NOAA Grants Online Logo
 
 
Top Banner
Grants Online Title Bar
Home
Grants Online Production
Release Notes
PMO Staff/Contact us
Grants Online Training
Frequently Asked Questions
Grants.gov
Grants Online Survey


--
Grants Online Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

Visit this site often to review our Frequently Asked Questions List. Click on the question that most closely matches your concern. The system will navigate you to a detailed response. To view the response for another question, click the link below the answer for the current question. If you need a response to a question not included on this page, send an email to: GrantsOnline.HelpDesk@noaa.gov

Grants Online Access
How can I access Grants Online?

How do I obtain a Grants Online username and password?

Why am I no longer able to access Grants Online using my username and password?

What are the Grants Online Help Desk responsibilities?


General Implementation and Security
Do we have to login and logout of Grants Online to do work?

I’m concerned that the proposals received by my office or awards to my organization will be able to be seen by too many people. Who can access what kind of information in the system?

How do we handle Pre-Applications?

What do I do if Grants Online fails to provide a critical business function that is done in my Program Office?


What happens when there is a policy or business process change in the PO office? To whom do we submit change requests?

Who is on the Change Control Board (CCB) and what is its role?

What type of IT support does this system have?

Is there a file size storage limit within Grants.gov and/or Grants Online?

At what juncture is the scanner used? What is it used for? What type of output is required?


How do you set up the routing for an interagency Request For Applications (RFA)?

For Federal Program Officers - Grants.gov and Receiving Proposals
What are the ways to receive proposals through the system into my NOAA Program Office?

Who inputs the data?

What do I do if I can’t read the documents submitted in the Grants.gov applications?


Is each program office responsible for informing grantees/applicants (groups, organizations and individuals) about the Grants.gov registration process?

What kind of support does Grants.gov offer?


Is there Grants.gov outreach?



For Federal Program Officers - DW Validate and CBS Validate
What is the difference between DW Validate and CBS Validate?

For Grantees - Grants.gov, Grants Online and ASAP
As a NOAA grant recipient what actions do I perform through Grants.gov and which do I perform in Grants Online?

As a NOAA grant recipient do I also use Grants Online for payments, or do I still use ASAP?

Training Information
Will there be "Refresher" training conducted?

Are there training manuals?

Is there Instructor-led training for Grantees?

What type of continual training will be offered to Regional Offices?

Grants Online Access
How do I access Grants Online?

Using your web browser (preferably Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox) enter the following URL in your address bar: https://grantsonline.rdc.noaa.gov. You must have a valid userid and password in order to access the system.

Known browser/technology problems: There are some limitations when using Grants Online with certain browsers/technology.
To view identified limitations Click here.

[Back to Top]

How do I obtain a Grants Online username and password?

Federal Users
Please click here. for the Federal User Quick Reference Guide. The document contains valuable information associated with the requirements for obtaining a username and password for Federal Users.

Grant Recipients (Grantees)
Please click here. for the Grant Recipient Quick Reference Guide. The document contains valuable information associated with the requirements for obtaining a username and password for Grantees.
[Back to Top]

Why am I no longer able to access Grants Online using my username and password?

During the first annual Reauthorization Project (mandated by the Department of Commerce), Federal and Recipient Authorized Account Approvers (AAAs) were asked to update the status for all users and roles under their purview. If an AAA indicated a user account and/or role was no longer needed, updates were made to prevent access to the Grants Online system.

Furthermore, if after additional research by the PMO there was no justification for retaining a user’s role, that access to Grants Online was terminated. A user account for which all roles were removed may be re-created with a written request to the Grants Online Help Desk (grantsonline.helpdesk@noaa.gov). The request must originate with a user authorized to request new accounts. In addition, the request must justify the roles that will be assigned to the new user account.
[Back to Top]

What are the Grants Online Help Desk responsibilities?

Role Responsibilities
Recipient Administrator All the actions related to managing their organization's user accounts:
  • Create an account for a new user
  • Reset user passwords
  • Unlock user accounts
  • Update the roles and access for users
  • Disassociate users

For step-by-step instructions associated with tasks performed by the Recipient Administrator, please reference the Task Reference Guide. The Grants Online Help Desk is available for additional assistance to the Recipient Administrator as needed.

