Electronic Submission > Electronic
Application Process
Overview of Electronic Submission via Grants.gov
- The National Institutes of Health is replacing paper grant applications
with electronic applications and has begun the transition to requiring electronic
submission of grant applications via the online portal of Grants.gov.
- NIH is simultaneously transitioning from the paper 398 application form
to a new electronic application form called the SF424 (R&R).
- NIH is transitioning grant program by program in a process that began
in December 2005 and is slated to be completed by September 2007. See the
Transition
Timeline (PDF - 42 KB).
- Once a grant program is transitioned, paper applications will no longer
be accepted for that grant program.
- Applicants submit their grant applications online to Grants.gov and
NIH retrieves the applications for processing. View
Detailed Chart (PDF - 24 KB) of electronic submission process.
- Since the electronic submission process involves two separate systems,
registration at both Grants.gov
and (NIH) eRA
Commons is required. All registration formalities must be completed
prior to submission. Individuals are not required to register at Grants.gov.
Principal Investigators have to go through their Signing Official to register
at Commons.
- All applications must be submitted in response to a solicitation (now
called Funding Opportunity Announcement in Grants.gov-speak). Umbrella announcements
(called parent announcements) have been developed to attract investigators
who previously submitted unsolicited applications. These umbrella solicitations
can be identified by the word ‘parent’ in the FOA title. A list
of Parent announcements can be found at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/parent_announcements.htm
- Funding Opportunities with application packages attached can be found
at both Grants.gov
and NIH.
The application form is in a format called PureEdge. Application packages
can be downloaded using the PureEdge
Viewer (EXE - 8.32 MB), a small free program that provides access
to the grant application. PureEdge is not compatible with Non-Windows
users. Non-Windows users can use PureEdge through a Windows emulation
program or Citrix viewers. See
Non-Windows
Support for PureEdge on Grants.gov’s website.
- Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization.
Only Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs) have the authority
to submit applications to Grants.gov.
- Once submitted, applications undergo checks (called validations) at Grants.gov
and at NIH. The Grants.gov checks are minor and straightforward —
for instance, ensuring no viruses are attached to the application and ensuring
the DUNS number is correct. At NIH, the application is checked against business
rules — for instance, whether you have an assurance number if the
human subjects is marked ‘yes.’
- After checking an application against the business rules, NIH may return
an error or warning. An error stops an application in its tracks. A warning
alerts the applicant to a less than ideal condition but allows an application
to proceed.
- An application with an error must be corrected and submitted again via
Grants.gov.
- If there are no errors, NIH assembles the entire application for viewing
by the applicant in Commons.
The submitting organization’s business official (Signing Official)
and scientist (Principal Investigator) have two days to view the application
before it moves forward to the Division of Receipt and Referral for processing.