Grants.gov Electronic Grant Submission Workshop

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Grants.govElectronic Grant Submission Workshop

• October 29, 2008
• Sponsored Programs
• Division of Research

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Background

• 1993 Government Performance Results Act
• 1994 Federal Acquisitions Streamlining Act
• 1999 Federal Financial Assistance Management
  Improvement Act
• 2001 Presidents Management Agenda
• - expand e-government
• - increase results-oriented research
• Federal government initiative designed to reduce
  and eventually eliminate paper-based data
  collection.
• - 5 CFR part 1320

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Objectives

• Streamline, simplify and improve granting
  process for both the granting agencies and grant
  recipients.
• Announce federal funding opportunities.

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What is Grants.gov?

• GRANTS.GOV is the gateway through which all
  federal grant proposals are (or will be)
  submitted. As programs are transitioned to
  Grants.gov the submission of paper proposals are
  no longer an option.
• GRANTS.GOV is the interface to agency programs.

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An Evolving Technology

• Currently, Grants.gov is the single access point
  for over 1,000 grant programs and allows
  organizations to electronically find and apply
  for more than 400 billion in federal grants.

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System Requirements

• Grants.gov now supports all Adobe Acrobat and
  Reader 8.1.2 and 9.0 programs. This includes
  Adobe Acrobat Standard, Adobe Acrobat
  Professional, and Adobe Reader 8.1.2 and 9.0. 
  To test your version of Acrobat for
  compatibility, go to http//www.grants.gov/applica
  nts/AdobeVersioningTestOnly.jsp.
• Adobe Acrobat 8.1.2 is supported on the following
  platforms
• Microsoft Windows 2000 , Windows XP, and Vista
• Mac OS X 10.4.3 or above
• Linux, AIX, HP/UX, and Solaris

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Registration Process

• Principal investigators do not register on
  Grants.gov as they may be required to do on
  agency back office programs
• Grants.gov differs from other electronic grant
  programs in that it only allows for one
  registration for the entire institution!
• FAUs Authorized Organization Representative
  (AOR) is Camille E. Coley, JD.

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PI Responsibility

• It is the responsibility of the PI to download
  the application, review instructions and complete
  all mandatory forms.
• Sponsored Programs is responsible for reviewing
  the SF 424, budget, assurances and certifications
  and submitting the completed application.

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Basic Steps for Electronic Submission

• Go to www.grants.gov
• Search for your funding opportunity.
• Review the RFP check requirements!
• If needed, download Adobe software to your
  desktop (make sure you have the ability to
  download check with IRM.)
• Download the application and instructions.
• Remember the application is not web-based! The
  icon is a file saved to your computer and will be
  located on your desktop.

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When you are ready to submit

• Check the application package for errors using
  check error button.
• Keep in mind this function is designed to
  check for missing information. It does not check
  for agency specific requirements!
• Grants.gov performs basic form validation and
  virus check on submitted applications

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Internal Process

• DO NOT RELY UPON EMAIL ON THE DAY OF THE
  SUBMISSION DEADLINE!
• As a back-up, plan to hand deliver the Adobe
  application file burned on to a CD or saved to a
  flash drive to send to the Sponsored Programs
  Office.

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Internal Paperwork is Required for ALL Proposals

• Full copy of Funding Opportunity Announcement
  (FOA)
• Pre-award routing sheet, etc.
• Subcontract documentation, e.g., Scope of Work,
  Detailed Budget and Letter of Commitment
• Institutional Contribution Statement if cost
  sharing is involved
• CAS 502 Request form for non-allowables charged
  to federal awards

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FAU Policy DEADLINES

• Principal investigators must submit all internal
  documents including a printed copy of the
  proposal with the budget, and provide access to
  the completed electronic proposal sections and
  files 5 working days prior to program deadline.

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Learn From Our Experience!

