Tips for Grants(dot)gov submission FY22-3 Planning.docx

Instructions and Reminders for Submitting LWCF Applications for FY2022

* Only the State agencies designated by their Governors or by State legislation to be able to administer LWCF monies may submit applications, on behalf of themselves or other state or local agency sponsors. Applications submitted by entities other than the designated State agency will automatically be rejected without consideration.

* As Grants.gov relies upon electronic signature for applications, it requires agencies to be registered to use Grants.gov and will accept applications only from authorized organization representatives (AORs) affiliated with a particular agency. You will need to determine if your agency already uses Grants.gov and if so, identify your agency’s e-business point of contact. Agency processes vary: some have only a limited number of AORs who can submit applications while others will designate AORs for each program that needs one. If your agency has not previously used Grants.gov, you will need to start with the agency registration process (information is on the Grants.gov website).

* Do not submit an application through Grants.gov until you have been directed to do so by your NPS Program Officer. Only final versions of applications that have been reviewed and deemed actionable by NPS may be submitted. Applications that were not reviewed by NPS prior to submittal will be rejected. Applications that needed revision or correction but were not prior to submittal as “final” will also be rejected.

* This is the third of three cycles for FY2022. States may submit applications through August 10, 2022. We recommend that you not wait until the last minute. The uploading and transfer process can take a while, especially when Grants.gov is getting heavy use. Plus, after the application is submitted it gets validated before it is forwarded to NPS. The AOR will get four emails from Grants.gov: (1) when the application has been successfully submitted to grants.gov, (2) when the application has been validated, (3) when the application has been “received” by the agency (NPS), and (4) when an agency tracking number has been assigned. This can take anywhere from minutes to hours (but usually no more than a day). If you don’t get even the first email, your application was not successfully submitted to Grants.gov and you need to attempt to re-submit. If you don’t get all four emails, you should assume that the NPS did not actually get your application (notwithstanding the third email). Applications are most likely to fail at the validation stage (second step), so you should always check the second email to confirm this step was successful or determine why the application was rejected. If you get the validation email but the third email is not forthcoming, let your program officer know as this could mean your application got stuck. If you do not get the fourth email that means the application did not actually leave grants.gov; a common issue is that the application is too large to transmit to the DOI system (the size limit is 25mg). Contact the Grants.gov Help Desk for technical issues with submitting.

* Only new applications for funding are submitted via Grants.gov. All amendments to existing grants can be submitted at any time and should be submitted directly to your NPS Program Officer.

* States are expected to upload the complete application to Grants.gov.

· Since January 1, 2018, Grants.gov has made the use of “Workspace” mandatory for preparing the application package. Required standard forms will be prepared through Workspace, so you do not need to upload printed and scanned versions. SCORP applications MUST include the SF-424, SF-424A, and SF-424B, as well as the Project Abstract.

· Besides the standard forms, you MUST submit a project and budget narrative at a minimum. Other documents supporting or explaining the SCORP development can be included. Attachments can be accepted in most file formats, such as MSWord, PDF, and Excel.

· Signed project agreements are no longer needed as we now use GrantSolutions-generated standard agreement documents.

· If you plan to charge indirect costs to your grant, please include a copy of the current executed negotiated indirect cost rate agreement that covers or will cover the initial period of performance for the grant and ensure the costs are reflected in your budget documents.

* The SF-424 will require that a start (and end) date for the period of performance be entered. The grant start date is targeted to be no later than September 24, 2022.

* A reminder that applicant identification is now based on the Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) instead of the DUNS number. The incorporated SF-424 is the new version with the field for UEI having replaced the one for the DUNS number. If the UEI you include on the SF-424 does not match the one registered for the agency in the System for Award Management, your application may be rejected by Grants.gov.