GRANTS.GOV is the single cross-agency, web-based US government portal for accessing federal GRANT programs (not contracts). It provides 1) information on all grant opportunities and 2) a mechanism to obtain and complete the forms related to a specific opportunity and then transmit the forms to the sponsoring agency. Principal Investigators, departmental administrators, and anyone assisting with the preparation of grant proposals need to become familiar with using GRANTS.GOV. The following is an overview of the GRANTS.GOV system. More detailed guidance is available through the GRANTS.GOV web site, which provides a user guide, tutorials, and demonstrations: http://www.GRANTS.GOV/CustomerSupport.

GETTING STARTED

Prior to preparing and submitting a grant application, you must install the PureEdge Viewer software on your computer. Right now PureEdge can be used only with Windows-based computers.

1. From the GRANTS.GOV Main Page, http://www.GRANTS.GOV/, click on the tab at the top labeled "Get Started."
2. In the upper-left corner of the Get Started page, you will see four roles identified. All faculty and staff should select the role: "Grant Researchers."
3. In the Apply for Grants column, click on Download PureEdge Viewer. Follow instructions to download and install the software.
4. The PureEdge Viewer should be downloaded onto the computer of each person who will be involved in preparing or reviewing proposals.

OBTAINING AN APPLICATION AND ITS SPECIFIC INSTRUCTIONS

1. You will first need to locate the specific application package for the grant opportunity to which you wish to apply. If the program has an electronic application (not all do yet), find the link that will take you to the appropriate site to download the application package to your computer.

2. From the GRANTS.GOV Main Page, http://www.GRANTS.GOV/, click on the tab at the top labeled "Find Grant Opportunities.

3. Select one of the search options. The easiest option is entering the CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance) number from the announcement to which you are responding. The CFDA number is unique to each program. If you don’t know the CFDA number, the best option may be the “Basic Search,” which allows the use of key words, such as “NIH Shared Instrumentation“ or “NSF IGERT.”

4. Click on the Opportunity Title for the program to which you want to apply. Make note of the CFDA number or solicitation number (also known as Funding Opportunity Number). The next screen has three button options: synopsis of the funding opportunity; full announcement of the funding opportunity; and how to apply.

5. Clicking on full announcement of the funding opportunity will give you the entire announcement, which often contains information about completing the application package. Name and save this file to your computer for future reference and use.

6. Click the how to apply button to get the selected application package for download. Download the application and its instructions by selecting the corresponding download link. Name and save these files to your computer. You do not need Internet access to read the instructions or to complete the application once you save them to your computer.

7. The download page on GRANTS.GOV gives you the option to enter your e-mail address for automatic notification of any changes to this opportunity. This is useful if the agency changes the deadline or any other information relating to the submission of proposals.

COMPLETING AN APPLICATION PACKAGE

1. An application package consists of a combination of mandatory and optional documents. Mandatory fields in the documents are yellow and must be completed.

2. It is critical that you read the application instructions given with each application package. We have found that, on occasion, the instructions ask for specific components of a proposal to be uploaded into a section of a form other than the section designated on the form.

3. Grant Application Package cover (see below). Please leave the Application Filing Name field blank for OSP to complete unless the instructions mandate specific information or where UAA is a subordinate collaborator (subcontractor) and the prime applicant gives you specific instructions.

4. Complete the forms. Open each form and complete according to instructions. UAA-specific information for the SF 424 R&R is shown on the SF 424 R&R sample, below. Some forms have multiple pages – check to see if there is a “Next” or “Previous” button near the top of the screen.

5. After a form is completed, click on the Close button within the form. Move each completed form from the column on the left to the column on the right by highlighting the form and clicking on the right-facing arrow. Click on the Save button at the top of the Grant Application Package cover. You must click on Save each time you add information to a form to preserve that information.

6. Uploading text files into the forms. Generally, all text files must be in PDF format. It is strongly recommended that you use Adobe (full package) rather than a freeware PDF converter.

7. Error checking. On the cover page of the application package, locate the button labeled Check Package for Errors. Clicking this button will display the total number of GRANTS.GOV errors, one at a time. As you correct each error, click the button again for the next error. Correction of all errors at this stage does not mean that additional errors may not be found when the proposal is checked by the sponsoring agency.

8. When entire application package is completed, print out a copy for your files and a copy for the dean. Note that each form must be printed separately, and uploaded files must also be printed separately; you cannot print the entire application at one time.