Federal Staff Provide guidance with non-technical questions, including helping users with the following:
  • Programmatic and grants management
  • Policy questions - terms and conditions on their awards
  • Content of financial and progress reports
  • Explaining the different award action requests and the content if submitted through Grants Online
  • Close out process
Grants Online Program Management Office (Help Desk) Technical support associated with completing the following actions:
  • View a task
  • View an award file
  • View workflow history
  • Accept a new award
  • Reassign tasks
  • Access and submit progress and financial reports
  • Inquiries related to reports that are not generated in the system
[Back to Top]

General Implementation and Security

Do we have to login and logout of Grants Online to do work?

Yes. Grants Online has a sophisticated security scheme, which provides permissions and access based on the login ID of the user. The amount of time that a user remains logged in without taking any action will be limited to 60 minutes.
[Back to Top]

I’m concerned that the proposals received by my office or awards to my organization will be able to be seen by too many people. Who can access what kind of information in the system?

In addition to requiring user authentication through usernames and passwords, Grants Online uses a combination of role-based and office-based access. A Program Officer will be able to view any applications that are submitted to their designated Program Office, but will not have default access to view applications from other Program Offices. There are some Program Officers who have a need to view applications in other Program Offices. Grants Online allows flexibility for internal access, (e.g., the Program Office Administrator for Coastal Ocean Programs (COP) can allow a Sea Grant Program Officer to view the applications submitted to the COP office).

Grantees can only access their own organizations' awards. Authorized Representatives and Business/Financial Representatives can view all of the awards for their organization. Additionally, Grantees can set up their PIs and General Users to be able to view only the specific awards to which they will need access.
[Back to Top]

How do we handle Pre-Applications?

OMB directives prohibit agency back-end systems such as Grants Online from communicating directly with applicants. That is the sole responsibility of Grants.gov. In order to get pre-applications into the system, the Program Office must either have the applicants use the SF-424 and an authorized official submit the pre-applications through Grants.gov, or must accept the pre-applications outside of Grants.gov (paper, email, etc.), and scan them into the system (if paper) to associate them with the full applications received through Grants.gov.
[Back to Top]


What do I do if Grants Online fails to provide a critical business function that is done in my Program Office?

The Grants Online Program Management Office expended a great deal of time and effort before and during system development to identify the requirements and business processes that are essential for all NOAA program offices. In the event you feel a business process has been overlooked, you will be able to submit enhancement requests for review by the Change Control Board. To enter a Change Control Board request, NOAA users should contact your GMAC representative.
[Back to Top]

What happens when there is a policy or business process change in my Program Office? To whom do we submit change requests?

See answer above. Grants Online was built to be a flexible system. The conceivable changes that are sometimes made to the announcement and review process, including requirements for new kinds of application documents, etc. can already be handled by the system. Internal routing flexibility for Request For Application (RFA) approvals and Procurement Requests has also been built into the system.

Grants Online was not built to enforce a particular way of doing business, rather as a way to enhance the way we do business. If a Program Office has a business rule requiring a function be done in a particular way, Grants Online will not enforce that business rule, nor will Grants Online prohibit that business rule from being implemented by the Program Office.

Grants Online is a NOAA-wide system. As such, it cannot be customized to provide for enforcement of specific processing that may be done differently by different Program Offices. Any changes affecting all NOAA Program Offices will be considered as enhancement requests by the Change Control Board (CCB).

Grants Online is also built to the standards imposed by both law and the DOC Interim Grants Manual. Laws change and so will the DOC manual. Grants Online will endeavor to keep up with these changes as they occur.
[Back to Top]

Who is on the Change Control Board (CCB) and what is its role?

The Change Control Board (CCB) is comprised of the Grants Online Project Manager, Grants Online Technical Leads, two representatives from each Line Office, and two representatives from GMD. The CCB meetings are facilitated by the Grants Online Program Management Office (PMO) are also attended by Grants Online contractors. On an as needed basis, additional users, including recipients, may be invited to particular CCB meetings to address specific concerns.

The role of the CCB is to prioritize Help Desk tickets that have been logged as enhancement System Change Requests. Tickets which have been identified as defects are not reviewed by the CCB but are prioritized by the Grants Online PMO to be addressed in the monthly releases. Defects have a higher priority and will be addressed in the monthly releases ahead of enhancement requests. "Maintenance" enhancements - those that are necessitated by internal or external policy changes, or which implement common business best practices - will be prioritized after defects.
[Back to Top]

What type of IT support does this system have?

