Electronic Research AdministrationOffice of Extramural ResearchNational Institutes of Health

June 2009

Successful eSubmission

Prepare-Complete-Submit-Track-View

Sheri CumminseRA Customer Relationship Manager – eSubmission

Samuel SmitheRA Service Desk Manager

Electronic Submission Required

All small business grant applications must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov using the SF424 (R&R) form set

More than 20,000 unique small business electronic applications received since December 2005

Electronic Submission of Grant Applications at NIH

AOR/SOPI

Find and download

announcement, instructions

and form package.

PI prepares application

per institution guidelines

and sends it to AOR for

submission.

Authorized Organization Rep (AOR)

submits application to Grants.gov.

eRA retrieves application

from Grants.gov and

checks it for compliance

with application instructions.

PI and AOR/Signing Official

(SO) check submission

status and view assembled

application in eRA Commons.

PI

Today’s eSubmission Topics

PrepareSystemsRegistrationSoftwarePlanFind OpportunityDownload Instructions & Application Forms

Complete ApplicationForms

SubmitSubmit Application to Grants.gov

Today’s eSubmission Topics

TrackTrack ApplicationCorrect Any Errors

ViewView Assembled Application in eRA Commons

Finding HelpResourcesService Desks

PrepareBy failing to prepare, you are

preparing to fail.

-Benjamin Franklin

Two Separate, but Linked Systems

Grants.govFederal-wide portal to find and apply for Federal grant funding •Used by all 26 Federal grant-making agencies

eRA Commons Agency system that allows applicants, grantees and Federal staff to share application/grant information•Used by NIH and a few other HHS divisions

IMPORTANT: Each system has its own registration and validations requirements.

Prepare to Apply: Registration

Registration – Grants.govApplicant Organization only (one time)Registration not required to find download opportunitiesDesignate E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz POC)•Approves Authorized Organization Representatives (AORs)

oAuthority to legally bind the institution in grants administration matters

START NOW! Can take 4 weeks; up to 8 weeks for newly established or foreign businesses

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp

Prepare to Apply: Registration

Registration – eRA CommonsApplicant Organization Designate a Signing Official (SO)•Overall responsibility for account

administrationoRegisters or affiliates Project

Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI)

•Maintains Institutional Profile

Allow 4 weeks to completehttp://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm

“Good Faith” Effort

Start Commons

registration 2+ weeks

before deadline and you

won’t be penalized if not

completed due to NIH

caused delay

Prepare to Apply: RegistrationRegistration - eRA CommonsProject Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI)

SO creates account for the PD/PI or affiliates existing account with their organization

PD/PI gets one account for his/her entire career

Account may be affiliated with multiple organizations

PD/PI role can not be combined with any administrative roles on the same account

• If same person is both SO and PD/PI, two separate accounts (one with each role) are required

•Can have IAR (Internet Assisted Review) role if Reviewer

If PD/PI had previous NIH funding, but not a Commons account, make sure prior support is captured

PD/PI is responsible for maintaining their Personal Profile

eRA Help Desk can

assist with these tasks

Allow 4 - 5 business days to complete

Registration

Tips for Success:Start early – allow at least 4 weeks to complete• NIH 2-week “good faith effort” for Commons registration

Grants.gov & Commons registrations may be completed simultaneously once DUNS# is obtainedUpdate information in Central Contractor Registry (CCR) yearly to keep Grants.gov credentials active Do not combine SO and PI roles on single Commons accountIf PD/PI has a Commons account, affiliate them to your organization rather than creating new accountPIs should update their Commons profile prior to submitting (e.g., degree info used to determine Early Stage Investigator eligibility)

Obtain Software

Adobe ReaderOnly specific Adobe Reader versionsare compatible with Grants.gov forms

PDF conversion programAttachments must be converted to PDF

Grants.gov download software pagehttp://www.grants.gov/resources/download_software.jsp

Adobe Reader

Applications opened with an incompatible software (even if not saved) can become corrupted

Most attempts to use incompatible Adobe software are caught and a cautionary pop-up message presented

Make a Submission Plan

Internal organization considerations…Submission method•Downloadable forms

•System-to-System using XML data stream

•Services of a commercial service providerhttp://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/sp.htm

Application preparation responsibilitiesSharing applications in progress Internal review & approval processInternal deadlines

Administrators and PIs must work together!

