Information to enhance your success at UNL | UNL Office of Research | April 2009

How to avoid Grants.gov delays

Starting the budget process earlier can help researchers avoid missing submission deadlines due to high traffic on Grants.gov, the portal for competitive federal grants.

As the volume of proposals submitted through this required portal increases, universities are experiencing slower processing times. Application volume is expected to increase another 60 percent as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is implemented.

Grants.gov packages must be reviewed and checked for errors by the Office of Sponsored Programs before submittal. Follow these tips to guarantee proposals are processed without delay.

Submit completed Grants.gov packages five working days before the deadline. The previous recommendation was two days. Expanding the timeline will give OSP staff greater flexibility to submit proposals during low-traffic periods.
Use FastLane for National Science Foundation proposals.
Prepare budgets early. OSP can start reviewing budgets and abstracts while researchers finish their narratives.
Upload a preliminary budget to NUgrant and enter a valid submission date. Even if the budget is incomplete, prior notification helps OSP plan ahead.
Seek budget preparation assistance from business managers at the departmental or college level. This can speed processing time.

Submitting Grants.gov packages later than the recommended five days can result in processing of proposals after the mandated cut-off time, which means they will not be accepted by the sponsor.

For more information contact Jeanne Wicks, director, Office of Sponsored Programs, jwicks2@unl.edu, 472-1825.

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