The federal government is implementing its electronic proposal submission system, Grants.gov. In addition, many private funding agencies are moving toward electronic submissions. These electronic submission systems work very well in many regards, but are not problem-free.

From our experience, Grants.gov still has deficiencies that impact the research community:

• application packages are occasionally corrupted and often the only solution is to discard the initial package, download it again, and redo it
• Grants.gov error check cannot detect every error that might prevent a submitted application from passing Grants.gov validation but which may have agency-specific errors
• submitted applications are occasionally temporarily lost in cyberspace during which time they cannot be tracked

Leaving submission to the last minute makes an application vulnerable to the shortcomings of Grants.gov as well as to other unanticipated problems that may arise, such as a virus on your computer, a networking failure, illness, etc.

Don't leave the successful submission of your grant application to chance. Attend a training session, reference SF424 Guidelines, begin your application as early as possible, and follow the internal deadlines outlined below. See the Grants.gov sections of this web site for upcoming training opportunities, tips for avoiding common errors, and other useful information.

The Grants.gov system requires RASP to establish a buffer of time to protect the application against the agency deadline. Grants.gov does not allow us to submit application packages until all basic errors, as identified through the "Check Package for Errors" button, are addressed. Once an application is submitted, it may take up to 48 hours to learn whether an application has been fully validated by Grants.gov. If the application fails Grants.gov validation and the application is not resubmitted prior to the deadline, then it will be considered late and will be subject to the late submission policy of the sponsor (i.e., NIH).

Once the application passes Grants.gov validation, it then goes through a more comprehensive validation process by the sponsor (i.e., NIH). If errors are detected at this stage, the applicant must make corrections and resubmit the changed/corrected application package to RASP so we can resubmit to Grants.gov in accordance with the agency deadline. Applicants cannot assume the first submission will be successful and must allow time for resubmission(s). The majority of the multiple submissions for WCMC applications have been due to minor errors that were simple to fix: inactive/misspelled eRA Commons usernames, empty fields that are required by NIH but not by Grants.gov, attachments submitted as .doc instead of .pdf documents. Keep in mind that corrected applications must be submitted to correct errors, not to revise research plans or other text.

RASP Grant Application Submissions – New Internal Deadlines Effective April 1, 2007

Considering the complexity of the multiple variables discussed above which can lead to a late submission, we have redefined the timeline for submission of proposals for review and submission to RASP. As Grants.gov and other electronic submission systems become more stable, these internal requirements will be re-evaluated.

Please note the following:

• Applications requiring electronic submission must be submitted to RASP at least seven (7) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline. The application must be complete and final, with the exception of the science, and must be accompanied by all relevant internal paperwork.
• The final application, which includes the scientific proposal or research plan, must be submitted to RASP two (2) business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline.
• Applications will not be submitted to the sponsor without completed routing forms.
• As a general guideline, investigators should plan to finish their applications 10-14 business days prior to the sponsor's submission deadline in order to accommodate departmental and RASP review.

Electronic proposals will be submitted in the order in which they are received; on time proposals will receive higher priority than late proposals. RASP will make its best effort to submit the proposal electronically if it is received after the seven-day and two-day requirements. However, RASP will not jeopardize applications which have been received in accordance with the new internal deadlines and will not be responsible for those received late.

A survey of the top 27 medical schools in the US indicates that the range for submission to grants and contracts offices is 10 to 3 days and the average is 7 days. Should you have any questions, please contact your RASP Grants & Contracts Specialist for assistance and advice.