Early Submission of Electronic R01 Grant Applications Extremely Important

Published: December 20th, 2006

Category: Memos

Winfred Phillips, Vice President for Research

For some time, NIH has been gradually transitioning to an electronic grant application submission process using Grants.gov as the portal. The most critical step in this transition – and the one with the potential for the largest number of proposals – will be the submission of electronic R01 grant applications beginning with the NIH February 5, 2007, deadline.

From DSR’s experience with other NIH electronic submissions, it will be extremely important that you make every possible effort to submit your Grants.gov proposals to DSR at least 10 business days prior to the NIH deadline. This means the final version of the R01 electronic grant application file should be delivered to DSR by Friday, January 19, 2007.

This 10-business day lead time is extremely important for two critical reasons:

  • Grants.gov is still a new system to many of you, and it is likely you will encounter problems or make errors in your first attempts to build the electronic grant application. The lead time will allow Grants.gov experts at the department, college or DSR level to help troubleshoot problems and correct errors that will allow the application to be successfully submitted and accepted by Grants.gov.
  • Once the grant application is accepted by Grants.gov, it is then moved to NIH’s eRA Commons system where an additional system check of the application occurs. If fatal errors are identified in the eRA Commons check, they must be corrected and the entire application resubmitted through Grants.gov to meet the original agency deadline.

Principal Investigators must be registered in the NIH eRA Commons and have an updated personal profile. If the PI is not registered with Commons, the submitted Grants.gov application will not be accepted by NIH.

Assistance is Available:
DSR Web site: To learn about the Grants.gov submission process at UF, visit DSR’s Grants.gov and UF web site at http://rgp.ufl.edu/research/grantsgov/index.html .

UF Grants.gov Experts: For a number of months, DSR has been training department and college staff in the Grants.gov submission process. You can find your local Grants.gov expert by going to: http://rgp.ufl.edu/research/grantsgov/grants_gov_experts.html or by contacting DSR’s Proposal Processing staff, 392-9267, or ufproposals@rgp.ufl.edu .

NIH Publications and Web sites: NIH has published a special edition of its NIH Extramural Nexus, focusing on Electronic Submissions of R01 Grant Applications (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/partners/1106Nexus.htm ) and is a “must read” for everyone who will be involved in the process.

The Contents of the special edition include:
* News From the Director of OER: NIH Will Begin Accepting R01 Grant Applications Electronically on February 5, 2007
* Electronic Submission of R01 Grant Applications: The Process * NIH Will NOT Penalize You for Grants.gov or eRA Commons System Issues
* Unsolicited Applications: Use “Parent” Announcements
* NIH Training: Preparing for NIH Electronic Grant Application
* NIH On-Time Submission Flexibility during the eSubmission Learning Curve
* Options for Macintosh Users
* Electronic Submission Questions: Who, What, Where

Questions can be directed to DSR’s Proposal Processing Office, at 392-9267 or ufproposals@rgp.ufl.edu .

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