Frequently Asked Questions
NIH’s Training Session
NIH’s New Electronic Grant Application
Process and the SF424 (R&R)
Jan. 11, 2006
Bethesda
Quick Links
Registration
- The Central Contract Registration (CCR) requires annual
renewal of registration. If your CCR registration expires, does that affect
the ability to submit?
CCR
registration is part of the Grants.gov registration process. According to
Katie Root, panel representative for Grants.gov, failure to complete the
annual renewal currently will not affect the ability to submit. However,
Grants.gov requests that you keep your CCR updated; it only needs to be
updated once a year.
- Is there a way for us to search to be able to tell if
a Principal Investigator (PI) is registered in Commons?
A Signing Official (SO) can go to eRA Commons and search for the
PI. There is no way for the PI to them self search the eRA Commons.
- Is it true that if a PI is with a different organization,
the SO does not need to create a new account; they just need to create an
association with that account?
Yes. An SO can simply affiliate the PI’s current account to
the organization that is applying.
- Is the PI’s Institution responsible for registration at
Grants.gov?
Yes. The Institution registers at Grants.gov, not the PI.
- Will an organization have more than one Data Universal
Numbering System (DUNS) number?
Yes. A DUNS number
is situated by physical location so it is possible for college campuses
to have multiple DUNS numbers. When submitting an application it is important
to ensure that the DUNS number used to register with Grants.gov is the same
DUNS number in the eRA Commons organization profile.
- When a Signing Official registers at Commons, should all
PIs and potential PIs register?
It is a good idea to register all PIs. The value in registering
in eRA Commons — in addition to verifying the grant application — is that
one can also view summary statements and review outcome letters that NIH
is no longer mailing out.
Submission/Deadlines
- Can you clarify what constitutes an on-time application?
An application is on time if:
- It is successfully
submitted to Grants.gov by 8 p.m. Eastern Time on the due date [Important
note: The submission time has been changed to 5 p.m. local time
(of the applicant institution/organization) for applications due April
1, 2006 and thereafter]
- It is verified by
the PI and SO within two days of the grant image being posted on eRA
Commons
- How long does one have to correct error notifications
after the deadline date?
Eventually, NIH will require that an on time submission will
mean that a “clean” application (i.e., no Grants.gov or NIH errors) be submitted
to Grants.gov by the application deadline and that the application image
is verified within two days of its availability in eRA Commons. This is
the only way NIH will be able to leverage electronic submission and to realize
the goal of shortening time from submission to award.
However, NIH is providing some flexibility for the first
submission dates of a transitioned mechanism. Applicant institutions can
submit changed/corrected applications in the two business days following
the submission deadline as long as the changes made are needed to address
errors encountered during the NIH business rule validation process. The
AOR/SO and PI still will need to verify the final application image within
two business days of its availability in eRA Commons.
NIH does expect that all registration requirements are met
prior to the initial application submission and that the initial application
is successfully submitted to Grants.gov on or before the submission deadline.
If the two-business day correction window is used, the application must
include the PHS 398 Cover Letter form component with an explanation for
why the corrected application is required.
- Is there a mechanism to withdraw a grant application before
the deadline? If so, can we then resubmit a corrected grant application
after verification?
If you want to withdraw your application, send the Center for Scientific Review (CSR) a letter
formally withdrawing it.
For relatively small issues, such as forgetting to include
the information on vertebrate animals, it is better to let the application
go forward and contact the Scientific Review Administrator later about submitting
the missing information.
- Is the deadline of 8 p.m. Eastern
Time or local time in the applicant’s time zone?
It is Eastern Time in the Eastern time zone, whether it is
daylight savings or standard time. In California, the deadline would be
5 p.m. Pacific Time.
- How did NIH choose to use 8 p.m. Eastern Time as the submission
deadline at Grants.gov?
The eRA Commons help desk is open until 8 p.m. Eastern Time
(ET) and the Grants.gov help desk is open until 9 p.m. ET. We decided to
arrange the deadline within that window of time, so people would be available
to help applicants with questions. Secondly, 8 p.m. ET works out to 5 p.m.
Pacific Time, which is the time businesses generally close on the West Coast.
Commons
- Does the credential/eRA Commons User Name need to be in
capital letters?
No. When NIH first started electronic submission via Grants.gov
in December 2005, the user name had to be entered in all capital letters
but we have since fixed that issue. Now the user name can be entered in
capital letters or lower case.
- Do we need agency log in for all senior key personnel?
Not at this time. The only requirement is for the Principal
Investigator/Project Director (PI/PD). But keep in mind that when NIH allows
multiple PIs on research grant applications, it will be a requirement for
all PIs associated with the application.
- Can a Signing Official and a PI be the same person in
the Commons? Does that person need to register as both PI and SO?
