Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) are designed to protect proprietary information that may be exchanged in the course of a research project. You may request the drafting of an NDA to address a situation in which you are either receiving confidential information from the sponsor, or providing such information to the sponsor, or when confidential information is exchanged. Sponsored Program Services prepares, negotiates and executes these NDAs for you. Once finalized, we ask all UConn Health personnel covered under a respective NDA to agree to comply with its terms.
uconn health
Partnering with Industry
The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) is your home for all industry-sponsored research activities.
Contact us. Bring us in early. We are here to help!
We would like to work with you and your industry partners to ensure that our collaborative research discussions are productive, that negotiations are successful, and that both parties’ needs are met. We also ensure that agreements are in accordance with University policies and procedures as well as federal regulations and requirements.
We’ve prepared a document that outlines our philosophy and that may be useful to share with your industrial partners.
Sponsored Research Agreements
Research agreements between the University and outside entities come in many forms and serve a wide array of purposes. They cover applied research, evaluation, training, demonstrations, material transfers, confidentiality terms and data use, intellectual property, and more.
Through these agreements, we partner with a wide array of entities, both governmental (local, state and federal) and private (corporate and non-profit).
Sponsored Program Services assists you in creating, negotiating and executing these agreements by facilitating discussion and negotiating terms.
Contact us. Bring us in early. We are here to help!
Subawards
A subaward is a portion of an award that is distributed by the University of the original award (pass-through entity or prime) to a third party (subrecipient or subawardee) to facilitate performance of and payment for project work in compliance with project’s terms and conditions. When the prime award is made to the University and accepted by Sponsored Program Services (SPS), an account number is assigned and the Principal Investigator (PI) is notified.
A subaward may be issued by the University as the recipient of a prime award or as the Subrecipient of another institution’s prime award. The University now uses the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) subaward template for Research Subaward Agreements (RSA).
Subawards are typically funded on an annual basis, renewable for additional periods as appropriate or based on availability of prime award funding. Modifications or amendments may be made when circumstances require a change to terms and conditions.
Projects that involve subawards have special requirements both at the proposal and the award stage as well as during the life of the subaward.
» Learn more about initiating a subaward.
» FDP Agreement Request Form.
Cross Campus Proposal Development
Enhancing interdisciplinary research is a strategic goal for the University. An important component of this is the strengthening the inter-campus collaborations between Storrs and UConn Health. We can assist faculty in preparing and submitting externally funded inter-campus proposals and awards.
Because UConn (Storrs) and UConn Health are two separate fiscal entities, proposals seeking extramural funds are administered similar to sponsored activity involving any other inter-institutional collaborations – where one institution serves as the lead applicant and the other consortium partner acts as the subawardee.
At the proposal stage, the external funding agency will typically require a statement of commitment from each collaborating organization to ensure that there is appropriate programmatic and administrative support and oversight.
In order for Sponsored Program Services (SPS) at Storrs and Sponsored Program Services (SPS) at UConn Health to approve a Letter of Intent/Consortium Statement, both the lead organization and subawardee proposals need to be routed, reviewed and approved by the respective academic and administrative offices.
- Lead Organization: One campus is the lead organization; the other campus participating in the project is the subawardee. The decision regarding which campus serves as the lead applicant typically is dictated by the scope of the project – the lead organization performs a substantive role in conducting the project and maintains appropriate oversight of all scientific, programmatic, financial, and administrative matters related to the grant.
- Budgets: The subawardee’s proposed costs (direct and F&A) get rolled-up into the lead organization’s budget. Each site (Storrs or UConn Health) applies and receives its respective F&A costs. The lead organization waives F&As associated with the first $25K of the inter-campus subaward. Subawardee personnel cannot be included as personnel in the lead organization’s budget.
- Internal Review/Approval by the Subawardee Organization: At least 10 business days before the funding agency’s deadline, the subawardee principal investigator needs to submit internal forms (Storrs or UConn Health routing and significant financial interest, scope of work, budget and budget justification plus any additional documents requested to the subawardee’s sponsored programs office [Storrs SPS or UCH SPS]). After review and approval by that office, the subawardee investigator will submit the approved consortium statement, scope of work, budget and budget justification plus any additional requested documents to the lead organization’s principal investigator.
