Successful Submissions

Created by:Geeta Chhabra

Prepare–Complete-Submit-Track-View

Electronic Submission of NIH Grant Applications

Prepares the application per institution and NIH guidelines

Once the suggested changes are made please drop the final application

in the OSP drop-box three (3) business days prior to the deadline

Find and download announcement

and application package

Drop the draft application seven (7) business days prior to the deadline to the OSP drop-box. Submit the UAB extramural checklist, and RPL form to the OSP office at (AB 1170)

OSP officer will review the draft application and send his/her reviews to the PI and contact person listed on the UAB extramural checklist via email

Submission Topics Prepare:

Registration

Software Submission PlanFind OpportunityDownload Application Package

Complete Application:SF424 Application Package

Submit: Submit Application via Grants.gov

Submission Topics (contd.)

Track: Track Application Correct Errors

View: View Application on eRA Commons

Finding Help: Resources Service Desk

Prepare

By failing to prepare, you are

preparing to fail

-Benjamin Franklin

Two Separate, but linked Systems

Grants.gov

Federal-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

Registration

Grants.gov• UAB is already registered as an Organization.• OSP officers have the (AOR) Authorized Organization

Representative role providing authority to submit.• No registration is needed for the PI to find opportunities

or to download forms

eRA Commons• UAB is registered as an Applicant Organization.• OSP officers have the (SO) Signing Official role• OSP assigns and affiliates roles for PD/PI, Postdoc's,

and Trainees

Registration (contd.)

• PI’s get one eRA Commons account that follows them throughout their careers

• If you are moving from one institution to another, you do not need to establish a new eRA Commons account. Request the Signing Official at your new University to use your existing account and “affiliate” that with your new University

• If you realize you have more than one Commons account, please contact the eRA Help Desk with a request to merge the accounts into one

• PI’s should keep their Personal Profile updated in eRA Commons prior to submitting (e.g., degree info used to determine Early Stage Investigator eligibility)

Software Adobe Reader

• Only Specific Adobe Reader versions are compatible with Grants.gov forms.• To verify if you have a compatible version of Adobe Reader installed, click on the test application

link below

Adobe Versioning Test Application Package

PDF conversion program• Attachments must be converted to PDF

Grants.gov download software page

http://www.grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp

Adobe ReaderApplications can become corrupt if opened with an

incompatible version of Adobe Software

A cautionary pop-up message is presented when an incompatible Adobe software is used

Submission Plan Submission method:

• Download forms from either Grants.gov or NIH sites• Follow NIH guidelines

OSP deadlines:• Completed UAB extramural checklist and PPL form must be submitted to the OSP office at AB 1170• Draft applications must be dropped in the OSP drop-box seven (7) business days prior to the deadline• Final applications must be dropped in the OSP drop-box three (3) business days prior to the deadline

OSP officers, Administrators and PIs work together as a team!

Find OpportunityAll applications must be submitted in response to a specific Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)

• NIH simultaneously posts FOAs in:• NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts• Grants.gov Find• http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/

• Some FOAs focus on specific areas for research and others provide instructions and forms for general grant programs

• Use “Parent” FOAs for unsolicited applications• http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/parent_announcements.htm

Parent AnnouncementsResearch (R) and Research Training (T)

Activity Codes

Title Announcement Number

Expiration Date

R01 Research Project Grant PA-13-302

09/08/2016

R03 NIH Small Research Grant Program PA-13-304 09/08/2016

R13, U13

NIH Support for Conferences and Scientific Meetings

PA-13-347 09/08/2016

R15 Academic Research Enhancement Award PA-13-313 01/08/2016

R21NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Program

PA-13-303 09/08/2016

T32Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) Institutional Research Training Grants

PA-14-015 01/08/2017

T35Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award Short-Term Institutional Research Training Grants

PA-14-016 01/08/2017

Parent Announcements (contd.)

Career Development (K)

Activity Codes

Title Announcement Number

Expiration Date

K01Mentored Research Scientist Development Award

PA-14-04401/08/2017

K02 Independent Scientist Award PA-14-045 01/08/2017

K07 Academic Career Award PA-11-192 09/08/2014

K08Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award

PA-14-046 01/08/2017

K23Mentored Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award

PA-14-049 09/08/2014

K24Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient-Oriented Research

PA-14-047 01/08/2017

K25Mentored Quantitative Research Development Award

PA-14-048 01/08/2017

K99/R00 NIH Pathway to Independence Award PA-14-042 01/08/2017

Parent Announcements (contd.)