Both the Principal Investigator (PI) and Signing Official (SO)
need separate accounts in eRA Commons since both need to verify the application.
If you are the SO for your organization as well as a PI of the grant, you
will need two separate accounts with different user names - one with SO
authority and one with PI authority.
PureEdge
- Can a Research Administrator have access to an application
or only a PI and SO?**
Grants.gov allows anyone to download an application. You need
to have PureEdge viewer to view it. An applicant can share or view an application
package by dropping it in an email or putting it on a shared network drive.
Software
- Can Macintosh users work collaboratively with PC users to develop
an application?
With a Citrix server, you are saving the data on your Macintosh
but using the Citrix server to view and manipulate the application forms.
These files can be shared with any PC user that has a PureEdge viewer. The
PureEdge viewer does not provide any mechanism for version control, however.
It is up to the individuals working on the application to coordinate the
filling out of the forms.
- Must Internet Explorer be used for submitting?**
According to Katie Root, panel representative for Grants.gov,
Internet Explorer is the recommended browser although you can also use Mozilla
Firefox and Netscape.
SF424 (R&R)
- Can you clarify when to use the PHS398 and when the SF424
(R&R)?
NIH has made the decision to switch to the SF424 (R&R)
by mechanism. The easiest way to find out which form to use is by looking
at the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA); it makes it very clear whether
you use the PHS398 or the SF424 (R&R). Also look at the electronic submission
timeline (PDF - 42 KB).
Once a mechanism has switched from using a paper PHS398 to an electronic
SF424 (R&R) application, all applications for that mechanism will be
electronically submitted on the SF424 (R&R) from that point forward.
- Are SF424 components portable? Can components be reused
for other applications?**
According to Katie Root, Grants.gov panel representative, Grants.gov
hopes to have functionality within PureEdge next year to import and export
data for reuse with other applications.
- Does the SF424 (R&R) form have an auto save in the
preferences menu?
No. There is no auto save capability, only a manual save button.
If you try to exit, it will ask you to save.
- Clarify what goes in the credential field.
The PI’s user name in eRA Commons has to be entered in the
credential field. Do not enter a professional credential like PhD., etc.
- Where on the SF424 (R&R) do you enter payments to
human subjects?
Enter patient care costs in the “Other section” in the blank
lines that follow the itemized 1 to 7 Other Direct Costs (sec. 4.7.3 of
the application guide).
- Facilities and Equipment are on the same 398 page; now
they get two separate fields. Can we upload both as one document?
They are separate uploads at this time.
PDF
- When we convert a file into PDF in color (i.e. scientific
tables), will the reviewers be able to see the color images?
Yes and with high resolution.
- Can you provide advice on creating PDF attachments that
will be accepted by NIH?
Special characters in file names are not allowed. Security
options should not be implemented for PDF documents, otherwise NIH will
not be able to pull the document into the grant image. Do not use a PDF
with editable fields, because it will interfere with NIH’s ability to convert
the document.
- For PDF files, is there a NIH profile available for Adobe
software to produce the PDF files?
NIH does not produce the PDF file for you. You must submit
the PDF through Grants.gov as part of the submission process.
Person Months
- How will changes to person months on the budget form affect
the current practice of recording and certifying percent effort? Please
give an example of how person months are calculated and how (or if) it can
be translated into percent effort?
When you are dealing with calendar, summer or academic months,
you cannot go over 12. If it is a calendar appointment and the person devotes
50 percent effort, it translates to six months.
- If a salary is not being requested, what needs to be filled
in under Calendar, Academic and Summer months? Does $ 0.00 need to be filled
in for base salary?
Keep in mind the distinction between calendar months and salary.
You often have effort without salary. You always need to show effort for
senior key personnel; calendar effort is expressed in months. The dollar
field can be zero.
- How should we list partial months?
The form allows less than one month to be entered. Validations
in December 2005 caused an error for months less than one. The workaround
then was to round the time to the nearest 1 and include the details in the
budget justification. However, that will be fixed in time for the April
1, 2006 submissions.
Page limits
- What happens to page limits if the formatting changes
when a PDF is generated?
NIH validations include checks for page limits. Some accommodation
will be made for sections that when combined must fit within a specified
limitation. For example, applicants are encouraged to construct the Research
Plan as a single document, separating sections into distinct PDF attachments
just before uploading the files. In this way the applicant can better monitor
formatting requirements such as page limits. When validations for page limits
are applied, the eRA Commons will make allowances for the white space created
by breaking the text into separate files for uploading.
Budgets
- Do we need to have both a complete budget, for the SF424
(R&R), as well as a modular budget for the PHS398 component in order
to get the application through the validation?
No. If you try to submit both budgets, your application will
be rejected. Whenever possible we will include only the budget component
that is appropriate for that grant opportunity. In some cases, both budget
forms will be included as optional components and you will have to read
the application instructions and/or the Funding Opportunity Announcement
and choose the budget component that fits your circumstances.