- Internal Review/Approval at the Lead Organization: The principal investigator for the lead organization should route the complete application to his/her respective sponsored programs office, using the normal review, compliance, and approval processes and by that office’s stated deadline.
Staff Contacts
Roles and Responsibilities
Subawardee Pre-Award
- Prepares budget that includes all subawardee costs (direct and F&A), budget justification, scope of work, internal forms, and consortium statement.
- Routes subawardee’s proposal for internal review/approval and submits to Storrs SPS / UCH SPS for review and approval.
- Submits subawardee’s proposal (consortium statement, scope of work, budget/ budget justification, etc.) to the lead’s PI for inclusion in the lead’s proposal to be submitted to sponsor.
Lead Applicant Pre-Award
- Prepares the entire application budget — all lead organization costs, including the subawardee’s budget and lists subawardee as consortium partner.
- Routes proposal (including subawardee’s budget and consortium statement) through Storrs SPS / UCH SPS for review and approval.
- Submits proposal to sponsor.
- Notifies subawardee of sponsoring agency’s funding decision.
Storrs Graduate Students on UConn Health Projects
There is a mechanism in place that allows Storrs graduate students, both US and international, to be paid directly by UConn Health as graduate assistants; there is furthermore a mechanism to allow them to have their tuition waived at Storrs. It is not necessary to use the subaward/project agreement mechanism for use of graduate students on grants.
All graduate students (including those at UCH) are enrolled through the Graduate School at Storrs. The only significant issues in the past had been obtaining tuition waivers for graduate assistants at UCH because of the different financial systems at our campuses. UConn Health’s Human Resources department provides the HR Database of Graduate Assistants to the Bursar’s Office at Storrs a list of all graduate assistants at UCH and they get an automatic tuition waiver similar to graduate assistants at Storrs.
International Students at Storrs are vetted through their International Office while UCH International Students are vetted by Ms. Jaishree Duggal in UConn Health HR. Both office work in concert to ensure compliance with applicable immigration laws. International Students are registered through the SEVIS system operated by the Department of Homeland Security, INS which recognizes the two campuses as separate entities.
Storrs-UConn Health F&A
Because Storrs and UCH are two separate entities both from the standpoint of the state and for federal grants (and have different financial systems), this places us in a situation similar to the University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts and Cornell University. We used the Cornell model to develop guidelines to promote intercampus collaborations between Storrs and UCH and placed them on our web site earlier this year (http://research.uconn.edu/intercampus). This has assisted researchers in understanding the procedures at the other campus and resolved issues that in the past have been a concern.
We currently have a global MOA between Storrs and UCH and create individual agreements for each project. They are simple and are put in place quickly.
Additionally the current practice is for the prime recipient to waive F&As on the first $25K of the sub-award if including them would diminish proposed direct costs.
In situations where amount of project cost funding is capped and the subrecipient’s F&As are included in the total direct costs the subrecipient organization will not include its F&As in the budget. Once awarded, the prime recipient will share its F&As with the subrecipient proportionately to the awarded direct costs. This will be implemented for all future grants.
Budget Preparation Guidelines
The proposal budget is the financial plan of action that reflects the costs required to perform the proposed work statement. The following information has been prepared to help you develop your budget plan.
It is important to demonstrate that the budget proposed is reasonable. A budget justification should be submitted in order to allow each budget item to be explained relative to the proposed research. The specifics of the sponsoring agency’s budgetary guidelines should be followed carefully. Budgets should be prepared for the entire proposed project. Both direct and F & A costs should be identified in the budget. The following categories are generally included in the preparation of a proposal budget.
Budget Categories and Justification
Salaries and Wages
List all personnel, including the names, roles, how many months, or the percent of effort that will be devoted to the project. Salaries and wages should typically be budgeted with an inflation rate of 3% per year.
