NIFA Frequently Asked Questions - Applying for a Grant

General | Applying for a Grant | Grant Management

Eligibility How do I know if I am eligible or my organization is eligible to apply for a NIFA grant? Eligibility for any NIFA grant program is determined by the authorizing and annual appropriation legislation. For competitive grants, you can check the "Eligibility" section of the appropriate Request for Applications (RFA) (located in Part III, A). For Capacity grants and special line-item grants, NIFA notifies eligible grant recipients directly.

Does NIFA accept unsolicited grant applications? No. NIFA receives annual appropriations that require the agency to fund very specific areas of agricultural research, education, and extension. Therefore, NIFA cannot accept or consider unsolicited grant applications for funding. Top Requests for Application (RFAs) What is a Request for Applications (RFA)? NIFA announces funding opportunities by publishing requests for applications (RFAs). RFAs provide potential applicants with detailed information about particular funding opportunities (including purpose, eligibility, restrictions, focus areas, evaluation criteria, and regulatory information) and instructions on how to apply.

How do I know when to expect publication of an RFA? Most programs publish RFAs on an annual basis during the same month each year. NIFA uses listservs and its bi-weekly publication, NIFA Update, to notify potential applicants that an RFA has been published. The agency sometimes issues press releases when a new funding opportunity is accepting applications. You can also subscribe and receive notifications of new grant opportunity postings and updates on grants.gov. You do not need to be a registered user of Grants.gov to sign-up for this service. For more information, please visit Manage Subscriptions.

How are RFAs or funding opportunities announced? RFAs are announced in the "Funding Opportunities" section of the NIFA Web site and made available through the government-wide grants.gov Web site. Occasionally, when legislatively required, RFAs are published in the Federal Register, but these RFAs are posted on the NIFA Web site and grants.gov Web site as well.

Where can I get a copy of an RFA and the application forms necessary to apply for a funding opportunity? You can access RFAs and application forms in the "Funding Opportunities" section of the NIFA Web site. You can download grant application forms directly from the Application Forms page. If you need a hard copy of an RFA or application form, you may contact the Proposal Services Team at 202-401-5048 or e-mail [email protected].

Who should I contact if I have a question about a specific RFA? If you have a programmatic question, please contact the individual(s) listed in the Agency Contact(s) section (Part VII) of the program's RFA. If you have an administrative question, please contact the Awards Management Division, Office of Grants and Financial Management, at 202-401-4986.

Where can I send comments about a particular RFA to be considered in the development of the RFA for the next fiscal year? Interested parties may e-mail written stakeholder comments to [email protected] or mail comments to: Policy and Oversight Division Office of Grants and Financial Management NIFA, USDA STOP 2299 1400 Independence Avenue, SW. Washington, DC 20250-2299 Top Preparing to Apply Do I have to register with Grants.gov before submitting an application through Grants.gov? Yes. To register as an Individual please see Grants.gov’s Registering for an Individual. To register as an organization please see Grants.gov’s Registering as an Organization. Before preparing an application, we strongly recommend that you confirm that your institution is registered with Grants.gov. If your institution has a grants office, they should be able to confirm your institution's registration status.

How long does the registration process take? Be sure to allow enough time to register prior to the submission deadline for your application package.

 Organization applicants with an Employer Identification Number (EIN) should allow 7 business days to complete all five registration steps, but additional time may be required for AOR Authorization depending upon the responsiveness of your E-Biz POC.  Organization applicants applying for an EIN should plan on a minimum of 2 full weeks but additional time may be required for AOR Authorization depending upon the responsiveness of your E-Biz POC.  Individual applicants can register in as little as 1 business day. ______Does NIFA require any agency specific registration in addition to the required Grants.gov registration? No. NIFA requires no separate registration beyond the Grants.gov registration.

