4.1. Process Overview
You
should review program guidance to
determine if verification in HRSA
EHBs is required. If verification
is NOT required, you should
refer to Section 3. If verification
is required, continue reading this
section.
You should review program guidance to determine if verification in HRSA EHBs is required. If verification is NOT required , you should refer to Section 3 . If verification is required, continue reading this section.
Following is the process for submitting a competitive application through Grants.gov with verification required within HRSA EHBs:
HRSA will post all competing announcements on Grants.gov FIND. Announcements are typically posted at the beginning of the fiscal year when HRSA releases its annual Preview, although program guidances are generally not available until later. For more information visit HRSA Grants.
When program guidance is available, search for the announcement in Grants.gov Apply.
Download the application package and instructions from Grants.gov. The program guidance is also part of the instructions that must be downloaded. (Confirm from the program guidance if verification is required in HRSA EHBs. If it is not required, you must refer to section 3 of this document.) Note the announcement number as it will be required later in the process.
Save a local copy of the application package on your computer and complete all the standard forms based on the instructions provided in the program guidance.
Submit the application package through Grants.gov. (Requires registration) Note the grants.gov tracking number as it will be required later in the process.
Track the status of your submitted application at Grants.gov until you receive a notification from Grants.gov that your application has been received by HRSA.
HRSA Electronic Handbooks (EHBs) software pulls the application information into EHBs and validates the data against HRSA's business rules.
HRSA notifies the project director, authorizing official (AO), business official (BO) and application point of contact (POC) by email to check HRSA EHBs for results of HRSA validations and enter supplemental information required to process the competing application. Note the HRSA EHBs tracking number from the email.
The application in HRSA EHBs is validated by a user from the applicant organization by providing three independent data elements (Announcement Number, Grants.gov Tracking Number and HRSA EHBs Tracking Number).
The AO verifies the pending application in HRSA EHBs, fixes any validation errors, and makes necessary corrections. Supplemental forms are completed. AO submits the application to HRSA.
The AO prints the application face page from HRSA EHBs (not Grants.gov), signs it, and mails it to HRSA's Grant Application Center (GAC).
HRSA receives the signed face page and scans it into the system saving it with the electronic application.
Grants.gov requires a one-time registration by the applicant organization that must be updated annually. This is a three step process and should be completed by any organization wishing to apply for grant. If you do not complete this registration process you will not be able to submit an application. The registration process will require time (5 business days to one month) to process. Therefore, applicants or those considering applying at some point in the future should register immediately. Registration with Grants.gov provides the individuals from the organization the required credentials in order to apply.
If an applicant organization has already completed Grants.gov registration for another Federal agency, this section can be skipped.
For those applicant organizations still needing to register with Grants.gov, registration information can be found on the Grants.gov "Get Started" Web site. To be able to successfully register in Grants.gov, it is necessary that you complete all of the following required actions:
Obtain an organizational Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number
Register the organization with Central Contractor Registry (CCR)
Identify the organization's E-Business POC (Point of Contact)
Confirm the organization's CCR “Marketing Partner ID Number (M-PIN)” password
Register an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR)
Obtain a username and password from the Grants.gov Credential Provider
Register the username and password with Grants.gov
Get authorized as an AOR by your organization
In addition, if an applicant does not have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), allow for extra time. Beginning Oct. 30, 2005, the CCR also validates the EIN against Internal Revenue Service records, a step that will take one to two business days.
Please direct questions regarding Grants.gov registration to the Grants.gov Contact Center at Tel.: 1-800-518-4726. Contact Center hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays.
It is recommended that this registration process be completed at least two weeks prior to the submittal date of your organization's first Grants.gov submission.
In order to access the competitive application in HRSA EHBs, the Authorizing Official (and other application preparers) must register in HRSA EHBs. The purpose of the registration process is to collect consistent information from all users, avoid collection of redundant information and allow for the unique identification of each system user. Note that registration within HRSA EHBs is required only once for each user. Note that HRSA EHBs now allow the user to use his/her single username and associate it with more than one organization.
