A UH ID and password are required to create proposals in myGRANT. New faculty members should apply for a UH username here: https://www.hawaii.edu/username/
Once you have a UH username, go to the UH ORS myGRANT website and click the ‘Launch myGRANT’ button. You will be asked to login with your username and password.
When successfully logged in, you will be directed to a page with several colored boxes. Choose the ‘Create Proposal’ box.
Complete the required research Conflict of Interest disclosure.
The myGRANT User Guide: this guide provides useful step-by-step information on how to navigate myGRANT and details on the type of input data needed.
Your Department myGRANT Initiator: several JABSOM departments have administrative personnel with extensive myGRANT experience. Find your Initiator(s) here.
The Pre-Award Office: we provide training and assistance to JABSOM faculty in submitting proposals through myGRANT. Simply click the request ticket button on our home page
Look for the following in your Funding Opportunity Announcement / Request for Application:
Expiration date of the FOA/RFA
Due date and time
Project duration (# of years that can be proposed)
Earliest start date for the project
Special requirements
Is a Letter of Intent required?
Does the FOA/RFA limit submissions to one proposal per institution? (Is this a Limited Submission FOA/RFA?)
Budget
How much funding can be requested?
Is cost-sharing / matching funds required?
What is the F&A rate?
Is there a required level of time/effort commitment for the PI?
Proposal preparation and submission information
Are there format restrictions (e.g. margins, font type and font size)?
Are there page limitations for each section of the proposal (e.g. Research Plan, Bibliography)?
Are there required attachments, such as Letters of Support, etc?
How should the proposal be submitted (e.g. through sponsor portal by ORS or PI)?
Find important Institutional Information here, including UH’s legal mailing address, Authorized Institutional Representative, Employer Identification Number (EIN), Unique Entity Identifier (UEI), and more.
When preparing your budget, use the current approved Rates for UH proposals, including Facilities and Administrative (F&A) rates, fringe benefit rates, and more.
UH requires that specific ORS forms be used for Subrecipient Letters of Intent, subaward/consortium agreements, Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) agreements, setting up advance accounts, and others.
Check the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) or Request for Application (RFA) to find important budgetary information, including answers to the following questions:
The FOA/RFA states which budget format is acceptable. This Flow Chart for Choosing a Budget for NIH Applications may be helpful.
Modular budgets are used for proposals that request up to $250,000 in direct costs per year (excluding consortium F&A costs). The following Activity Codes require a modular budget:
Use the PHS modular budget form available in ASSIST, but you can view an image of the current PHS 398 Modular Budget form here and find instructions on how to complete it.
Click here (pdf) for sample modular budgets, with and without subcontracts, or contact the Pre-Award Office (email JABSOM-PREAWARD@lists.hawaii.edu).
Detailed budgets are used for applications that request more than $250,000 in direct costs. Be sure to check the FOA/RFA, as not all FOAs/RFAs allow direct costs greater than $250,000. In addition, large projects that request $500,000 or more in direct costs will require prior approval from the funding Institute, typically at least six weeks before submission.
Use the R&R budget form available in the SF424 package to create a detailed budget. The R&R budget can be downloaded here.
Click here for a sample R&R budget, or contact the Pre-Award Office (email JABSOM-PREAWARD@lists.hawaii.edu) for other sample budgets.
PD/PI(s), faculty and other senior/key personnel express effort in terms of “person months”. The effort is based on the type of appointment the individual has within the organization: calendar year (CY), academic year (AY), and/or summer months (SM).
To calculate person months, multiply the percent effort on the project with the number of months of appointment. The most common JABSOM faculty appointment is an 11-month appointment. The calculation for 25% effort for an 11-month faculty = 3.0 (CY) person months (0.25 x 12 = 3.0). Find person-months values for % effort in the chart below.
For calculating person months in other situations, please work with your Fiscal Administrator as an adjustment to the calculation may be required.
Special Considerations
Early-Stage Investigators are encouraged to commit at least 25% effort on each application.
PIs of Career Development Programs (K-awards) are required to have a minimum effort, usually 75% or nine person months.
