The new PHS Assignment Request Form, introduced with the Forms-D changes, is now available in Grant Runner. This new form will be available to all applications in progress as well as new Grant Runner applications where applicable.
SAGE Budget: Update to Tuition Inflation Rate Default Value
The default tuition inflation rate in SAGE Budget has been changed from 10% to 3%, to provide a more realistic figure and reduce the need for manual overwrites.
At the request of the Office of Research, the third and final reminder email sent to investigators that have not submitted an SFI disclosures for 365 days will no longer be sent. This final email cc’ed all related principal investigators which caused confusion/frustration.
Fixes
Error with Attaching Budgets to an eGC1
An issue was resolved which was causing an error when users were attempting to connect SAGE Budgets to an eGC1 under a certain set of circumstances.
Investigator status reverting to Yes on Connect of Budget
An issue was resolved which was causing the investigator flag on the eGC1 personnel list to revert to YES when a user connected a SAGE Budget to an eGC1.
Personnel role selection changes and investigator flags
An issue is resolved which was occurring when a user changed the role type on personnel from one where Investigator status was automatically defaulted to YES (such as PI or Co-PI), to a role where they should be able to designate YES or NO (such as Mentor). The system was not displaying the YES/NO option in these cases until the screen was refreshed. It will now display the correct investigator options in real time.
Object Code 38 (Unallocated) costs in SAGE Budget not itemized in NIH export
An issue has been resolved so that costs in object code 38 (Unallocated) will now be itemized under Other Direct Costs in the SAGE Budget Excel export that matches the NIH Detailed Budget form format.
A New OAW Compliance Question for Significant Protocol Changes
A new compliance question, AC-1-D, has been added to identify grants that will require a Significant Change at the time of submission. An answer is required if the Animal Use question AC-1 is answered “Yes”.
A few textual enhancements (for existing compliance questions) were made to allow OAW to process the grants more efficiently, and they include:
Removing the facility name and location of the work to be done on the AC-1-A for UW work
Sub-Object Codes 05-47 and 05-48 Added to Sage Budget for Grandfathered Awards
Effective July 1, 2016, UW’s equipment capitalization threshold will increase from $2,000 to $5,000. This change applies to all competing proposals submitted to sponsors on or after May 1, 2016. The following changes were made in Sage Budget to accommodate this threshold change:
Two new object codes will be added to (05) Supplies and Materials to allow grandfathered awards to continue to use the old threshold for non-capitalized equipment:
Personnel with an Invalid NetID will not be selectable
With this change, all active staff in the Person Web Service will continue to show in the results on staff search, but those without NETIDs will not be selectable, and users will see a note indicating that the NETID must be established before the person can be selected. Allowing personnel without NETIDs to be selected as personnel caused errors on the personnel list afterward.
Grant Runner Forms-D Implementation
Grants.Gov will be updating its systems to FORMS-D, for all applications submitted for due dates on or after May 25, 2016. The Grant Runner forms that will be updated to comply with FORMS-D requirements are identified below. There may be some application packages which include both a FORMS-C and a FORMS-D as options, and in this case users will be prompted in SAGE to select the appropriate one based on the due date. Per NIH, FORMS-C application packages will be set to expire after the May 7, 2016 AIDS due date.
Update of PHS 398 Cover Page Supplement to Forms-D
For Grants.Gov FORMS-D, users will notice the following changes applied to the Grant Runner Coverage Page Supplement form:
A new “Vertebrate Animals” section, which includes questions on euthanization and use of AVMA guidelines.