Faculty
The DHHS (“NIH”) salary cap should be applied to all awards originating from any DHHS agency (NIH, HRSA, AHRQ, SAMHSA, CMS, among others).
Graduate Assistants
The Graduate School regulations state that full-time graduate assistants will devote 20 hours per week to their assistantship duties during the academic year which is 12 months for UConn Health GAs. University policy requires that tuition costs are included in proposal budgets, when allowed by the sponsor, per the guidance below.
Student Labor / Special Payroll
Costs should reflect the hours, the hourly rate and length of time being spent on the proposed project.
Other Professionals
Personnel included in this category are typically research assistants and associates, technicians, and computer programmers. Be mindful of salary requests and level of effort for part-time employees (less than 1.0 FTE).
Postdoctoral Fellows
Stipends for “To Be Named” postdoctoral fellows should follow the NIH NRSA stipend levels which can be found on the NIH website.
Administrative/Clerical Staff
OMB Uniform Guidance states that the salaries of administrative/clerical staff should normally be treated as F & A costs; however a request for administrative and clerical salaries may be included in a federal proposal budget when the following conditions are met:
1. Administrative or clerical services are integral* to a project or activity;
2. Individuals involved can be specifically identified with the project or activity.
Such costs must be explicitly included in the budget.
If these requirements are met, PIs/departments should include a justification statement that explains how the services are integral for the project to facilitate the required agency approval.
*Integral means the services are essential, vital, or fundamental to the project goals or activity, rather than necessary for the overall operation of the institution.
Programmatic Salary Costs
Costs related to protocol development and maintenance, managing substances/chemicals, managing and securing project-specific data, and coordination of research subjects are allowable direct costs when they are “contributing and directly related to work under an agreement.” Thus, these programmatic costs may be direct charged using the same underlying requirements as other types of direct costs, and are not subject to the extra approval requirements required of administrative and clerical costs. They are still subject to all regular costing requirements (e.g., allocability, reasonableness, allowable by terms of the award, incurred within award period).
Fringe Benefits
The fringe benefit rates should reflect the institution’s estimated “Proposal Rates” for the employment category being proposed.
– Employee*: 27.5%
– Graduate Assistants: 16.8%
– Special Payroll: 8.4%
*Includes Professional Staff, Faculty and Postdoctoral Associates
Equipment
Equipment is defined as tangible, non-expendable, personal property having an anticipated life of one year or more with a unit acquisition cost of $5,000 or greater. Equipment includes, but is not limited to, furnishings, scientific apparatus, machinery, library volumes, artwork, motor vehicles, boats and livestock. You will need to identity the individual pieces of equipment requested, the importance to the project, and why existing equipment does not suffice. Price quotes or the basis for projected prices may be required for larger pieces of equipment. Equipment costs are excluded from the Facilities and Administrative base.
Travel
Travel costs are classified as those expenses for transportation, lodging, subsistence and related items incurred by employees who are traveling on official University business. Domestic and foreign travel should be separately identified. Unless otherwise stated by the sponsor, domestic travel is considered to be travel among any of the 50 United States, its possessions and territories, and Canada. Foreign travel is classified as travel outside these areas. Travel justification should include who is traveling, where, the purpose of the trip, the number of trips, the costs for the air fare, per diem, lodging, car rental and other costs associated with the travel.
Materials and Supplies
Supplies and materials are any consumable item having an acquisition unit cost of less than $5,000. These costs should be project-specific, reasonable and based on actual or historical use. It is not necessary to break down each individual item, but a general description and amount by general classification should be provided (e.g. glassware, test tubes, or chemicals).
Publication Costs
Publication costs consist of the documenting, preparing, publishing, disseminating, reprint charges, and sharing of project findings.
Subawards
If a portion of the work is to be completed by another institution, SPS must receive a Consortium Statement, signed by an authorized representative of the subawardee institution, stating their willingness to participate with UConn Health on the proposed project. The subawardee will also need to provide a statement of work, budget, and budget justification. In most cases, F & A costs are allowed for the prime applicant on the first $25,000 of each subaward.
