University Research Council Grants.Gov March 8, 2006

1. University Research CouncilGrants.GovMarch 8, 2006

2. Grants.Gov

3. Grants.Gov: THE GOOD

4. Grants.Gov Brief History • President’s Management Agenda Applicants for federal grants apply for and manage grant funds through a common site, to simplify grant management and eliminate redundancy.

5. Grants.Gov Brief History • One of 24 federal e-Government initiatives designed to improve access to government services via the Internet

6. Grants.Gov Brief History The Case for Grants.gov: • Cross-agency initiative • 1000+ programs • 26 agencies + others • >$400B annually awarded

7. Grants.Gov Brief History A simple, unified “storefront” for all customers of federal grants to electronically: • Find grant opportunities • Apply electronically for grants

8. Applicant N Applicant 3 Applicant 1 Applicant 2 Applicant 2 Applicant 3 Applicant 1 Applicant N .…. Agency N Agency 1 Agency 2 Agency 3 .…. Old Inefficiencies

9. Old Inefficiencies Applicant N Applicant 3 Applicant 1 Applicant 2 Applicant 2 Applicant 3 Applicant 1 Applicant N .…. Agency N Agency 1 Agency 2 Agency 3 .…. Eliminated through “Trusted Broker”

10. Benefits in Streamlining Reduces time & cost to find & apply for grants • No need to learn multiple systems • Eliminate costs associated with copying and mailing • Single registration

11. Benefits in Streamlining Increased efficiency • Limits need to interface w/multiple agencies • Limits development and maintenance • Reduces redundant info/data requests

12. Why Submit Electronically? • Eliminates the burden of paper-based data collection, improves data quality • Reduces scanning, printing & data entry costs • May allow agencies to shorten the cycle from application receipt to award

13. Another Way To Look At It What if each agency had its own mail service? • They’d all need buildings & fleets • And a unique ZIP code system • What would postage cost? • What about package tracking?

14. VA EPA USDA NASA CNCS DHS DoD DOE DOEd DOI DOJ DOT DOC HHS DOL IMLS NARA NEA NEH NSF SBA SSA State Treas USAID HUD What About Curb Appeal?

15. Why transition to SF424 (R&R)? • SF424 (R&R) is the government-wide data set for research grant applications • Applicants can use standard forms regardless of the program or agency to which they are applying • Reduces administrative burden on the Federal grants community

16. Grants.Gov: THE BAD

17. Why Bad? • Additional hardware and software requirements. • Additional software requirements for non-windows (Mac) users. • Separate PI and Institution registration. • Another new federal system to learn.

18. System Requirements: Hardware/Software • Windows 98, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP • 500 Mhz Processor • 128 MB of RAM • 40 MB Disk Space • Internet Explorer 5.01 or higher, Netscape Communicator 4.5 – 4.8, Netscape 6.1, 6.2 or 7

19. System Requirements: Software • PureEdge viewer downloaded (free) from Grants.gov site at http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer Note: You must have administrative rights to your computer in order to download this software!! A step by step tutorial for properly downloading PureEdge Viewer will be available on the Office of Research website. • PDF generation software • Grants.gov lists some available tools and software http://www.grants.gov/assets/PDFConversion.pdf.

20. System Requirements: Software for Non-Windows Users • Grants.gov partnered with NIH to provide a Citrix Server for Non-Windows to view application packages • Go to http://www.grants.gov/MacSupport to locate the instructions for accessing the Citrix Server • A non-windows version of PureEdge should be available November 2006 • A Windows emulation program can also be used.

21. Registration Requirements – Grants.Gov • Applicant organizations must complete one-time only registration. Pitt is registered!! • Good for electronic submission to all Federal agencies • Principal Investigators do NOT need to register with Grants.gov • Registration not required to find funding opportunity or download application package, only to submit completed application

22. Registration Requirements – eRA Commons • Applicant institutions must complete one-time only registration. Pitt is registered!! • Principal Investigators (PIs) must work through their institutions to register. • The PI must hold a PI account and be affiliated with the applicant organization. • PIs currently registered only for Internet Assisted Review (IAR) must work through their institutions for full eRA Commons registration. • Pitt Principal Investigators need to register through the Office of Research website at: http://www.pitt.edu/~offres/forms/ornihform.html.

23. Submission Methods Applicant organization can submit applications to NIH through Grants.gov in one of two ways: • Direct submission - using PureEdge Viewer • System-to-system – using (XML) data stream to communicate with Grants.gov Pitt currently uses a direct submission method. A system to system method transition is planned.

24. Getting Started

25. Download PureEdge Viewer

26. Download Application Package

27. 1. Search for Opportunity

28. 2. Enter CFDA or Opportunity Number

29. 3. Confirm and Click “Download”

30. 4. Enter E-Mail for Updates

31. 5. Download

32. 6. Save Application Package • The PureEdge file is not web-based • You must save the file to your local drive or server as you make changes. • Be sure to save latest version over previous version after any changes.

33. Application Package Information in top section is automatically filled based upon the program selected.

34. Application Package (cont.) You must fill all highlighted spaces in all required forms.

35. 1. Application Filing Name OR will add tracking number.

36. 2. Mandatory Documents Must be completed.

37. 2. Mandatory Documents (cont.) Select form

38. 2. Mandatory Documents (cont.) Click to open

39. SF 424 (R&R) Remember to complete all highlighted areas on forms.

40. 3. Complete Package Move completed documents to the right.

41. 3. Complete Package (cont.) To move, select document…

42. 3. Complete Package (cont.) …click arrow…

43. 3. Complete Package (cont.) …document moves to right.

44. 3. Complete Package (cont.) Check Package for Errors

45. 3. Complete Package (cont.) If all forms are properly completed, you will receive a “No errors found” message.

46. 3. Complete Package (cont.) If errors are found, correct them before proceeding.

47. 4. Save Proposal Save proposal file and route as appropriate.

48. 5. Route Proposal • Create and save proposal file as shown. • Route hard copy pages with form 136 as usual. • In order to print forms and attachments, you must open them individually. • Save PureEdge proposal file to CD-ROM or zipdisk and route with form 136. • Also provide the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). • This completes the PI/Department’s portion of the proposal process.

49. Grants.Gov: THE UGLY

50. Why Ugly? • Aggressive transition timetables (NIH). • System takes longer than current hard copy system. • Bugs in the system.