The Grants Online hardware is physically located at the NOAA Information Technology Center (ITC) in Largo, Maryland. The ITC also houses approximately 38 other NOAA-wide administrative and financial systems including CBS. The ITC has a generator in addition to battery backup to provide more robust failover capability in the event of a power outage. There are 6 complete Unix computer systems (10 CPUs for production processing) dedicated to Grants Online, which include redundant storage and failover capability. NOAA has a hardware/software maintenance contract with the development contractors covering a period of two years after final system delivery.

The Grants Online Help Desk is available to provide support for all Grants Online users. This dedicated Help Desk currently operates Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm EST, with the exception of Federal Holidays. To contact the Grants Online Help Desk please call 240-533-9533 or Email inquiries can be sent to GrantsOnline.Helpdesk@noaa.gov.
[Back to Top]

Is there a file size storage limit within Grants.gov and/or Grants Online
?

Grants.gov: There is no limit on file size for submission to Grants.gov. However, at times applicants submitting large file have difficulty maintaining dial-up connections. For this reason, we recommend using a zip file for applications submittal.
Grants Online: There is no file size limit for Grants Online. However, some users experience difficulties uploading large files based on their network speed. For a guidance document with regard to uploading large files into Grants Online click here.
[Back to Top]

At what juncture is the scanner used? What is it used for? What type of output is required?

Grants Management Division (GMD)no longer accepts paper documents. Anything that would normally be sent to GMD will require scanning and insertion into the appropriate place in Grants Online for processing by GMD. So, if Program Offices continue to receive paper applications, they will need to scan the entire paper application for uploading to Grants Online plus manually data enter a few key fields. The same is true for progress reports and award action requests. Grants Online has workflow processes for maintaining internal documents like Procurement Requests, NEPA documents, PO Checklists, and other documents that are part of the grants file.
Items which are not scannable (e.g., a fish carcass in formaldehyde) will need to be maintained in the Program Office, with a reference to its location in Grants Online.

In order to get a paper application into Grants Online, you must scan the application into an appropriate set of Public Document Format (PDF) files. One file for each standard form, (e.g., the SF424 and SF424A would be two files, one file for the project description, one file for the budget detail, and any additional files as appropriate). The PDF files will be bitmap files in order to maintain the legal structure of the original document. Also, in order to get a multi-page project description into a PDF document, you need scanner software that allows the scanning of multiple sheets into a single multi-page PDF file. It would be very helpful to have a scanner with a document feeder.

Because multi-page scanned PDF bitmap files will be very large in size and will be extremely difficult for reviewers with dial-up connections to retrieve, Program Officers should strongly encourage their applicants to submit electronic applications through Grants.gov. Applications submitted electronically will be stored in Grants Online in a format that can be accessed more easily than scanned paper documents.

Purchasing Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software with a scanner is not recommended. Grants Online does not have functionality to extract data from a converted character document, so there is no advantage to using OCR features.
[Back to Top]

How do you set up the routing for an interagency Request For Applications (RFA)?

There are two ways that this can be done. First, the interagency contacts could be made users of Grants Online so that they can be included in the workflow for the routing of documents within the system. Second, the RFA creator can generate the Federal Funding Opportunity and/or Federal Register Notice documents, save them to their local system and route them outside of Grants Online.
[Back to Top]


For Federal Program Officers - Grants.gov and Receiving Proposals
What are the ways to receive proposals through the system into my NOAA Program Office?

Grants Online is designed to automatically retrieve and distribute proposals from Grants.gov, the government-wide portal for the receipt of applications. All Program Offices within NOAA and NOAA applicants should become familiar with Grants.gov. They have excellent training on their web site. It is the responsibility of the Program Offices to strongly encourage their applicants to begin submitting through Grants.gov. Paper proposals submitted to Program Offices will require Program Office personnel to hand-key information from the proposal into Grants Online. The Program Office will also be responsible for scanning the proposals and uploading the scanned documents to Grants Online. The NOAA Print Shop on the third floor of SSMC3 is equipped to provide high-volume scanning service. The Grants Management Division (GMD) uses Grants Online for all grant processing, therefore, paper applications are no longer accepted from Program Offices. Although a smaller paper file will also be maintained, the electronic record in Grants Online, including the scanned application, will contain most of the official internal NOAA grant file for all new awards that are processed after January 2005. The ultimate goal is for new Grant files to become totally electronic.
[Back to Top]

Who inputs the data?

