Grants.gov Made Easy

Grants.gov applications are now released in one of two formats - PureEdge and Adobe. Everyone who will be working on preparing an electronic package for submission should have BOTH the PureEdge Viewer and Adobe Reader 8.1.2 installed on their computer.

Note - Versions older than Adobe Reader 8.1.2 are not compatible with the Grants.gov submission process. Additionally, PureEdge is not compatible with all computer Operating Systems (OS). OS compatibilities with these programs can be seen in the chart below. If your OS is not compatible with your application please contact the ORSP for further assistance at 956-384-5004 (ext. 5004)

1. Download and Install the PureEdge Viewer and Adobe Reader

The PureEdge Viewer and Adobe Reader 8.1.2 are small programs that provide the grant application preparer with an interface to access the Grants.gov electronic application forms and a means to submit the application online through the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP).
Everyone who will be working on preparing an electronic package for submission should have BOTH the PureEdge Viewer and Adobe Reader 8.1.2 installed on their computer. It is not necessary for someone to install the Viewer or Reader if they are only going to be contributing single documents to the project. These single documents can be prepared as MS Word (please refer to the compatibility issues below) or PDF documents, and attached to the appropriate form(s) in the electronic package by someone who does have the Viewer or Reader.

To install the Viewer, go to http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer and follow the instructions for download.

To install the Adobe Reader 8.1.2 go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html and follow the instructions for download.

You may need to contact IT Support to assist with the installation of the Viewer and/or Reader if you operate a University managed PC and do not have the permissions needed to do so yourself.

The PureEdge Viewer is made to run on Windows XP, and is not currently compatible with the new Microsoft Vista operating system. In addition, the newest version of Microsoft Word (Word 2007) saves documents with the extension .DOCX by default. The Grants.gov system does not process Microsoft Word documents with the extension .DOCX. When submitting Microsoft Word attachments to Grants.gov, please use the file version of Microsoft Word that ends in .DOC. If you are a Mac user, and cannot get access to a Windows computer, you will need to install Virtual PC on your Mac and run PureEdge there. Further instructions can be found at http://www.grants.gov/DownloadViewer.

Make sure you allow for enough time to get both the Viewer and Reader 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.

Please note, once you download an application from Grants.gov, you will be working offline and saving data on your computer. Please be sure to note where you are saving the Grants.gov file on your computer.

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:

• In the electronic forms, complete all the fields that show up in yellow. If a yellow form field does not seem to apply, you must answer with a zero, “N/A”, or some other character –
  otherwise the package cannot be validated.
• Open, and complete, all the sub-forms listed in the mandatory box. We also recommend that you complete any optional forms given. It is generally best to complete the forms in the order in which they appear (at times, information completed in the SF424 form will be automatically copied into other sections of the packet).
• Once complete, move all of the completed sub-forms in the mandatory
  (and optional) box to the completed box.
• Click the Verify Package button, and make sure it does not return any errors.
• Click the Save button, and save the final copy of the application.

Any time you revise the application, you must repeat these last two steps in order to ensure that your updates have been saved.

Bear in mind that these minimal steps are only sufficient to get your application accepted by Grants.gov. The funding agency may still reject it in a later validation if you do not follow all of their instructions (for example, on page limits).

4. Provide a Hard-Copy to ORSP, for Review

The proposal preparer transmitting the application to ORSP must provide a printed copy of the application, along with the appropriate institutional forms, for review by ORSP. All submissions to ORSP require that the Proposal / Award Authorization Form be included as a cover sheet, completed and signed by the PI, chair and dean. In line with the deadline policy, this hard copy must be received at ORSP no later than 5 to 7 full business days before the agency submission deadline.

The review copy should include all components of an application and should be considered by the proposal preparer as a final version.

5. Deliver the Electronic Package to ORSP, for Review

The electronic package must be delivered to ORSP at the same time as the hard copy of the application – no later than 5 to 7 full business days before the agency deadline.

There are several options for sending the file to ORSP:

• Email the file as an attachment to the research specialist who will be assisting with your submission. This is the easiest and most direct method. However, if the file is very large, you may have difficulty mailing it successfully.
• Copy the file onto a CD and hand deliver it to ORSP. If you have never created a CD before, please make sure you know how to do so before a deadline is imminent.
• Copy the file onto a USB flash drive and hand deliver it to ORSP. Please do not leave ORSP without taking your drive with you. *Of the various ways to deliver the electronic application file, we consider this method the most reliable and efficient.

However you choose to send the file, you should contact the research specialist who will be assisting with your submission to let them know you will be emailing/delivering it.

6. Submission, and After

Once ORSP has the final copy of the proposal, it will be reviewed and you will be contacted with any revisions that need to be made. Once approved by ORSP, the project will be routed to the VP for Business Affairs and the VIce Provost for Research and Sponsored Projects for approval and signature of the Authorized Institutional Representative(s). Once approved, the research specialist who you have been working with will submit your project through the Grants.gov submission site. After doing so, the Authorized Institutional Representative typically receives several emails which he or she will forward to ORSP and the PI.

1. From Grants.gov, confirming that the proposal was received.
2. From Grants.gov, indicating that the proposal passed or failed data verification.
3. From the agency, confirming that the proposal has been delivered to their system from Grants.gov.
4. 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 (through 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); etc.

If the application fails the second set of tests, it is quite likely that the deadline will already have passed. However, some agencies will allow corrections to be made within 24 hours of being notified of the errors. It is important to read the error messages carefully for correction deadlines and other information.

To correct errors in an application, it is necessary to correct the errors in the electronic application package, to deliver it to ORSP again, and for ORSP to submit it through Grants.gov again.

Once the proposal has been accepted by the agency, it is out of the hands of Grants.gov. The only way to check on its status is to query the agency (ex. through Fastlane, in the case of NSF, or eRA Commons, in the case of NIH).

It is Important to Note:

The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) strongly discourages last minute attempts to submit an application electronically through the Grants.gov portal.

Due to heavy site traffic during the final hours prior to deadline, it is often the case that the PureEdge Viewer may not be able to connect and complete the submission process.

Even if the proposal application does go through successfully, you may not have enough time to make corrections and resubmit in the event that your application does not pass the initial validation process.

Further Assistance:

• Grants.gov
• Grants.gov Customer Support
• NSF Grants.gov Application Guide
• NIH Grants.gov Application Guide