eRA eSubmission Items of Interest
NIH eSubmission Items of Interest – April 29, 2009
Grants.gov Processing Status
During our recent large Recovery Act deadlines, Grants.gov put as much processing power as possible toward receiving applications and getting confirmation tracking numbers & timestamps back to you. That confirmation information is a key component of on-time submission to NIH. However, with limited resources come tradeoffs. The time it takes to get the Grants.gov Validation Receipt email indicating the application was “Validated” or “Rejected with Errors” is taking longer than the 48 hour standard, with some of you waiting for status for four or more days. This was a known and recognized tradeoff. We know you are anxious to get status on your submitted applications and we ask for your continued patience as systems and support desks work through the queues. Despite the processing delays, our Center for Scientific Review continues to get a steady flow of applications for consideration and we are actually right on target with our referral and review timelines.
Last week we posted a notice in the NIH Guide for Grants & Contracts extending the window from two to five business days for those opportunities with submission deadlines from April 21, 2009 through May 1, 2009 (NOT-OD-09-087). This extension was made in anticipation of these longer processing times. We are still optimistic that our Challenge Grant applicants will have their status back in time to complete any needed corrective submission by May 4.
Attention: Applicants for Recovery Act Funds for Competitive Revision Applications (NOT-OD-09-058)
If you were affected by one of the system issues outlined in the April 21 Items of Interest and you followed the correct process to document your inability to meet the deadline due to that issue, do not be concerned that the five-day error correction window following the April 21 deadline has elapsed. We are tracking these tickets separately and continue to investigate each ticket individually. As long as you respond quickly to help desk contacts and you complete your submission within two business days from receiving help desk guidance, your application will not be considered late.
To Reject or Not to Reject
We all got spoiled with processing times taking just a few hours. You probably knew the Grants.gov processing target is 48 hours, but had routinely received quick response. If you are within the two-day “viewing window” and you want to submit again to address a Warning, you may be tempted not to bother rejecting the application currently in eRA Commons. Please note if you don’t reject the application, it will move forward after two business days whether or not your subsequent submission has time to process and replace it.
DUNS Error
We have heard from a number of users that have received the following error for a subset of their submissions:
Error: The DUNS number entered in your package is invalid or does not match the DUNS number that is registered with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR). Please verify that the DUNS number is entered correctly, and is the same as in your Central Contractor Registry (CCR) registration. For instructions on how to register with the CCR, click http://www.grants.gov/CCRRegister
If you get this error and have verified that the correct DUNS information is in place, contact the Grants.gov Support Center so they can investigate. If they determine it to be a false error, they can have the application reprocessed for you.
Budget Confusion
According to the eRA Commons Help Desk, folks are still confused over which budget forms to use. They asked us to send the following item out again (taken from April 19 Items of Interest)…
Q: I have read notice NOT-OD-09-058 and subsequent clarification NOT-OD-09-079 in the NIH Guide for Grants & Contracts, but I am still confused over which budget form to use if I’m submitting a competitive Revision for Recovery Act funds. Can you clarify?
A: In general, if the parent grant was submitted using the detailed R&R Budget form then the competitive revision also must use the detailed R&R Budget form even if the request falls within the direct cost guidelines for PHS 398 Modular budget use.
Since the cost limits of the original announcements may not apply for these special revisions, there may be cases when the revision request exceeds $250K in a budget period and applicants are unable to use the PHS398 Modular budget form despite its use in the parent grant. In these cases the R&R Budget form can be used (if available for that opportunity). Users may receive the following warning: “The parent grant for this revision uses the modular format; in most cases, this application should be submitted with a modular budget. If the budget caps permitted by the FOA exceed the modular limit of $250k, the application must be submitted with a detailed budget.” The warning will not stop the application from moving on for further consideration.
Although at time of submission the PHS 398 Modular budget form will be used by many applicants requesting Recovery Funds, detailed budget information may be requested after review and included with other Just-In-Time information (changes are being made to eRA Commons JIT functionality to allow for the collection of this information.)
Take care,
Sheri Cummins & Scarlett Gibb
Customer Relationship Managers
eSubmisssion and eRA Commons
NIH Office of Extramural Research
askera@mail.nih.gov