Grants Online is not just a data storage system. It is an electronic grants processing and administration system. Thus, the people who interact with the system to do their jobs will enter data. These people are Request for Application (RFA) creators, Federal Program Officers, Procurement Request Authorizing Officials, Line Office Reviewers, Grants Specialists, Grants Officers, and others. Program Officers can avoid doing additional data entry by requiring applicants to submit proposals through Grants.gov. Additionally, Grantees will input data for Financial and Progress reports as well as for Award Action Requests as needed.
[Back to Top]

What do I do if I can’t read the documents submitted in the Grants.gov applications?

Grants.gov is only able to accept PDF, Word, Excel, and text files. If applicants need to submit graphics or other types of binary files, they should imbed or convert them to an acceptable format for upload. This limitation on file types ensures that Program Officers and reviewers will be able to read any applications that are submitted.
[Back to Top]

Is each Program Office responsible for informing grantees/applicants (groups, organizations and individuals) about the Grants.gov registration process?

Yes. The NOAA Grants Management Division (GMD) sent letters to each of the active NOAA recipients as of August 23, 2004 informing them of the need to register with Grants.gov and requesting that they prepare for submission of future NOAA applications through Grants.gov. The most recent NOAA Omnibus Federal Register Notice (FRN) states that "...you will be able to access, download and submit electronic grant applications for NOAA Programs in this announcement at http://www.grants.gov." The FRN also provides a short overview of Grants.gov and the registration process. GMD has conducted outreach activities that discuss Grants.gov and Grants Online with the recipient community since FY 2005. However, GMD and the Grants Online team cannot do this alone. There will be many in the applicant/recipient community who will not be reached by these efforts. The Program Offices are the front-line interface to applicants and recipients. It is primarily the responsibility of Program Office personnel to continue to expand outreach to this community. The message that the paper application process will soon be a thing of the past needs to be delivered.
[Back to Top]

What kind of support does Grants.gov offer?


Grants.gov has extensive online tutorials, an excellent Users Guide, an informative FAQ, and a responsive help desk. NOAA was the first agency to receive an electronic proposal from Grants.gov and currently receives over 90% of its applications directly from Grants.gov. The feedback on Grants.gov assistance has been very positive, so we encourage you to both use these available resources as well as promote them to your applicant community.
[Back to Top]

Is there Grants.gov outreach?

Grants.gov primarily depends on the 26 Federal agencies that receive electronic applications through Grants.gov to reach out to the community. A Grants.gov power point presentation with lots of useful information is available on the “Presentations” page of this website.
[Back to Top]

For Federal Program Officers - DW Validate and CBS Validate
What is the difference between DW Validate and CBS Validate?

There are two Validate buttons used in Grants Online associated with the Procurement Request and Commitment of Funds (PRCF) to commit and obligate funds. The original button, DW Validate, was built into the system and is found on the ACCS details page of the Procurement Request. Another button, visible to NOAA users only, was added during implementation of the interface between Grants Online and the NOAA CBS data warehouse. The second button, CBS Validate, is found on the main details page of the Procurement Request and on the CD-450 and Amendment Details screens.

DW Validate Button:
The DW Validate button causes the system to validate the Project, Task, Organization, and Object Class Codes entered on the ACCS details screen against data downloaded nightly from the CBS Data Warehouse into Grants Online lookup tables. A successful validation against this data brings back the Program Code to make a complete ACCS string on the Procurement Request. The DW Validate button does not include a funds check.

NOTE: When Project, Task, Organization, or Object Class codes are updated in, or added to CBS it takes 1-2 days for updates to be reflected in the Grants Online lookup tables.

CBS Validate Button (NOAA Only)
The CBS Validate button was added to Grants Online with the implementation of the interface between Grants Online and CBS. Because the NOAA/CBS interface is currently only used for NOAA awards, the button is only displayed for NOAA users. When this button is clicked it sends an interface transaction directly to CBS to validate the ACCS string, and check for funds availability. The CBS validation needs the Program Code portion of the ACCS line to conduct an accurate validation; therefore, the DW validation must be completed prior to attempting the CBS validation. The CBS validation checks the availability of funds at that moment in time but does not reserve any funds for future use.

