Grants.gov 

Grants.gov is bringing major changes to the federal research grants submission process. NIH will soon require all competing research grant applications to be submitted electronically via the Web portal Grants.gov on a new SF424 application. The transition, which began in December 2005, will be completed by May 2007 when all grant programs will be submitted electronically.

More Instructions and Information About Electronic Submission of Grant Applications:
Grants.gov SF424 Guide

Principal investigators and other research staff members are strongly urged to acquaint themselves with the new forms, advanced technology, and procedural changes.



GETTING STARTED

What to Do Before You Begin
Users who plan to access, complete, and submit federal proposal applications through Grants.gov should review the following:

·         Registration  - Does the PI have an account on eRA Commons? [NIH Only]

·         System Requirements - Is your computer able to run the PureEdge Viewer?

·         PureEdge Viewer - Have you successfully installed the required PureEdge Viewer?

·         Converting Documents to PDF - Do you have a PDF generator?

Registration

To apply for NIH funding via Grants.gov, the PI must be registered with eRA Commons. PIs DO NOT need to register with Grants.gov - UAMS has registered as an institution. Tim Atkinson, Director of the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, is a registered authorized organization representative (AOR).

To register with eRA Commons: Request a new account from ORSP at least 2 weeks prior to the submittal date of any Grants.gov submission. If you are uncertain about an account or need a new account, please contact Suzanne Alstadt, Assistant Director of ORSP, at sealstadt@uams.edu.
 

System Requirements

Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP: PureEdge Viewer software

Mac OS X: PureEdge Viewer software via the Citrix server software

Support for Mac and Other Non-Windows Users

Additional System Requirement Information
 

PureEdge Viewer

The PureEdge Viewer is a small, free program that will allow you to access, complete, and submit applications electronically and securely via Grants.gov.

Download the PureEdge Viewer for Windows Users - installations instructions are attached. If you encounter problems with the installation, please contact the UAMS Help Desk for help. If the Help Desk is unable to resolve the problem, visit the Grants.gov Customer Support page.

Example of a PureEdge-formatted Document (download the PureEdge Viewer first before opening the file)

 Converting Documents to PDF

NIH requires that applicants submit attachments to Grants.gov as a PDF. NOTE: Grants.gov might accept other file types; however, NIH will ONLY ACCEPT PDF. Using PDF allows you to preserve the formatting of your document.

PDF generator software is available to help you save your documents as PDFs. There are several programs available for both PCs and Macs, along with Web sites that will perform the conversion for you. 
 

WHAT DO I NEED TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS THROUGH GRANTS.GOV?

In order to submit an NIH grant proposal through the Grants.Gov Web site, you will need the following:

      1.  An NIH eRA Commons username. To check about a username, contact Suzanne
           Alstadt at sealstadt@uams.edu.
      2.  UAMS DUNS number (located at
           http://www.uams.edu/orsp/ORSPinstitinfo.asp)
      3.  Internet access to Grants.gov.
      4.  PureEdge Viewer (available through Grants.gov). 



WILL THE PROCESS FOR SUBMITTING MY GRANT PROPOSALS THROUGH ORSP CHANGE?

The biggest change involves a paperless procedure for submitting federal grant applications. Documents will be uploaded into ARIA or e-mailed to your Grants Administrator in ORSP. 

If you have questions about this process, please contact ORSP at 686-5502. 

THE FOUR STEPS FOR SUBMITTING NIH PROPOSALS VIA GRANTS.GOV

Getting Started - what to do before you begin

1.    Download the Application Package

Find the Program Announcement in Grants.gov and follow instructions to download the appropriate application package.

Information on downloading investigator-initiated application packages will be announced.

Having Trouble? Review the Grants.gov FAQs

      2.    Complete the Application Package

Instructions – detailed instructions and demonstration video on completing a Grants.gov Application Package

New Form – differences between the NIH PHS 398 Form and the new Grants.gov SF424 R&R Form

      3.    Submit the Application Package to ORSP

ORSP, not the PI or research staff, will submit approved Grants.gov application packages to the sponsor via Grants.gov.

Your application should be uploaded to the ARIA system.  A draft of the application can be submitted via e-mail to your Grants Administrator. 

Prevent Validation Errors - See a list of common errors with NIH application submitted via Grants.gov.  This list was compiled by the University of Washington.   

      4.  Verify the Application Package

The AOR has the authority to "Reject" the image.

• If no rejection within 2 business days of image availability, application automatically proceeds to the next step in NIH processing
• If failed, all errors must be corrected and entire corrected package
  submitted to Grants.gov
• NIH validation requirements - Common Causes for Rejected Applications

For application packages that do not successfully validate, the PI or research staff and the ORSP Grants Administrator will work together to revise and re-submit the application package through Grants.gov.  

NIH Electronic receipt FAQ:
http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/faq.htm - Frequently Asked Questions About NIH’s Electronic Submission Process

Grants.Gov FAQ:
http://www.grants.gov/help/faq.jsp
Frequently Asked Questions About the Grants.Gov Process

HOW WILL MY APPLICATION DIFFER IF I AM APPLYING FOR FUNDING FROM AN AGENCY OTHER THAN NIH?

Check with either ORSP, the Web site of the funding agency, or the Program Announcement for additional instructions when applying to agencies other than NIH.

OTHER HELPFUL LINKS FOR SUBMITTING GRANT APPLICATIONS

• All About Grants and Fellowships
   
• Funding Opportunities/Fellowships
   
• NIH, Institutional and Other Forms