eGrantsElectronic Grants Submission: Grants.gov eRA Commons

Tom HiltonNational Institute on Drug Abuse

Register YOURSELF to Submit Applications   

You must personally register to create a Grants.gov account and receive approval from your organization to submit applications.

This provides you with the ability to track your application status.

Register YOUR BUSINESS to Submit Applications

If you ARE a small business you must:

– Obtain or supply a valid DUNS Number

– Register with Central Contractor Registry (CCR) (Employer ID # form IRS)

– Authorize your Organization's Representatives so they can register

– Set up an account to login as an E-Business Point of Contact (POC)

Most Research Organizations (Academia & Institutes)

Will already be registered.

To Apply for Grants

1. Peruse Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) on Grants.gov or NIH’s Program Announcements/Requests for Applications.

2. Check to see if it is available to apply online through Grants.gov.

3. Enter the Funding Opportunity Announcement and/or CFDA number to access the application package and instructions.

4. Download and install the PureEdge Viewer to read the application materials and complete the form.

Prepare to Apply

Find Opportunit

y and download

application package

Registration

Select approach

Download PureEdge Viewer from Grants.gov

Download application package from Grants.gov or

NIH Guide for Grants and ContractsPrepare

application

PI registers through AOR/SO in Commons

AOR registers with Grants.gov, Commons

Forms-based submission

Org. system-to-system

Service Provider

Electronic SF424 (R&R) Application Process Get Ready….

Submit application

to Grants.gov

(AOR submits)

Grants.gov performs basic checks

eRA Commons checks application against guidelines

If processed successfully; no errors and no

warnings

Check submission

status in Commons

If errors found, AOR must correct

application and submit to Grants.gov

Application grant image generated and ready for

verification

Submission Complete

Electronic SF424 (R&R) Application Process Get Set….

VerifyPI & AOR/SO

verify application

…GO!

Organization Administrivia

All Organizations need to be registered in Grants.gov and the NIH Commons well in advance of the submission date.

Applicant Organizations need to obtain a DUNS number and register with the Central Contract Registration before they can register with Grants.gov.

The applicant organization must include its DUNS number in its Organization Profile in the eRA Commons. DUNS number must match the one provided at CCR registration with Grants.gov.

Profile requires a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), and IRS must verify them first --- So, allow for extra time to complete registration with Grants.gov.

PI Administrivia

Principal Investigators do NOT need to register in Grants.gov but MUST be registered in the NIH eRA Commons prior to electronic submission of an application.

NIH requires the Principal Investigator to fill in his or her Commons User ID in the PD/PI section Credential log-in field on the Senior/Key Person Profile Component.

Applicants who resubmit an application must include a NEW cover letter or extend the existing one because the information from the previous application is not retained and each submission has to be complete in itself.

NIH strongly encourages applicants not to use double columns to present their research plans. Since reviewers will be reviewing the electronic document, not a paper version, the two column format may pose difficulties.

FinancialAdministrivia

CCR validates the TIN/EIN against Internal Revenue Service records, a step that will take one to two business days.

For calendar month efforts that are less than 1 when the budget period calls for a listing of 1 to 12 months, round the number to 1 and leave the budget unchanged. Explain the actual effort/person months in the budget justification.

In Research & Related Budget - Section A & B - for Senior Key Person, be sure to enter PD/PI.

Multiple Systems Working Together

Grants.gov – the Federal government’s single on-line portal to find and apply for Federal grant funding.

– Used by all 26 Federal grant-making agencies.

eRA Commons – the NIH electronic Research Administration system that allows applicants/grantees to electronically receive and transmit application and award information.

– Used by NIH and other HHS components.

Each system has its own registration requirements and validation process.

Important!

Registration Requirements – Grants.gov

Applicant organizations must complete one-time only registration

Principal Investigators do not need to register with Grants.gov

Detailed instructions at: http://grants.gov/GetStarted

Registration not required to find funding opportunity or download application package, only to submit completed application

It is critical for institutions to begin this registration process at least 2-4 weeks before applications are due!

