Transcript Part 1

Interacting Electronically with NIH
From your ideas…
…into our systems…
…to advance medical discovery.
Megan Columbus
NIH Program Manager for Electronic
Receipt of Grant Applications
Scarlett Gibb
eRA Customer Relationship Manager
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Electronic Interaction Points
Learn About Grants
at NIH
Find Opportunities
Download App
Package
NIH Grant
Web site
Check Review
Assignment
NIH Guide
Check Review
Outcome
Grants.gov
Submit Application
Check Submission
Status
View Assembled
Application Image
eRA
Commons
Submit
Pre-Award
Information
Prepare/Submit
Post-Award
Reports
Closeout Grants
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Learn About Grants
http://grants.nih.gov/
BASICS
NIH GUIDE
INITIATIVES
eRA, Commons,
eSubmission
GET CONECTED
GLOSSARY, FAQS
POLICY
FORMS & INSTRUCTIONS,
SUBMISSION DATES
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Electronic Submission Required!
Electronic submission via Grants.gov is now
required for ALL competing grant
applications with the exception of Complex,
Multi-project applications (Project/Centers)*
*These grant mechanisms will continue to use the paper PHS398 application
process until a transition to electronic submission is scheduled, announced
and implemented.
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eSubmission Process
Prepare to Apply & Register
Find Opportunity and Download
Application Package
Prepare Application
Submit, Track and View
Application
Submission Complete!
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Two Systems Working Together
• Grants.gov – the Federal government’s single
online portal to find and apply for Federal grant
funding
– Used by all 26 Federal grant-making agencies
• eRA Commons – electronic Research
Administration system that allows applicants,
grantees and Federal staff to access, share and
transmit information related to their applications
and grants
– Used by NIH and a few other HHS components
IMPORTANT:
Each system has its own registration
and validations requirements
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Registration
Grants.gov
• Applicant Organizations only
• Designate E-Business Point of Contact (E-Biz P)
- Approves Authorized Organization Representatives (AORs)
providing authority to submit applications
• No registration needed to find opportunities or download
forms
eRA Commons
• Applicant Organization & PD/PI
• Designate Signing Official (SO)
- Registers or affiliates Project Director/Principal Investigator
(PD/PI)
Many organizations are already registered.
Check with your Office of Sponsored Projects.
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Registration
Tips for Success:
1. Start early! The registration process can take up to 4
weeks (8 weeks or more for new or foreign businesses)
2. Register for Grants.gov & Commons simultaneously once
DUNS# is obtained
3. Update CCR information yearly to keep Grants.gov
credentials active
4. Do not combine SO and PI roles on single Commons
account
5. If PD/PI has a Commons account, affiliate them to your
organization rather than creating new account
6. PIs should update their Commons profile prior to
submitting (degree info used to determine Early Stage
Investigator eligibility)
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Make a Submission Plan
Internal organization considerations…
• Submission method
- Downloadable forms
- System-to-System using XML data stream
- Services of a commercial service provider
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/ElectronicReceipt/system_testing.htm
•
•
•
•
Application preparation responsibilities
Sharing applications in progress
Internal review & approval process
Internal deadlines
Administrators and PIs must work together!
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Obtain Software
Adobe Reader
• Only specific Adobe Reader versions
are compatible with Grants.gov forms
PDF conversion program
• Attachments must be converted to PDF
Grants.gov Download Software Web Page:
http://www.grants.gov/resources/download_software.jsp
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eSubmission Process
Prepare to Apply & Register
Find Opportunity and Download
Application Package
Prepare Application
Submit, Track and View
Application
Submission Complete!
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Find Opportunity & Download Package
• NIH posts Funding Opportunity
Announcements (FOAs) on:
– NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/index.html
• Announcements include button to download package
and instructions from Grants.gov
– Grants.gov
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Investigator–Initiated Research
• All applications must be submitted in response
to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA)
– Applicants can submit for funding opportunities
focused on specific programs/areas of science OR
in response to a general “parent” announcement
– Applicants MUST use the application package
specific to the FOA that they choose
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Parent FOAs
NIH Office of Extramural Research
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/oer.htm
Parent Announcements for Unsolicited Applications
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Finding FOAs in NIH Guide
NIH Guide for Grants & Contracts
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/
Enter search string or click
Advanced Search
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Finding FOAs in NIH Guide
Enter search parameters
Click Search
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Finding FOAs in NIH Guide
• Review list of FOAs matching your criteria
and find FOA of interest
Click Announcement Number link to access FOA information
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Announcement
• Read and follow
announcement instructions
• Pay special attention to Section
IV. Application and Submission
Information
– Includes any FOA-specific
submission instructions
– Instructions in FOA trump
instructions in the application
guide
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Announcement Notes
• Pay attention to Key dates:
– Release/Posted Date: package and instructions available for
download
– Opening Date: application can be submitted
– Expiration Date: announcement closed
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Announcement Notes
• FOAs in the NIH Guide include button to
download app from Grants.gov
Click Apply for Grant
Electronically found
within the NIH Guide
announcement.
