Term	Definition
Department Reviewer	The Department and College reviewers that will access, review, and approve a PI’s Funding Proposal. Note: The term Department Review is used for both the department and college level review.
“Funding Proposal” or “FP” or “GFP”	Sponsored research proposal in GRAMS.
Administrative Contact	Department or College administrators that are added to a Funding Proposal and can provide assistance. Administrative Contacts can edit the proposal and can also respond to department review notes.
Editor	Other individuals who are added to the Funding Proposal with edit rights. Editors do not receive system generated email if you request changes, but the proposal will move to the “My Inbox” tab for all proposal editors.
Workspace	The term for the Funding Proposal screen with basic demographic information about the proposal, including the proposal’s status, workflow bubbles, the attachments tab, and Financials tab. If this proposal is being submitted via S2S, there is a link to navigate to the SF424 workspace. Here, the term “workspace” has nothing to do with the Grants.gov workspace.
Activity	A link in the left navigation bar that allows you to take an action for a proposal.
“Department Review: Response Pending from PI” email	Automated system generated email that is requesting clarifications from the PI.
Dashboard	The home screen when you log onto GRAMS. Location of the “My Inbox” and “My Reviews” tab. This screen also has a “Recently Viewed Items” bar.
My Inbox	A tab on the Dashboard with a list of your “to-do” items.
SmartForm	An online form that is completed by the PI for each proposal and budget. The SmartForm contains a series of questions with demographic and budgetary information for the submission. They are called “Smart” forms because they hide/show different questions based on how prior questions are answered.
S2S or System-toSystem (aka: 424)	S2S refers to System-to-System functionality that directly submits Grants.gov applications from the GRAMS system to the federal sponsor.

Most of the General Proposal Information section will have been completed by your GCA Specialist. Review for accuracy and enter a short and long title for your proposal.

3.1.1 Type of Application

1. Type: Review the type of application that your GCA Specialist has generated is accurate.

3.1.2 Short Title of Proposal

2. Short Title: Enter a descriptive name for the proposal (50 character maximum). The short title identifies the proposal throughout the system, such as in the Inbox and Workspace. If this will be an S2S application, this will also be the application filing name.

3.1.3 Long Title of Proposal

3. Long Title: Enter the full title of the project (255 character maximum). If this will be an S2S application, the longtitle will be mapped to the appropriate places in the SF424 forms.

3.1.4 Program Director/Principal Investigator/Project Lead/Fellow:

4. Principal Investigator: The PI will already be entered based on the GCS Request Form submitted. If this needs to be updated, contact your GCA Specialist to alert them of the change in Lead PI.

3.1.5 Select the Direct Sponsor:

5. Direct Sponsor: The Sponsor will already be entered based on the GCS Request Form submitted. If this needs to be updated, contact your GCA Specialist to alert them of the change. If the sponsor is not currently in the GRAMS System, a TBD sponsor may be listed temporarily while your GCA Specialist works to get the new sponsor vetted and added to the system.

If UNT will be a subaward, UNT’s direct sponsor will be listed and then also the Prime Sponsor will be listed in section 5b.

3.1.6 Instrument Type:

6. Instrument Type: Your GCA Specialist will have already completed this for you. Review the instrument type to ensure accuracy.

3.1.7 Primary Purpose:

7. Primary Purpose: The Primary Purpose will already be entered based on the GCS Request Form submitted. Review for accuracy. If this needs to be updated, contact your GCA Specialist to alert them of the change. A change to this field affects the IDC Rate that is used in the Budget SmartForm.

a. Type of Research (only available if Research is chosen as Primary purpose): The Type of Research will already be entered based on the GCS Request Form submitted. Review for accuracy.

3.1.8 Expected Start Date:

8. Start Date: Your GCA Specialist will have already entered this based on your GCS Request Form. Review for accuracy and update as needed. The date completed here will auto-populate into your Budget SmartForm.

3.1.9 Identify Type of Research:

Note: this question is only available if Research-Applied, Research-Basic, or Research-Developmental is selected in Question 7/7a

9. Identify type of Applied, Basic or Developmental research: The Type of Research will already be entered based on the GCS Request Form submitted. Review for accuracy.