Consultants
Consultants are independent contractors, not employees, who provide a service that cannot be performed satisfactorily by existing University personnel during the performance of the project. The consultant costs should include the period of service or the number of days on the project, the professional fee, travel expenses and other related expenses. Consultants will often provide a letter of support to be included in the submitted application.
Animal Care Costs
Animal costs should reflect the type of animal, the number of animals and the unit cost per animal. Per Diem costs should reflect the number of days required for care of each animal/cage.
Other Expenses
Indicate any other project-related expenses, such as equipment maintenance, core services, and human subject costs. The justification should provide as much detail as possible on each item budgeted for.
Facilities and Administration (F & A) Costs
Facilities and Administrative costs, also called indirect or overhead costs, are those costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project.
It is the policy of the University to collect full F & A costs at the federally negotiated rates from all funding sources whenever possible. Occasionally, a sponsoring agency will specify an F & A policy inconsistent with the University’s negotiated rate. Only the Office of the Vice President for Research has the authority to accept a reimbursement rate other than our negotiated rate. These payments from the various programs are reimbursement to the University for certain actual costs incurred by support functions to conducting sponsored programs at the University. The University negotiates its rate with the DHHS, and is based on Modified Total Direct Costs (MTDC). Our negotiated rate agreement can be found under Frequently Requested Information, along with the name and address of our Cognizant Agency.
Cost Sharing/Matching
Definition
Cost sharing or matching on grants and contracts reflects the University’s contribution to the total costs of a sponsored research project. Cost sharing, therefore, represents the portion of the project costs not paid for by the sponsor.
General Information
Cost sharing should be limited to those situations where it is mandated by the sponsor. Some sponsors require cost sharing, and in certain circumstances, the University may determine that a contribution is necessary to ensure the success of a competitive award or competition. All cost sharing dollars require written approval from the Department Chair, Dean, and OVPR.
The PI should refrain from making commitments voluntarily, as any promised cost share becomes part of the project cost, even if only mentioned in the narrative and not in the budget. Once awarded, the commitment will have to be tracked in the University’s accounting system and is subject to audit. Failure to comply with the cost sharing commitment may result in a loss of funding.
Criteria for Cost Sharing Commitments
The Uniform Guidance states that contributions, including cash and third party in-kind, are acceptable as cost-sharing contributions.
The cost sharing/match must meet the following criteria to be accepted:
- The match must be verifiable from the recipient’s records;
- Not included as a contribution for any other project;
- Necessary and reasonable to accomplish the project’s objectives;
- Allowable under the Cost Principles;
- Not paid by the Federal Government under another award, except where authorized by Federal statute to be used as cost sharing or matching;
- Are provided for in the approved budget.
General Cost Principles
Sponsoring agency’s budget requirements vary considerably depending on the sponsor and type of proposal. Cost principles specified in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Uniform Grant Guidance are used to describe the cost principles for all sponsored agreements at the University of Connecticut. The tests for appropriateness under these principles are:
- Reasonableness – A cost may be considered reasonable if the nature of the expenditure and the amount involved reflects the action that a prudent person would take under the circumstances.
- Allocability – A cost is allocable if it is beneficial to the project.
- Allowability – Costs must be allowed in accordance with the Uniform Grant Guidance and the terms of the sponsored agreement.
- Consistency – Costs incurred for the same purpose in like circumstances must be treated consistently as either direct or facilities and administrative (F&A) costs, and the method used to estimate, record, and report costs must be consistent as well. See the table below for a description of how costs should be treated.
Nonrecoverable (Unallowable) Costs
Expenditures that cannot, by federal regulation (Uniform Grant Guidance) be reimbursed, either in whole or in part, from the federal government are considered non-recoverable (unallowable) costs. When preparing a budget, the following costs are considered non-recoverable and should not be included in your proposal budget. Please consult with Sponsored Program Services if you have questions regarding these items.
