Notice Number: NOT-OD-09-045

Update: The following update relating to this announcement has been issued:

• February 27, 2009 - See Notice (NOT-OD-09-055) Effective March 1, 2009, NIH, AHRQ, CDC, and FDA will restore the error correction window (i.e. the time allowed after the submission deadline to address NIH identified errors/warnings) to two (2) business days for all electronically submitted grant applications.

Key Dates
Release Date: January 28, 2009

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), http://www.nih.gov
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), http://www.ahrq.gov/
Center for Disease Control and Prevention/National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, (CDC/NIOSH) http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/
U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), http://www.fda.gov

This notice supersedes NOT-OD-08-018.

NIH/AHRQ/CDC (NIOSH)/ and FDA will extend the electronic application error correction window to five days for those opportunities with submission dates through February 2009. This change is being made in response to applicant concerns about Grants.gov system performance. This extension should allow applicants sufficient time to correct system identified errors or warnings following on-time submission.

• Applicants that submit on-time (i.e., by 5:00 p.m. local time on application due date) and receive a Grants.gov tracking number can correct their system identified errors and warnings in the 5 business days following the submission deadline.
• All changes made within the correction window must be in response to system identified errors/warnings and documented in the PHS 398 Cover Letter component of the application. NIH may reject any application that includes additional changes.
• If you experience problems with Grants.gov that threaten the timely submission of your grant application or the ability to obtain the tracking number and timestamp necessary to verify on-time submission:
  
  
  • Contact the Grants.gov Contact Center to document and help resolve the submission issues
  • Document the issue with the eRA Help Desk and be sure to include your Grants.gov support ticket number
  • Continue to work through your submission issues and document your corrective actions including support ticket numbers in the application cover letter.
    Note: Documentation is important. If the eRA Help Desk is able to verify a system issue beyond your control, you will be placed on a Systems Issues list that is shared with NIH’s Division of Receipt and Referral and your application will not be considered late as long as the submission process is completed within the 5 day error correction window. If the eRA Help Desk is unable to confirm that you encountered a system issue, the normal late policy will apply and application acceptance will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
    
    
• You may want to take advantage of electronic channels to report/document submission issues (e.g., email or Web support). See Finding Help for details on support options.

We encourage applicants to apply early to reduce the stress of last minute submission. We will closely monitor the Grants.gov queue and make adjustments to the correction window or submission deadlines if necessary to protect applicants ability to submit on-time. Please note that the five day correction window is temporary. Grants.gov is working on performance enhancing system changes.

Inquiries

Questions about this Notice should be directed to:

Grants Information
Office of Extramural Research
National Institutes of Health
Phone: 301-945-7573
TTY: 301-451-5936
Email: grantsinfo@nih.gov