Registration Reqts – eRA Commons

Principal Investigators (PIs) must work through their institutions to register.

– The PI must hold a PI account and be affiliated with the applicant organization.

– PIs currently registered only for Internet Assisted Review (IAR) must work through their institutions for full eRA Commons registration.

PI and Signing Official (SO) need separate accounts because BOTH need to verify the application.

Submission Methods

Applicant organization can submit applications to NIH through Grants.gov in one of two ways:

1. Direct submission - using PureEdge Viewer

2. System-to-system – using (XML) data stream to communicate with Grants.gov Can be created by institution OR Institution can establish an agreement with a commercial Service

Provider http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/sp.htm

Software Requirements

PureEdge viewer downloaded (free) from Grants.gov site at http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer

PDF generation software– Grants.gov lists some available tools and software

http://www.grants.gov/assets/PDFConversion.pdf.

MAC users will need to use PC emulation software or download free CITRIX client application to take advantage of the CITRIX service offered by Grants.gov in partnership with NIH. http://www.grants.gov/MacSupport

Using standard forms to apply through Grants.gov is a very different model

Download the application package for the specific funding opportunity announcement from within Grants.gov .

This specific application package MUST be used to apply for the accompanying solicitation.

– Some fields of application are pre-filled from announcement

Funding opportunities will continue to be posted in the NIH Guide and Contracts (http://grants2.nih.gov/grants/guide/)

– Button added to the NIH Guide announcements allowing applicants to access the Grants.gov application package directly from the NIH Guide

– NIH will continue to use RFAs and PAs, but will be referred to as funding opportunity announcements (FOA) in Grants.gov

For NIH FOAs, you must search Grants.gov by opportunity number rather than CFDA number

Funding Opportunity Announcements

NIH Forms and Applications Pagehttp://grants1.nih.gov/grants/forms.htm

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SF424 (R&R) Application and Electronic Submission Informationhttp://grants2.nih.gov/grants/funding/424/

Applying at Grants.gov (1)

Step 1: Search for and identify a grant opportunity in the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts or on Grants.gov.

Step 2: Download the grant application package.

Step 3: Complete the application.

Step 4: The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) submits the application to Grants.gov either directly or through a Service Provider. All required registrations must be completed prior to submission.

Step 5: Grants.gov validates and virus checks submitted application.

Step 6: Track the status of the submitted application package at Grants.gov until you are notified via email that NIH has received it.

Step 7: eRA software performs NIH business rule validation on submitted application.

Step 8: NIH notifies Principal Investigator (PI) and Signing Official (SO) by email to check the eRA Commons for results of NIH validations check.

Applying at Grants.gov (2)

Step 9: The PI and SO find out if the grant application passed or failed the rule check, and:

–If it passed, PI and SO must verify the application in eRA Commons to complete the application submission process.

–If it failed, all errors must be corrected and the entire corrected application must be submitted to Grants.gov.

Step 10: After verification, the eRA Commons saves the data and grant image, and NIH begins processing the application.

Step 11: Applicants can track the progress of their application in eRA Commons.

Applying at Grants.gov (3)

Expected Turnaround Times

Registration – can take several weeks to complete; start 2-4 weeks in advance of submission date

Grants.gov response to application submission - up to 2 business days

eRA Commons response to application submission - up to 2 business days

Principal Investigator (PI) and Authorized Organization Representative (AOR)/Signing Official (SO) Verification of application - within 2 business days of availability in eRA Commons

NIH’s eTransition Strategy

NIH will transition by individual research program/funding mechanism

ALL applications in response to these announcements for transitioned mechanisms will require electronic submission through Grants.gov on the SF424 family of forms

Mechanisms not yet transitioned will continue to require paper PHS 398 submission (If you download the package, it will provide the appropriate form).