OVERVIEW OF GRANTS.GOV AND GRANTS.GOV
AT UT SOUTHWESTERN

Grants.gov allows for the replacement of paper applications with electronic forms and requires electronic submission of all proposal applications. Grants.gov is the central portal that the federal government utilizes for grant announcements and application submissions. There are two portions to Grants.gov:

Find - The 'Find' portion of Grants.gov allows users to search for funding opportunities and, if available, corresponding application packages.

Apply - The 'Apply' function allows users to directly download application packages to their individual computers. Once downloaded, the user must work on the application locally on his/her own machine, rather than online within Grants.gov.

Everything else on the federal Grants.gov site is designed to support these two features. You should familiarize yourself with the site. Get acquainted with new forms, technology and changes in the application process.

Please note that UTSW has already established institutional registration with Grants.gov, do not attempt to re-register as an institution.

DO'S AND DON'TS

Administrators/PIs/Staff: do not create an account with Grants.gov. The only account holders are designated Institutional Representatives who submit applications via Grants.gov. While the Grants.gov helpdesk may tell you that you need an account, be assured, you do not need one

UTSW is to be the only account holder with Grants.gov. If you need an eRA Commons user account, see the information which follows this.

UT Southwestern's DUNS number: UT Southwestern already has an assigned Data Universal Number System (DUNS) number. UT Southwestern's DUNS number (required for every SF 424R&R) is: 800771545 (Grants.gov will add 4 leading zeros)

Central Contractor Registry (CCR): UT Southwestern has been registered in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). Do notre-register the Institution!

ADOBE Reader: You must download and install the free current version of ADOBE Reader in order to open and work with application packages. Not doing so will corrupt the internal coding of the application package, which will cause the application to be rejected at submission and require beginning anew with a freshly downloaded replacement application package. It is best NOT to open the application package with ADOBE Acrobat.

http://get.adobe.com/reader/

http://grants.gov/help/download_software.jsp

Mac Users - MAC users will need to upgrade to OS 10.4.6 or greater in order to complete an NIH electronic application package. Note: MAC users please save your application often. Also, be aware of where you are saving the application on your system.

Use the specific application package and instructions linked to each FOA.

DO NOT reuse grant application packages. Download a fresh copy each time you apply. Sample application packages cannot be used to apply for any funding opportunity announcements (FOA).

BUSINESS PRACTICES

Contact yourGrants Specialist as soon as you know you will be submitting through Grants.gov. Your Grants Specialist is aware of matters impacting submission through Grants.gov, and can help you work through them.

Once downloaded, an application is completed off line on a personal computer. Work with the application package residing directly on your machine, NOT residing on a network drive (Copy later to a network drive if desired). The draft is to be forwarded via email to your Grants Specialist. The final application will be attached to the ERGO OGM1 form and routed for institutional approvals before electronic submission to Grants.gov.

The AOR, Dr. Perrie M. Adams, or an institution delegate will submit the final application to Grants.gov. Administrators/PIs/Staff do not submit the application directly to Grants.gov. The completed application is routed via the ERGO OGM1 form process.

Submit completed applications for Institutional approval at least 5 BUSINESS DAYS BEFORE the agency’s submission deadline! Verify departmental review requirements and add that time to the 5 business days needed for institutional review.

NIH eRA Commons: If you intend to submit a grant proposal to the NIH, the PI must first register with NIH eRA Commons at least two weeks in advance. Do NOT self create an NIH eRA Commons user account. To register with eRA Commons, PIs, and/or Administrators, must contact one of the persons named under "Technical Support" on the Research Administration Contacts web page located at http://www8.utsouthwestern.edu/utsw/cda/dep24541/files/83815.html.