- Where in the budget should incentive payments go? For
example, if a participant earns a $25 gift certificate after accruing a
certain number of health promotion credit using the innovative technology,
we put this under “other” participant trainee support costs.
These costs should be placed in the “Other Direct Costs” section.
- How will consortium budgets over 10 be handled?
With the grant mechanisms NIH is currently transitioning, it
should not be an issue. However, with complex mechanisms, it will be an
issue and NIH is setting up a working group that will address this and other
issues. Currently, if necessary you can get around this limitation by combining
some consortium budgets into one attachment.
Errors
- When you check for errors by clicking the button in PureEdge
and you receive a list back, do you have a way to save or print the list
for reference?**
The list is one item at a time. It is not a full listing.
- Why isn’t the NIH error checking done with PureEdge?
The SF424 (R&R) is an agency-wide form set used by multiple
federal agencies. The PureEdge forms cannot accommodate error checking for
all the ways different agencies use the form fields, so error checking must
be done by NIH once we retrieve the application from Grants.gov.
- How long does it take to correct errors? Do I have to
do this for both — Grants.gov and eRA Commons?
At Grants.gov the reasons for rejection are very small: it
could be a virus in an attachment; the DUNS number does not match the one
in the profile; an improper username/password was used, etc.
At NIH the system will check the application against the application guide
and funding opportunity announcement instructions. Applicants must follow
these instructions carefully to avoid validation errors. If errors are encountered,
you can make the necessary corrections to the application and submit a changed/corrected
application through Grants.gov.
For each submission attempt, both the Grants.gov and eRA Commons systems
can take from several hours to up to two days to respond.
- What happens if the error is not correctable by the organization
but is a system problem generated by NIH?
NIH will do its best to ensure you are not penalized for system
errors. If NIH or Grants.gov has system problems, we will work together
through the problem as quickly as possible to move your application forward.
- Must the grant application be error-free by the submission
deadline?
Eventually, NIH will require that an on time submission will
mean that a “clean” application (i.e., no Grants.gov or NIH errors) be submitted
to Grants.gov by the application deadline and that the application image
is verified within two days of its availability in eRA Commons. This is
the only way NIH will be able to leverage electronic submission and to realize
the goal of shortening time from submission to award. However, NIH is providing
some flexibility for the first submission dates of a transitioned mechanism.
Applicant institutions can submit changed/corrected applications in the
week following the submission deadline as long as the changes made are needed
to address errors encountered during the NIH business rule validation process.
The AOR/SO and PI still will need to verify the final application image
within two business days of its availability in eRA Commons. NIH does expect
that all registration requirements are met prior to the initial application
submission and that the initial application is submitted to Grants.gov on
or before the submission deadline. If the one week correction window is
used, the application must include the PHS 398 Cover Letter form component
with an explanation for why the corrected application is required.
Email notifications
- If there is more than one Signing Official for an institution,
is there a way for all Signing Officials to receive email notifications?
Currently we will send the email to the address of the Signing
Official provided to us in the application. It is possible to have the SO
address be a listserv or group address. Another option is for the SO to
set up rules from their own email addresses to forward the email to other
SOs.
Attachments/Appendix
- How do you include signed physical letters of support
from outside agencies and consultants?
You scan the document, convert it to a PDF and attach it. If
it is for the Research Plan component, there is a separate section for letters
of support.
- With a limit of ten attachments for appendix material,
can several documents be combined into a single one?
Yes.
- Will there be posted suggested naming conventions for
application attachments?
We are posting tips on the Electronic Submission website on
things to avoid with attachments. For instance, special characters in file
names are not accepted. Grants.gov does truncate names over 50 characters;
it will not affect the file however. Applicants should read the FOA and/or
the application guide for special instructions. For instance, for domestic
institutions with substantial foreign components, we urge applicants to
include foreign justification in the “other” attachment of the “Other info”
component and name it Foreign justification pdf.
- Will additional material be allowed before review but
after the application is verified?
Yes. NIH is not changing that process. The applicant needs
to contact the Scientific Review Administrator before submitting additional
material.
- How will reprints be handled?
Reprints will be included as part of the appendix and uploaded
as a PDF.
Just-in-Time
- How will Just-in-Time information be submitted?
There has been no change in that business process. Limited
functionality in era Commons allows a one-time submission of Just-in-Time
information. You can also submit this information via email or fax or other
communication tools. The best way is to use era Commons because the data
is saved in the electronic Grants Folder and the IC is automatically notified
that the information is there. Applicants should wait for the IC to request
this information before sending it in.
Grant Image
- With the exception of the Table of Contents, pagination
and headers, should we expect the application image generated in the validation
step to look the same as the document generated by choosing “Print” in PureEdge?