3.2.1 Program Director/Principal Investigator/Project lead/Fellow:

1. Principal Investigator: The PI entered in the GCS request will be listed here.
   1. Mentor: Leave this field blank. UNT will not standardly use this field.
   2. Biosketch: If this is a System-to-system (S2S) submission, a Biosketch uploaded to this field will automatically be mapped to your 424 application when the Create/Update 424 activity is performed. It is not a requirement that a Biosketch be uploaded here, however, for S2S submissions it is recommended to include the Biosketch in this field to ensure proper mapping.
   3. Other Support: If this is a System-to-system (S2S) submission, an Other Support file uploaded to this field will automatically be mapped to your 424 application when the Create/Update 424 activity is performed. It is not a requirement that an Other Support file be uploaded here, however, for S2S submissions it is recommended to include the Other Support in this field to ensure proper mapping

3.2.2 Responsible Department/Division/Institute:

2. Responsible department/division/institute: This field will default to the Lead PI’s home department based on the PI identified on the General Proposal Information SmartForm.

3.2.3 Project Personnel:

3. a. Institutional Project Personnel: UNT Personnel on the project should be listed here. All PIs, Co-PIs, CoInvestigators must be listed and identified with the appropriate Role. Additional institutional personnel may also be listed if known, however, it is not required to list additional personnel that are not named in the proposal (e.g., Graduate students who may not be determined yet). Note that personnel added here will be available for selection when developing the proposal budget and will have salary information automatically available for input into the Budget SmartForm. It is recommended that any named UNT Personnel that are intended to be included in the budget should be entered here so their salary data can be easily imported into the budget instead of needing to be manually input.

Click the Add button to add personnel. If you indicated Co-PIs/Co-Investigators in your GCS Request, you will see these individuals have already been added by your GCA Specialist.

Enter the person’s information in the slide-in window.

1. Staff Member: Search and select personnel. All UNT Persons with a job record should be able to be located and added, as needed.

   

2. Project Role: Select appropriate project role based on sponsor guidelines and the chart below. Contact your GCS is you are unsure on which role to select.

   

3. Project Role	Notes
   Co-Investigator	Use for co-investigators on NIH or NASA proposals, as appropriate.
   Consultant	Do not use.
   Co-PD/PI	Department or College administrators that are added to a Funding Proposal and can provide assistance. Administrative Contacts can edit the proposal and can also respond to department review notes.
   Editor	Use for Co-PIs.
   Faculty	Use if appropriate. May be used for contributor that is not being named in another Project Role.
   Graduate Student	Use only if the graduate student is named on the proposal.
   Other Professional	Use as appropriate. May be used for professional specialist or other contributors that do not fit into another Project Role.
   Post Doctoral	Use general Post Doctoral role for all post docs.
   Post Doctoral Associate	Do not use.
   Post Doctoral Scholar	Do not use.
   Technician	Use for technicians.
   Undergraduate Student	Use only if the undergraduate student is named on proposal.
   Secretarial/Clerical	Use for technicians.
   PD/PI	Use for multi-PI awards, such as for NIH where Co-PI designation is not used. Should be used for all other PI’s not listed on Personnel question 1.
   Other (Specify)	Not standardly used. Only use if not captured in the categories above.

4. This individual is considered an investigator for FCOI disclosure purposes: This will always be marked ‘yes’ in the instance of PI, Co-PIs, and Co-Investigators.

   

5. Biosketch: If this is a System-to-system (S2S) submission, a Biosketch uploaded to this field will automatically be mapped to your 424 application if the individual is identified as Senior/Key Personnel or Other Significant Contributor in question 6 below. It is not a requirement that a Biosketch be uploaded here, however, for S2S submissions it is recommended to include the Biosketch in this field to ensure proper mapping.

   

6. Current and Pending Support: If this is a System-to-system (S2S) submission, an Other Support file uploaded to this field will automatically be mapped to your 424 application if the individual is identified as Senior/Key Personnel or Other Significant Contributor in question 6 below. It is not a requirement that an Other Support file be uploaded here, however, for S2S submissions it is recommended to include the Other Support in this field to ensure proper mapping.

