Grants.gov and Workspace

Grants.gov enables grant-making agencies and the grant community to come together to make grants management easier and more efficient for everyone. State, local and tribal governments, colleges and universities, research institutions, non-profits and other organizations have the ability to find grants at one online location.

Workspace is the cloud based one-source access to standardized grant information, application packages and processes for federal grant programs across all federal grant-making agencies. The Workspace application process eliminates the need to learn and comply with multiple agency specific system requirements. ASSIST is also available for NIH and FastLane for NSF applications.

Funding Opportunity Announcements

With the use of Grants.gov all applications must be submitted in response to a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). A Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is Grants.gov's terminology for what was formerly known as a Program Announcement or a Request for Application.

But what if I am applying for an investigator-initiated grant, which before never had a Program Announcement number? NIH and other HHS Agencies have developed omnibus Parent announcements for use by applicants who wish to submit what were formerly termed "unsolicited" or "investigator-initiated" applications. Responding to such an omnibus or umbrella Parent FOA ensures that the correct application package is used and enables NIH to receive the application from Grants.gov.

If you are interested in applying to NIH Parent Announcements, check the dates on the submission schedule.

Grants.gov and Workspace Reference Materials

Grants.gov and Workspace Applicant User Guide – A detailed guide to registration, finding, and applying for grant opportunities.

Applications for federal funding through Grants.gov are migrating from PDF packets to “Workspace” as of January 2018. In the past, federal applications could be downloaded in a PDF format through Grants.gov, but going forward you will be using a cloud based system called Workspace instead.

To download a Workspace application and start the submission process go to Grants.gov:

register located in the top right hand corner
assign your own Username and Password
add the UND organization with DUNS number 102280781
call 777.4146 for access after you have registered

Once you have been given access, you can search for an application and start the packet. It is similar to the PDF application, just broken down into pieces. There are mandatory forms and optional forms that get downloaded and filled out, saved to your computer and then uploaded to the packet. You will get prompts to lock it and then unlock it. To create an application or return to finish an application you have started, Login at the top right hand corner of Grants.gov. Then select Create Workspace or Manage Workspace in the left hand navigation bar. If choosing Manage Workspace be sure to also hit search so the options become listed in the results area.

Common Errors in Grants.gov Proposals Submissions

To minimize errors and warnings in Grants.gov proposal submissions for NIH, here are some points to keep in mind.

Only use standard characters and numbers when naming attachments.
Spaces in attachment names can cause the attachment not to render properly.
All attachments must have a .pdf extension.
Be aware of any attachment size policies. A project summary/abstract, project narrative, and research plan have specific requirements regarding page limits and length.
Make sure that the NIH Commons UserID for the PI has been included in the Key Personnel page of the application.
Refrain from using the role of co-PI/PD on the Key Personnel page of the application.
The start date in the budget needs to match the start date on the SF424 (R&R) Face Page form.
Make sure you have followed the font and margin requirements.
Make sure your budget total matches the total request in the SF424 (R&R) Face Page form.

Help with these or any other Grants.gov issues is available from the Grants Management Office.