• Agencys servers may experience momentary
  disruption
• The format used for the submission may be
  incompatible with the format used by the
  sponsor
• The file may become too large to transmit using
  Outlook
• The email system may go down the day of the
  deadline
• An agency may become so overloaded with proposals
  the agency system can crash on the day of the
  deadline.
• Therefore, it is imperative that the Sponsored
  Programs Office has sufficient time (5-days)
  before the deadline to deal with technical
  difficulties and emergencies!

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Agency Specific Requirements

• While Grants.gov does not require individuals to
  register, some federal agencies do require
  registration by the PI. Both NSF and NIH require
  PIs to register with their grants management
  systems when submitting through Grants.gov.

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National Science Foundation

• PIs submitting to the National Science
  Foundation must be registered on NSFs FastLane
  System prior to their Grants.gov submission.
• To register, please contact your Sponsored
  Programs Administrator.

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National Institutes of Health

• PIs submitting to NIH must register in the NIH
  eRA Commons system prior to your Grants.gov
  submission.
• After registering, PIs will need to complete the
  Personal Profile information within their eRA
  Commons account before submitting an electronic
  proposal .
• This information is used by NIH to verify and
  link the electronic proposal to the PI.

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NIH Proposal Process

• Once the proposal is submitted through
  Grants.gov, the proposal is received into the eRA
  Commons system and validated according to the NIH
  common business rules. If there are no errors,
  then no further action is required by the PI.

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Common Error/Warning Messages

• If the proposal did not pass the NIH validation
  test, the PI and AOR will receive an e-mail
  citing the errors or warnings.
• Warnings do not stop the application from moving
  forward but each warning should be reviewed to
  avoid delays or issues during the peer review
  process.
• Errors must be corrected and the entire proposal
  application must be resubmitted through
  Grants.gov prior to the 500 pm deadline.

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Proposal Retrieval and Tracking

• Once the proposal is received by NIH, the PI will
  receive a series of e-mails stating when the
  proposal is received by NIH, validated, and
  referred for review.
• PIs can track the progress of their proposal in
  the eRA Commons system by logging into the eRA
  Commons and clicking Status followed by
  eApplication.

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Tips for NIH Proposals

• Print out your eRA Commons Personal Profile and
  the Institution Profile and keep with you when
  filling out the forms. The profile information
  should match the information listed on the
  application. (Ex Animal Welfare Assurance
  number, Human Subjects Assurance number, PI name
  listed in eRA Commons, title, and degrees)

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NIH News

• Most electronic submissions to NIH on or after
  Jan. 1, 2009, must use Adobe application forms,
  with the exception of
• Small business (R41, R42, R43, R44) ) and
  conference (R13/U13) grant applications for the
  standing AIDS receipt date of Jan. 7, 2009
• Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) expiring
  on or before January 31, 2009 that will continue
  to use PureEdge until the expiration date.

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NIH Resource Website

• NIH Electronic Submission of Grant guidelines
• http//era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/
• Timeline
• Avoiding Common Errors
• FAQs
• Other Resources
• Finding Help

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Getting Help

• GRANTS.GOV
• Online User Support
• Animated Tutorials http//www.grants.gov/applicant
  s/app_help_reso.jspanimated
• Overview Brochure http//www.grants.gov/section91
  0/GrantsgovBrochure.pdf
• Registration Brochure http//www.grants.gov/sectio
  n910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdfFrequent
• FAQs http//www.grants.gov/help/help.jsp
• User Guides http//www.grants.gov/help/user_guides
  .jsp
• Personalized Support
• For Grantors http//www.grants.gov/assets/Grantsgo
  vAgencyContactList.pdf
• For Applicants
• Email support_at_grants.gov
• Toll-Free Phone Number 1-800-518-4726
• M-F 7 a.m. 9 p.m. ET

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Parting Thoughts

• Please notify Sponsored Programs as soon as you
  know of a grant opportunity that will require
  electronic submission
• Allow yourself sufficient time to manage
  unforeseen problems which may require the
  resubmission of your application.
• We value your feedback!

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Division of Research Staff