Registration within HRSA EHBs is a two-step process. In the first step, individual users from an organization who participate in the grants process must create individual system accounts. In the second step, the users must associate themselves with the appropriate grantee organization.
Once the individual is registered, they are given two options. One, they can search for an existing organization using the 10-digit grant number from the Notice of Grant Award (NGA ). Secondly, if the grant number is not known or if the organization has never received a grant from HRSA, they can search using the HRSA EHBs Tracking Number . Your organization's record is created in HRSA EHBs based on information entered in Grants.gov.
To complete the registration quickly and efficiently we recommend that you identify your role in the grants management process. HRSA EHBs offer the following three functional roles for individuals from applicant/grantee organizations:
Authorizing Official (AO),
Business Official (BO), and
Other Employee (for project directors, assistant staff, AO designees and others).
For more information on functional responsibilities refer to the HRSA EHBs online help. Note that registration with HRSA EHBs is independent of Grants.gov registration.
Note that once the registration is completed, any one user from the organization needs to go through an additional step to get access to the application in HRSA EHBs. This is required to ensure that only the right individuals have access to the competing application. In this step, the first user is challenged to enter the announcement number, grants.gov tracking number and the HRSA EHBs tracking number. Once the individual has successfully provided this information and received access to the application, other users can be given access through the ‘Peer Access' feature within HRSA EHBs.
For assistance in registering with HRSA EHBs, call 877-GO4-HRSA (877-464-4772) between 9:00 am to 5:30 pm ET or email callcenter@hrsa.gov .
Search for announcements in Grants.gov FIND and select the announcement that you wish to apply for. Refer to the program guidance for eligibility criteria.
Please visit the HRSA Grants page to read the annual HRSA Preview.
Download the application package and instructions. In order to view application package and instructions, you will also need to download and install the PureEdge Viewer. This small, free program will allow you to access, complete, and submit applications electronically and securely.
Complete the application using both the built-in instructions and the instructions provided in the program guidance. Ensure that you save a copy of the application on your local computer.
Please direct questions regarding PureEdge to Grants.gov. Contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at Tel.: 1-800-518-4726. Contact Center hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays.
For assistance with program guidance related questions, please contact the program contact listed on the program guidance.
The "Submit" button on the application package cover page will become active after you have downloaded the application package, completed all required forms, attached all required documents, and saved your application package. Click on the "Submit" button once you have done all these things and you are ready to send your completed application to Grants.gov.
Review the provided application summary to confirm that the application will be submitted to the program you wish to apply for. To submit, you will be asked to Log into Grants.gov. Once you have logged in, your application package will automatically be uploaded to Grants.gov. A confirmation screen will appear once the upload is complete. Note that a Grants.gov Tracking number will be provided on this screen. Please record this number so that you may refer to it for all subsequent help.
Please direct questions regarding application submission to the Grants.gov Contact Center at Tel.: 1-800-518-4726. Contact Center hours of operation are Monday-Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding Federal holidays.
Once Grants.gov has received your submission, Grants.gov will send email messages to advise you of the progress of your application through the system. Over the next 24 to 48 hours, you should receive two emails. The first will confirm receipt of your application by the Grants.gov system (“Received”), and the second will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated (“Validated”) by the system prior to transmission to the grantor agency or has been rejected due to errors (“Rejected with Errors”).
In case of any errors, you must correct the application and resubmit it to Grants.gov. If you are unable to resubmit because the opportunity has since closed, contact the Director of the Division of Grants Policy via email at DGPClearances@hrsa.gov and thoroughly explain the situation; include a copy of the “Rejected with Errors” notification.
You can check the status of your application(s) anytime after submission, by logging into Grants.gov using the black 'Applicants' link at the top of any page, and clicking on the 'Check Application Status' link.
If there are no errors, the application will be downloaded by HRSA. On successful download at HRSA, the status of the application will change to “Received by Agency” and you will receive an additional email from Grants.gov.