   

7. Individual is: Select if the person is Senior/Key personnel, Other Significant Contributor, or Other Personnel.
   • Senior/Key Personnel: As determined by the RFP and sponsor guidance
   • Other Significant Contributor: NIH term referring to individuals who have committed to contribute to the scientific development or execution of a project but are not committing measurable effort to the project.
   • Other Personnel: Additional personnel on the project who are not key. May include graduate students, secretarial/clerical, other professionals, etc.

     

2. b. Non-Institutional Project Personnel: If this is a S2S submission, non-UNT personnel (i.e.: PIs/Co-PIs of subawards; Other non-UNT Key Personnel) can be included in this section. If they are included in this section and identified as Senior/Key Personnel or Other Significant Contributor, this information will automatically map to your 424 application when the 424 Update activity is completed. If Senior/Key Personnel are not added in this section, they will need to be entered directly into the RR Key Personnel page of the 424 application instead.

If this is not a S2S submission, non-UNT personnel do not need to be included in this section. This field is optional and not required to be used.

3.2.4 Administrative Personnel:

4.Review this section and add additional personnel as needed. Your GCA Specialist will have added 11 standard departmental and/or college administrators (i.e: Proposal Managers) based on the Lead PI’s departmental unit. You may add additional individuals that have edit/view rights to your Funding Proposal. Clicking on the blue question mark icon will open a Help Text bubble for assistance determining appropriate roles/rights.

3.2.5 Secondary Department/Institute/Center Affiliation

5. The assigned GCA Specialist will have completed this based on information in the GCS Request. Review the information populated is correct. Add any additional affiliations as needed by clicking on the ellipsis button.

3.2.6 Select in which location/lab work will be conducted:

6. Review the information populated is correct or select the ellipsis button to select the Primary Lab/Location where the work will be performed.

The Submission Information SmartForm will have been completed by your GCA Specialist. Review for accuracy. If information on this page changes or needs to be updated, alert your GCA Specialist immediately.

The questions on this SmartForm vary based on the type of Sponsor selected. Below is an example of the questions available on this page for a direct Federal Sponsor.

Federal Sponsor – Submission Information SmartForm:

1. Submission Type: Defaults based on sponsor information.

2. Direct Sponsor: Defaults based on sponsor entered in General Proposal Information.

3. Will this application be submitted system-to-system? Your GCA Specialist will have selected the appropriate option.

If the application is being submitted system-to-system to grants.gov, the opportunity will be selected in section 4. If the application is not being submitted system-to-system, the opportunity information will be listed in the subsections 4a-c and the solicitation/RFP will be uploaded as an attachment.

The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) SmartForm will appear if you are submitting a proposal to grants.gov using GRAMS system-to-system functionality. No action needs to be taken regarding this SmartForm page. It will display information related to the FOA identified on the Submission Information page and will verify that all the required forms are supported by the GRAMS system.

The assigned GCA Specialist will have completed this section for you based on information in the GCS Request submitted to GCA. Review budgetary information entered by GCA for accuracy. Budget periods can be added or removed as appropriate in question number 7 by selecting Add Period or Remove Period. The periods may also be updated for unique budget periods by selecting Update Periods and manually updating the number of months for each budget period.

Note: If a Modular Budget is being submitted and Yes is chosen for question 6, the GRAMS Budget that is generated will automatically round up to the nearest $25k increment (i.e.: $200k, $225k) if the drafted budget does not exactly total a $25k direct cost increment. At award time, the budget will need to be reconciled to allocate the offset funds.

Complete each question in the Intellectual Property SmartForm. If you have questions regarding completion of this page, please reach out to Research Commercial Agreements (RCA) at ResearchContracts@unt.edu to discuss any questions concerning Intellectual Property or the questions below.

Select Save to save your progress or Continue to check the page for completeness, save, and move to the next SmartForm page.

