
• 5. Subawards/Consortium/Contractual Costs
• Include both direct and indirect costs for all
  subaward/consortium organizations.
• 6. Equipment or Facility Rental/User Fees
• 7. Alterations and Renovations
• 8-10. Use lines 8-10 for costs such as patient
  care, tuition remission, human subjects, etc.
  Limit of three other costs.
• H. Indirect Costs
• Indirect cost type typically MTDC
• Cognizant Federal Agency Office of Naval
  Research, Linda Shipp, 703-696-8559

31
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Subaward Budget Component
• A subaward budget component is only required by
  NIH when a detailed budget is required however,
  
• OSPRA still requires a SOW, letter of
  institutional authorization, and a detailed
  subaward budget for internal purposes.
• The budget may be completed by the subawardee or
  the UIUC PI/department. Regardless of who
  completes the budget, it should be prepared in
  much the same manner as the budget is prepared
  for the lead institution (UIUC). A compatible
  version of Adobe should be used.

32
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Subaward Budget Component (contd)
• The name of the organization and the DUNS are
  required fields.
• The subaward/consortium box should be checked.
• All mandatory (yellow) fields and other
  NIH-mandated fields must be completed.
• Effort should be represented in person months.
• The project role for the investigator who is
  leading the project at the consortium site should
  not be assigned the role of PD/PI unless the
  entire application is being submitted under the
  Multiple PI policy.
• NIH does not recognize the role of co-PI. If
  desired, the role of Other - Co-Investigator
  may be used.
• The file must be a PDF document.

33
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Subaward Budget Component (contd)
• If the budget is being completed by the
  subawardee organization,
• Extract and save the budget attachment using the
  first 10 letters of the subawardee organizations
  name as the file name.
• E-mail the saved document to the subawardee.
• Advise the subawardee to return the completed
  budget component.
• Review the budget to ensure compliance.
• Attach the budget to one of the blocks provided
  on the form.

34
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Subaward Budget Component (contd)
• What if the subawardees budgets are not active
  for all periods of the prime grant?
• Limitations in existing forms do not allow an
  empty budget period and do not allow submission
  of a subaward budget with zero effort to skip a
  budget period. For example
• Suppose a prime has filled out a budget form with
  the following periods
• Period 1 1/1/08-12/31/08
• Period 2 1/1/09-12/31/09
• Period 3 1/1/10-12/31/10
• Period 4 1/1/11-12/31/11
• Period 5 1/1/12-12/31/12

35
Selecting and Completing the Budget Component
(contd)

• RR Subaward Budget Component (contd)
• Suppose a subawardee performs support in year 1
  and does not become active again until year 4.
  The subawardee would fill out the first two
  periods of their budget form as follows
• Period 1 1/1/08-12/31/08 (dates correspond to
  prime period 1)
• Period 2 1/1/11-12/31/11(dates correspond to
  prime period 4)
• If the subaward budget is not prepared in this
  manner, the application will be rejected
• with errors during the validation
• check in the NIH Commons!

36
Submitting the Application

• REMEMBER THE FINAL VERSION OF THE PROPOSAL
• NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED TO OSPRA AT LEAST FIVE
• DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE DEADLINE
• When the application is complete and ready to be
  submitted,
• Click on Check Package for Errors on the first
  page of the application to ensure that all of the
  mandatory fields have been completed. Correct any
  errors that are identified.
• Upload the application into Netfiles using the
  process described on the OSPRA website.
• Fax or e-mail the proposal transmittal form to
  239-6830 or GCOAward_at_uillinois.edu
• Send the original proposal transmittal form to
  OSPRA via campus mail.

37
Submitting the Application (contd)

• Upon receipt of the transmittal form, the
  proposal will be assigned to an OSPRA proposal
  coordinator.
• The coordinator will be in contact during the
  course of the review for clarification and/or
  revisions.
• When the review is completed, the application
  will be submitted to Grants.gov by the proposal
  coordinator.

38
Post-Submission

• Once the application has been submitted,
  Grants.gov will send e-mail messages to the
  proposal coordinator who submitted the
  application to provide status information.
• Submission Receipt An email is sent indicating
  the application has been received by Grants.gov
  and is currently being validated.
• Submission Validation Receipt An email is sent
  indicating the application has been received and
  validated by Grants.gov and is being prepared for
  Grantor agency retrieval.
• Grantor Agency Retrieval Receipt An email is
  sent indicating the application has been
  retrieved by the Grantor agency. This e-mail is
  forwarded to the PI and departmental business
  contact by the OSPRA proposal coordinator.
• Agency Tracking Number Assignment for
  Application An email is sent indicating the
  application has been assigned an Agency Tracking
  Number.

39
Post-Submission (contd)

• NIH Commons Validation Process
• After the third e-mail is sent by Grants.gov, the
  application will be downloaded into the NIH
  Commons for agency validation.
• It is critical that the e-mail addresses provided
  in blocks 15 (PD/PI) and 19 (AOR/SO) of the SF424
  are correct.
• Once agency validation is completed, an agency
  (not Grants.gov) notification will be e-mailed to
  the PD/PI and OSPRA. This e-mail will indicate
  whether any errors or warnings resulted during
  the validation process. The PD/PI and AOR/SO
  will be invited to log into the NIH Commons to
  view the application and/or view the
  warnings/errors.
• Due to the unreliability of e-mail, the PD/PI is
  encouraged to periodically check on the
  application status in the NIH Commons.
• It is highly recommended that the PI view the
  assembled application within two business days of
  submission to ensure that the image is
  acceptable.
• Both NIH and OSPRA recommend against resubmitting
  an application that contains only warnings.