Removal of the PD/PI section
Removal of the Disclosure Permission section
The ability to add Program Income information for 10 budget periods (previously 5)
Re-ordering of fields to accommodate the new additions and removals
Update of PHS 398 Research Plan to Forms-D
For Grants.Gov FORMS-D, users will notice the following changes applied to the Grant Runner PHS 398 Research Plan form:
New “Data Safety Monitoring Plan” attachment
New “Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources” attachment
Creation of a New PHS Inclusion Enrollment Form for Forms-D
For Grants.Gov FORMS-D, users will notice a new form called “PHS Inclusion Enrollment Report” in Grant Runner. This single form will replace the 2 separate forms in FORMS-C applications (Cumulative Inclusion and Planned Enrollment Report). With the Forms D changes, users will notice some additional fields to identify the type of reporting being done (“Delayed Onset Study?”, “Enrollment Type?”, “Existing Data Set or Resources?”) When “Delayed Onset Study” is marked YES, the remainder of the form will not be editable, per form rules.
Store activity type code for Grant Runner Applications
In order to aid in the analytics of Grant Runner usage, the SAGE system will begin to retrieve and store the Activity Type code from Grants.Gov, as we are retrieving submission status information.
Fixes
Error when Inactivating Advances
An issue that was causing users to receive an error when trying to discard advances has been fixed.
The EHS-2 question on the Compliance Questions and Explanations pages of the eGC1 has been updated on all new eGC1s created after the September 2015 release.
Updated logic for the display of the HS-1-B Compliance Question Explanation
The HS-1-B question on the Compliance Explanations page of the eGC1 will now display under the additional condition of a Contract that is utilizing Just-In-Time human subjects approval.
Compliance question HS-1-B was not displaying/hiding in real time, when Project Type = Contract
Conditional questions and instructional text in the Human Subjects section of the Compliance Explanations page of the eGC1 now update in real-time when the eGC1 is for a Contract.
Prevent multiple RegIDs for the same person from being entered into SAGE
When a user is erroneously assigned multiple RegIDs at the University, it has caused problems with accessing their FIDS information. A change has been made to disallow multiple RegIDs for the same person in the SAGE database. Upon logging into SAGE, the user will receive an error that is also recorded in the SAGE Suite error log. This error will alert the SAGE team to take the necessary action to resolve the issue with UW IT.
Grant Runner Validation Update on Detailed Budget
A validation was added to the Grant Runner detailed budget form to disallow zero entries in the “other” cost field. This will help mitigate submission errors.
SERA
Older FAs in SERA have problems opening
An issue that had prevented Funding Actions that predated the creation of the Authorized Action field from being opened in SERA has been fixed.
Grant Runner enables you to complete Grants.gov application packages directly within SAGE for certain National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding opportunities. It integrates the standard government grant application forms (the SF424 Forms) with the UW electronic grants and contract (eGC1) application. With the click of a button, the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) can electronically submit your application via Grants.gov to the sponsor.
Grant Runner: Update Detailed Budget Roles to Free Text
On the Grant Runner detailed budget forms (project and subaward budgets) the key persons role type has been converted from a drop-down list to an open text box, to allow users to enter a wider range of other roles not previously listed. For example, users can now enter “Consortium PI” on the subaward budgets, or any other role type necessary.
Grant Runner: Round budget indirect totals to whole number
NIH Guidelines ask for detailed budget figures to be entered as whole dollars. In the indirect cost section of the detailed budget, where the total was automatically calculated based on rates and base amounts, cents were included without allowing users the ability to change the figure to a whole number. With this update, the indirect cost totals on the project and subaward detailed budgets and the modular budget forms will be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
Provide visibility to missing investigator emails (201633)
In order to ensure attention is drawn to situations where an investigator may not receive a disclosure notification email, due to a missing email address, the PI & Personnel page of the eGC1 is being updated to display available email addresses. The available email address will display for everyone listed on the PI & Personnel page, and when one isn’t available a message of “Email Address Unlisted” will display in its place.
In addition, if a disclosure notification fails to send to an investigator due to no email address being available, then the eGC1 Preparer will be sent an email they can forward to the investigator.
