Effective February 5, 2007: Important Changes to the Grant Application Process for: Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health (R03) PAR-06-520, (R21) PAR-06-521, and (R01), PAR-07-086

Electronic Grant Application Update

As part of the Department of Health and Human Services' implementation of e-Government, the NIH is currently transitioning each research grant mechanism to electronic submission through Grants.gov and the use of the SF 424 Research and Related (R&R) forms. As of February 5, 2007 all R03, R21 and R01 grant submissions must be received in electronic format; applications may not be submitted in paper format. The SF 424 replaces the PHS 398 submission.

This change was published in NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts; you can view the announcement at: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-06-046.html

To learn about the new electronic submission process, please visit http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/ for detailed instructions and training.

Several of the steps of the registration process could take four weeks or more. Therefore, applicants should immediately check with their business official to determine whether their institution is already registered in both Grants.gov and the Commons. The NIH will accept electronic applications only from organizations that have completed all necessary registrations.

Here is a brief overview of the steps you will need to take to apply electronically:

1. To download a SF424 (R&R) Application Package and SF424 (R&R) Application Guide for completing the SF424 (R&R) forms for this FOA, link to http://www.grants.gov/Apply and follow the directions provided on that Web site.



2. A one-time registration is required for institutions/organizations at both: Grants.gov and eRA Commons. PD/PIs should work with their institutions/organizations to make sure they are registered in the NIH Commons.



3. Several additional separate actions are required before an applicant institution/organization can submit an electronic application, as follows:
   
   
   • Organizational/Institutional Registration in Grants.gov/GetStarted.
     
     Your organization will need to obtain a Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number and register with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) as part of the Grants.gov registration process. If your organization does not have a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN), allow for extra time. A valid TIN or EIN is necessary for CCR registration. The CCR also validates the EIN against Internal Revenue Service records, a step that will take an additional one to two business days.
     
     Direct questions regarding Grants.gov registration to:
     Grants.gov Customer Support
     Contact Center Phone: 800-518-4726
     Business Hours: M-F 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time
     Email: support@grants.gov
   
   
   
   • Organizational/Institutional Registration in the eRA Commons To find out if an organization is already Commons-registered, see the "List of Grantee Organizations Registered in NIH eRA Commons."
     
     Direct questions regarding the Commons registration to:
     eRA Commons Help Desk
     Phone: 301-402-7469 or 866-504-9552 (Toll Free)
     TTY: 301-451-5939
     Business hours M-F 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time
     Email: commons@od.nih.gov
   
   
   
   • Project Director/Principal Investigator (PD/PI) Registration in the NIH eRA Commons: Refer to the NIH eRA Commons System (COM) Users Guide.
     
     
     • The individual designated as the PD/PI on the application must also be registered in the NIH eRA Commons. It is not necessary for PDs/PIs to register with Grants.gov.
     • The PD/PI must hold a PD/PI account in the Commons and must be affiliated with the applicant organization. This account cannot have any other role attached to it other than the PD/PI.
     • This registration/affiliation must be done by the Signing Official (SO) or their designee who is already registered in the Commons.
     • Both the PD/PI and SO need separate accounts in the NIH eRA Commons since both are required to verify the application.
     • Note that if a PD/PI is also an NIH peer-reviewer with an Individual DUNS and CCR registration, that particular DUNS number and CCR registration are for the individual reviewer only. These are different than any DUNS number and CCR registration used by an applicant organization. Individual DUNS and CCR registration should be used only for the purposes of personal reimbursement and should not be used on any grant applications submitted to the Federal Government.