Electronic Research Administration
Proposal Submission:
Grants.gov for Federal Sponsors | Non-Federal Sponsors
Grants.gov | Training Materials | Download PureEdge Viewer | Download Mac-compatible software | Search for Application
Is Microsoft Windows Vista a supported platform for use with Grants.gov?
Grants.gov is preparing to begin the transition from PureEdge-based applications to Adobe Forms-base applications. This will probably not occur before October 1, 2007 and will be a gradual transition. During the transition, applications for each program will only be available in PureEdge OR Adobe, but never both.
In order to view the downloaded application package, you will need to install the PureEdge Viewer (Windows EXE File) and Adobe Reader 8.1.1*. There are basic system requirements for using the PureEdge Viewer and there are basic system requirements [EXIT Disclaimer] for Adobe Reader 8.1.1. If you are a non-Windows user, please refer to this support page.
Introduction to Grants.gov, brochure
One of the goals of Grants.gov is to standardize the federal grant application process. However each agency can have differing requirements. When there is a discrepancy, be sure to follow the agency's guidelines!
Grants.gov User Manual for ISU faculty and staff [updated 12/01/2006]
As with any proposal, you will need to route the proposal and budget with a
GoldSheet.
(requires ID and Password that can be requested from ).
The PI or Department:
- completes the proposal documents
- uploads the files to the PureEdge viewer and completes forms
- creates an e-GoldSheet and, as a minimum, attaches the Cover Page, Budget, and Budget Justification (the GoldSheet can route while you are completing the technical portion of the proposal)
- routes the e-GoldSheet to the Department/Center/College/Institute for signatures
- Note: routing for signature from the Vice Provost for Research is automatic
OSPA reviews and signs the proposal/GoldSheet.
- PI or Department forwards complete PureEdge application: When the application is ready, please forward the completed Grants.gov application package to OR upload it to LiquidOffice (https://grant001.ats.iastate.edu), OSPA folder in the Forms tab, Grants_gov_Application_Package_Upload.
Department of Defense
Effective October 1, 2005, DOE Office of Science Grants and Contracts required all applications with the exception of the Annual Notice of Renewal and Supplements to be submitted via Grants.gov.
Sample [Defense] Application | Sample [Defense] Guidelines (WORD)
Department of Education
The Department of Education is transitioning to Grants.gov. During the transition, guidelines during the transition are available HERE
Sample [ED] Application | Sample [ED] Guidelines (PDF)
Department of Energy
DOE began requiring submission of applications through Grants.gov in October 2005. Beginning April 2006, DOE began to use the SF 424 R&R forms, including the new Total Federal + Non-Federal budget form for programs (including cost sharing). Department of Energy (DOE)
Office of Science Grants and Contracts Web Site
Submission of Renewal and Supplemental Applications for Office of Science Grants and Cooperative Agreements - Use Notice DE-PS02-07ER07-02 -- Posted October 5, 2006. Applications may be submitted at any time.
DOE policy on Multiple PI's, including a definition of Principal Investigator (Feb. 5, 2008)
Sample [Energy] Application | Sample [Energy] Guidelines (PDF)
Department of Justice
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) - Current Solicitations
Unless otherwise noted in the solicitation, you must submit your application through Grants.gov.
Both Grants Management System (GMS) and Grants.gov allow only three types of documents to be uploaded to an application package: PDF's, Word Documents, and Text Documents.
Materials You'll Need:
- NIJ Guidelines for Submitting Applications (PDF)
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sample Budget Detail Worksheet (XLS)
- Human Subjects Protection Information
Sample [Justice] Application | Sample [Justice] Guidelines (WORD)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASA offers PIs the option to utilize Grants.gov to prepare and submit proposals in response to most NASA Research Announcement (NRA) and Cooperative Agreement Notice (CAN) programs. For NASA programs that support proposal submission via Grants.gov, PIs may opt to submit proposals via either Grants.gov or NSPIRES. For more information, and a list of NASA programs that support proposal submission via Grants.gov, go to the NSPIRES Grants.gov page, or go to Grants.gov.