REVIEW AND SUBMISSION

1. Send the entire electronic application to ankrd2@uaa.alaska.edu and anslc@uaa.alaska.edu as an email attachment. The email subject line should read: GG_yourname_deadline (in MMDDYYY format). Note internal deadlines, below.

2. OSP will review the application as usual. If corrections/changes are required to attachments, OSP will notify the PI, who will need to make corrections to the original documents, upload them to the appropriate application form and re-send the complete file to OSP.

3. Note that ONLY OSP, as the authorized office (AOR), can submit the proposal to GRANTS.GOV. Proposals will be submitted after OSP receives chair/dean approvals and after appropriate review and corrections have been made.

MEETING THE DEADLINE: NEW OSP POLICY

Because the GRANTS.GOV system is far from foolproof, and based on the difficulties already experienced both by OSP and some of our colleagues at other universities in submitting proposals (particularly to NIH), we have instituted a new policy on OSP deadlines for the receipt of proposals submitted through GRANTS.GOV.

• Notification: notify OSP at least five working days in advance of the posted deadline to allow your Projects Officer to review the program guidelines and identify and test the submission requirements. (Note that each agency implements proposal receipt through GRANTS.GOV differently.)
• Proposal “shell” (all forms, budget, budget justification) must be received by OSP at least five full business days in advance of the posted deadline.
• Final proposal (all components in final form) must be received by OSP at least 72 hours in advance of the posted deadline three full business days ahead of the deadline.

Not only will these deadlines allow OSP to review proposals properly, but it will allow us to cope with system failures and glitches. Recent experiences of other institutions, where proposals have been unduly delayed or not received by the sponsor as a result of system failures, indicate that establishing and enforcing a deadline schedule may prevent UAA investigators from the same fate. Note that the GRANTS.GOV help desk closes at 5 pm EST, as do the help desks of the various agencies; our experiences and those of our colleagues have shown we cannot rely on them for speedy or accurate resolution of problems.

Currently, many GRANTS.GOV deadlines are at 8 pm Eastern Standard Time, with the exception of NIH, where the deadline is 5 pm local time. OSP, however, closes at 5 pm AST, so do not expect that proposals will be submitted after that time.

In general, a deadline is met if a proposal is initially validated by GRANTS.GOV before the stated deadline date/time. It is still unclear as to what window for error correction will be established by individual agencies, and whether resubmission through GRANTS.GOV, required if any errors must be corrected, has any impact on whether the proposal is considered received before the deadline. The GRANTS.GOV system is still evolving, and we expect that what constitutes meeting a deadline will undergo a number of changes before we can provide definitive directions. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SUBMISSION/VALIDATION OF PROPOSALS

1. When proposals are submitted to GRANTS.GOV, several acknowledgements are generated by GRANTS.GOV:

• a. Acknowlegment of receipt – this first message carries the GRANTS.GOV tracking number and the Application Filing Name, as well as the opportunity name and number, UAA's DUNS number, and the AOR name (Dr. Douglas Causey).
• b. Validation by GRANTS.GOV – this message carries only the GRANTS.GOV tracking number and no other identifier.
• c. Retrieval of the proposal by the grantor agency – this message carries only the GRANTS.GOV tracking number and no other identifier.

2. Agency acknowledgement of receipt of proposal – may include instructions about viewing the proposal on the agency’s site. In many cases, the only identifier is the GRANTS.GOV tracking number.

3. Agency validation – varies by agency.

• a. A number of agencies perform validation of proposals against their own business rules. Where this occurs, the agency will send a message to OSP and, in some cases, to the PI.
• b. Validation procedures and policies for individual agencies will be written up as OSP learns of them.

CORRECTIONS TO SUBMITTED PROPOSALS

1. If a proposal fails to pass validation in GRANTS.GOV, errors must be corrected and the entire the proposal must be resubmitted before the posted deadline.

2. If a proposal fails to pass validation when it is received by the sponsor, errors must be corrected and the entire the proposal must be resubmitted before the posted deadline. Note that the corrected proposal must go through both the GRANTS.GOV AND the sponsor validation again – before the deadline.

A FINAL NOTE OF CAUTION

As we have stated, GRANTS.GOV is a new system, still in development. Any information we provide about the system is subject to change. Please review application instructions carefully and check with OSP if you have any questions.

Download example of application form for federal assistance

OSP Contacts are:

Kristi Elkins            786-1065   ankrd2@uaa.alsaka.edu

Shelley Chapman   786-1443   anslc@uaa.alaska.edu

Last update on December 11, 2006