Important Notes:

1. Correct email addresses are vital in the world of electronic submissions. Unless otherwise indicated in a specific system description below, use offres@offres.pitt.edu as the official contact address. Refer to the Office of Research document Data for Proposal Preparation to obtain other agency required proposal information such as the name of the authorized institutional official, etc.
   
   
2. For electronic submissions to be submitted by the Office of Research (OR), OR should receive all proposal documents necessary for internal University of Pittsburgh processing (such as the Form 0136 and a printed copy of the proposal and proposal budget) as well as be given access to the completed electronic proposal sections and files five (5) working days prior to program deadline. For a listing of the necessary documents for a Grants.gov submission, see http://www.pitt.edu/~offres/proposal/OR-GGRequirements.pdf
   
   The research community should know that there are great risks in late submissions to the Office of Research. We have seen instances where an agency’s server has experienced momentary disruption, where the format used for the submission to the Office of Research was incompatible with the format used by the sponsor, where certain materials were not submitted in the proper format, or where an agency was so overloaded with proposals the system crashed, etc. In such instances it is important to have sufficient time before the deadline to deal with these types of emergencies.

eRA Systems for Multiple Agency

• Grants.gov
  • Grants.gov allows organizations to electronically find and apply for federal grants.
    
    For further information see Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page
    
    The Federal Demonstration Project provides helpful Agency by Agency information in its Grants.gov Sponsor Matrix.
    
    
• proposalCENTRAL
• proposal Central is used by some foundations/societies. Principal Investigator registers self on system and fills out his professional profile. The Office of Research has already registered the University of Pittsburgh as an institution on the system. Allen A. DiPalma is registered as the Signing Official. Principal Investigator creates proposal by entering required information and uploading any necessary file(s). After the Office of Research reviews a hard copy of the proposal and the proposal budget, the Principal Investigator submits proposal application electronically.

Agency Specific eRA Systems

• Alliance for Cancer Gene Therapy
• See proposalCENTRAL

• Alliance for Lupus Research
• See proposalCENTRAL

• Alzheimer’s Association
• See proposalCENTRAL

• American Academy of Otolaryngology
• See proposalCENTRAL

• American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
• See proposalCENTRAL

• American Cancer Society
• See proposalCENTRAL

• American Heart Association
• Grants@Heart
  The Applicant Help Documents page provides links to Help Documents and to the Grants@Heart website where the Principal Investigator/Applicant registers and prepares his/her proposal. Only Principal Investigators and Grants Officers in the Office of Research may register on the system.

• American Institute for Cancer Research
• See proposalCENTRAL
  
  
• American Lung Association
• See proposalCENTRAL

• Arthritis Foundation
• See proposalCENTRAL

• Concern Foundation
• See proposalCENTRAL

• Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
• See proposalCENTRAL

• Department of Defense
  • Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP)
    Award mechanisms requiring pre-applications including Letter of Intent Narrative, preproposals, nominations, and/or confidential letters of recommendation will be submitted through the CDMRP eReceipt system at https://cdmrp.org. The Principal Investigator registers on the website. The Principal Investigator/Departmental Administrator enters the required information for the pre-applications. In the Proposal Contacts section the Principal Investigator should select Allen A. Dipalma as the University's Business Official/Authorized Representative. Full proposals will be submitted through the Federal Government’s single entry portal Grants.gov. For more information on proposal submissions to the CDMRP through Grants.gov, see the relevant CDMRP program announcement and Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page.
    
    
• Department of Education
  • The Department of Education is no longer maintaining its e-grants system. Currently proposals to the Department of Education are being submitted through Grants.gov. Read program guidelines to verify proposal submission procedures. The G5 Grants Management system is designed to enhance and increase program performance monitoring as well as promote technical and financial stewardship among other objectives. PI will need to register on G5 to prepare performance reports.
    