All documents attached to proposals submitted electronically to NASA, via either NSPIRES or Grants.gov, must be in PDF format. Additionally, those PDF documents must be unlocked, searchable, and have any fonts used in the document embedded in the PDF file.
NASA Helpful References for Proposal Preparation & Submission
(including Guidebook for Proposers Responding to a NASA Research Announcement (NRA),
Grant and Cooperative Agreement Handbook, and
Guidance for Preparation and Submission of Unsolicited Proposals)
Proposal submissions for NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO) programs must be submitted through NSPIRES and will not be available for submission via Grants.gov.
NASA NSPIRES proposal submission
Effective Friday, September 28, 2007, the proposal summary and business data elements of the cover page will be necessary in order for the AOR to submit the proposal to NASA. If either of these two proposal elements are not completed, the "View Proposal/ Check Elements" function of NSPIRES will display red "error" flags and messages to alert the user of the information that is required but missing, and the "Submit Proposal" button will not be available. The proposal cannot be submitted to NASA until these required fields are complete. Any additional information that is missing will be identified by yellow "warning" flags. In addition, please check the solicitation instructions to ensure that you comply with all instructions, as adherence to these two element validation checks alone is insufficient to guarantee a compliant proposal.
NASA Grants.gov
Sample [NASA] Application | Sample [NASA] Guidelines (PDF)
National Endowment for the Humanities
Beginning in 2006 NEH requires all grant programs to be submitted through Grants.gov. NEH packages are not following the SF424 R&R format. Please review the guidelines and instructions for the package you download from Grants.gov carefully. NEH requires all attachments be in PDF format.
National Institutes of Health
View the NIH Grants.gov Application Guide and Instructions
(updated 09/07) and Find and Download
steps, including screen shots.
NIH PHS 398 Application Kit
PHS 2590 Non-Competing Renewal
Tips for the Principal Investigator (PDF, 55.4KB)
NIH Grants.gov Mini-guide includes ISU specific information.
NIH is currently transitioning from paper submission to Grants.gov. View the updated timeline for NIH submissions (PDF).
Please note that all Principal Investigators need to be registered in eRA Commons. Please see the Introduction to Sponsored Funding for Principal Investigators for registration instructions.
Policy for Multiple Principal Investigator
Awards (NOT-OD-017)
Policy on Late Submission of
Grant Applications (NOT-OD-08-026)
The top two errors that occur on NIH proposals submitted via Grants.gov
- Missing Commons User ID in the Credential Field: The application did not include the PI's Commons User ID in the field called "Credential, e.g. agency login." This field is not marked as required on the government-wide form but is required by NIH, as noted in the SF424 (R & R) Application Guide. The field is located in the first section called "Profile - Project Director/Principal Investigator" on the Senior/Key Person Profile(s) component of the SF424 (R & R) form.
- PDF issues: NIH only accepts attachments in PureEdge or PDF format. Do not submit attachments in other formats such as Microsoft Word, Word Perfect, etc. Do not put special characters in file names. Disable all security features in the PDF document. Do not include active links in any PDF document. Do not send PDF documents with editable fields (fields that can be changed).
View other common errors on NIH's Electronic Submission page.
Other guidance from NIH:
- Updates on the status of the transition to electronic submission and the new form set are posted on the NIH eRA Electronic Submission of Grant Applications Web site.
- If your application had errors and did not make it through Grants.gov or Commons validations, you must correct the error(s) and submit a changed/corrected application to Grants.gov before your application can proceed further. You will need to include a cover letter with an explanation of why the application is late if the submission deadline has passed. Include information from any previous cover letter(s) since that information is not retained. The cover letter must be in PDF format and must be attached to the PHS Cover Letter file, located in the "Optional Documents" section of the grant application.
