Are You Ready for Grants.gov Gain the tools to get started, apply, and submit proposals through Grants. Gov. Learn to successfully submit Grants.gov proposals and the pitfalls to avoid. Life Sciences Manfred Auer and group Co-Sponsored by the Sponsored Projects Office & the Berkeley Lab Institute Are You Ready for Grants.gov Life Sciences Manfred Auer and group Presenters: Jeff Weiner, SPO Manger Phyllis Gale, Contracts Manager Sponsored Projects Office Overview What is Grants.gov? A Federal portal that allows users to electronically find, apply for, and manage Federal Grant Opportunities a common Store Front Grants.gov is THE single access point for over 1000 grant programs offered by 26 Federal Granting Agencies. It is part of the President s Management Agenda and E-Government Initiatives. Further mandates are found in P.L. 106-107 Grants.gov can be accessed via www.grants.gov
Overview When do I have to use Grants.gov? Depends on the agency and program requirements. Some sponsors have already moved to grants.gov (e.g. NEH); Some are currently in transition (e.g. NIH); and Some have not yet to begin the transition (e.g. NSF) All agencies must transition by 10/1/2007 Overview What does Grants.gov mean to LBNL? Primary area is NIH Grants (approximately 100 proposals each year) Grants.gov does not replace the Federal Procurement Actions such as Broad Agency Announcements, etc. SPO uncertain about overall impact with Federal Interagency Agreements (IAG) Overview What does Grants.gov mean to the LBNL PI? New forms and process for proposal development and submission. All proposals must be in response to a specific Grant Opportunity. All Application Packages must be downloaded through the Grant Opportunity. (No reuse of forms!) All proposals must be developed in the Grants.gov Application Package in PureEdge Viewer. SPO submits the completed proposal through Grants.gov
Overview What does Grants.gov mean to the LBNL PI? (cont.) All proposals will be validated by Grants.gov prior to being accepted as submitted. Proposals will not be considered submitted until all the validation errors are fixed and an error-free proposal is accepted by Grants.gov prior to the published deadline of the Opportunity. Start Early LBNL is registered in Grants.gov. No further registration is required Software Requirements Web Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 and above is recommended Grants.gov Application Form Packages can only be viewed by the PureEdge Viewer software downloaded from Grants.gov It is Windows based with a MAC solution Start Early Software Requirements (cont.) LBNL has a solution for PC emulation for PureEdge on MACs Call the LBNL HELP DESK (x4357) and ask for Nat Stoddard or Bill Ou PDF generation software Many Agencies require attachments be in PDF format (e.g. NIH) Grants.gov Training Resources
Start Early One time setup of the PureEdge Viewer software Download PureEdge Viewer from Grants.gov Click here for the PureEdge Viewer Download page. Start Early Download PureEdge Viewer following the step by step instructions on Grants.gov. If you have problems with the Download, please contact the Grants.gov Help Desk: http://www.grants.gov/contactus/contactus.jsp FIND What is a Grant Opportunity? A publicly available document by which a Federal agency makes known its intentions to award discretionary grants or cooperative agreements. Grant Opportunity announcements may be known as program announcements, notices of funding availability, solicitations, or other names depending on the agency and type of program. All Federal Agency solicitations, are required to be on Grants.gov and available through the Find functionality as Grant Opportunities.
FIND You may search for Opportunities several ways Basic, Category, Agency, and Advance You can also sign up for Email Alerts On the left, click on For Applicants and then on Find Grants Opportunities: FIND The Basic Find functionality uses Keyword, Grant Opportunity Number, or CDFA Number. When you search on Keyword, you may be brought to a list of Opportunities. A Grant Opportunity number will take you directly to the Opportunity. FIND For Example, we searched on Grant Opportunity No., PA-06-282 From Search Results you click on the Opportunity to access the Grant Opportunity Application Page Click on the Opportunity Title and the Grant Opportunity Application Page will appear with the Synopsis, Announcement, and How to Apply
FIND Grant Opportunity Application Page provides a summary of the Application Package FIND On the Application Page you can access the Application Package by clicking on How to Apply FIND Download the Application Instructions and Application by clicking on download.