What is involved in the Grants.gov registration process? You will find more detailed information if you navigate to the Grants.gov Get Registered page or the Applicants User Guide. 1. Obtain a DUNS number (optional for Individual applicants). 2. Register with SAM.gov (optional for Individual applicants). Organization Applicants will not be able to move on to Step #3 until this step is completed. 3. Create a Grants.gov username and password. You will need to create a Grants.gov user profile by visiting the Get Registered section of the website. 4. The E-Business Point of Contact (POC) at your organization must respond to the registration email from Grants.gov and login at Grants.gov to authorize you as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Please note that there can be more than one AOR for an organization. 5. At any time, you can track your AOR status by going to the Applicant Login with your username and password. Please note that this is a one-time only registration for all Federal agencies using Grants.gov. So if your organization has already completed the Grants.gov registration process to submit electronically for another Federal agency, a separate Grant.gov registration is not necessary for NIFA submissions.

Part of the Grants.gov process is registering in the Central Contractor Registry (CCR), which is now accomplished through System for Award Management (SAM). How does an applicant organization register? The General Services Administration has released a "Quick Start Guide For New Grantee Registration" and video tutorial for new applicants registering with the System for Award Management (SAM). If you have questions or concerns about your SAM registration, please contact the Federal Support desk at https://www.fsd.gov.

I will be the project director on the proposal. Do I need to register with Grants.gov? Project directors do not need to register with Grants.gov, unless they are also the person authorized to submit an application on behalf of their organization. For example, the project director for a company submitting a proposal to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program may also be the person authorized to submit applications.

What software do I need to apply through Grants.gov? There are software applications that allow you to successfully navigate the Grants.gov pages and complete your application. Please visit Grants.gov’s Recommended Software for more information. Top General Submission Questions What process does NIFA use to evaluate proposals submitted for competitive review? NIFA reviews proposals submitted to individual competitive programs using a peer review process. For more information on the peer review process please visit the NIFA Peer Review Process for Competitive Grant Applications page.

What are indirect costs? Indirect costs are those costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project. Examples include depreciation and use allowances for an organization's building and equipment, operation and maintenance expenses, sponsored projects administration, and departmental administration.

May I include indirect costs in my application budget? Yes. Some competitive financial assistance programs supported by NIFA allow indirect costs. However, for some of these awards the amount is limited by legislation to 30 percent of the total federal funds provided under the grant award for FY 2012 until amended. This amount varies by fiscal year. Applicants should consult the "Funding Restrictions" section (Part IV, D.) of the RFA for a particular program to determine the amount of indirect costs that they may request or contact the National Program Leader referenced in the RFA under “Agency Contacts” (Part VII).

How do I obtain an indirect cost rate agreement? Please visit Grants.gov’s NIFA Process for Establishment of Indirect Cost Rates for information. Top Electronic Submission Questions Where can I find the information I need to complete and submit a NIFA application via Grants.gov?

 The relevant Request for Applications (RFA) from the NIFA Web site; or  the NIFA Grants.gov Application Guide, which is posted along with the electronic SF 424 R&R application package on Grants.gov.

How do I know if my application has been received by Grants.gov? Once Grants.gov has received your submission, Grants.gov will send email messages to advise you of the progress of your application through the system. Over the next two business days, you should receive two emails. The first will confirm receipt of your application by the Grants.gov system and the second will indicate that the application has either been successfully validated by the system prior to transmission to the grantor agency or has been rejected due to errors. Once your submission is retrieved by the grantor agency, you will receive a third email. You can check the status of your application(s), anytime after submission, by using the "Track My Application" feature available from the left hand navigation. You may also check the status of a submission by logging into your Grants.gov account using the Applicant Login. After you login click on the "Check Application Status" link on the left hand menu. Please visit Grants.gov’s Tracking an Applications Submission for additional questions and answers.

Receipt of the Grants.gov e-mails does not indicate the application has been accepted for review. The AOR will be notified in up to two subsequent e-mails if the application has been accepted or not-accepted for program review. If accepted, the application will be assigned a NIFA application number (e.g., 2009- XXXXX). This number should be cited on all future correspondence.

