Electronic Research Administration

Electronic research administration (ERA), in the generic sense, is simply doing research administration tasks electronically. It encompasses everything from electronically submitting grant proposals, to creating a Word template to fill in and print a sponsor's application form. ERA is building a home page for a sponsored research office or utilizing the web to find out about a grant application. ERA incorporates listservs, searching for funding opportunities, making publications available electronically, receiving awards through email, receiving grant payments through electronic funds transfer, and faculty profile databases. ERA is FastLane, Community of Science, Interagency Edison, and so much more.

Many sponsoring agencies--federal and non-federal--are implementing new electronic systems that allow grantees to submit proposals or perform administrative tasks such as requesting no-cost extensions and submitting progress reports. Some of these systems may require individual registration, institutional registration, or registration of the authorized institutional representative. Many of these systems are not very sophisticated in that they do not provide for the process of obtaining institutional prior approvals electronically. Some are not even "systems" at all--just a procedure for submitting proposals through email or on diskettes.

In some of the more sophisticated systems, individual or institutional registration is required before the system can be used. Responsibility for registering Florida State University as an institution lies solely with Sponsored Research Administration or the FSU Research Foundation, whichever is appropriate. In most cases, individuals may register themselves.

A list of currently known electronic grants management systems is provided below with a brief explanation of the purpose of the system, and whether or not registration is required. If you become aware of a system that is not listed here, please let us know by emailing us at SRA-Pre@fsu.edu. Be sure to include the system's web address.

Sponsor-Developed Electronic Systems

Alzheimer's Association

See proposalCentral below

American Cancer Society

See proposalCentral below

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association proposal submission system only requires individual registration to receive application forms and instructions. It does not require institutional registration. It also does not provide for institutional approvals through Sponsored Research Administration or the FSU Research Foundation. The assumption is that a Principal Investigator will have institutional approval before submitting an application electronically, just as he/she would if submitting via paper only. The investigator should show the appropriate grants administrator as the "Grants Officer" when submitting a proposal electronically on this system. This will ensure that SRS or FSURF receives acknowledgment of the electronic submission. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

American Lung Association

See proposalCentral below

Army

Army Single Face to Industry (ASFI) Acquisition Business Web Site Florida State University is registered with ASFI under DUNS Number 790877419 and Cage Code 3S772. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator. See also Department of Defense.

PPIMS The Past Performance Information Management System is the Army's central repository for the collection and utilization of Army-wide contractor Past Performance Information (PPI). Available only to authorized Government personnel, PPIMS is used to support both the Contracting Performance Review process and future award decisions.

Arthritis Foundation

See proposalCentral below

Cancer Research Foundation of America

See proposalCentral below

Cancer Research Foundation of America

See proposalCentral below

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

SGMS, Station Grants Management System, links all 560 grantees to CPB in a secure, on-line environment, allowing grantees to electronically submit the Annual Financial Report, Financial Summary Report, CSG Final Report, and Interconnection Grant Final Report. Florida State University's registration is complete and roles have been assigned to appropriate personnel. Investigators wishing to use submit a proposal should coordinate with the appropriate grants administrator.

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

See proposalCentral below

Defense Advance Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

The DARPA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) should indicate whether or not proposal submission may be made electronically. For administrative and/or security reasons, some BAA's prohibit electronic submission. Electronic submission probably only involves saving the proposal on a compact disk or floppy diskette and mailing it in with the hard copy. Investigators wishing to use submit a proposal to DARPA electronically should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

Defense

The Central Contractor Registration (CCR) is the primary vendor database for the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, Department of Transportation (DoT), and Department of Treasury. The CCR collects, validates, stores and disseminates data in support of agency missions. Florida State University is registered in the CCR under DUNS Number 790877419. Both current and potential government vendors are required to register in CCR in order to do be awarded contracts by the DoD, NASA, DoT and Treasury. Vendors must update or renew their registration annually to maintain an active status. CCR validates the vendor's information and electronically shares the secure and encrypted data with the federal agencies' finance offices to facilitate paperless payments through electronic funds transfer (EFT). Additionally, CCR shares the data with several government procurement and electronic business systems.

The Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program , CDMRP directs the Breast Cancer Research Program, Prostate Cancer Research Program, Ovarian Research Program, the Neurofibromatosis Research Program, and Special Populations Program as identified/funded by Congress and the Department of Defense through the Army. Investigators new to this system will need to register prior to submitting any proposal information for the first proposal. The proposal submission process requires separate actions by the Applicant (registered faculty member) and the Administrative Representative (FSU's Authorized Institutional Representative). The applicant inputs proposal information and identifies the Administrative Representative. The Administrative Representative reviews the proposal information, approves the information and uploads the actual proposal in .PDF file format. There is no institutional registration function in this system. The Administrative Representative must be entered by the investigator each time a proposal is prepared. It is very important that the following information is used when entering the Administrative Representative information (FSU investigators only!):

Last, First, Mi:		Ostrander, Gary K.
Organization:		Florida State University
Department:		Sponsored Research Administration
Street Line 1:		874 Traditions Way, Third Floor
City:		Tallahassee
State:		FL
Country:		USA
Zip Code		32306-4166
Telephone		(850) 644-5260
Fax Number		(850) 644-1464
Email:		armyaward@mailer.fsu.edu

Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

PPAIS Past Performance Administrative Information System. The URL http://dodppais.navy.mil is no longer valid. DoD PPAIS has been expanded to serve all federal agencies and is now called the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS).

CPARS The Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System is a web-enabled application that collects and manages the library of automated CPARS. CPARS is for UNCLASSIFIED use only. A CPAR assesses a contractor`s performance and provides a record, both positive and negative, on a given contract during a specific period of time. Each assessment is based on objective facts and supported by program and contract management data, such as cost performance reports, customer comments, quality reviews, technical interchange meetings, financial solvency assessments, construction/production management reviews, contractor operations reviews, functional performance evaluations, and earned contract incentives. At FSU, only Sponsored Research Administration and the principal investigator have access to this system for specific contracts.

webPTS The Web Proposal Tracking System from the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program is actually an electronic proposal cover sheet submission system. Anyone can register. No central institutional registration information is required or stored. You register, log in and fill out a Cover Sheet for each proposal submitted. Since specific information (like DUNS and CAGE codes) is required when registering, investigators should coordinate with the appropriate grants administrator. A copy of the Cover Sheet has to be printed, and signed by the authorized institutional representative and mailed in after electronic submission on the web.

Legacy Project Tracker The Legacy Project Tracker is designed to collect Legacy Proposal submissions and track Legacy Project progress centrally via the World Wide Web (Web) for the Legacy Resources Management Program managed through the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Installations & Environment. The site allows users at the installation level to electronically submit proposals through their Service specific review chains before final 'submission' to DoD. In addition, it provides a means by which each Service can track the status of its proposals and the progress of its Projects all via the Web. This proposal submission system only requires individual registration. It does not require institutional registration. It also does not provide for institutional approvals through Sponsored Research Administration. The Principal Investigator must obtain institutional approval before submitting an application electronically. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

Education (U.S. DOED)

e-GRANTS is the portal from which to access all of the U.S. Department of Education's web-based grants systems: e-Application, e-Reader, e-Payments and e-Reports. The proposal submission system is called e-Application.

e-Application (formerly e-GAPS) -- The DOED on-line grant application process (e-Application) is available to many discretionary and formula grant program applicants. Anyone may register as a user of the system. Once a user creates a proposal record, he/she is considered the application manager. Once the application is created, the application manager may authorize others to view, edit or submit. The application manager can also designate someone else to be the application manager. Whoever needs access to the system must be a registered user.