Fellowship (F)

Activity Codes

Title Announcement Number

Expiration Date

F30Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD and Other Dual Doctoral Degree Fellows

PA-14-15001/08/2017

F31Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellows

PA-14-147 01/08/2017

F31Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral Fellowships to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research

PA-14-148 01/08/2017

F32Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Postdoctoral Fellows

PA-14-149 01/08/2017

F33Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards (NRSA) for Individual Senior Fellows

PA-14-151 01/08/2017

Finding FOAs for Investigator-Initiated Research

Parent Announcements for Unsolicited Applications

Finding FOAs matching your criteria and find FOA of interest

Click Announcement Number link to access FOA Information

Announcement GuidelinesCarefully read the entire announcement!!

Key Dates:– Release/Posted Date: package and instructions available for

download– Application Submission/Receipt/Due Date: applications must be

submitted by 5:00 p.m. local time – Opening Date: systems begin accepting applications– Expiration Date: announcement closed

Key DatesRelease/Posted Date: July 22, 2011Open Date: August 12, 2011Letter of Intent Receipt Date: Not ApplicableNOTE: On-time submission requires that applications be successfully submitted to Grants.gov no later that 5:00 p.m. local time (of the applicant institution/organization)Application Due Date (s): Standard dates applyPeer Review Date(s): Standard dates applyCouncil Review Date (s): Standard dates applyEarliest Anticipated Start Date (s): Standard dates applyExpiration Date: September 8, 2014

Announcement Guidelines (contd.)

Follow specific announcement instructions

• Pay special attention to

Section IV. Application and Submission Information

• Includes FOAs-specific submission instructions

• Instructions in FOA trump instructions in the application guide

Announcement FOAs in the NIH Guide include button to download

application from Grants.gov

CFDA Opportunity Number

Competition ID

Competition Title

AgencyInstructions

and Application

PA-13-302ADOBE

FORMS-C

ADOBE FORMS-C

National Institute of Health

Download

Download Application Package

DOWNLOAD OPPORTUNITY INSTRUCTIONS AND APPLICATION

You have chosen to download the application for the following opportunity:

Opportunity Number: PA-13-302: Research Project Grant (Parent R01)

Competition ID: ADOBE-FORMS-C

Agency: National Institutions of Health

Opening Date: 08/07/2013

Closing Date: 09/07/2016

To download an application, you will need to submit an email address so that you can be notified of any changes to the application before the closing date. Your e-mail address will allow us to e-mail you in the event this opportunity is changed and republished on Grants.gov before its closing date.

Email: ________________________

Confirm Email:_____________________

___No, I do not wish to provide my email address [T

submit

Download Application Package (contd.)

DOWNLOAD OPPORTUNITY INSTRUCTIONS AND APPLICATION

You have chosen to download the application for the following opportunity:

Opportunity Number: PA-11-260: Research Project Grant (Parent R01)

Competition ID: FORMS-C

Competition Title: Forms-C

Agency: National Institution of Health

Opening Date: 08/07/2013

Closing Date: 09/07/2016

Download the instructions and application by selecting the download links below. While the instructions or application files may open directly, you may save the files to your computer for future reference and use. You do not need access to read the instructions or the application once you save them on your computer.

1.Download Application Instructions

2.Download Application Package Download forms

Complete Application

SF 424

Grant Application Package

Save the Package locally

Make sure you have the correct application package.

FOA information is automatically populated and not editable.

