eRA eSubmission Items of Interest
eRA eSubmission Items of Interest - March 4, 2009
Recent Guide Notices
- Delays in Grant Application Submission due to Snow Storm March 2009 (NOT-OD-09-057)
- Reminder: NIH/AHRQ/CDC/FDA Restore Two Day Error Correction Window for Electronic Grant Applications Effective March 1, 2009 (NOT-OD-09-055)
Handling System Issues
Having Problems with Your Application Submission? This recently posted page outlines the steps you should take when system issues threaten your ability to submit an application to NIH on time.
If the eRA Commons Help Desk verifies that you were unable to complete timely submission of an application due to technical issues with either eRA or Grants.gov systems, you will not be penalized for missing the 5:00 pm local time deadline. The Help Desk will document your issue in a service ticket and track the ticket and progress of your submission on an internal list. However, being on that list is not an open ended invitation to complete the submission process at your leisure. You are still expected to complete the process within the defined error-correction window. This includes promptly responding to eRA inquiries, promptly making needed changes/corrections in order to try another submission, and providing information when requested. If you are unable to complete the submission in the error correction window, you will need to provide sufficient justification for additional time and this will be carefully evaluated. It is imperative that the applications be submitted in a timely manner so they can be processed with the cohort of on-time applications.
No More PureEdge!
At this point, no applications to NIH funding opportunity announcements should be submitted using PureEdge applications or through Grants.gov's 2006 system. Although many of the Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs) are still active, the PureEdge application packages have been closed and replaced with Adobe-based equivalents on the Grants.gov 2007 system.
Applications submitted using old PureEdge application forms or through the Gratnts.gov 2006 system will get the following rejection message from Grants.gov:
"The Closing Date of the grant opportunity for which you have applied has already passed and the grantor agency is no longer accepting applications."
If you receive this message, check your Grants.gov tracking number. If it starts with "GRANT0", you have used PureEdge forms or system-to-system through the 2006 system and will need to redo your application using Adobe forms and the 2007 system. Applications submitted using Adobe forms and the 2007 system will have tracking numbers that start with "GRANT1".
Haven't submitted yet? Look for the Competition ID "ADOBE-FORMS-A" displayed in the Grants.gov download application screens and in the header information of the initial grant application package screen to ensure you are using Adobe forms.
R&R Senior/Key Person Profile Expanded Form Issue Identified
Be extra careful when entering Sr/Key person data. "Project Role" is a required field and the "Project Role" drop down list does not contain an empty or blank value option. Once a role is selected, there is no way to "deselect" or "reset" the field, nor is there a way to "delete" the Sr/Key person section that includes the field. You are committed to completing that section. If you have more Sr/Key persons to enter, you can reuse the section for a different entry. If you do not, then you are stuck. The only clean way to address the issue is to move to a fresh application. The Grants.gov Project Management Office is aware of the issue.
If there are other form content issues that have led to the need to start over from a fresh application, please let us know. Although Grants.gov owns the forms and will take the lead in providing a fix, it is important that NIH stay in the loop. Form fixes mean new form versions and new form versions mean reposting. We'd like to make sure that when we are ready to repost with an "ADOBE-FORMS-B" form set, that we are supporting forms that include as many of these issues as possible.
Thank You!
We've spoken to quite a few applicants and have seen a lot of listserv chatter regarding the issues you've faced submitting applications through Grants.gov in the last six weeks. Grants.gov has been working hard to address issues as they arise. We appreciate your patience and diligence. Despite the issues, the number of applications received for the February 5 deadline was on par with previous years. We know that did not come without herculean efforts from our applicants. Thank you!
Sheri Cummins & Scarlett Gibb
Customer Relationship Managers
eSubmission and eRA Commons
NIH Office of Extramural Research
askera@mail.nih.gov
