Electronic Grant Applications

Submission Deadline

How to Apply

Using Grants.gov

Learn how to apply using Grants.gov.

NIH Electronic Applications in Grants.gov

NIH's Application Guide

  1. Email your completed electronic applications (proposal and attachments) to proposal@umn.edu with the Proposal Routing Form (PRF) number, PI last name, and sponsoring agency in the subject line of your email. Do not deliver any paper copies to SPA.
  2. SPA logs in the application, prints a copy of the PRF from EGMS, reviews the application, and submits the application to Grants.gov. After Grants.gov receives and validates the application, it sends it to NIH.
  3. When the application gets to NIH, the eRA Commons software checks the application against NIH's business rules. NIH then notifies both the project director (PD)/principal investigator (PI) and signing official (SO) at SPA by email. Errors in the application must be corrected and resubmitted through Grants.gov. Warnings are advisory in nature and do not require correction.
  4. If there are no errors, PIs have the opportunity to view the "assembled image" of their application in the eRA Commons within two business days of the application being downloaded. If the PI chooses (due to technical transmission difficulties only) to reject the application, they must contact the SPA GA immediately, as only the SPA SO can reject an application once the image is available.

View the NIH proposal workflow: Electronic SF424 (R&R) Application Process Through Grants.gov

Instruction to register for NIH & NSF accounts.

Nonfederal Electronic Systems

A growing number of private foundations, businesses, and other nonfederal organizations are accepting and requiring paperless proposal submissions. Some sponsors accept proposals by email, while others require that proposals be submitted through application systems featured on their websites, or through collaborative e-grants websites (e.g. RAMS/Proposal Central or American Council of Learned Societies). In most cases, principal investigators or department administrators will submit nonfederal electronic applications. However, all electronic proposals still must be reviewed by SPA prior to submission.

A complete proposal package for an electronic submission should include the following:

  • Email completed electronic applications to proposal@umn.edu with the Proposal Routing Form (PRF) number, PI last name, and sponsoring agency.
  • Fax PRFs with ink signatures to (612) 624-4843. Those with electronically signed PRFs do not need to fax the PRF to SPA.
  • Some nonfederal sponsors may require a signed paper copy of the application in addition to an electronic one. Deliver the signed paper copy to SPA for submission to the sponsor.

After SPA grant administrators complete their review of the proposal, they will send an email notification to the PI and department contact (individually listed on the PRF), which authorizes submission.