Complete all the compliance review questions as required. If submitting a system-to-system (S2S) application, some answers (i.e.: Human Subjects (IRB); Laboratory Animals (IACUC)) may map directly to your S2S application to help 14 prevent duplicate data entry. If you have questions regarding completion of this page, please reach out to Research Integrity and Compliance (RIC) at ORIC@unt.edu.

Select Save to save your progress or Continue to check the page for completeness, save, and move to the next SmartForm page.

1. Applicant Institution: This will default to UNT. If you are submitting a system-to-system application, this information will automatically map to your 424 application as the Primary Performance Site.

2. Will there be Program Income? Answer yes or no as appropriate for your application.

3. Select resources required for this proposal: Select if any of the listed items are applicable to this proposal submission. Upload supporting documentation such as an approval of the resources being used or requested.

4. Abstract: Include text of an abstract of the proposed project.

• a. Give Permission to make abstract publicly available: Select Yes or No for giving permission to make your abstract publicly available. All abstracts will be made available unless it contains Proprietary information. If you select No, you must select a reason the abstract cannot be made public and should contact UNT’s Research Commercial Agreements (RCA), ResearchContracts@unt.edu, if you have not already done so

5. Keywords: UNT does not use this field. Do not complete. Only UNTHSC uses this field.

6. Allocation of Credit: Click on the Add or Update buttons to adjust the Allocation of Credit split amongst all PIs/Co-PIs/Co-Investigators listed in the Personnel section of your Funding Proposal. The Allocation of Credit entered is used for Reporting purposes to determine the % recognition amounts for the PIs/Co-PIs/Co-Is as well as their corresponding department and college. Allocation of Credit also determines the F&A Distribution amongst the team and their associated depts/colleges. The Allocation of Credit should total to 100%

In the case with faculty with joint appointments, the faculty member should be listed twice, and the Allocation of Credit should be split proportionally between the two department appointments as appropriate.

Select Save to save your progress or Continue to check the page for completeness, save, and move to the next SmartForm page.

Once each section of the Funding Proposal is complete, you will be directed to the “Completion Instructions” Page or can navigate to the Completion Instructions Page manually to guide you through any information that may be missing in the Funding Proposal SmartForms.

Click on “Validate” to ensure that the Funding Proposal is complete. Any items that require completion will be noted along with a short description of the item.

Navigate to complete the missing items by clicking on the blue hyperlinked item or by navigating to the section noted.

You can select Validate again or select the Refresh icon to ensure all errors are cleared. Once all sections are validated and complete. Select Finish to navigate back to the Funding Proposal workspace.

7.2.1 Submit for Department Review

Navigate to the Funding Proposal Workspace when you are ready to Submit for Department Review. Select the Submit for Department Review activity from the left side column of activities./

7.2.2 Fix any Errors or Warnings

If a Required Field is missing in the Funding Proposal, you will receive a pop-up window with an error message that will alert you to the missing field. You can use the “Jump To” link generated to go to this field and enter the requested data.

Once the errors are fixed you can return to the step above and select the Submit for Department Review activity again.

7.2.3 Certify/Approve PI Endorsement

The Submit for Department Review pop-up window will include a summary of any ancillary reviews. A warning message will appear if there are outstanding ancillary reviews. Ancillary Reviews that are required will need to be complete prior to the proposal being submitted but will not prevent the Funding Proposal from being routed for Department Review. Once the Funding Proposal is submitted for review the PI and 21 any associated administrative Contact/Editors listed in the Funding Proposal will not be able to edit the Funding Proposal or the Budget but will still be able to edit the 424 application to be able to upload the final narrative (i.e., Research Strategy).

If you are the PI of the submission, select the first option confirming that you approve the certification statement on the page and select OK to Submit the Funding Proposal for review.

If you are a member of the Proposal Team and acquiring the PIs signature for endorsement, select the second option on the page and select OK to Submit the Funding Proposal for review. Please note, it is this individual’s responsibility to ensure they have obtained the PI’s signature for endorsement.

The 1st Department Reviewer (typically the Chair of the Lead PI’s Department) will receive a notification email from GRAMS and the Funding Proposal will also appear in their GRAMS Dashboard Inbox for their review.

