Workshop Electronic Proposal Submission Through Grants

1. Workshop Electronic Proposal Submission Through Grants.gov April 2007 Office of Sponsored Programs Division of Sponsored Programs Development Ivette Martínez Palma, Director Division of Financial Administration José L. Cortés, Director

2. Objective The objective of this workshop is to familiarize you with the institutional process, the electronic format, and the forms that are now required for the submission of electronic proposals to NIH and other PHS agencies.

3. The Big Change The federal government is rapidly moving towards the use of an electronic format for all request for most forms of research and grant support regard-less of the agency.

4. NIH and PHS This change has already occurred with respect to applications to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other Public Health Service (PHS) agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

5. NIH Notice Aug. 19-2005 • NIH is converting to SF424 (R&R) grant application forms and electronic submission through Grants.gov (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-05-067.html) • Electronic submission of competing applications requires prior registration with both Grants.gov and NIH eRA Commons (http://grants.gov) • Additional information on the transition process is available at htpp://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt

6. The Latest Notice “RO1 applications require electronic submission for Feb 2007 and beyond. New form…new process…The time is now to find out how!” <http://era.nih.gov/Electronic Receipt/>

7. Transition because... The Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Public Law 106 –107) and the President’s Management Agenda (2002) have been driving Federal Agencies to: • Improve the effectiveness and performance of Federal financial assistance programs • Simplify Federal financial assistance application process and reporting requirements • Improve the delivery of service to the public • Create a single website to apply for Federal assistance

8. And because…. • Creates efficiency by eliminating the burden of paper-based data collection • May allow NIH to shorten the cycle from application receipt to award • Electronic validations improve data quality • Saves paper and hours of human effort • Reduces costs of scanning, printing, and data entry • Grant image is clearer and in color

9. The Changes • By October 1, 2007, all grant applications to NIH and other PHS agencies will require electronic submission • Change from the paper PHS 398 application to the common data set – the SF424 (R&R) application form • A single website will be used to apply for all federal assistance: Grants.gov • Submit on Pure Edge forms downloaded from Grants.gov, built a system-to system interface with Grants.gov or work with a commercial service provider

10. What is Grants.gov? • Designated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the single access point for all grant programs offered by the 26 grant-making agencies http:// www.grants.gov/applicants/agencies_that_provide_grants.jsp • A cross agency initiative involving: 900 grant programs + $350 billion in annual awards

11. Grants.gov is also…. The Federal government’s single interface for: • Agencies to announce their grant opportunities • Grant applicants find grant opportunities • Grant applicants to apply for those opportunities

12. NIH Transition Strategy • NIH will transition by individual research program/funding mechanism • Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) be posted in Grants.gov “Apply” , generally 2 months before the submission date • All applications in response to these announcements for transitioned mechanisms will require electronic submission through Grants.gov • Mechanisms not yet transitioned will continue to require submission on form PHS 398