NIH Salary Cap (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/policy/salcap_summary.htm)
Check the current UH Board of Regents-approved Graduate Assistant Compensation Schedule to determine the appropriate pay step for Graduate Assistants for your proposal budget.
If your proposal includes a collaborating investigator from another institution who will receive funds, a formal subaward/consortium agreement must be established between UH and your collaborator’s institution. The following items are needed:
Subaward to foreign organizations
Awards to domestic organizations with a foreign or international consortium participant may include 8 percent of modified total direct costs, exclusive of tuition and related fees, direct expenditures for equipment, and subawards in excess of $25,000. The policy can be found here.
Subaward budget and justification in ASSIST
For proposals using the PHS Modular Budget Form, do not use the R&R Subaward Budget Attachment. Enter consortium F&A costs in the box labeled “Consortium Indirect (F&A)”. The Consortium Justification should be uploaded in the Budget Justification section.
For proposals using the R&R Budget Form, complete and upload the consortium’s R&R Budget found here, along with the Budget Justification in the appropriate section. Be sure to check the radio button for Budget Type: Subaward/Consortium.
Inputting subaward information in myGRANT
Basics tab: check the box for ‘Subawards’ on the Sponsor and Program Information Tab
Key Personnel tab: this is only for UH employees; do not include Consortium PIs
Attachments tab: upload the pdf of the compiled subaward documents (signed Subrecipient Letter of Intent, Scope of Work, Budget, Budget Justification, and F&A Rate Agreement) as an internal attachment
Apply for an eRA Commons username. Submit a ticket through the ORS Helpline.
When you have the username, go to the eRA website and login onto ASSIST.
Plan your NIH proposal submission by checking the NIH Standard Due Dates.
ORS requires 5 business days before the due date to review and approve your application.
Familiarize yourself with the policy requirements that serve as the terms and conditions of NIH grant awards by reading the NIH Grants Policy Statement (NIHGPS).
Download the SF424 Application Guide for comprehensive information on completing your NIH application.
Subscribe to NIH listservs to receive current announcements, including new funding opportunities and notices.
Contact the Pre-Award Office (email JABSOM-PREAWARD@lists.hawaii.edu) for samples of any of the following: Budget Justification; Facilities and Other Resources (pdf); Vertebrate Animals; Resource Sharing Plan; Authentication of Key Biological and Chemical Resources; Multiple PD/PI Leadership Plan; Select Agent Research; PHS Human Subjects and Clinical Trials Information; Examples of NIH R01, R21, R03, K, T, and F awarded grants; and/or Examples of NIH Progress Reports (RPPR).
Links to NIH guidance on specific sections
Biosketch:
Biosketch Format Pages, Instructions and Samples
Vertebrate Animals:
NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare
Select Agent Research:
PHS 398 Select Agent Research
NIH Grants Policy Statement on Select Agents
CDC list of Select Agents and Toxins Exclusions
Multiple PI/PD Leadership Plan:
NIH Policy & Guidance on Multiple Principal Investigators
Examples of Project Leadership Plans for Multiple PI Grant Applications
Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources:
PHS 398 Authentication of Key Biological and/or Chemical Resources
NIH Office of Extramural Research (2017)
NIH Office of Extramural Research (2016)
Protocol templates for Clinical Trials:
Protocol Templates and the Clinical E-Protocol Writing Tool
R01 Sample Applications and Summary Statements:
NIH / NIDCD Sample Grant Applications
The Cherney and Heinemann proposal (pdf) contains examples of:
The Lomvardas proposal (pdf) contains examples of:
The Gifford proposal (pdf) contains examples of:
NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy presentation (pdf), February 2, 2023
Update for applications on or after October 5, 2023: The single line item entry on the R&R Budget Form for DMS costs is no longer required. DMS costs must be included with other costs in the appropriate cost categories (e.g., Personnel, Equipment, Supplies, Other Expenses). Applicants must specify estimated DMS cost details in the Budget Justification attachment of the R&R Budget Form or Additional Narrative Justification attachment of the PHS 398 Modular Budget Form (NOT-OD-23-161)
Resources
Create a Workspace document by following the steps shown on ORS – Grants.gov for New Users, and also provided below:
The FOA and RFA provide important information on: