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Grants.gov Submission Problems
The Grants.gov system used to submit proposals to the federal funding agencies is experiencing problems that threaten the timely submission of UIC grant applications. These problems also are affecting the submission of proposals from other universities across the country and appear to relate to the Grant.gov server's inability to effectively process the large number of proposal submissions being submitted at the same time. Issues related to the conversion to Adobe Acrobat proposal preparation software also are creating difficulties. In some cases proposals are not making it to the target agency in time to be accepted and reviewed.The UIC community can assist ORS with this challenge by taking steps to submit proposals in final form by the required internal deadline. Late proposals run the risk of being caught in a Grants.gov bottleneck that the funding agency may or may not recognize and accommodate.
In addition, the Recovery Act is expected to result in an approximate 60 percent additional increase in application volume to Grants.gov, putting the system at a significant risk of failure and thus potentially hampering Recovery Act implementation.
OMB has instructed Federal grant-making agencies to immediately identify alternative methods for accepting grant applications during the Recovery Act's expected peak period to reduce demand on Grants.gov's limited resources. These alternatives should focus on minimizing any disruption to the grants application processes. Federal agencies were required to submit recommended alternatives to their counterparts in OMB's Resource Management Offices for review and approval by March 13, 2009.
As soon as further information becomes available, we will post it on this website.
TECHNICAL ALERTS
March 25, 2009
March 28-29, 2009: Grants.gov will be unavailable due to System Build 2009-01
Grants.gov will be unavailable Saturday and Sunday, March 28 and 29 due to System Build 2009-01. The system will be unavailable to find and apply for opportunities during this time. The maintenance taking place is to update the Grantor registration credentialing process.
May 4, 2009
NIH Alert: Extending Error-Correction Window for Challenge Grants and Select FOAs to May 8
We recognize that applications are taking longer than usual to process through Grants.gov and that some Challenge Grant applications that were submitted on time have yet to be processed. In response to the delay in processing and the backlog of inquiries at the eRA Commons Help Desk, we are taking the following steps:
Extending Correction Window until Friday, May 8
- For selective Funding Opportunity Announcements (FOAs), NIH issued a Guide Notice extending the error-correction window to Friday, May 8.This new extension applies to the Challenge Grants RFA-OD-09-003 (RC1) and opportunities with submission deadlines from April 27 through May 1, 2009. Note that this additional time to correct errors does not apply to Competitive Revision applications ( NOT-OD-09-058) .
Working Through Issues with Competitive Revisions
- A large number of calls to the eRA Commons Help Desk have been about issues with the Competitive Revision Application processing. We would like to reiterate what we have said before.
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, rest assured that we are tracking these tickets 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.
Applicants who have already documented their issues regarding Competitive Revisions with the Commons Help Desk should expect to hear back from them by close of business on Tuesday, May 5.
Addressing Backlog of eRA Help Desk Tickets
- The email, web and call volume at the Commons Help Desk is almost five times the normal numbers, due to queries from applicants regarding recent deadlines for Recovery Act opportunities. If you have contacted the Help Desk but have not heard back, don’t worry we have a record of your contact. No need to submit duplicate requests. The Help Desk will be addressing the backlog over the next week. This is clearly a priority for us.
We encourage you to complete the submission process as soon as possible, despite the extension of the error-correction window. Not only will you have the relief of finishing the submission, we will have the applications and can assign them for review, and you will miss the next wave of NIH Recovery Act application submissions.
Questions?
eRA Commons Help Desk
Web: http://ithelpdesk.nih.gov/eRA/ (Preferred method of contact)
Toll-free: 1-866-504-9552
Phone: 301-402-7469
TTY: 301-451-5939
Hours: Mon-Fri, 7a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time
eRA Communications
Division of Communications and Outreach
Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
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