Research Enterprise Newsletter - May 2009: Grants & Contracts News
Error-correction window for Challenge Grants extended to May 8
Applications are taking longer than usual to process through Grants.gov and some Challenge Grant applications 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, the NIH has extended the correction window until Friday, May 8 (view story on grants.nih.gov). 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).
Update on competitive revision issues
A large number of calls to the eRA Commons Help Desk have been about issues with the Competitive Revision Application processing. 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, 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.
Backlog of eRA Help Desk tickets addressed
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. 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.
eRA systems unavailable May 22 - May 26
All eRA systems, including eRA Commons and the eSubmission system, will be unavailable beginning Friday, May 22 and through Tuesday, May 26. Grant applicants can continue submitting applications to Grants.gov during this downtime. Applications submitted during the downtime will be queued up at NIH for the eRA eSubmission system to process once the systems are up and running on Wednesday, May 27. Because of the downtime, the Recovery Act Grand Opportunities "GO" (RC2) Grant smbmission deadline has moved to May 29, 2009 (see story on grants.nih.gov).
GCM reiterates importance of meeting submission requirements
Prior to submitting applications to GCM, please ensure they meet the requirements for submission. If GCM rejects a submission they know will be rejected by grants.gov, the process starts again and results in additional work and delays. Some example of errors include: incorrect project roles, omission of narratives, human subjects project with no human subjects placeholder and budget errors, such as faculty noted incorrectly as key personnel. Before you submit to grants.gov, double check the application to avoid any problems in the electronic submission.