    For information on proposal submissions to the Department of Education through Grants.gov see Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page
    
    
• Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
  • IES no longer maintains its own electronic submission system. Proposals are submitted through Grants.gov
    
    See Steps to Applying for IES Grants and Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page
    
    
• Department of Energy (DOE)
  • The Department of Energy's Office of Science requires the submission of all financial assistance applications through Grants.gov. Carefully read DOE program announcements to verify submission procedures. For example, the Department of Energy's Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) may require the use of the ARPA-E electronic system. Please have your Departmental Administrator contact the appropriate Grants and Contracts Officer in the Office of Research about submissions that use ARPA-E or any other system specific to DOE.
    
    For information on proposal submissions to DOE through Grants.gov see Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page
    
    
• Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
  • See proposalCENTRAL
    

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  • NASA offers the option to to submit proposals either via NSPIRES or Grants.gov. Before the submission every individual mentioned on the proposal's electronic Proposal Cover Page form or in the Grants.gov forms as a proposing team member must be registered in NSPIRES.
    
    Individuals should register in NSPIRES (NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System) before the proposal is submitted. After an individual has registered on NSPIRES, NSPIRES sends an email to the Office of Research, and Office of Research staff confirm the affiliation with the University.
    
    For information on proposal submissions to NASA through Grants.gov see Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page
    
    
    
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
  • NIH eRA Commons
    The Commons is a virtual meeting place where NIH extramural grantee organizations, grantees, and the public can receive and transmit information about the administration of biomedical and behavioral research. PIs must have a Commons account that is affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh to obtain proposal status, submit proposals to NIH, submit eSNAPs (electronic Streamlined NonCompeting Award Process progress reports), submit Just-In-Time information electronically, complete final inventions statements online, etc. The Office of Research initiates the PI account based on the information the Principal Investigator supplies in the University of Pittsburgh Principal Investigator Request Form to Register on NIH Commons . PIs having an existing Commons account affiliated with another institution should also complete and submit the University of Pittsburgh NIH eRA Commons Registration Request form providing the information for the existing account so that the existing account can be affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh.
    
    Proposals are submitted to the NIH through Grants.gov. NIH is transitioning to electronic submission on a mechanism basis. (For a list of all activity codes requiring electronic submission, see the tables at http://grants.nih.gov/grants/ElectronicReceipt/files/electronic_activity_code_table.pdf)
    
    For more information on proposal submissions to NIH through Grants.gov see Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page.
    
    For information on using NIH eRA Commons functions, click on the links below:
    • Delegating PI Authority Instructions (a PDF file)
    • eSNAP Submission Instructions (a PDF file)
    • Final Invention Statement Submission Procedures (a PDF file)
    • Just-in-Time Submission Instructions (a PDF file)
    • Processing of Relinquishing Statements (a PDF file)
    • PI Signature Verification Compliance Requirement (a PDF file)
    • NIH x-Train Overview

• National Science Foundation (NSF)
  • FastLane
    Please read the program announcement for proposal submission procedures. In general NSF allows submission through either FastLane or Grants.gov but a few programs may require submission through Grants.gov.
    
    FastLane is an interactive real-time system used to conduct NSF business over the Internet. The Principal Investigator/Departmental Administrator prepares proposal. Office of Research Grants and Contracts Officer reviews and submits proposal. Office of Research must initiate account based on the information supplied in the University of Pittsburgh NSF FastLane Password Request Form
    
    For further information see Pitt's FastLane Web Page
    
    For information on proposal submissions to NSF through Grants.gov see Pitt's Grants.gov Web Page
    
    
• Paralyzed Veterans of America
• See proposalCENTRAL
  
  
• Space Telescope Science Institute
  • Space Telescope Grants Management System (STGMS)
    This site has instructions for downloading and installing the STGMS application. For submissions, have your Departmental Administrator contact the appropriate Grants and Contracts Officer in the Office of Research. The Principal Investigator/Departmental Administrator prepares proposal. The Office of Research Grants and Contracts Officer reviews and submits proposal. Office of Research must initiate accounts.