Once your application is received by HRSA, it will be processed to ensure that the application is submitted for the correct funding announcement, with the correct grant number (if applicable), and applicant/grantee organization. Upon this processing, which is expected to take up to two to three business days, HRSA will assign a unique tracking number to your application. This tracking number will be posted to the Grants.gov and the status of your application will be changed to “Agency Tracking Number Assigned”; you will receive yet another email from Grants.gov. Note the HRSA tracking number and use it for all correspondence with HRSA.
For assistance in registering with or using HRSA EHBs, call 877-GO4-HRSA (877-464-4772) between 9:00 am to 5:30 pm ET or email callcenter@hrsa.gov .
Once your application is received by HRSA, it will be processed to ensure that the application is submitted for the correct funding announcement, with the correct grant number (in case of competing continuation and competing supplemental applications) and application or grantee organization. Upon this processing, which is expected to take up to two to three business days, HRSA will assign a unique tracking number to your application. This tracking number will be posted to Grants.gov and the status of your application will be changed to “Agency Tracking Number Assigned”; you will receive yet another email from Grants.gov. Note the HRSA tracking number and use it for all correspondence with HRSA. At this point, your application is ready for review and submission in HRSA EHBs.
You should also receive an email from HRSA EHBs confirming the successful receipt of your application at HRSA. The email is sent to the project director, authorizing official, point of contact for the application and the business official – all from the submitted application. Because email is not always reliable, please check the HRSA EHBs or Grants.gov to see if the application is available for review in HRSA EHBs.
In order to ensure that only the right individuals from the applicant organization get access to their competing application, HRSA EHBs has a validation process built into it. The first user who seeks access to the application needs to provide the following information:
Data Element |
Source |
Example |
Announcement Number |
From submitted Grants.gov application |
HRSA-04-061 or 04-016 |
Grants.gov Tracking Number |
From submitted Grants.gov application |
GRANT00059900 |
HRSA EHBs
Application Tracking Number |
From email notification |
25328 |
Note that the source of each data element is different and knowledge of the three numbers together is considered sufficient to provide that individual access to the application.
To validate the grants.gov application, click on the “View Applications” link, then click on the “Add Grants.Gov Application” link (this is only visible for grant applications requiring supplemental forms).
At this point you will be presented with a form, which will request you to provide the numbers specified in the table above in order to validate your grants.gov application.
You must be registered in HRSA EHBs to get access to your application. To ensure that only the right individuals from the organization get access to the application, you must follow the process described earlier.
The first person who gets access to the application must use the Peer Access feature to share this application with other individuals from the organization. This is required if you wish to allow multiple individuals to work on the application in HRSA EHBs.
HRSA EHBs will apply HRSA's business rules to the application received through Grants.gov. All validation errors are recorded and displayed to the applicant. To view the validation errors use the ‘Grants.gov Data Validation Comments' link on the application status page in HRSA EHBs.
Applicants must review the errors in HRSA EHBs and make necessary changes. Applicants must complete any other required forms in HRSA EHBs and assign an AO registered in HRSA EHBs to the application. HRSA EHBs will show the status of each form in the application package and all forms must be complete before submission.
The application can be submitted by the AO assigned to the application within HRSA EHBs. The application can also be submitted by the designee of the AO. Once all forms are complete, the application must be submitted to HRSA by the due date listed within the program guidance.
After successful submission, the AO must print the face page of the application from the HRSA EHBs, sign it and mail it to HRSA at the address listed below:
HRSA Grants Application Center
Reference: Announcement Number: <Provide HRSA Announcement Number>
Reference: Grants.gov Tracking Number: <Provide Your Grants.gov Tracking Number>
910 Clopper Road, Suite 155 South
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
The face page must be received by HRSA within 5 business days from the date of submission in HRSA EHBs.
Once your signed face page is received by HRSA and saved with the application, you will receive an email receipt of application from HRSA.
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