KUMC Research Institute

Sponsored Programs Administration (SPA) http://www2.kumc.edu/researchinstitute/spa/

How to complete an on-line NIH grant application?

January 25, 2008

What is Grants.gov

• Grants.gov is the Federal government’s solution for a "one stop shop" for finding and applying for funding. It provides a consistent electronic submission process for all agencies.

• Grants.gov has already or will replace federal agency-specific proposal submission systems that have been using in recent years, most notably NSF's FastLane, DOE's IIPS, and DOD’s CDMRP.

Transition Dates

-NIH planned transition dates of mechanisms for e-submission using the SF424 (R&R) -Transitions on hold:• Career Development (all Ks)• Fellowship (F)• Training (T&D), D71/U2R• Complex-Project/Center (P), G12,

M01,R10/U10, U01, U54, U56, S06,

Prepare to Apply

• Registration -Only the applicant organization needs to register with Grants.gov -PI does not need to register with Grants.gov -PI must register in eRA Commons

• Obtain Software - PureEdge viewer - Adobe Reader 8.1.1

Terminology

• An “FOA” is a Funding Opportunity Announcement. This is the Grants.gov term for all requests for application (formerly RFP/RFA).

• The SF424 (R&R) is the set of standard forms used across all agencies. This stands for Standard Form 424 (Research & Related).

Find FOA

• Search funding opportunities -NIH Guide for grants and contracts -Grants.gov (grants offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies)• Download application package

-Download Opportunity Instructions and applications, save the files to your PC.-Sign-up to receive notifications of changes

to the application package.

Find FOA

• Each application package will include all of the forms required for that particular solicitation. You must use the application package that is specific to the solicitation you are responding to.

• Read the application instructions! The FOA will indicate which forms are required and which are optional.

Filename

• When you download, rename the file as follows:

PI last name first initial agency acronym due date.xfd

(i.e. Smith P NIH 06-05-07.xfd)

• If you had more than one file with the same name, just add a relevant date

(06-05-07) to maintain unique naming.

SF424 (R&R)

• SF424 (R&R) Standard Forms include: – R&R Application cover component – R&R Project/Performance Site Location (s) – R&R Other Project Information – R&R Senior/Key Person – R&R Budget – R&R Personal Data – R&R Subaward Budget Attachment Form

Application Completed

• You will upload the completed file to SPA Drop Box. An email will be sent to SPA to notify us that the application is there.

• The Grant Specialists will review your application and give you feedbacks for changes needed.

• SPA will submit the application. (by 5:00 p.m. local time of applicant organization)

Internal Proposal Review and Submission Timeline

• 12 business days prior to agency deadline - A hard copy of the draft proposal (completed forms and draft research plan) and an internal routing checklist must be provided to the SPA office for initial proposal review and feedback.

• 7 business days prior to agency deadline - Review feedback will have been sent to the PI. PI will then make suggested changes.

• 3 business days prior to agency deadline - An e-copy of the FINAL proposal package must be provided to SPA office for final proposal review and submission.

Validation Process

SPA receives at least four e-mails regarding each submission:

– First confirms receipt by Grants.gov. – Second confirms validation by Grants.gov. – Third confirms receipt by Sponsor. – Subsequent emails from Sponsor regarding

tracking through the Sponsor’s system (e.g. NIH Commons) or contact information.

Validation-Common Errors/Warrings

• Invalid or Missing eRA Commons Username

• Missing Organization Name for Senior/Key Person

• Senior/Key Person Effort on SF424 R&R Budget Form Must be More Than zero

Common Warnings:• Role of Co-PD/PI not used by NIH • No degrees submitted for PD/PI

Validation-Common Errors/Warrings

PDF issues: • NIH only accepts attachments in PureEdge or

PDF format. • Avoid scanning text documents to produce the

required PDFs.• Only use standard characters in file names:

A through Z, a through z, and 0 through 9, Hyphen (-), underscore ( _ ). Don’t use spaces, special characters, or long file names.

• Do not include any information in the header or footer area of the attachments.

NIH Parent Announcements

• Parent Announcements (For Unsolicited or Investigator-Initiated Applications

• R01-Research Project Grant

(PA-07-070)

• R03-NIH Small Research Grant Program (PA-06-180)

• R21-NIH Exploratory/Developmental

(PA-06-181)

SPA Contacts

Mei-Shya Chen

Phone: 8-1259

mchen-su@kumc.edu

Pre-Award Office

Phone: 8-1251

spa@kumc.edu

Useful Information

• Information often requested on grant applications

• NIH planned transition dates of mechanisms for e-submission using SF424

• Avoiding Common Errors

• SPA staff - Grant Specialists

• Example of SF424 (R&R)