The first phase of the Grants.gov (formerly E-Grants) pilot began in July. The primary objective is to test the grantee’s ability to download, fill in and submit SF424 applications electronically. Over the course of the summer, NIH will conduct similar tests with several commercial service providers, funded through the NIH Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program to create mechanisms for the electronic submission of the PHS 398 application. Throughout the planning and development, eRA has been working closely with the Grants.gov team to ensure that the new federal grant submission process and the NIH eRA electronic Competitive Grant Application Process (CGAP) remain completely compatible.

Grants.gov, the “Trusted Broker”

Grants.gov will be the central storefront on the Web for customers of federal grants to find funding opportunities and to download and submit applications. The goal of Grants.gov is to improve the coordination, quality and efficiency of electronic grant administration operations for both grantors and grantees. To do business at Grants.gov, users must register according to instructions at http://grants.gov under the “Apply Pilot” link. Furthermore, to apply for grants at the NIH, grantee institutions and applicants must register in the NIH eRA Commons.

Preparing and Submitting an Electronic Grant Application (See Diagram)

There will be three methods for preparing and submitting an electronic application:

Method 1 –– Obtain application preparation support from a commercial vendor

Several commercial service providers have been awarded SBIR grants to develop systems for preparing electronic grant applications. The SBIR solutions may include downloadable forms, Web-based interactive forms, word processing forms and others. After receiving application data and attachments from the grantee institution, the service provider will format the application as an XML file with attachments for submission through Grants.gov.

Method 2 –– Develop a system to submit XML data streams to Grants.gov

A grantee institution may choose to develop its own system to create XML data streams using published XML schemas for computer-to-computer transmission to Grants.gov.

Method 3 –– Download an electronic form from Grants.gov

Grants.gov will provide PureEdge™ downloadable electronic grant application forms. PureEdge supports off-line application preparation, including extensive data edit and validation at the user’s desktop and the automated propagation of data among forms. Work-in-progress can be stored and managed on the grantee’s network server or computer. Once complete, the application forms and attached files are submitted to Grants.gov.

Processing at Grants.gov

At the Grants.gov site, Northrop Grumman InFlowSuite™ software will authenticate the submitter, enforce role-based security rules, check for viruses, verify data format, send acknowledgement to the customer, and convert PureEdge XML-enabled forms into an XML data stream with included documents. Grants.gov then will package the XML stream as a Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) message and notify the appropriate agency that the application is ready for retrieval.

Retrieval and Processing of Applications by NIH

eRA currently is engaged in a Competitive Grant Application Process (CGAP) project. The goal of this initiative is to enable NIH to receive electronic grant applications from external sources (such as Grants.gov) as XML streams with attached documents. Grantor agencies will retrieve their applications from the Grants.gov site using a number of methods specified in the Agency Integration Toolkit. Once received, NIH will process the electronic applications without printing or printing on demand only. NIH will review the grant proposal and consider it for funding according to established guidelines. All of the eRA internal systems for grants administration are being modified to support the electronic process.

Pilot Testing Schedule

Converting to electronic applications will introduce new technologies, new user interfaces, new policies, new business processes, and new workflows. To mitigate the risks of these changes, a number of gradually expanding tests and pilots will be conducted.

Grants.gov testing this summer

Beginning in July, Grants.gov began pilot testing the submission of SF424 “Core” data elements and attachments. The second phase of the pilot will include “Core Plus” (research and agency-specific) data elements such as those on the PHS 398 used by the NIH. eRA has participated in Grants.gov planning and will take part in both phases of the pilot, using test applications. 

NIH eRA testing this summer

During the course of the summer, NIH will conduct a test with several commercial service providers funded through the NIH SBIR program. The tests, which will not use actual data, will be iterative. Issues will be resolved by working jointly with the service providers. The purpose of the testing is to validate the technologies, gain experience in the process, and obtain preliminary feedback from the service providers.

NIH/Grants.gov collaborative testing this fall

NIH and Grants.gov plan to conduct a limited, live pilot in the October–November timeframe based on the full set of Core and Core Plus data for the PHS 398 application. NIH will work with volunteer institutions and applicants and will confine the test to R01 grants with modular budgets and competitive renewals.

Grants.gov will make a 398-based application package available on its Web site. To restrict participation in this test, NIH and Grants.gov will set up special funding opportunity numbers, which must be known to download an application.

During the fall tests, NIH also will pilot the internal NIH systems required to process electronic applications.

Future testing for the February 2004 NIH receipt cycle and beyond

The NIH CGAP pilot gradually will be expanded to add participants, application types and funding mechanisms.