The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA/R15) grant program is transitioning to electronic submission. All AREA grant applications for the February 25, 2006 submission date and beyond will require electronic submission through Grants.gov using the SF424 (R&R) application. Paper PHS 398 applications will no longer be accepted. For detailed information regarding the NIH electronic submission program please visit http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

The NIH electronic submission process requires registration in two separate systems: Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Grants.gov is the Federal government’s single on-line portal to find and apply for Federal grant funding from all 26 Federal grant-making agencies. eRA Commons is the NIH electronic Research Administration system that allows applicants/grantees to electronically receive and transmit application and award information. Each system has its own registration requirements.

Eligible institutions planning to apply for the February 25 AREA grant program submission date that have not yet registered with Grants.gov and the eRA Commons must start the registration process NOW. These processes can take up to four weeks (possibly longer for new organizations) to complete. Registration requirements must be met prior to submitting an application. For additional information on preparing for electronic submission to NIH please visit: http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/preparing.htm.

When preparing your grant application, carefully follow all instructions provided in the funding opportunity announcement and the application guide that accompanies each application package. These instructions contain important NIH-specific instructions that will guide you through this new process. You also may want to check out the common errors section of the NIH electronic submission website to benefit from the experience of others http://era.nih.gov/ElectronicReceipt/tips_tools.htm.