Sponsored Programs

Frequently Asked Questions for NIH Proposals Submitted through Grants.gov

 



Do I need to register with Grants.gov in order to submit proposals?

No. Grants.gov only requires the institution to complete the registration process once. UCR has already completed this process, and has been submitting proposals through Grants.gov for more than a year. Staff within Sponsored Programs have Authorized Official status and are ready to assist you in the submission of your proposals to Grants.gov.

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Do I need to register with the NIH eRA Commons in order to submit proposals?

The Principal Investigator (PI) submitting a proposal to the NIH through Grants.gov needs to be registered with the NIH eRA Commons. The PI's username must be included in the "Credential" field of the Research & Related Senior/Key Person page of the proposal.

Please note that this requirement is for proposals to NIH only, as other Federal grant-making agencies do not have this requirement. To obtain a username for the NIH eRA Commons, please contact Mayela Castillo at (951) 827-4816 or at Mayela.Castillo@ucr.edu.

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Do I need any special software to complete the proposal process?

Yes. Contact your department technical/computing staff for assistance.

Grants.gov requires users to download and install PureEdge Viewer, a small, free software package required to access, view and complete grant application packages.

PureEdge Viewer can be downloaded from the Grants.gov website at http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer. A PureEdge Viewer Upgrade is also available for those users who downloaded previous version.

System requirements for the PureEdge Viewer are:

  • Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP
  • 500 Mhz processor
  • 128 MB of RAM
  • 40 MB disk space
  • Web browser: Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher, Netscape Communicator 4.5 - 4.8, Netscape 6.1, 6.2, or 7

Non-Windows users currently have three alternative options for preparing Grants.gov applications.

  • Use a Windows Emulation program
  • Access the applications using a Citrix Server
  • System requirements for the Citrix Server are:
    • OS X Version 10.1, 10.2, 10.3, or 10.4.
    • 128 MB of RAM
    • 10 MB Disk Space
    • PowerPC Processor
  • Download an early-release of an IBM Workplace Forms (PureEdge) viewer for Macs

Further information on all three options can be found at http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm#3.

In addition, all users must have a software package that allows the creation of pdf documents. Files uploaded to Grants.gov application packages, regardless of platform used, are required to be in pdf format.

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How do I obtain the application package from the sponsor?

Application packages must be downloaded from Grants.gov through a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). FOA is new terminology for what most of us know as program announcements or requests for applications. The FOA will contain a link to download the appropriate application.

Please note that application packages will differ for each FOA, and it is important to download a new application package each time you prepare a proposal for submission. Therefore, it is recommended that users download the application package and the application instructions for each application being submitting through Grants.gov.

FOAs will be published in the FIND function of Grants.gov, and will also continue to be made available through the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts.

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Will there be Funding Opportunity Announcements for unsolicited proposals?

Yes. NIH still wants to receive investigator-initiated applications. Due to the limitations created by requiring applications to be downloaded through Funding Opportunity Announcements, NIH has developed "Parent" announcements for use by applicants who wish to submit unsolicited applications.

A list of current Parent Announcements, including an announcement for R01 applications, can be found at http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/parent_announcements.htm.

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What instructions do I use to complete my application?

In completing an application, refer to the agency specific application guide and instructions.

While all 26 Federal grant-making agencies will utilize the SF424 Research & Related (R&R) application forms, each agency is also allowed to use supplemental forms included in application packages downloaded through Funding Opportunity Announcements. In addition, the purpose of common use fields in the SF424 (R&R) forms may be different from agency to agency. This results in each agency creating and maintaining its own application guide and instructions.

The NIH publishes the NIH Grants.gov Application Guide SF424 (R&R). In addition, applicants are also encouraged to download application specific instructions provided at the time of downloading the application package itself. These application specific instructions will include any deviation approved from the NIH Grants.gov Application Guide SF424 (R&R).

NIH has a website devoted to the changes if application procedures. Please visit the NIH Electronic Submission of Grant Applications website.

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Is the modular grant format being eliminated?

No, the modular grant format is not being eliminated. Each application package will include the appropriate budget format, as required by the application guide and instructions.

For unsolicited applications, or those applications which are solicited but may require either the detailed or modular budget formats, both budget format pages will be included in the downloaded application. It is important to only complete one set of budget format pages - either the modular format or the detailed budget format. If both budget formats have data entered into any field, the application will be rejected with errors.

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How do I route my proposal package for approval and submission?

The routing of your proposal for review and submission does not change with this new electronic process. The application must accompany the appropriate approvals by your respective Chair, Director or Dean. Please check with your administering unit for specific instructions on how to obtain your Chair, Director, or Dean's signature.

For Sponsored Programs review and submission, please submit your proposal in accordance with campus policy and guidance, which is available on the Obtaining Institutional Review and Endorsement page of the Office of Research website.

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Who actually submits the proposal to Grants.gov?

The workflow process for Grants.gov proposals is very similar to the process in place for proposals submitted via FastLane to the NSF. Once a proposal has been routed to Sponsored Programs for review and endorsement, any issues identified that need to be addressed prior to submission of the proposal will be communicated to the PI and the Department Administrator. Once corrections have been completed, a final electronic file must be provided to Sponsored Programs, we then submit the proposal to Grants.gov using our Authorized Official status. Timing is critical, as our office will be submitting all proposals submitted by the campus within a very short time frame.

The campus is encouraged to submit proposals as far in advance of the deadline as possible.

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Why does Grants.gov say the application has been validated but then I receive error or warning messages from the eRA Commons?

NIH utilizes a two-step submission process. When Sponsored Programs submits your proposal to Grants.gov, Grants.gov completes a validation check for basic business rules that have been established to be in common for all 26 Federal grant-making agencies. These business rules include data elements such as our legal name, DUNS number, and IRS Employee Identification Number. Once these basic rules have been reviewed and determined to be in compliance, each Federal agency retrieves the application from Grants.gov and reviews it for their own internal validation requirements. To complete this internal review, NIH utilizes validation rules that are built into the NIH eRA Commons. The validation rules the NIH eRA Commons uses are much more stringent and detailed than those used by Grants.gov. This tailors the validation process to meet NIH's needs, and includes data elements such as page limitations, the modular budget process, and other format-specific requirements that are in place at NIH, but which may not be in place at other Federal agencies.

In order for an application to be considered complete and submitted by the NIH, both validations must occur.

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What do I do if I am not satisfied with the application that has been assembled in the eRA Commons?

Upon the PI's review of the completed assembled pdf version of the application within the eRA Commons, a PI may choose two options.

·     If the PI is satisfied with the way the application looks, and chooses not to address the warnings that have been returned, then no further action is necessary.

·     If, however, the PI chooses to make changes to an application, the PI must notify Sponsored Programs so that we may reject the application on behalf of the institution. Once an application has been rejected, a corrected application must be submitted through Grants.gov and the process starts over again.

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How should I plan the timing of this process?

With this new, two step, electronic process, timing is everything. Therefore, it is every important that PIs submit their proposals to Sponsored Programs in accordance with established lead times, which are available on the Obtaining Institutional Review and Endorsement page of the Office of Research website.

Since applications must be submitted directly by the Authorized Official, Sponsored Programs will no longer be able to endorse draft proposals that can be mailed after 5pm on deadline dates.

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