There is no institutional registration function in this system. Information about the Authorized Representative must be entered by the investigator on each proposal before clicking the submit button. It is very important that the following information is used when entering the Administrative Representative information (FSU investigators only!):

Last, First, MI:		Ostrander, Gary, K.
Title:		Vice President for Research
Telephone:		(850) 644-5260
Fax Number:		(850) 644-1464
Email:		edaward@mailer.fsu.edu

Printed applications must be submitted to Sponsored Research Administration for approval prior to electronic submission. Once a proposal has been submitted electronically, the application cover page must be printed out for authorized representative signature. The signature page must be faxed to DOED within 3 business days of e-submission. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator. Take special note that it has been our experience that proposals should be submitted several hours in advance of the time deadline due to clogging of the system late in the afternoon.

e-Reader allows peer reviewers for the U.S. Department of Education to complete on-line peer reviews for a specially selected group of programs.

e-Payments may be used by an institution to receive grant payments.

e-Reports automates, and exists in parallel with, the current paper-based U.S. Department of Education (ED) annual grant performance reporting process. e-Reports presents grantees with the same Grant performance report normally used in a paper report, but in electronic format over the web. Upon completion, e-Reports manages the return and validation of the completed report to ED.

E-Grants Initiative

The E-Grants Initiative will provide a "common face of Government to grantee organizations for the purposes of pre- and post-award administration." This will include: Grant Applications/Proposals, Progress/Tech Reporting, Professional Profile, Organizational Profile, Application/Proposal & Award Status, Post Award Administration, Payment Systems, SBIR/STTR Apps, Solicitations & Announcements, and Invention Reporting. This system is currently under development.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the managing partner for the federal E-Grants initiative, one of 24 initiatives of the overall E-Government program for improving access to government services via the Internet. Eleven departments and agencies have been designated as supporting partners for this initiative that calls for the development of a one-stop electronic grant portal where potential grant recipients will receive full service electronic grant administration.

Energy (DOE)

e-Center.Individual investigators are required to register in order to use this system. The investigator prepares the proposal offline using software applications on his/her computer and emails the final file(s) to Sponsored Research Administration. Sponsored Research Administration uploads the proposal files into the e-Center system and submits them electronically to DOE on behalf of the authorized institutional representative. The authorized institutional representative has already been registered in the e-Center system. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

e-Link. This interactive system, Energy Link, provides the means for Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored scientific and technical information (STI) to be provided electronically to DOE. The purpose of E-Link is to facilitate the electronic submittal of STI between DOE and its client community including researchers, reviewers, research administrators, and others doing business with DOE. STI deliverables provided to DOE through E-Link are announced, as appropriate, on the DOE Information Bridge which provides free and convenient public access to full-text and bibliographic records of DOE research and development reports. Who uses E-Link: DOE M&O/M&I Contractors (Department of Energy major facilities management contractors, including DOE national laboratories); Financial Assistance Recipients/Contractors (Recipients of DOE contracts and awards); and DOE Operations Offices (DOE personnel including Federal and contractor employees at the Operations Offices). Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator. A Site Code and User Password are required to access the forms. The user's site code and password define the type of access and various other data relationships in the system. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

Federal Commons

See proposalCentral below

Federal Past Performance Information Retrieval System

PPIRS This system is available to all source selection officials across the entire federal government. At FSU, only Sponsored Research Administration has access to this system for specific contracts. PPIRS' purpose is to assist federal acquisition officials in purchasing goods and services that represent the best value for the Government. PPIRS is sponsored by the DOD E-Business Office, and administered by the Naval Sea Logistics Center Detachment Portsmouth. Federal PPIRS is a web-enabled application that allows the retrieval of contractor past performance information. It is also a central warehouse used to retrieve performance assessment reports received from the four recognized federal report card collection systems, which are:

• the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Contractor Performance System (CPS);
• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Past Performance Data Base (PPDB);
• the Army's Past Performance Information Management System ( PPIMS); and
• the Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS) used by the Navy, USMC, Air Force, DLA and other defense agencies.