Find Opportunity

ALL applications must be submitted in response to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

NIH simultaneously posts FOAs in:•NIH Small Business Program Web page

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/funding/sbir.htm

•NIH Guide for Grants & Contractshttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html

•Grants.gov Findhttp://grants.gov/applicants/find_grant_opportunities.jsp

Finding FOAs for Investigator –Initiated Research

NIH is committed to investigator-initiated research and we want your unsolicited applications!

“Parent” FOAs are available with generic packages

Parent announcements listed at:

•http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/parent_announcements.htm

Apply using the Parent FOA for your chosen activity code

Finding Opportunities

Screen shot for Parent Annoucement

NIH Office of Extramural Researchhttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm

Small Business (SBIR/STTR) page

ParentAnnouncements

NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts

Finding FOAs on Small Business Web site

Screen shot of Small Business page

SBIR ParentPA-09-080

STTR ParentPA-09-081

Follow link to announcement

Funding Opportunity Announcement - Notes

Carefully read and follow all FOA instructions.

Funding Opportunity Announcement - Notes

Key dates:Release/Posted Date: package and instructions available for download; begin preparing application

Application Submission/Receipt/Due Date: applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm local time

Opening Date: systems begin accepting applications

Expiration Date: announcement closed

Funding Opportunity Announcement - Notes

Pay special attention to Section IV. Application and Submission Information

Includes FOA-specific submission instructionsInstructions in FOA supersede instructions in the application guide

Funding Opportunity Announcement - Notes

FOAs in the NIH Guide include button to download app from Grants.gov

Apply for Grant Electronically button brings user to Grants.gov download page for specific opportunity.

Download Application Package

Click download Verify information

Download Application Instructions

Download application instructions

Sign-up for Agency updates to FOA

Download Application Instructions

All FOAs link to the latest set of instructions

Instructions available in Word and PDF formats

Links to other handy resources

Application Guide

Read and follow application guide instructions

Agency-specific instructions are marked with the HHS logo

Download Application Package

Download forms

Complete

SF424 (R&R) Data Set

NIH uses the SF424 Research & Related (R&R) data set

Owned and maintained by Grants.govAgencies combine form components to meet the data collection needs for an FOA

NIH applications include:Federal-wide (R&R) componentsAgency-specific (PHS 398) components

SF424 (R&R) Data Set

SF424 (R&R) Components include:SF424 (R&R)—An application cover componentResearch & Related Project/Performance Site LocationResearch & Related Other Project InformationResearch & Related Senior/Key Person (Expanded)Research & Related BudgetR&R Subaward Budget Attachment FormSBIR/STTR Information

NIH agency-specific components (titled PHS 398):

PHS 398 Cover Letter FilePHS 398 Cover Page Supplement PHS 398 Research PlanPHS 398 Checklist

Completing the Application

Tips for Success:Follow FOA-specific guidelines (e.g., special attachments, specific section headings)Follow application guide requirementsFollow guidelines for fonts, margins Do not include headers or footers•Section headings as part of the text (i.e.,

Specific Aims, Background & Significance) are encouraged

Avoid 2-column format for text

Avoid “landscape” format

Grant Application Package Screen

Make sure you have the correct application package.

FOA information is automatically populated and not editable.

Save the package locally.

Mandatory Grants.gov fields highlighted yellow with red box.

*Application Form Screen - Top*

Grant Application Package Screen

Mandatory Documents must be completed prior to submission.

*Application Form Screen - Bottom*

Complete the SF424 (R&R) form first – info from this form populates fields in other forms in the package.

See application guide to determine which Optional Documents you need to include.