Mandatory Grants.gov fields are highlighted yellow with red box

Completing the ApplicationGeneral Tips:

• Follow FOA-specific guidelines• Complete the SF424 (R&R) form first – info from this form

populates some fields in other forms within the package• Do not cut & paste from Word documents into form fields• Use PDF formatted files for all attachments

• Do not use Portfolio or similar features to bundle multiple files

into a single PDF• Disable security features like password protection

• Keep file names to 50 characters or less and use only letters, numbers, hyphen(-), period (.) and underscore (_)

• Do not include headers or footers• Follow guidelines for fonts and margins

Table of Page LimitsFellowship (F)

Section of Application Page Limits

(if different from FOA, FOA supersedes)

Introduction to Resubmission or Revision Application (when applicable)

1

Specific Aims 1

Research Strategy 6

Respective Contributions 1

Selection of Sponsor and Institution 1

Responsible Conduct of Research 1

Applications for Concurrent Support (when applicable) 1

Goals for Fellowship Training and Career 1

Activities Planned Under This Award 1

Doctoral Dissertation and Other Research Experience 2

Sponsor (s) and Co-Sponsor (s) 6

Biographical Sketch 4

Table of Page Limits (contd.)

Career Development (K)

Section of Application Page Limits

(if different from FOA, FOA supersedes)

Introduction to Resubmission or Revision Application (when applicable)

1

Specific Aims 1

First three items of Candidate Information (Candidate's Background, Career Goals and Objectives, and Career Development/Training Activities During Award Period and Research Strategy

12 pages (for all sections combined)

Training in the Responsible Conduct of Research 1

Mentoring Plan (Include only when required by the specific FOA, e.g., K24 and K05)

6

Statements by Mentor, Co-Mentors, Consultants, Contributors 6

Description of Institutional Environment 1

Institutional Commitment to Candidate’s Research Career Development

1

Biographical Sketch 4

Table of Page Limits (contd.)For institutional Training (T), International Training (D43, D71), Institutional Career

Development (K12, KM1), and Research Education (R25) Applications

Section of Application Page Limits

(if different from FOA, FOA supersedes)

Introduction to Resubmission Application (when applicable) 3

Introduction to Revision Application (when applicable) 1

Specific Aims (when applicable) 1

Research Education Program Plan (uploaded via the Research Strategy) for Research Education Grant Application (R25) only

25

Background, Program Plan, and Recruitment and Retention Plan to Enhance Diversity (Attachments 2-4 of Research Training Program Plan Attachments) for D43,D71,  and all Training (T) only - for May 25, 2011 due dates and laterFor K12, K30, and KM1 only- for June 12, 2011 due dates and later

25 pages (for all sections

combined)

Plan for Instruction in the Responsible Conduct of Research (Attachment 5 of Research Training Program Plan Attachments)For D43, D71, K12, KM1 and all Training (T) only - for May 25, 2011 due dates and later

3

Biographical Sketch 4

Table of Page Limits (contd.)

For R01, R03, R21 and all other Applications

Section of Application Activity Codes

Page Limits(if different from

FOA, FOA supersedes)

Introduction to Resubmission and Revision Applications (when applicable)

For all Activity Codes, and for each project and core of multi-component applications

1

Specific Aims For all Activity Codes 1

Research Strategy For Activity Code DP1 5

For Activity Codes R03, R13, U13, R13/U13, R21, R36, R41, R43,

6

For Activity Code DP2 10

For Activity Codes R01, U10, R15, U18, R21/R33, R24, U01, DP3, G08

12

For UM1 Applications 6,12 or 30 pages

For all other Activity Codes Follow FOA instructions

Biographical Sketch For all Activity codes except DP2 4

Avoiding Common Errors

Ten Checks to Help Avoid Common Errors

– Did you select the correct Type of Submission (box 1), Federal Identifier (box 4), and Type of Application (box 8) information on the SF424 (R&R) cover form?

– Does the DUNS number on the SF 424 match the DUNS number used for Grants.gov and eRA Commons registration?

– Did you include the eRA Commons ID in the Credentials field of the R&R Senior Key Person Profile for all PD/PIs?

– If Submitting a Multiple-PD/PI application, did you give all the PIs the PD/PI role on the Senior Key Person Profile form?

– Did you include the Organization Name for all Senior Key listed on the R & R Senior Key Personnel Profile form?

– Did you follow the page limits specified in the FOA and application guide?

Avoiding Common Errors (contd.)

– Did you include all the required attachments?• Answering “Yes” to the Human Subjects question on the R&R Other

Project Information form makes the attachments in the Human Subjects section of the PHS 398 Research Plan required. Similarly, if you

answer “Yes” to the Vertebrate Animals question, then the Vertebrate Animals attachment is required.