- After submission via Grants.gov, the Principal Investigator and the Contracting Officer are required to independently verify the proposal in the eRA Commons system within two business days if no action is taken the submission is accepted into the NIH system.
-
Unsolicited proposals
Researchers and research administrators familiar with NIH know that the agency entertains R01 proposals from the science community that are not submitted in response to any specific funding announcement. Beginning in February 2007, these unsolicited proposals must also use the prescribed electronic delivery methods. Since all electronic submissions must be connected to a funding announcement, NIH has established "parent" funding announcements (R01 and others) that electronic grant applications can reference. The "parent" program announcement for unsolicited R01 grant applications is PA-07-070.
Sample [NIH] Application | Sample [NIH] Guidelines (PDF)
National Science Foundation
View the NSF Grants.gov Guide (PDF) (June 1, 2007)
NSF Grant Proposal Guide, effective January 5, 2008. This document replaces the previous versions of the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and the Grant Policy Manual (GPM).
Information on the Use of Designated Fonts in NSF Proposals
Working in FastLane
Here are some helpful links to assist you with working in FastLane:
- Create a new proposal
- Edit a proposal
- Copy a submitted proposal
- Check a proposal for completeness
- Allow or remove Sponsored Project Office (SPO) access to a proposal
- Processing a Proposal File Update
- Submitting a Revised Budget
For additional information, please see the NSF Help System.
NSF Grants.gov Mini-guide includes ISU specific information.
Many programs still give you the option to submit via FastLane or Grants.gov. In those instances, we highly recommend submitting through FastLane. Please note that if the proposal has subcontracts or is being submitted as a collaborative submission, then applicants must submit through FastLane, even if the directions instruct to use Grants.gov.
In addition, NSF does not accept applications through Grants.gov for:
- Submission of Letter of Intent and Preliminary Proposals
- Changed/Corrected Applications
- Revisions
- Continuations
- Supplemental Funding Requests
When submitting through Grants.gov, the most likely causes of rejection are:
- The attachments are not in PDF format. Attachments must be in PDF Format. (You can use FastLane to convert files)
- Two or more attachments have the same name.
- Applicant enters invalid funding opportunity, division code and program code.
- Duplicate Key persons on the R & R Senior/Key Person form
List of Programs Requiring Grants.gov submission
by NSF Division (PDF)
List of Programs Requiring Grants.gov submission
by date (PDF)
Please click here for more information about the NSF implementation of Grants.gov (PDF)
US Department of Agriculture
Utilization of Grants.gov for application to all CSREES programs began in October 2006. For more information,
see the CSREES eGrants Implementation Plan.
FY2007 Grant Application Changes
USDA Grants.gov Mini-guide includes ISU specific information.
View the Funding Opportunities page to find the submission format.
When submitting through Grants.gov, the attachments must be in PDF Format.
Some of the files that are uploaded (as PDF) to the Grants.gov application package still require a certain format. The format is addressed in the USDA guide. Also, you may be able to take advantage of the format previously provided for paper applications. PDF | Word
The following message was sent by USDA to an ISU PI on 01/31/2007
This is notification that your proposal contained non-PDF documents (the subcontract Budget Justification). Our software program cannot handle non-PDF documents, and the Request for Application (RFA) for all programs in the National Research Initiative (NRI) clearly stated that non-PDF documents were not acceptable. Your proposal will be reviewed without the above document(s). Missing documents cannot be submitted now. If your proposal is awarded, we will request any needed documents when we process the award.
We accepted your proposal with non-PDF documents this year because
- they were not considered critical to the review of your application and
- this was the first year for submissions via grants.gov.
We expect to enforce the policy strictly next year and expect to return without review applications that include non-PDF documents next year.
Do you want to know which F&A rate to use or if Tuition is allowable? Go to http://www.csrees.usda.gov/business/pdfs/cheat_sheet_06.pdf.
Sample [USDA] Application | Sample [USDA] Guidelines (WORD)