Require Email and Phone Number for eGC1 Preparer (206089)
In order to ensure that eGC1 preparers receive key email notifications generated from SAGE and SPAERC, including the newly added email above which forwards disclosure notifications when investigators cannot be reached by email, the Preparer’s phone number and email address are now required on the eGC1.
Fixes
PI entry erroneously cleared
Under certain circumstances during the updating of a PI on the eGC1, the entry was not saving correctly, resulting in the PI entry being blanked out and at times causing an error that the user could not resolve. This fix corrects the issue, allowing PI changes to be saved appropriately.
FCOI JIT Email Update
The primary contacts on the eGC1 will now only receive the FCOI JIT email once, rather than anytime the contacts listed on the eGC1 change.
eGC1 Sponsor Deadline Now Includes Time of Day and Time Zone
In order to better monitor and meet proposal submission deadlines, eGC1 preparers will now be asked to provide the specific time of day and time zone for which the applications are due. These fields will display alongside the existing sponsor due date field, and will be required entry.
Added Space between Box and Number in PI Addresses on Grant Runner Forms
A minor update was made to add a space between the word “Box” and the box number in the PI address on the SF424 and Key Persons Expanded forms in Grant Runner. This change will now present the address in the appropriate format.
Grant Runner Now Supports More Special Characters
In an early February 2015 release, Grants.Gov updated their systems to allow many of the special characters that were problematic with submissions in the past to go through successfully. With this release we are updating SAGE Grant Runner to take advantage of this change as well. Grant Runner will no longer generate a validation error when users enter special characters such tildes, curly quotes, umlauts and other accent marks. This update will result in fewer submission errors and a more accurate read of the intended content.
Fixes
Removed Lines in eGC1 PDF Format
A recent upgrade of our PDF software caused inadvertent lines to show around tables of information in the eGC1 PDF due to a new default released with the software. We have applied an update that will revert the eGC1 PDF back to its former look and feel.
The process of adding an attachment to standard eGC1 pages or Grant Runner forms is the same.
Grant Runner File Names: There are a few differences in how you name a file for attachments on Grant Runner forms. In addition, all Grant Runner attachment names must be unique across all forms. If you do add the same file a second time, SAGE will append a number to the file name to ensure it is unique. So, “myfile.pdf” when added again will become “myfile1.pdf” to meet the uniqueness rule.
Notes:
The file name must be no more than 50 characters in length, including spaces, and end with .pdf in lowercase.
Use one space (not two or more) between words or characters and do not begin the filename with a space or include a space immediately before the .pdf extension.
Avoid the use of ampersand (&) since it requires special formatting.
The NIH allows file names that contain certain characters. See the following table, which contains each character allowed and an example using the file name xyz.pdf with the inserted character in bold.
Characters
Example File Name
Alpha-numeric characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9
Xy23Z.pdf
Underscore
x_yz.pdf
Hyphen
x–y–z.pdf
Space
x y z.pdf
Period
x.yz.pdf
Parenthesis
x(yz).pdf
Curly Braces
{xy}z.pdf
Square Brackets
x[y]z.pdf
Tilde
~xy~z.pdf
Exclamation Point
xyz!.pdf
Comma
xy,z.pdf
Semi-colon
x;yz.pdf
Apostrophe
x‘yz.pdf
At Sign
xy@z.pdf
Number Sign
x#yz.pdf
Dollar Sign
$xyz.pdf
Percent Sign
xy%z.pdf
Plus Sign
x+yz.pdf
Equal Sign
xy=z.pdf
Note: For full details on NIH attachments, review their Format Attachments page.
Click on the Add Attachment link to start the process. The Upload Attachment dialog will display.
Description
Provide a short description of your document file that is helpful to reviewers. You may want to use the word “draft” or “final”. Example: Science Final, Draft Proposal.
Grants.gov application descriptions should include the eGC1# and PI last name; you can append additional information to the end of the file name. This will help reduce errors and streamline the Grants.gov submission process for the OSP Administrators.
