NOT-OD-09-091: Extended Error Correction Window for Electronic Submission of NIH Challenge Grants and Funding Opportunities with Submission Deadlines From April 27 Through May 1, 2009

Extended Error Correction Window for Electronic Submission of NIH Challenge Grants and Funding Opportunities with Submission Deadlines From April 27 Through May 1, 2009

Notice Number: NOT-OD-09-091

Key Dates
Release Date: May 1, 2009

Issued by
National Institutes of Health (NIH), (http://www.nih.gov)

Related Notice: NOT-OD-09-087

NIH will extend the five day error correction window through May 8, 2009 for the electronic submission of NIH Challenge Grants and opportunities with submission deadlines between April 27 and May 1, 2009. Relevant FOAs are listed in the table below:

Announcement Number	Issuing Organization	Due Date	Activity Code(s)	Title
RFA-OD-09-003	NIH	04/27/2009	RC1	Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Challenge Grants in Health and Science Research (RC1)
RFA-ES-09-005	NIEHS	04/28/2009	R44	Environmental Sensors for Personal Exposure Assessment(SBIR [R44])
PAR-09-091	ODS	04/30/2009	X02	Pre-Application for Dietary Supplement Research Centers: Botanicals (X02)
RFA-MH-09-070	NIMH	05/01/2009	R01	Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Returning Combat Veterans in the Community (R01)
PAR-08-201	OBSSR	05/01/2009	R41,R42	Technological Innovations for Interdisciplinary Research Incorporating the Behavioral and Social Sciences (STTR [R41/R42])
PAR-08-202	OBSSR	05/01/2009	R43,R44	Technological Innovations for Interdisciplinary Research Incorporating the Behavioral and Social Sciences (SBIR [R43/R44])

The correction window is being extended for these select FOAs to accommodate longer than expected processing times at Grants.gov. The error correction window will revert back to 2 days on May 11, 2009 for all FOAs.
This lengthened extension of the correction window 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 must correct their system identified errors and warnings within the correction window. Applicants submitting for the select opportunities listed above must complete the submission process by May 8, 2009 for further consideration.
The AOR/institution is expected to enforce that application changes made within the window are restricted to those necessary to address system-identified errors/warnings. NIH may reject any application that includes additional changes.
Proof of “on time” submission (e.g., Grants.gov timestamp & tracking number OR help desk ticket number with information verifying system issue outside your control) and description of all changes made within the window must be documented in PHS 398 Cover Letter component of the application

Grants.gov does not guarantee that applications will be processed and made available to agencies in the order that they are submitted. Please allow in-progress submissions to complete prior to making further submissions to address eRA-identified errors/warnings to ensure your most recent submission is reflected in eRA Commons.
The additional extension of the error correction window does not apply to competitive revisions. The eRA Help Desk is currently making its way through a backlog of issues reported earlier this week. If you have a ticket documenting a system problem related to your competitive revision rest assured that your problems have been recorded and are being investigated. Please be patient; the eRA Help Desk will contact you by Tuesday, May 5, 2009.
Reminder: 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 follow the directions provided at http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/app_help.htm.
Grants.gov expects to implement system enhancing changes that should improve their ability to process applications in a timely, efficient manner soon. We will continue to closely monitor the situation at Grants.gov and will make further adjustments as necessary to protect our applicants’ ability to submit on-time.

Inquiries

NIH has established a Web page on the NIH Extramural Response to Natural Disasters that provides information on a variety of topics: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/natural_disasters.htm