Florida Department of Health

See proposalCentral below

Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition

See proposalCentral below

Interior

See National Business Center

Interagency Edison

Interagency Edison provides Federal grantee/contractor organizations and participating federal agencies with the technology to electronically manage extramural invention portfolios in compliance with federal reporting requirements. Interagency Edison supports a "common face" for invention reporting to the Government. The system has been designed to facilitate grantee/contractor institutions with the compliance of laws and regulations mandated by the Bayh-Dole Act whose purpose is to ensure transfer of technology from the research laboratory to the commercial/public sector. Only authorized institutional representatives may enter data into this system.

Justice (U.S. DOJ)

Grants Management System (GMS) -- Potential applicants (investigators) must complete a personal online registration. On the First Time User Registration Information screen, the following information should be used (FSU investigators only!):.

Employer ID Number (EIN):		59-1961248
Legal Name:		Florida State University
Organizational Unit:		Sponsored Research Administration
Address Line 1:		874 Traditions Way, Third Floor
City:		Tallahassee
County:		Leon
State:		FL
Zip Code:		32306-4166

Where the screen shows the question, "Are you the Signing Authority?", check the "No" button and a screen will pop up for you to enter information about the Authorized Representative. It is very important that the following information is used when entering the Administrative Representative information (FSU investigators only!):

Prefix:		Dr.
User First Name & Initial:		Gary K.
User Last Name:		Kemper:
Title:		Vice President for Research
Telephone:		(850) 644-5260
Fax Number:		(850) 644-1464
Email:		ojpaward@mailer.fsu.edu

The online portion of the proposal information is comparable to the SF 424. DOJ accepts online applications without allowing for prior institutional approval. Printed applications must be submitted to Sponsored Research Administration for approval prior to electronic submission. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

SYS-EYFUS is an electronic system designed for NASA Headquarters to accept electronic submission of Notices of Intent and proposal cover pages, which include a summary of the proposal and the proposed budget, but not entire proposals. NASA still requires signed, hard copy (paper) proposals, but asks the Principal Investigator to input the cover page information in SYS-EYFUS to reduce data entry and to make proposal management more efficient. Printed applications must be submitted to Sponsored Research Administration for approval prior to submission of SYS-EYFUS data. In order to submit, delete, modify SYS-EYFUS data, each user must have a password. A new user must complete an online form. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

Electronic Grants Management System (STGMS), is a web-based system to be used for the award and administration of grants by the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) (operated by AURA for NASA). Its main features are electronic submission of budgets, performance reports, financial reports (including payment requests), and other administrative requests such as extension and equipment requests. The system also provides electronic notification of awards/amendments and proposal/grant status information. This system requires institutional and individual registrations. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator prior to registering.

e-Books enables submission of monthly, bimonthly and annual reports for one or more awards issued by the Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

PPDB The purpose of the NASA Past Performance Database is to collect, authenticate, and store contract evaluations for use by NASA in evaluating contractor performance for Source Selection purposes. This site is designed to guide NASA Contracting Officers and participating contractors through the process of submitting and responding to evaluations electronically. This system uses electronic forms to exchange data between NASA and contractors, and electronic signatures to identify participants. Users will need to install software for Entrust and Informed Filler in order to use this system. An outline of the process (workflow) and step by step instructions are provided to guide through the process of setting up and using Entrust and Informed Filler, and to submit or respond to evaluations.