If I am required to submit a Conflict of Interest List with my Grants.gov application package what format can I use? Unless stated otherwise in the request for applications, a Conflict of Interest (COI) list is required for each senior/key person included in the R&R Senior/Key Person profile. Prepare the COI list(s) following the instructions and format below. A suggested template for the COI list is located at http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/templates/conflict_of_interest.doc. Attach a single attachment containing a COI list for each senior/key person included in the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile (i.e., one attachment containing all the COI lists). See Part III Section 3.1 of this Guide for NIFA attachment specifications. INSTRUCTIONS: For each senior/key person, list alphabetically by last name (and with last name first), the full names of individuals in the following categories and mark each category which applies with an “x”.  All thesis or postdoctoral advisees/advisors  All co-authors on publications within the past three years, including pending publications and submissions  All collaborators on projects within the past three years, including current and planned collaborations  All persons in your field with whom you have had a consulting/financial arrangement/other conflict- of-interest in the past three years including receiving compensation of any type (e.g., money, goods or services).  Note: Other individuals working in the applicant's specific area are not in conflict of interest with the applicant unless those individuals fall within one of the listed categories. The program contact must be informed of any additional conflicts of interest that arise after the application is submitted. If I am required to submit Current and Pending Support documentation with my Grants.gov application package what format can I use? Applicants are encouraged to complete and submit the Current and Pending Support Template as part of their electronic application. This must be converted into a PDF document. For key personnel, individual corresponding Current and Pending Support PDFs should be attached to the R&R Senior/Key Person Profile.

If I am required to submit a Project Summary/Abstract with my Grants.gov application package what format can I use? Applicants are encouraged to complete and submit the Project Summary/ Abstract Template as part of their electronic application. This must be converted into a PDF document.

How do I ensure that I am applying to the correct NIFA funding opportunity? Verify that the pre-populated funding opportunity name and number match the program to which you intend to apply. The Program Code Name and Program Code, in block 2 of the NIFA Supplemental Information Form are critical to ensuring the correct routing of your application. Enter them exactly as they appear in the RFA.

There are a number of places where an attachment must be attached to the application. What type of attachments will NIFA accept? NIFA will accept only Portable Document Format (PDF) attachments with electronic application submissions. On the Download Software, users will find information on PDF-related tools and software, including a link to Convert Documents to PDF. Files not in PDF format will not be reviewed by NIFA.

Will applicants have to generate the PDFs? Yes. For help, visit Grants.gov’s Convert Documents to PDF page. Files not in PDF format will not be reviewed by NIFA.

What date does NIFA use to determine if applications have met the deadline? The date and time the application was received by Grants.gov will be the date the application is considered received by NIFA. All applications must be received by 5:00 p.m. ET of the funding opportunity deadline date.

How do I know my application was received by the deadline date and time? After submitting an application to Grants.gov, it provides users with the electronic equivalent of a postmark stamp on a confirmation screen. It contains the date and time the application was received by Grants.gov. Applicants should print out this page for their records.

When do I need to submit my application? Applications must be submitted to Grants.gov by 5:00 p.m. ET on the date indicated in the Request for Applications (RFA) for the program to which you applying.

What contingency plans are in place in case the Grants.gov and NIFA systems have technical problems on a submission/receipt date? Grants.gov and NIFA are taking steps to reduce the risk of technical problems (e.g., increased Grants.gov capacity, ongoing discussions with Grants.gov regarding volume and file size, system testing, and agency pilots). If problems do arise, agency policies are in place to accommodate emergencies, much as we do now with natural disasters such as hurricanes.

If a resubmission is required because of Grants.gov system problems, will the application be considered "late"? No, just as we do not hold people responsible for documented problems by the current paper delivery service. A case number should be obtained from Grants.gov to support any problems with submissions.

Should I look for an opportunity by entering the CFDA number on Grants.gov? We recommend that if applicants know the specific program to which they are interested in applying, they should search by Funding Opportunity Announcement number rather than CFDA. Additionally, each NIFA program has a funding opportunity page that provides a link to the appropriate Grants.gov grant opportunity page. The funding opportunity number is also in the program specific request for applications (RFA).

What is the difference between the checks that Grants.gov performs on the application and those performed by NIFA? Grants.gov validations include checking to make sure no viruses are attached to the application and ensuring the DUNS number is correct. At the NIFA level, the application is checked against business rules - such as whether you have an assurance number if the human subjects question is marked "yes".