Prepare Application

Highlight form and use the arrow buttons to move forms to the Mandatory Documents for Submission box

Highlight form in right box and click Open Form or use window scroll bars to access form

SF424 (R&R) Cover

App. DUNS = Grants.gov DUNS = Commons DUNS

Contact email required by NIH

See App. Guide for explanation of Application Type terminology

If New (box 8) Application (box 1), leave blank. If New box 8) Changed/ Corrected (box1), use initial Grants.gov tracking #Otherwise, use Institute and Serial number of prior application/grant

Use Application for first submission and Changed/Corrected for subsequent submissions to correct errors/warnings

Application Type New Term - Grants.gov

Old Term -NIH

Notes

New New An application that is submitted for funding for the first time. (Type 1)

Renewal Competing Continuation

Previous years of funding for the project have elapsed. Competing for additional years of funding to continue original project. (Type 2)

Revision Competing Supplement

Request for additional funds for a current award to expand the scope of work. Applicants should contact the awarding agency for advice on submitting any revision/supplement application. (Type 3)

Resubmission

Revision or Amended Application

Application previously reviewed. A revised or amended application that addresses reviewer feedback. (A1/A2)

Continuation Progress Report

NIH does not use the SF424 (R&R) for Continuation Applications. (Type 5; Progress Reports for Simplified Non-competing (SNAP) are submitted directly to eRA Commons for others paper is still submitted)

SF424 (R&R) Cover* form cont.*

Application Title

NIH will assign CFDA post-submission

PD/PI info carries throughout form

SF424 (R&R) Cover

Manually entered

AOR Info.

See application guide for full list of NIH policies & certifications

Sr/Key Person Profile Expanded

eRA Commons Username must be supplied in Credential field for everyone with PD/PI role – NIH required field

Organization name must be supplied for all listed–NIH required field

Enter PI Commons Username

Enter Organization Name

See app guide for format

R&R Budget

Individual Sr/Key Persons listed in Section A

Aggregate other Personnel in Section B

Include effort > zero for all Sr/Key listed.

Navigate through all budget pages

PHS 398 Research Plan

Separate PDF attachments facilitate image bookmarking.

Create in single document then split to ensure you stay within page limits

Appendix material

All attachments must be in PDF format.

Final Application Check

Avoid Grants.gov & eRA Commons Errors:SF424 (R&R) cover •Does the DUNS number on your application match the

DUNS used for Grants.gov & Commons registration?

•Did you include the Contact Email address?

•Did you provide correct Type of Application, Federal Identifier, and Type of Submission information?

Sr/Key Person Profile•Did you include Commons ID in Credential field for all

PD/PIs?

•Did you include Organization name for all Sr/Key?

Final Application Check

Avoid Grants.gov & eRA Commons Errors (cont.):

Did you include effort > 0 for all Sr/Key listed on the R&R Budget form?Did you include all required attachments?Are all your attachments in PDF format?Are all attachment names 50 characters or less and use only letters, numbers and underscore (_)?

Submit

Submit early!! Leave a cushion for unforeseen issues.

-Grants.gov & NIH

Route Application to AOR

Your completed application must be routed to your institute’s Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) for Submission.

Submit Application

The Check Package for Errors button only checks for Grants.gov errors.

Must Submit application for it to go through the NIH validation process. NIH errors/warnings shown in the eRA Commons.

Save & Submit button will not become active until:•All G.g mandatory fields are completed•All Mandatory docs are moved to Mandatory Documents for Submission box •Application is Saved

Submit

Enter Grants.gov username and password – you must be fully registered to successfully submit.

Only the AOR can Submit application.

Submit

Click Sign and Submit Application.

Submit

Print/Save your Confirmation screen info

Grants.gov Tracking #

Date/Time Stamp - due 5 p.m. local time of the applicant org. on submission deadline date

Track – Grants.gov

AORs can track application status at Grants.gov.