Not at all. The images will be put together with each PDF attachment
to the PureEdge; then a Table of Contents and pagination will be added.
The application image will look very different from when it is printed locally.
Information on how the NIH system creates the final grant image is available
on the NIH Electronic Submission for Grant Applications website.
Verification
- Can any Signing Official at an institution verify the
grant application in Commons or only the submitting SO?
Any SO at the institution who has been registered in the Commons
can verify the application.
- Must a PI verify prior to the SO?
No. It does not matter who verifies first, only that both the
SO and PI complete the verification step.
- Can the applicant modify the application after it is successfully
submitted electronically?
You cannot modify an application electronically after it has
been verified; you have to contact an SRA. If you have not verified the
application, you can modify the application but will have to begin the whole
process of submitting a changed/corrected application through Grants.gov
again. If for example, you forgot to include an item in the literature cited
or left out one paragraph in the Human Subjects section, it would be prudent
to go ahead and verify the application and contact the SRA to submit the
additional material.
- Can a PI assign a delegate to verify their application
in case they are traveling, etc.?
In eRA Commons, there is no ability to delegate and we would
advise against sharing usernames and passwords. Since eRA Commons is a web
interface, a PI does not have to be at the home institution to verify. Internet
access is all that is needed.
Revisions/Renewals
- How do we submit a renewal (competing continuation) if
there is no specific FOA?
NIH is transitioning by grant mechanism. So if you are submitting
a renewal for a mechanism that has not transitioned, please submit it on
a PHS 398 form. If you are submitting a renewal for a mechanism that has
transitioned, there will be an FOA and you will submit it on a SF424 (R&R).
- Do revised grant proposals submitted originally on a PHS
398 now have to be submitted on a SF424 (R&R)?
If the mechanism has transitioned, resubmissions need to come
in on the new SF424 (R&R) form.
Review Outcome
- After an application is processed by the NIH and referred
to a study section for review, what happens next and how will we learn the
results of our grant application review?
The best and quickest way to find out is by going to eRA Commons.
For now we send a paper letter about an assignment or a change of assignment.
However, we are no longer sending review outcome letters (also known as
score letters) or summary statements on paper.
Service Providers
- Service Providers can assist organizations that want to
apply using system-to-system services rather than PureEdge. Can you tell
us where to find information about Service Providers?
Information about Service Providers is on
our Electronic Submission website. If you are looking to provide system-to-system
services, call us to get listed on the website. If you are planning to develop
a system-to-system, Grants.gov has a working group. In addition, technical
details about system-to-system can be found in the Tech Library on the Grants.gov website.
Helpdesk
- We had difficulty reaching the eRA support desk during
the December 2005 submission. What improvements are planned?
We do realize that we were hit with a lot of calls and we are
taking action to improve the user experience. We are looking at staffing,
alternative ways of entering tickets, increased training and tools for help
desk staff to reduce call times and posting of common errors and workarounds
on our Electronic Submission website. We are also making efforts to broaden
the base of knowledge across NIH staff so that they can be used as resources
International institutions
- What about the foreign institutions that do not have zip
codes or state designation, which are required fields in the electronic
application. What do they do?
In Grants.gov the field is large enough to include postal codes.
At NIH, foreign addresses are accepted. A bug that kept NIH from accepting
some foreign addresses during the December 2005 submissions has been fixed.
Other grant programs
(mechanisms)
- How will NIH handle R01 and other unsolicited applications?
Everything that comes through Grants.gov has to come through
a Funding Opportunity Announcement. NIH is developing general parent announcements
for each mechanism that will cover the investigator-initiated applications.
- For noncompeting 2590s, can you verify that we should
continue to submit as usual on the PHS2590 form?
Yes. There is no change in our business process there. We do
not anticipate using Grants.gov or SF424 (R&R) for progress reports
(2590s). Continue to use the paper 2590. Alternately, those with Commons
registration can submit the SNAP progress report electronically using eSNAP.
- For training grant applications, are you developing a
separate research plan component?
NIH has working groups to address the nuances of each grant
program to be transitioned. In the case of training grant applications,
NIH anticipate that there will be changes to accommodate training budget
and research plan requirements.
- Now that SBIR applicants must use the SF424 (R&R),
have the traditional submission dates changed?
No. The dates for SBIR/STTR submissions remain April 1, August
1 and Dec. 1 and the corresponding AIDS dates also remain unchanged.
Miscellaneous
- Will NIH require a hard copy to be mailed in?
No.
- Can there be more than one SO per college?
Yes.
- Will the NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts be in sync
with Grants.gov and have the most current information available?
Yes. When NIH posts an FOA in the NIH Guide for Grants and
Contracts, the same team handles posting at Grants.gov. Both postings
are done within minutes of each other.
Note: Questions marked with a ** were answered
by a Grants.gov representative.