- Alcoholic beverages
- Alumni activities
- Bad debts
- Commencement and convocation costs
- Donations and contributions
- Development/fundraising costs
- Entertainment costs
- Employee morale
- Excessive employment recruitment costs
- Fines and penalties
- Goods or services for personal use
- Housing and personal living expenses
- Investment management costs
- Lobbying costs
- Memberships
- Moving costs
- Student activity costs
- Travel costs in excess of commercial coach airfare
Direct and F & A (Indirect) Costs Items
Direct costs are those costs that can be specifically identified with a particular sponsored activity. Direct costs are those costs that can be assigned to an activity relatively easily and with a high degree of accuracy.
F&A costs are costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity or any other institutional activity.
Costs must be treated consistently. Consistent treatment means that similar costs must be treated uniformly in the same manner as either a direct cost or as F & A costs. Certain types of costs, such as the salaries of administrative and clerical staff, office supplies and postage are normally treated as F & A costs, therefore, the same types of costs cannot be charged directly to federally sponsored agreements.
| Direct Costs | F & A Costs |
|---|---|
| Salaries & Wages/Fringe Benefits: Faculty, other professionals, technicians, post doc associates, research associates, graduate students. | Salaries & Wages/Fringe Benefits: Typically clerical and administrative assistants, fiscal manager, secretaries, directors. |
| Office Supplies: Office supplies are normally included in the indirect costs base. | Office Supplies: Pens, pencil, paper, staple, transparencies, toner cartridges, diskettes, printer paper, word processing and spreadsheet programs. |
| Lab and Computer Supplies: Medical, scientific pharmaceutical supplies. Software and/or diskettes for research data collection and/or scientific and technical purposes. | General Computer Supplies: Diskettes, printer paper, word processing and spreadsheet programs. |
| Equipment: Equipment and computing devises used for scientific, technical, and research purposes. | Equipment: General office equipment such as copiers, printers, computers, fax machines. |
| Facilities: Project specific space rental for off-campus facilities from a third party. | Facilities: Utilities, building use, grounds maintenance, renovations, and alterations. |
| Postage, printing and photocopying: Normally indirect unless the specific project scope of work, such as surveys or questionnaires, clearly indicates a need for a volume of costs beyond routine. | Postage, printing and photocopying: US non-priority or inter-office mail delivery, printing of administrative forms, or photocopying of routine low volume material. |
| Telephone: Long distance calls, phone surveys or calls to project participants. | Telephone: Local calls, cell phones, installation and maintenance. |
| Maintenance & Repairs: Requires justification that the expenditures are directly related to the specific award. | Maintenance & Repairs: Maintenance and repairs to general purpose equipment, buildings and grounds. |
| Advertising: Recruitment of research subjects or for personnel approved for a specific project. | Advertising: Public relations. |
| Publications: Project specific research. | Publications: General. |
| Freight/express deliveries: Justification required that cost was needed to transport project material in a timely manner. | Freight/express deliveries: Routine or internal courier. |
| Consulting: Project specific research. | Consulting: General. |
| Miscellaneous Costs: Subcontract Costs; Service Center Charges; Training costs, | Miscellaneous Costs: Dues, memberships and subscriptions; Computer network charges; Utilities. |
See also the Implementation Guide (Uniform Grant Guidance) for Principal Investigators and Department Administrators.
The OVPR SPS reviews the appropriateness of costs to determine if they qualify as direct costs. Exceptions (allowing costs listed in the F & A Column as direct costs) to the above list are rare and are reviewed on a case by case basis by the OVPR SPS. Exceptions may occur when:
- The program is a large complex project such as a center project that involves assembling and managing teams of investigators from a large number of institutions or units.
- The project involves extensive data collection, analysis and entry, surveying, tabulation, cataloging, searching literature, or reporting.
- The project requires coordinating travel and meeting arrangements for a large number of program participants, patients or subjects; or for conferences or seminars.
- A project where the principal focus is the preparation and production of manuals, large reports, books or monographs (excluding routine progress and technical reports.)
- The project is off campus and does not have access to normal department administrative services.