Track Status - Grants.gov Notifications

AOR receives Grants.gov e-mailsReceipt•Grants.gov E-mail Verifying Receipt

Validation•Grants.gov E-mail Verifying Successful

Submission•OR Rejection Due to Errors

Transmission to Agency•E-mail Sent Once Agency Retrieves

Submission•E-mail Sent when Agency Tracking Number

assigned

Track Status – Grants.gov Validations

Grants.gov Error CheckingGrants.gov mandatory fields completedMandatory documents moved to the Mandatory Documents for Submission box and completedDUNS# on application matches DUNS# in organization’s Grants.gov registrationAttachments are •Virus-free

•Have file names of 50 characters or less

•Have file names with no spaces or special characters

( -, &, *, %, /, #, \) ; underscore (_) is OK

Track Status – Grants.gov

Applicant interface

Grants.gov application status

Track – Commons

Signing Officials (SOs), Principal Investigators (PIs) and Assistants (ASSTs)

can track status in eRA Commons.

Track Status – eRA Commons

Commons Status is an integral part of electronic application submission

Applications are picked up by eRA Commons and checked against application and opportunity instructions•Forms are owned by Grants.gov and used

by many agencies, so NIH cannot build agency-specific business rules into the forms

Processing result available in eRA Commons StatusEmail notifications sent

Track Status- eRA Commons Notifications

eRA emails are sent to the AOR/SO, PD/PI and contact emails listed on SF424 (R&R) form

Validation complete, check assembled applicationValidation complete, check assembled application – Warnings onlyAction required – Errors and/or WarningsAction required – Missing or invalid eRA Commons Username (only sent to AOR/SO)Action required – System ErrorSO has refused electronic application (rejected)NIH has auto-verified the application (after 2-day viewing window)

Accessing eRA Commons

Go to: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/ Enter your Username and Password

UsernamePassword

PI Admin – Delegate Status

PD/PIs can Delegate Status viewing privileges

Provides access to PI’s Status information including the ability to check for application submission errors/warnings and to view the assembled application imageDOES NOT provide access to application summary statement or priority score Delegation can be made to any eRA Commons user at the PI’s institution with the Assistant (ASST) role

PI Admin - Delegate Status

Select user to receive delegation from list of Current Institution Users and click Assign button

Navigate to Delegate Status

Only users with ASST role appear in list

Track Status in Commons – PD/PI

Select Recent/Pending eSubmissions

Or provide Grants.gov tracking number from email notification

Track Status in eRA Commons – PD/PI

Indicates eSubmission Error

Grants.gov Tracking # Grants.gov tracking #

and date are displayed followed by the list of errors/warnings for each submission attempt

Track Status in eRA Commons – Errors/Warnings

Errors stop application processing and must be corrected

Warnings do not stop application submission and are corrected at the discretion of the applicant

Helpful Links Avoiding Common Errors page:

http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/avoiding_errors.htm

Full list of Commons Validationshttp://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/files/SF424RR_Validation.pdf

View

Trust, but verify.

- Ronald Reagan

View Application Image

Once an error-free application is received, the eRA system will:

Assemble the grant application imageInsert headers & footersBookmark important sectionsGenerate Table of ContentsPost the assembled application image in the PD/PI’s eRA Commons account

Application Viewing Window

Applicants have two (2) business days to view the assembled application before it automatically moves forward to NIH for further processing

SO can Reject application within viewing window to address Warnings (if within error correction window) or to address a system issue affecting the application image

If Rejected after deadline for any other reason, application is subject to late policyPD/PI will receive email notification if SO rejectsapplication

If you can’t VIEW it, we can’t REVIEW it!

View Application Image

View Appendices and Cover Letter

Status is Pending Verification

Follow e-Application link to view assembledapplication image

Follow link to detailed status info

Status – e-Application

TIP: Carefully review the entire application.This is your first chance to view/print the same

application image that will be used by Reviewers!

