Proposal Development and Submission
Grants.gov in Six Steps
1. Download and Install PureEdge Viewer
Everyone who will be working on the whole submission, should have PureEdge Viewer installed. It’s not necessary to install the viewer for people who are only going to be contributing documents, such as the science. These can be provided as PDF documents (for example), and attached to the submission by someone who does have the viewer.
To install the viewer, go to http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer and download the viewer.
You may need to have your I.T. support organization install the viewer, if you don’t have the permissions needed to do so yourself.
PureEdge Viewer is made to run on modern versions of Windows. If you are a Mac user, and cannot get access to a Windows machine, you will need to install Virtual PC on your Mac and run PureEdge there. Virtual PC is available from the Campus Computer Store (for a nominal fee), and further instructions are at http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer.
Make sure you allow for enough time to get the viewer installed, before you have to start work on a submission.
2. Download the Application Package
Go to grants.gov to find the right package for the submission. If you know the CFDA number or the Opportunity Number for the program you can go directly to the package, at https://apply.grants.gov/forms_apps_idx.html. Download the package and its instructions.
Packages are tailored to a specific program, and to a particular deadline. It is not possible to reuse a package intended for one application deadline, on another deadline.
3. Complete the Application Package
The instructions will guide you on how to complete the application. At the very least you must do the following before the application can go any further:
- Complete all the fields that show up in yellow. If a yellow question doesn’t seem to apply, you must answer with a zero, or 'N/A', or something – otherwise the package cannot be validated.
- Open, and complete, all the sub-forms listed in the mandatory box. (It is helpful, but not mandatory, to complete these in the order they appear in.)
- Move all the sub-forms in the mandatory box, to the completed box.
- Click the Verify Package button, and make sure it doesn’t return any errors.
- Click the Save button, and save the final copy of the application.
- Ensure that the Submit button is now active – do not press it, you will not be able to submit the application.
Any time you revise the application, you must repeat these last three steps. URA cannot submit the application unless the Submit button is active. This only happens if you verify the package, and then save the application.
Bear in mind that these minimal steps are only sufficient to get your application accepted by grants.gov. The agency will reject it in a later step if you do not follow all of their instructions (for example, on page limits).
4. Provide a Hard-Copy to URA, for Review
The unit transmitting the application to URA (ORS, an LBC, etc.) must provide a printed copy of the application, along with the PTF, for review by URA (for BSD, this includes Blue Folder applications). In line with the new deadline policy, this hard copy must be received at URA no later than 3 full business days before the agency deadline. [BSD Blue Folder proposal deadline is no later than noon the day before the agency deadline].
The review copy should include all components of an application. If any component is missing and cannot be reviewed by URA, the FSR/Dept. Administrator takes responsibility for ensuring data and format accuracy according to the agency guidelines and solicitation requirements.
5. Deliver the Final Copy to URA
The electronic final copy must be delivered to URA by noon, the day before the deadline. It is not necessary to provide a hard copy of the final version.
There are several options for sending the file to URA:
- Email the file as an attachment to the URA manager responsible. This is the easiest and most direct method. However, if the file is very large (over about five megabytes), you may have difficulty mailing it successfully.
- Copy the file onto a CD and hand deliver it to URA. If you have never created a CD before, please make sure you know how to do it before a deadline is imminent.
- Copy the file onto a USB flash drive, and hand deliver it to URA. Flash drives are available from the computer store from $20 to $80 (depending on size). The front desk staff will copy the file from the flash drive and return it to you. Please don’t leave URA without taking your drive with you.
We are also looking into the possibility of providing a file share to deposit submissions into, but this is not available yet.
However you send the file (and we recommend email for the time being) you should send an independent email to the manager to let them know it is coming.
In the case of BSD Blue Folder proposals, we are currently working out the routing and submission procedures. All other BSD electronic proposal files will be handled per instructions above.
6. Submission, and After
Once URA has the final copy of the proposal, it will be submitted to the grants.gov website. After doing so, the URA manager typically receives several emails which he or she will forward to the administrator and the PI.
- From grants.gov, confirming that the proposal was received.
- From grants.gov, indicating that the proposal passed or failed data verification.
- From the agency, confirming that the proposal has been picked up from grants.gov.
- From the agency, indicating that the proposal passed or failed data verification.
The first two messages generally come within about ten minutes of submission (although grants.gov only guarantees to send them within 24–48 hours). The others come later.
The first data checks (at grants.gov) only impose very basic rules – that a date field contains a date, for example. The second set (at the agency) are much more stringent, and include things like page limits; font sizes; all attachments must be PDFs (NSF); all attachments must have different names (NSF).
If the application fails the second set of tests, it is quite likely that the deadline will already have passed. However, we believe that NSF (and some other agencies) will allow corrections to be made within 24 hours of being notified of the errors.
To correct errors in an application, it is necessary to correct the errors in the proposal file, to deliver it to URA again, and for URA to submit it at grants.gov again.
Once the proposal has been accepted by the agency, it is out of the hands of grants.gov. They only way to check on its status is to query the agency (through Fastlane, in the case of NSF).