National Business Center

NBC The National Business Center is moving to the paperless electronic age for the Department of the Interior and the NBC clients. This move is consistent with Part 4.502 Policy of the Federal Acquisition Regulations which reads, in part, "(a) The Federal Government shall use electronic commerce whenever practical or cost-effective. Further, initiatives are being pursued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to further the use of electronic commerce as being mandated by the current administration initiatives. The goal of this website is to provide the vendor community the opportunity to do business with participating federal agencies. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

ERA Commons is an online interface where grant applicants, grantees and federal staff at NIH and grantor agencies can access and share administrative information relating to research grants. The functions available to a user in Commons are based on the 'role' associated with their eRA Commons account. eRA Commons users, based on their role, can conduct a variety of business in Commons, including:

• Track the status of their grant applications through the submission process, view errors and/or warnings and check the assembled grant image.
• View summary statements and score letters following the initial review of their applications.
• View notice of award and other key documents.
• Submit Just-in-Time information (SO only) requested by the grantor agency prior to a final award decision.
• Submit the required documentation, including the Financial Status Report and final progress report, to close out the grant.
• Submit a No-Cost Extension notification (SO only) that the grantee has exercised its one-time authority to extend without funds the final budget period of a project period of a grant.
• Submit a streamlined annual progress report electronically, provided the grantee institution is eligible to submit one under the Electronic Streamlined Non-competing Award (eSNAP) process.

The Contractor Performance System's Contractor Module allows contractors to participate over the Internet in completing government performance evaluations in the NIH CPS. A contractor, undergoing performance evaluation, receives notification of an evaluation via e-mail. The contractor then accesses the evaluation, reviews, and submits comments (if required) via the Internet. The automated review process includes interaction between the contractor and the CO as well as between the government project officer/COTR (PO) and the CO. Once the evaluation is finalized, it is set into the CPS as completed and is available for all government personnel to review in the Federal contract award process. The contractor receives electronic access to the completed evaluation.

National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA)

FADS/GRANTS, NOAA's electronic system site, has been shut down. A new site will be posted, according to NOAA. (11/20/02)

Office of Naval Research (ONR)

AwardWeb is used only by the Division of Sponsored Research to download electronic copies of awards made by the Office of Naval Research.

AdminWeb is used only by the Division of Sponsored Research to track expiring or expired awards. For awards managed by the Office of Naval Research, users can submit text, upload files to satisfy reporting requirements (e.g., final technical reports [FTRs], final property reports, and final patent reports), and submit requests for no-cost time extensions.

proposalCENTRAL

proposalCENTRAL is a Web-based grant management solution for grant-making organizations - government, non-profit and private - to simplify and streamline their operations by receiving and reviewing grant applications online. Currently, the following agencies use this system for electronic proposals:

Alzheimer's Association
American Cancer Society
American Lung Association
Arthritis Foundation
Cancer Research Foundation of America
Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
Florida Department of Health
Foundation for Digestive Health and Nutrition

Last, First, MI:		Ostrander, Gary, K.
Title:		Vice President for Research
Telephone:		(850) 644-5260
Email:		propcentral@mailer.fsu.edu

Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.

USDA CSREES

CSREES (Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service) utilizes the Grants.gov Federal electronic application and reporting system, located at http://grants.gov. You do not need to register with Grants.gov. Simply go to the Grants.gov website and search for the grant announcement you are interested in. Click on the Opportunity Title to reach the grant announcement synopsis. Then click on Application to reach a page with a line at the bottom that includes a section called Instructions and Application, with a link beneath it called "download." Finally, click on that link to download the Application Instructions and Application Package to your computer. You can then complete the Application Package offline, using Adobe software (Grants.gov no longer requires PureEdge software). Once you have filled out the Application Package according to the instructions, email it to the appropriate grants administrator for review. When the application is ready, the grants administrator will submit the completed Application Package to Grants.gov.

CRIS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's documentation and reporting system for ongoing and recently completed research projects in agriculture, food and nutrition, and forestry. CRIS contains over 30,000 descriptions of current, publicly-supported research projects of the USDA agencies, the State Agricultural Experiment Stations, the State land-grant colleges and universities, State schools of forestry, cooperating schools of veterinary medicine, and USDA grant recipients. Investigators wishing to use this system should contact the appropriate grants administrator.