• If you have more than one entry on the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile form with the role of “PD/PI,” then the Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan attachment on the PHS 398 Research Plan form is required.

– Are all your attachments in PDF format? • File names should not exceed 50 characters

• File names with no special characters:

-, &, *, /, =, \, (), underscore _ is OK

– Did you include effort > 0 for all Personnel listed on R&R

Detailed Budget

Avoiding Common Warnings

Role of Co-PD/PI not used by NIH • The role of 'Co-PD/PI', indicated for Senior/Key Person on the

Senior/Key Person page, is not used by NIH. For multiple Principal Investigators, use the PD/PI role. Otherwise, select another role.

No degrees submitted for PD/PI • No degrees have been submitted for the PD/PI. If you want the

degrees to be displayed on the face page of the application image, you should include them on the SF 424 (R&R) Senior/Key Person Profile form.

Bibliography and Reference Cited Attachment Should be included

Submit

Submit early!!Leave a cushion for unforeseen issues

On-time Submission

• Draft applications must be uploaded in the OSP drop-box seven (7) business days prior to the sponsor deadline

• Final applications must be uploaded in the OSP drop-boxthree (3) business days prior to the sponsor deadline

• Submission must be accepted by Grants.gov with a time stamp on or before 5:00 p.m. local time on submission deadline date

• Errors/Warnings must also be corrected prior to the submission deadline date and time

Track

Signing Officials (SO’s), Principal Investigators (PIs) and Assistants (ASSTs) can track

application status in eRA Commons

Track Status – eRA Commons

• Applications are picked up by eRA Commons and checked against application and opportunity instructions

• Emails from eRA commons are sent to the SO, PI and the contact person listed on the SF 424 (R&R) form

• Examples of emails are as follows:– Validation complete, check assembled application – Validation complete, check assembled application – Warnings

only– Action required – Errors and/or Warnings– Action required – Missing or invalid eRA Commons Username

(sent to the SO)– Action required – System Error (sent to the SO)

Track Status – eRA Commons Errors/Warnings

Errors do stop the processing of the application and must be corrected

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

View

Please verify your assembled application in eRA Commons

View Application Image

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

– Assemble the grant application image– Insert headers & footers– Bookmark important sections– Generate Table of Contents– Post the assembled application image in the PD/PI’s

eRA Commons account

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

image that will be used by Reviewers!

A Rule of Thumb

All correspondence to NIH must be routed through the Authorized Official

Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)

Phone Number: (205)-934-5266

Fax: (205)-975-5977

Email: osp@uab.edu

Questions: askosp@uab.edu

Finding HelpWeb Sites (NIH and OSP), eRA Commons Help Desk

ResourcesLinks of Interest

−Electronic Research Administration:http://era.nih.gov/

−eRA Commons:https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/

−Applying Electronically:http://grants.nih.gov/grants/ElectronicReceipt/

−NIH Grants Information Page (Office of Extramural Research):http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm

−NIH Grants Policy Statement:http://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/nihgps_2010/nihgps_ch1.htm#costsharing

−Information about NIH Career Development (K) Awards:http://grants.nih.gov/training/careerdevelopmentawards.htm

Resources (contd.)

−Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP):http://www.uab.edu/osp/

−OSP Drop-box:https://itisapps.ad.uab.edu/Research/FileUpload/Pages/Login.aspx

−OSP Drop-box Instructions:http://www.uab.edu/uabra/ogca/ogcapdf/OGCA%20Submitter%20Guide.pdf

−Responsible Personnel List (RPL):http://www.uab.edu/uabra/ogca/ogcapdf/Project_Personnel_List.pdf

−UAB Extramural Checklist:http://www.uab.edu/uabra/ogca/ogcapdf/Extramural_Checklist.pdf

−UAB Extramural Checklist Instructions and Glossary:http://www.uab.edu/uabra/ogca/ogcapdf/Checklist_Glossary.pdf

Service Desk

eRA Commons Help Desk:

Hours: Mon-Fri 7a.m. – 8 p.m. Eastern

Web: http://itservicedesk.nih.gov/era

Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552

Phone: (301) 402-7469

TTY: (301) 451- 5939Don’t forget to get a help desk ticket number if your issue

isn’t immediately resolved.

Thank you !!

Questions?