FIND Double check if you have the correct Opportunity It is highly recommended that you enter your Email address in the yellow field so you can subscribe to the updates. Download the Instructions and Save to your hard drive Download the Application Package and Save it to your hard drive Enter Email address here Download Application Instructions and Package from here Getting Ready Before beginning the Application Package, Read the Application Instructions very carefully and follow them. If you have programmatic questions about the instructions, please contact the Federal Agency Program Manager identified in the OPPORTUNITY. If you have questions regarding how to complete a form or policy questions, contact your Proposal Analyst. You Proposal Analyst and contact the SPO Contracts Officer for guidance. The first step in the Apply process is to open your Internet Explorer and then the Application Package 1. Open IE 2. Open Application Package
Completing the Application Package in PureEdge Viewer START EARLY especially if this is the first time As you complete each form or upload attachments into the PureEdge Viewer software, SAVE the Package. You cannot re-use the Application Package for a different submission. Application Package Header Page is the first page viewed each time the file is opened. It is the point from which you will navigate through to complete all forms Top Section Opportunity Identifying Information is pre-filled. DO NOT CHANGE Opportunity Identifying Information: Opportunity Title Offering Agency CFDA Number CFDA Description Opportunity Number Competition ID Opportunity Open Date Opportunity Close Date Agency Contact
Section 2 - Proposal Information: This section includes the Application Filing Name and the Proposal Forms Navigating the Documents: Open each form using the OPEN FORM button As you complete each form, move Documents from the Left Side to the Completed Documents on the Right Side You can check for errors and make corrections to Documents on either side. Remember to SAVE after any changes! Saving the Application Package in PureEdge Viewer On the Applicant Package Cover Page Click on the Save Button to open the Save Document window. Overwrite existing file with updated version OR you will have TWO Versions of the Application Package to track.
What forms will be used in Grants.gov? The SF424 Form Sets have been adopted At LBNL expects to use the SF424 (R&R) the most since it is designated to be used by agencies with research activities Complete the SF424 Cover Component first because it automatically pre-fills a number of other forms. Apply SF424 (R&R) Cover Component (2 pages) Follow the instructions in the Application Instructions. Depending on the Sponsor, non-conformance with instructions could mean the proposal may not be reviewed. The Applicant is LBNL, not the Principal Investigator. Principal Investigators are now referred to as PD/PI PD=Project Director SF424 (R&R) Page 2 PIs no longer sign cover/face pages Approval captured on Sponsored Projects Proposal Form (SPPF) The SPO Contracts Officer is the Authorized Representative. SPO will have examples on their website for reference in the next month.
Uploading Attachments in the Application Packages Based on Application Instructions, specific documents (e.g.) budget justifications, biosketches, etc. may be uploaded as a PDF. Documents are completed outside of PureEdge Viewer software Checking for Errors Don t check for errors until the Application Package is complete (otherwise incomplete forms show as errors) At the top of the Application Package Screen, click on Check Package for Errors Button The error description will be displayed one at a time You must correct each error before you can see the next one. When there are no errors, the Submit Button will be Active
Printing a hardcopy proposal from the Application Package It is recommended that each form is printed at the form level Do not use the Print Button at the Application Header level. The resultant printout has some format, but there are blank pages Uploaded documents do not print out. Using Internet Explorer, Print each form after the Application Package has been completely error checked and the Submit Button is activated. SUBMIT Submitting your proposal package with an Application Package to SPO Submit your proposal package including the Grants.gov Application Package 10 business days prior to the Sponsor s deadline The Application Package can be submitted by: Use SPO Grants.gov E-Room - preferred by SPO Email to SPO Contracts Officer Deliver CD to SPO Contracts Office All the same LBNL Proposal policies are in place SUBMIT Once the SPO review is completed and the Application Package is correct and error free, the SPO Contracts Officer will submit the proposal through Grants.gov by clicking on the Submit button.
SUBMIT After the Submit button is clicked, the SPO CO will be taken to a Login Screen. When the Login is complete, the Application Package is submitted to Grants.gov. Only SPO COs can submit proposals through Grants.gov SUBMIT GRANT.GOV A Confirmation will appear on the computer screen indicating that the Application Package has been received by the server but the validation process has not yet begun. The PSO CO print screen the Confirmation for the SPO file. GRANTS.GOV Grants.gov will send 4 Email notifications for Successfully validated proposals to the SPO Contracts Office How do I know my application has been received by Grants.gov? The first two Emails record the Grants.gov Received indicates Grants.gov has received Validated indicates Grants.gov has validated
GRANTS.GOV How do I know if the agency has retrieved my application? The SPO Contracts Officer will receive two more Emails: Received by Agency indicates that the agency has confirmed receipt Agency Tracking Number indicates the agency has assigned a tracking number. Last action in Grants.gov Now all tracking done with Agency GRANTS.GOV What happens if my Application Package is not validated by Grants.gov? The SPO CO will receive a second message: Rejected with Errors indicates Grants has not accepted Application and there are validation errors in the Application Package. Each validation error will be sent to SPO CO serially. To have a submitted proposal, all errors must be corrected prior to the Sponsor s published deadline. GRANTS.GOV The Email for the Agency Tracking Number is the last action in Grants.gov Now all tracking done with Agency Questions?