Frequently Requested Information
Addresses
Official Address
For all proposals, applications and communications
University of Connecticut Health CenterSponsored Program Services
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030-5335
Telephone: 860.679.4040
Fax: 860.679.4014
Email: sps@uchc.edu
Authorized University Official
Paul Hudobenko, Director, Sponsored Program Services
Telephone: 860.679.4040
Email: grantaward@uchc.edu
Cognizant Agency (Audit & Federal Cost Rate Approval Authority)
U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesCost Allocation Services
26 Federal Plaza, Room 3412
New York, NY 10278
Contact: Edwin Miranda
Telephone: 212. 264.2069
Award Checks
Payable to: University of Connecticut Health Center
Mailed to: UConn Health
Sponsored Program ServicesAttn: David Larkin, Director
263 Farmington Avenue
Farmington, CT 06030-5335
Telephone: 860.679.8816
Email: mailto:grantaward@uchc.edu
Numbers and Codes
| Applicant Organization | University of Connecticut Health Center |
| Type of Organization | State non-profit institution of higher education |
| Tax Exemption Status | 501(c)(1) |
| Congressional District | CT-005 |
| CAGE Commercial and Govt Entity | 1G782 |
| CEC Contractor’s Establishment Code | 800 930 45F |
| DUNS | 02-225-4226 |
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) | H6D6JMXJXDE6 |
| Entity Identification Number | 52-1725543 |
| Medicaid Number | 404-1968 |
| PHS Entity Number | 1521725543A1 |
| NAICS North American Industry Classification System | |
| NTB Institutional Profile (IPF) | 1506603 |
| NSF Awardee Organization Code | 0014183000 |
| SIC Standard Industrial Classification Number | |
| State Agency Business Unit | UHCM1 |
| Directorate of Defense Trade Controls (DDTC) |
F & A / Fringe Rates
| DHHS F&A/Fringe Rate Agreement | June 16, 2023 |
Assurance and Compliance
| Animal Subjects | A3471-01 (May 25, 2022 – April 30, 2026) |
| Human Subjects – FWA Federalwide Assurance (FWA) | FWA00006064 (valid through April 23, 2029) |
| IRB Organization Number (IORG #) | 0000266 (Expires April 22, 2027) |
| Misconduct in Science | Filed 11/14/1989 |
State of Connecticut Single Audit Report
NIH ERA Commons
The eRA Commons system is an online interface where grant applicants, grantees, and grantor agencies can access and share administrative information relating to research grants as they are received by NIH via Grants.gov. The eRA system allows Principal Investigators to track their applications; view summary statements and score letters; view notice of awards; submit just in time information; access eSNAP Progress Reports, Financial Status Reports and final closeout reports; and no-cost extensions.
SPS provides access to eRA Commons registration, a condition that must be met before initiating a NIH proposal. To register for an eCommons account, you must complete the NIH eCommons Account Registration Form below. If you already have an ID and password, click on the link below to login to eRA Commons.
NIH & Grants.gov
UConn Health is already registered with Grants.gov. Investigators and departmental personnel need not register. NIH provides guidance on submitting applications through Grants.gov at the following sites:
Instructions for Routing NIH Proposals via Grants.gov. Internal paperwork must be routed through SPS before it is submitted electronically through Grants.gov.
- The routing process should be initiated 3-5 business days before the deadline date. This allows SPS time to review and approve the proposal prior to submission.
- The proposal will not be submitted electronically to NIH until SPS receives, reviews, and approves the complete proposal package, including the routing form, budget, consortium documents, and a copy of the application package (or access to the application in ASSIST).
The PI does not submit the proposal to NIH. Only SPS has the authority to submit the proposal to NIH after receiving full access permission from the PI.
- The PI will complete the electronic application and email to preaward@uconn.edu.
- SPS will print the application, review for compliance with application instructions and request additional information and/or corrections as necessary.
- The PI will be notified when the application has been reviewed and approved.
- The final version must be reviewed prior to submission.
The Principal Investigator may submit a draft application to SPS for review and approval. The PI may submit draft attachments in the application for review and continue to update their science during the review process.The final application should be submitted to SPS 2 business days before the deadline date.
Do not wait until the last minute to deliver the final proposal package.