Because the availability of funds can change at any point in time there are 4 places in the workflow where the CBS validation is done automatically and will prevent workflow from moving forward if the validation fails:

Budget Officer Approval of a Procurement Request
- Process Map UNI-3 step 18
- Process Map COMP-4 step 17
- Process Map PR1 step 10
- Process Map PR2 step 27
- Process Map PR3 step 8

FPO Forwarding of an Award file to the Grants Specialist
- Process Map UNI-3 step 31
- Process Map COMP-4 step 30
- Process Map PR-1 step 15
- Process Map PR-2 step 6

Grants Specialist Forwarding of an Award File to the Grants Officer
- Process Map GMD-1 step 7
- Process Map PR-1 step 17
- Process Map PR-2 step 8

Grants Officer Approval of a Funded Action
- Process Map GMD-1 step 10
- Process Map PR-1 step 20
- Process Map PR-2 step 10
- Process Map PR-3 step 10

[Back to Top]


For Grantees - Grants.gov, Grants Online and ASAP
As a NOAA grant recipient what actions do I perform through Grants.gov and which do I perform in Grants Online?

Grants.gov is used to find and apply for funding opportunities. The "Pure-Edge" software is only required for submitting proposals to Grants.gov. Proposals submitted for NOAA by the posted deadline will be automatically moved from Grants.gov into NOAA's Grants Online "back-end" grants system. NOAA's internal grants processing is done in the Grants Online system. Once an award is made, recipients are given access to Grants Online to accept and manage their award, including submission of Progress and Financial reports as well as submission of any post award action requests. Grants Online is purely web-based and does not require the use of any additional plug-ins. The preferred browser for Grants Online is Internet Explorer.
[Back to Top]

As a NOAA grant recipient do I also use Grants Online for payments, or do I still use ASAP?

Grants Online does not replace any of the functionality in the Treasury Department's ASAP system. You will still need to access ASAP to drawdown your grant funds. However, submission of SF-270 forms requesting non-ASAP payments can and should be made via Grants Online.

Since there is no system-to-system interface between Grants Online and ASAP, if an extension is made to a NOAA award, the Grants Online workflow will send a task to the appropriate NOAA staff to extend the award in ASAP also. The award extension in ASAP is an action that happens outside of the Grants Online system.
[Back to Top]

Training Information

Will there be "Refresher" training conducted?

Quarterly training classes are scheduled for New Federal Program Office users; however, current users are welcome to attend if space is available. Refresher training sessions for Federal users would need to be coordinated between Program Offices and the Grants Online Program Management Office. NOAA Programs should contact their GMAC representative to coordinate one of these classes. Training information will also be posted on the "Training" pages of this website.
[Back to Top]

Are there training manuals?

User manuals and process maps are located on the "Training" pages. The user manuals and process maps will be updated as needed to stay current with system functionality. When necessary to address more immediate training needs on specific issues, Quick Reference Guides will be developed and posted on the "Training" pages with an advisory posted on Grants Online.
[Back to Top]


Is there Instructor-led training for Grantees?

Grants Online mini trainings sessions for Grantees are held at the NOAA Grants Management conferences usually held on an annual basis. Check the "Training" pages of this website or contact your NOAA Grants Specialist for information on upcoming conferences. Additionally, some Program Offices include Grantee training sessions at their Program-specific conferences and workshops. Occasionally Program Offices will arrange for specific Grants Online training sessions to be held for their grant recipients. Grantees should contact their Federal Program Officers to inquire about any upcoming events of this nature.
[Back to Top]


What type of continual training will be offered to Regional Offices?

Users at Regional Offices can participate remotely in classes if specifically coordinated through their Program Office. Additionally Grants Online workshops will be held during the annual NOAA Grants Management Division conferences. There are users in many Regional Offices that have received Instructor-led training and can assist other users in their offices. As such, they are also a good point of contact for local training and guidance.
[Back to Top]


Link to NOAA Homepage Link to DOC Homepage

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
U.S. Department of Commerce
Last Updated: 
March 4, 2020 3:40 PM
http://www.noaa.gov