40
Post-Submission (contd)

• PI Process for Checking Submission Status and
  Viewing Application Image
• Login to eRA Commons
• Select the Status tab
• Click on Recent/Pending eSubmissions
• Click on Search

41
Post-Submission (contd)

• PI Process for Checking Submission Status and
  Viewing Application Image (contd)
• Result(s) related to the application will be
  returned.

42
Post-Submission (contd)

• PI Process for Checking Submission Status and
  Viewing Application Image (contd)
• The Application Status column will indicate the
  application status
• e-Submission Error means that the validation
  process revealed errors that require correction
  and resubmission of the application.
• To view a list of the errors, click on the
  applicable Application ID.
• Keep in mind that only errors are show-stoppers
  it is not necessary to correct warnings, in fact
  NIH and OSPRA advise against doing so.

43
Post-Submission (contd)

• PI Process for Checking Submission Status
  andViewing Application Image (contd)
• Received means that the application passed the
  validation check without errors.
• If no eRA system errors are identified, the eRA
  system will
• Assemble the application image
• Generate a Table of Contents
• Include headers (PI name) and footers (page
  numbers) on all pages
• To view the application and image of the
  application if no errors are present, click on
  Verify e-Application.
• No action is required if the image is acceptable.
• If the image is unacceptable, contact the OSPRA
  coordinator who submitted the application.

44
Post-Submission (contd)

• Frequently encountered errors
• Invalid or missing eRA Commons username - entered
  on the Senior/Key Person Profile component.
• Missing organization name for senior/key person -
  entered on the Senior/Key Person Profile
  component.
• PDF issues attachments not uploaded in PDF
  format.
• Senior/Key person effort on SF424 RR budget form
  appears as zero the effort must be greater than
  zero for all Senior/Key persons listed.
• Federal Identifier is entered in the incorrect
  format.
• Is normally blank for new applications.
• Either the Grants.gov tracking number or N/A is
  required for Changed/Corrected applications.
• For Renewals, Resubmissions, or Revisions, the IC
  (Institute/Center) and serial number of the prior
  application/award must be entered in a particular
  format (e.g., for application 3R01CA123456 the
  Federal Identifier would be CA123456).

45
Post-Submission (contd)

• Submitting a Corrected Application
• Correct the errors.
• On the first page of the SF424, check
  Changed/Corrected in box 1.
• Once the Changed/Corrected box is checked, the
  Federal Identifier field (box 4) becomes a
  required field for a new application. Enter the
  Grants.gov tracking number (or N/A if it is not
  known).
• If the submission deadline has passed, a cover
  letter must be included explaining the changes
  and why the application is late. If a cover
  letter was included previously, that information
  should also be included as it is not retained.
• The entire Changed/Corrected application must be
  submitted through Grants.gov by OSPRA.
• This process is intended to be used to correct
  errors only and not to make significant changes
  to the application.

46
Remember

• OSPRA needs to be provided the application at
  least five business days before the deadline.
• The entire proposal should be in its FINAL state
  when it is provided to OSPRA.
• No Grants.gov registration is required on the
  part of the PI.
• The PD/PI must have a Commons ID in order to
  successfully submit an application. This should
  be obtained through OSPRA at least two weeks in
  advance of submission. Instructions for
  requesting a Commons ID may be found on the OSPRA
  website http//www.ospra.uiuc.edu/
• The program-specific guidelines should be
  obtained and carefully reviewed as soon as
  possible in advance of the deadline.
• All attachments must be in PDF format.
• A compatible version of Adobe must be used.
• Most NIH applications being submitted after
  January 1, 2009 require a Grants.gov compatible
  version of Adobe to be installed prior to
  constructing the application.
• Both NIH and OSPRA advise against resubmitting an
  application that contains warnings only (no
  errors).

47
Reference Materials

• OSPRA Website http//www.ospra.uiuc.edu/
• Checklist for Expedited Review of NIH
  Applications http//www.ospra.uiuc.edu/forms/Check
  list20for20Expedited20Review20of20NIH20Propo
  sals20121608.doc
• NIH Electronic Submission of Grant Applications
  http//era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/index.htm
• NIH Grants.gov Application Guide (Pure Edge and
  Adobe) http//grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/sf
  424_rr_guide_general_ver2.doc
• NIH Commons https//commons.era.nih.gov/commons/
• NIH Grants.gov Transition Timeline
  http//era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/files/electro
  nic_submission_timeline_08.pdf

48
Contact Information

• Penny Weaver, Assistant Director, OSPRA
• 265-7679, pkweaver_at_illinois.edu
• James Wade, Assistant Director, OSPRA
• 244-8212, jwade1_at_illinois.edu
• NIH Commons Help Desk
• [phone], commons_at_od.nih.gov
• Grants.gov
• [phone]

49
Questions?

• Thank You!