The grants.gov server has been known to “bog down,” particularly on deadline dates. This may result in missing the deadline.
Remember: Submission to Grants.gov and the NIH is a multi-step process. Grants.gov processes a series of validations prior to sending the application to the NIH. NIH, in turn, processes a series of business process validations prior to accepting the application.
A series of email messages will be sent to the PI and SPS when the proposal is submitted via Grants.gov.
The PI must have an eRA Commons account in order for the application to be validated by NIH. Once an application completes validation by Grants.gov, it is sent to the NIH. In order for the application to be validated by the NIH, each PI must have an eRA Commons account (Credential Log-In).
If the application meets NIH validation requirements, the application is posted in eRA eCommons. The PI needs to check the assembled application in eRA Commons to ensure the application is complete and has no system conversion issues. If the application did not meet NIH validation requirements and errors were generated, a corrected application must be submitted prior to the submission deadline. If warnings were generated upon validation and the PI would like to address, the previous application must be rejected and a corrected application must be submitted prior to the submission deadline.
Additional information for NIH submission:
Grants.gov Proposal Overview
Grants.gov is a website developed by the federal government to be the single portal for submitting grant applications to 26 federal grant-making agencies. Grants.gov lists all federal grant opportunities and provides a mechanism for applying for those opportunities. Grant applications must be submitted through Grants.gov when required by the federal agency program’s guidelines. Applications sent to Grants.gov are then forwarded to the respective agencies.
Early Submission of Proposals is Highly Recommended. By submitting your Grants.gov application early, SPS will be able to help identify problems that can be corrected to allow submission and acceptance of the proposal by Grants.gov. As such, SPS highly recommends that every effort is made to submit your application to our office no less than 5 business days prior to the agency deadline.
Registration. The University of Connecticut is already registered with Grants.gov. Investigators and departmental personnel need not register.
Receive Grant Opportunity Notifications. Use the Email Subscription feature within Grants.gov to register to receive email notifications of new grant postings. Select the appropriate email subscription option. Enter your email address and other required information if applicable. Click the “Subscribe to Mailing List” button.
Find Grant Opportunities. Use the Search Grants feature within Grants.gov to locate possible funding opportunities. Once you have located the opportunity you want to apply to, select and open. Make note of the CFDA and/or solicitation number (also known as Funding Opportunity Number).
Apply for Funding. Use the Apply for Grants feature within Grants.gov to download the application package. First, under “Step 1 Download a Grant Application and Instructions” click the link to verify that your Adobe software version is compatible with Grants.gov, and download the compatible software if the verification feature indicates that your current version is not compatible. Next, click the “Step 1 Download a Grant Application and Instructions” link. Enter the Funding Opportunity Number or CFDA number. Under “Instruction and Application”, click the download link. Download the application instruction and application package to your computer. (Make note of where the file was saved).
Receive Notifications of Changes to Grant Opportunity. To receive notification of any changes to the opportunity enter your e-mail address and submit prior to downloading the application and instructions. You will be e-mailed if the opportunity is changed and republished on Grants.gov before its closing date.
Complete Application Package
- Complete the application by filling in the forms and uploading the required attachments into the application package. (Fields required by Grants.gov are highlighted in yellow). NOTE: All documents should be converted to PDF using Adobe Acrobat.
- Save the application and e-mail it to Sponsored Program Services for review and submission.
Submission of Application. SPS will submit the electronic application through Grants.gov. The application package should be forwarded to SPS 3-5 days prior to the agency deadline along with the routing form, budget, budget justification, project abstract, and any consortium documents. The PI may submit draft attachments in the application for review and continue to update their science during the review process. The final application should be submitted to SPS no later than noon before the deadline date.
Grants.gov Customer Support. Visit Grants.gov support page for help 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Budget Templates/Calculators
The following budget templates are provided to assist you with your budget preparation and can be modified as necessary. Please note these are internal templates and may need to be transferred to the appropriate sponsor budget forms.
SPS Budget Templates
- Proposal Budget Template Updated 2.3.2026
- Award Budget Template Updated 3.30.2026