13. NIH Planned Transition Dates of Mechanisms for Electronic Submission using the SF424 (R&R) SBIR/STTR (Dec. 1, 2005) R13/U13(Dec. 15, 2005) Resource (G), Career Development (K), S11, S21, S22 (Jun. 1, 2007) R36 (Feb. 17, 2006) Fellowship (F) (Aug. 5, 2007) R15 (Feb. 25, 2006) Training (T&D), U45, D71/U2R (Sep. 10, 2007) R18/U18, R25, C06/UC6 (Oct. 1, 2006) S10 (Mar. 22, 2006) DP1(Jan. 22, 2007) Project/Center (P), M01, R10/U10, S06, U01, U19, U54, U56, R24/U24 (Oct. 1, 2007) X02 (April 18, 2006) R01(Feb. 1, 2007) Potential R01 Multi-PI Pilot (Oct. 1, 2006) R03, R21/R33, R34(June 1, 2006) 08 10 08 10 12 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 09 11 12 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 09 2006 2007 • NIH will transition to the SF424 family of forms and electronic submission through Grants.govby research program or funding mechanism. • As mechanisms are transitioned, Funding Opportunity Announcements will be issued in the NIH Guide and posted in Grants.gov. NIH’s goal is to post an opportunity a minimum of 60 days before the submission date. • ALL applications in response to these announcements will require electronic submission through Grants.gov. Mechanism Abbreviation Key: C06/UC6 Research Facilities Construction Grants DP1 NIH Director’s Pioneer Award Program D71/U2R International Training Cooperative Agreement/ Phase 2 of FIC mechanism D71 P Research Program Projects and Centers R01 Research Project Grant Program R03 Small Grant Programs R10/U10 Cooperative Clinical Research Grants R13/U13 Support for Conferences & Scientific Meetings R15 Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) R18/U18 Research Demonstration and Dissemination Projects R21/R33 Exploratory/Development Research R24/U24 Resource Related Research Projects R25 Education Projects R34 Clinical Trial Planning Grant Program R36 Research Dissertation Grant Program SBIR Small Business Innovation Research STTR Small Business Technology Transfer S06,S10,S11 Biomedical Research S21,22 Health Disparities Endowment Grants U Cooperative Agreement Awards X02 Pre-application for Interdisciplinary Research Consortium Updated February 6, 2006

14. Getting Started Institutions are required a one time only registration to Grants.govfor electronic submission to all Federal Agencies Registration requires institutions to : • Obtain a DUNS number A Data Universal Numbering System number that tracks how federal grant $$ is allocated and identifies your organization Call Dun and Bradstreet 1-866-705-5711

15. Register • Register with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) which safeguards organizations from individuals who may attempt to submit grant application packages without permission http://www.ccr.gov http://www.ccr.gov/CCRRegTemplate.pdf Tel. 1-888-227-2423

16. Both Register A one time registration to eRA Commons is also required for both the organizations and the PI https://commons.era.nih.gov/commons • Allows NIH to receive applications submitted through Grants.gov and validate them against NIH business rules • Provides a way for NIH and registered users to communicate electronically after submission

17. What is eRA Commons? Electronic Research Administration A system developed by NIH to facilitate the exchange of essential information between NIH and the applicant organization. The Commons is a Web interface where NIH and the grantee community are able to conduct their extramural research administration electronically.

18. PI Registration • The PI must hold an account in the Commons and be affiliated with the applicant organization UPR-Medical Sciences Campus • Registration is done by an organizational official who is already registered in the Commons RCM Office of Sponsored Programs Norberto Pérez Ivette Martínez Palma

19. Software Requirements PureEdge Viewer In order to access, complete and submit an application, applicant needs to download and install this program. Create PDFs for Text Attachments NIH and other PHS agencies require all text attachments to the PureEdge forms to be submitted as Portable Document Format files.

20. Read, Read, and Read Again • Applicant must read and follow the instructions • Mistakes can cause a proposal to fail its initial “validation” review resulting in it being rejected administratively • Mistakes related to following instructions influence a reviewer’s opinion of your application negatively • Such mistakes are a clear lack of attention to detail, after all, Research is about attention to detail

21. Let’s Practice http://www.grants.gov

22. Click here

23. Click here

24. Click here

25. PA-06-256

26. Click here

29. Click here

30. Important

31. Recommended Click here

33. Click here

34. Important • Once you access the proposal package, save it in your computer (example, in “My Documents”) • Options for Mac users http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/files/mac_options.htm • Not limited to a specific browser

37. Important

41. Must close each form and save

43. Resources UPR-MSC OSP Web page http://ops.rcm.upr.edu Provides General Information 2007 Internal Proposal Transmittal Form Budget Worksheet Policies SF 424 Template Person Months Calculation Chart and more….

45. Attachments in portable document format (.pdf)

47. eRA Commons username of PI

49. Additional personnel