Reject Application

Must have SO role

Select Recent/ Pending eSubmissions

Click Search

Enter Search Criteria

Reject Application

Select Reject eApplication

Enter comment to be sent with email notification

Click Reject

Submission Complete

If no action is taken during the two business day viewing window, the application automatically moves forward to NIH for further processing

Any subsequent application changes are approved through and at the discretion of the Scientific Review Officer in the form of addenda

eSubmissionPolicies

On-time Submission

On-time Submission

All registrations must be completedprior to initial submission

Submission must be accepted by Grants.gov with a timestamp on or before 5:00 p.m. local time of submitting organization on submission deadline date

Errors/Warnings must be corrected within the 2-business day error correction window

Error Correction Window

NIH currently allows applicants to correct errors/warnings during the two (2) business days after the submission deadline

Initial submission made “on time” All registrations completed before deadlineProof of "on time" submission and description of post-deadline changes documented in Cover Letter

IMPORTANT: AOR is expected to enforce that application changes are restricted to those needed to fix identified errors/warnings.

NIH may reject any application that includes additional changes.

Correcting eSub Errors/Warnings

To correct errors/warnings in an application submission:

Make needed corrections to the local application formsCheck Changed/Corrected in the Type of Submission field located in box #1 of the SF424 (R&R) form • Federal Identifier on SF424 (R&R) cover (box #4) is a required

field when Changed/Corrected is selected

• If box #8=New, include original Grants.gov tracking number

• Otherwise, continue to use the Institute/Center and serial number from original application/grant number (ex. CA123456)

Include cover letter if after submission deadlineSubmit the entire Changed/Corrected applicationback through Grants.govTrack submission through to CommonsNOTE: Reviewers do not see applicant errors/warnings.

Trouble submitting due to system issues?

When Grants.gov or eRA system issues threaten your on-time submission…

Contact appropriate support to try to get resolution•If working with Grants.gov, contact eRA help desk to

document issue and steps taken toward resolutiono If verified system issue, this documentation can be used in

place of tracking # and timestamp as proof of "on time" submission

Continue to work through submission issues to complete process within error correction windowDocument your issues and correctiveactions including support ticket numbers in Cover Letter

NIH Contingency Plans

Contingency plansAddress large-scale, extended system issues • Individual issues, issues affecting small subsets of applicants,

or issues lasting less than a half business day handled case-by-case

Sample actions:• Extending submission deadline OR error correction window

Communicated through:• Targeted emails to affected users

• Alerts on eRA Commons site

• Notice in NIH Guide for Grants & Contractshttp://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html

• Commons listservshttp://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/listserv.htm

• Electronic Submission Web site http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/index.htm

Grants.gov Status

Latest news and current Grants.gov system status provided on their Blog.

Form Changes Ahead

NIH plans to move to updated Adobe forms later this year

“ADOBE-FORMS-B” will incorporate changes resulting from:•Latest OMB renewal of PHS 398 form set

•Latest OMB renewal of SF424 (R&R) form set

•Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act (FFATA)

•Peer Review redesign effort

Make sure you are using the latest application package posted

Resources

Support Desks, FAQs, Web sites

Grants.gov Support Resources

Grants.gov Contact CenterAssistance with: • Grants.gov registration; form behavior & navigation; issues

submitting to Grants.gov site

Phone: 1-800-518-4726Email: support@grants.gov Business Hours: M-F 7 a.m.-9 p.m. ET

Help Page Resources, FAQs, Troubleshooting Tips http://www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport

Download Software Pagehttp://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp

Grants.gov Web site

Screen shot of Grants.gov site

Learn About Grants

eRA, Commons,eSubmission

POLICY

NIH GUIDE

FORMS & INSTRUCTIONS,SUBMISSION DATES

GLOSSARY, FAQS

INITIATIVES

GET CONECTED

http://grants.nih.gov/

BASICS

NIH & eRA Commons Resources

eRA Commons Help DeskAssistance with:•eRA Commons registration, eRA system

validations

Create ticket on Web: http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/Phone: 301-402-7469Toll Free: 866-504-9552TTY: 301-451-5939Business hours M-F, 7am-8pm ET

NIH & eRA Commons Resources

Web sites:eRA Commons: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/

Electronic Research Administration: http://era.nih.gov/commons/index.cfm

Electronic Submission Information: http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/

NIH Grants Information Page: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm

http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/

NIH Electronic Submission Web Site

Questions?