Verify information
Click download
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Download Package & Application Guide
Sign up for Agency updates to FOA
Download application instructions
and Application Package
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Application Guide
• Read and follow
application
guide
instructions
• Agency-specific
instructions are
marked with the
HHS logo
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eSubmission Process
Prepare to Apply
Find Opportunity and Download
Application Package
Prepare Application
Submit Track and View
Appilcation
Submission Complete!
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Grant Application Package Screen
Save the package locally.
*Application Form Screen - Top*
Make sure you have the
correct application
package.
FOA information is
automatically populated
and not editable.
Mandatory Grants.gov fields highlighted yellow with red box.
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Grant Application Package Screen
Mandatory Documents must be completed prior to submission.
Complete the SF424 (R&R) form first – info from this
form populates fields in other forms in the package.
*Application Form Screen - Bottom*
See application guide to determine which
Optional Documents you need to include.
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Completing the Application
Tips for Success:
• Follow FOA-specific guidelines (e.g., special
attachments, specific section headings)
• Follow application guide requirements
• Follow 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
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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?
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Final Application Check
• Avoid Grants.gov & eRA Commons Errors
(cont.):
– Did you use the correct Budget form?
– 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 (_)?
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eSubmission Process
Prepare to Apply
Find Opportunity and Download
Application Package
Prepare Application
Submit, Track & View
Application
Submission Complete!
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AOR - Submit Application
Save & Submit
button will not
become active
until:
•All fields marked
as mandatory on
the forms are
completed
•All Mandatory
Documents are
moved to
Mandatory
Documents for
Submission box
and completed
•The application is
Saved
Check Package for
Errors only checks
Grants.gov errors.
You MUST submit
the application for it
to go through the
NIH validation
process. NIH errors
will be shown in the
eRA Commons
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AOR - Submit Application
Enter your
Grants.gov
username and
password – you
must be fully
registered to
successfully submit.
Only the AOR can
submit application!
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AOR - Submit Application
Click Sign and
Submit Application
button to record
electronic signature
and initiate
submission process
to Grants.gov
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AOR - Submit Application
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
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On-time Submission
• On-time Submission
– All registrations must be completed
prior 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 error
correction window
Track Application
•
AORs track application status at
Grants.gov
•
Signing Officials(SOs), Principal
Investigators (PIs) and Assistants
(ASSTs) track application status in the
eRA Commons
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Track – Grants.gov (AOR)
• Applicant interface
Grants.gov application status
You’re not done yet!
Signing Officials (SOs), Principal
Investigators (PIs) and Assistants
(ASSTs) track application status
in the eRA Commons.
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Track Your Application
•
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 formProcessing result
available in eRA Commons Status
Processing result available in eRA
Commons Status
Email notifications sent to AOR/SO, PD/PI
and contact emails listed on the SF424
(R&R) form
Accessing eRA Commons
• Go to: https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons/
• Enter your Username and Password
Username
Password
Check Status in Commons – PD/PI
Select Recent/Pending eSubmissions
Or provide Grants.gov tracking
number from email notification
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Status – eSub Errors/Warnings
Indicates eSubmission Error
Grants.gov
Tracking #
Grants.gov tracking #
and date are displayed
followed by the list of
errors/warnings for
each submission
attempt
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Status – eSub 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://grants.nih.gov/grants/ElectronicReceipt/avoiding_errors.htm
Full list of Commons Validations
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/ElectronicReceipt/files/SF424RR_Validation.pdf
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Error Correction Window
• NIH currently allows applicants to
correct errors/warnings during the
temporary “Error Correction Window”
- Standard window: 2 business days after the
submission deadline
- Initial submission made “on time”
- All registrations completed before deadline
- Proof of “on time” submission and description of
all changes documented in Cover Letter
AOR is expected to enforce that appilcation changes are restricted to
those needed to fix indentified errors/warnings.
NIH may reject any application that includes additional changes.
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Correcting eRA Errors/Warnings
Make changes to address error/warning messages
in local copy of application
1. Select Changed/Corrected on SF424 (R&R) cover (box
#1)
 Federal Identifier on SF424 (R&R) cover (box #4) is
a required field when Changed/Corrected is selected
• If New is selected in box #8, use Grants.gov tracking
number for original submission
• Otherwise, continue to use the Institute/Center and serial
number from original grant award (ex. CA123456)
2. Include cover letter if after submission deadline
3. AOR must submit the entire changed/corrected
application to Grants.gov
4. Track submission through to Commons
NOTE: Reviewers do not see applicant errors/warnings.
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View Application Image
Once an error-free application is received, the
eRA system will:
– Assemble the grant application image
– Insert headers (PI name) & footers (page
numbers) on all pages
– Generate Table of Contents and bookmark
important sections
– Post the assembled application image in the PI’s
eRA Commons account
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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 policy
– PI will receive email notification if SO rejects
application
If you can’t VIEW it, we can’t REVIEW it!
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Status – View Application Image
Status is Pending Verification
Follow link to detailed status info
Follow e-Application
link to view assembled
application image
View Appendices
and Cover Letter
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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!
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Reject Application (SO)
PIs: If the application image in the eRA Commons
does not properly reflect the submitted material, work
with your SO to reject the application!
Must have SO role
Enter Search Criteria
Click Search
Select Recent/ Pending eSubmissions
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