File
Select Browse to search for your document, or the equivalent step for your web browser (for example, Choose File).
To complete the process, select Upload to attach the document to the eGC1. Clicking the Cancel link will exit the process.
If there is a problem with the file name for a Grant Runner attachment, a dialog box will display indicating the naming rules.
If you upload a file with the same name as an existing Grant Runner attachment, the system will append a number to the file name to ensure it is unique. So, “myfile.pdf” when added again will become “myfile1.pdf” to meet the uniqueness rule.
Attachment Information
Once you upload your attachment, the following information displays, as shown in the following image.
Field
Field Description
Description
Displays the value entered. Click on the description to view the attachment.
File Name
Displays the name of the file as it was saved on the computer or local server.
Version
The system will automatically assign the version number of each file as it is attached or updated. The version number is the number one (1) when you initially attach a file.
Attached On
Displays the date and time that the attachment was added to the eGC1.
Delete a Document
You can only delete an attachment for a standard eGC1 if the eGC1 is in “‘Composing” or “Withdrawn” status and no approval actions have occurred. That is, when no one has approved, marked as watched, added a comment, or returned the eGC1. If the conditions allow, the system displays a Delete link to the right of the file information. Selecting Delete removes the attachment from this eGC1.
Note: On a Grant Runner eGC1, you are allowed to delete files from a Grant Runner form when the eGC1 is in “Composing,” “Withdrawn,” or “Returned” status if the file is not a required one.
Update an Existing Document
The Update link will only appear after a reviewer has approved, marked as watched, added a comment, or returned the eGC1 and the eGC1 has a status of “Withdrawn” or “Returned”. Selecting Update allows you to attach a newer version of a current document. You can display the prior versions of the updated file by clicking on the arrowhead to the left of the Description. Only the most recent version of an attached file is submitted.
If you have attached a file to the wrong place in an eGC1, you can update it with a document that indicates the file is incorrect and should be ignored.
The Grants.Gov RR Detailed Project Budget form will be made available in Grant Runner. This form supports the NIH SF 424 research opportunities where funding greater than $250,000 per period is being requested. With the addition of this form, users will be able to utilize Grant Runner for a much wider range of opportunities, taking advantage of the streamlining and time savings that Grant Runner is known for.
Key Features Include:
Pre-filled data on the institution, project start and end dates
Summary view of period totals, with expand capability to view/edit details
On screen highlighting and messages to assist in identifying and correcting errors that lead to submission problems
Auto-calculations of sub-totals and totals, with totals refreshing with each new entry
Easy to read cumulative budget summary section at bottom
Copy previous period feature (see separate listing for detail)
There are several ways to verify that you have entered all of the required data, and included any required attachments, on your Grant Runner application forms:
On the left navigation menu, you can look for any red exclamation mark “validation icons” to the right of the form name. This indicates missing data. When the form is complete, you will see a green check mark icon.
For an overall check, select Check for Errors from either the left navigation menu or the Certify & Route page to see the Errors and Warnings Summary, described in its own article.
If you select Ready to Submit = No on the Certify & Route page, you can route your Grant Runner application for review even if it still has outstanding Grants.gov or NIH errors.
You must fix all errors for your application to be eligible for submission via Grants.gov.
Validation Icons
The following image shows the left navigation menu with the validation icons.
Field Pop-Overs
As you work on a form, you will notice some fields outlined in red. Generally, this indicates a required field, as does the red asterisk (*) following the field’s label. If you click on that field, a “pop-over” explanation will display.
Note: Some fields may not be marked with the asterisk (*) but may still be required based on other data entered.
Show Form Errors
Another way to look for errors on a form is to use the Show Form Errors link on the “icon bar” at the upper right of the form.
Clicking the Show Form Errors link displays a list of errors at the top of the page. Once you click the link, it changes to Hide Form Errors so that you can turn this feature off.
In addition to the list, all of the corresponding pop-overs display to help you spot the errors on the form.