Once the 1st Department Reviewer approves, the Funding Proposal will be routed to the 2nd Department Reviewer for review and approval in the same fashion. In most instances there will be 2 Department reviewers (Department and College) for a PI, but for some units on campus there may only be 1 tier of Department Review before the Funding Proposal is routed to Specialist Review.

Once your 2nd Department Reviewer approves, your Funding Proposal will be routed to your GCA Specialist for them to be able to start reviewing your completed Funding Proposal.

At either stage of the Department Review or at the Specialist Review, the Reviewer can create Reviewer Notes in the Funding Proposal and Request Changes or Clarifications from the PI within the GRAMS System. If one of the reviewers Requests Changes in the GRAMS system, the PI, Administrative Contact, and any Editors included in the Funding Proposal will receive an email from DoNotReply-GRAMS-Grants@untystem.edu that alerts them that changes have been requested.

You will notice that the status of the Funding Proposal changes to “Department Review: Response Pending from PI” and to the “Clarification Requested” bubble of the workflow chart.

Please Note: The PI will need to address any clarifications requested and Re-Submit for Approval before the Funding Proposal can move forward for further review.

7.3.1 Receiving a Request for Clarifications

If one of the Reviewers Requests Clarifications, the PI, Administrative Contact, and any Editors will receive an automated email from DoNotReply-GRAMS-Grants@untsystem.edu that alerts them that changes have been requested. The subject heading of the email will be “Reviewer Requests Changes from PI”. The Funding Proposal can be accessed by selecting the link in the email.

Alternatively, the Funding Proposal will have returned to the PI’s “My Inbox” section of the GRAMS Dashboard and can be accessed by selecting on the Funding Proposal Name. Note the new State of the proposal is “Department Review: Response Pending from the PI”.

7.3.2 Accessing Reviewer Notes and Comments

Once you have accessed the Funding Proposal Workspace, review the History tab to see if the reviewer added any general comments such as changes needed to the budget or 424 application (if applicable). The Funding Proposal and Budget will now be editable again so the PI/Administrative Contact/Editors can make any needed adjustments.

The History tab also indicates if any Reviewer Notes were logged in the Funding Proposal SmartForm pages.

To review the notes, select the Review Notes tab. This will show all Reviewer Notes on the Funding Proposal to summarize them, including which fields changes are requested for and if the response is required.

Select the Page Name that is hyperlinked in blue, to navigate directly to the Funding Proposal SmartForm indicated. Alternatively, you can access the Funding Proposal by directly clicking the Edit Funding Proposal button.

7.3.3 Responding to Reviewer Notes

In the Funding Proposal SmartForms, the left navigator indicates which SmartForm pages have reviewer notes. An orange comment bubble on the page indicates which question(s) have reviewer notes. A red dot above the comment bubble indicates that a response is required before you will be able to Resubmit for Department Approval.

Navigate to the correct page and click on the orange comment bubble to open and review the comment. Make any needed changes and select Reply to reply to the comment

After any needed changes are made, enter any comments needed and select OK to reply to the Reviewer Note.

Once all Review Notes have been responded to or addressed, select the Exit button in the lower right corner to exit out of the Funding Proposal SmartForms to navigate back to the Funding Proposal workspace.

7.3.4 Submit Changes for Department Review/Submit Changes to Specialist

Once all Clarifications have been addressed, the Funding Proposal can be submitted back to the reviewer. Select Submit for Department Review activity (if changes requested by department reviewer) or Submit Changes to Specialist activity (if changes requested by the GCA Specialist). Note that sometimes the GCA Specialist may require updates go through department review again before returning to the specialist. If GCA has requested this, the proposal will automatically go to Department Review again even if you select the Submit Changes to Specialist activity.

If you get error messages about reviewer notes, that means there are required reviewer notes that you did not reply to. Click on the link in the “Jump To” column to go to that question and reply to the reviewer note. Then click on the Submit for Department Review or Submit Changes to Specialist activity as appropriate.

The proposal status will update to “Department Review” or “Specialist Review” depending on who requested thechanges. An email notification is sent to the department reviewer and the proposal will appear back in their Inbox for review and approval.

After the assigned GCA Specialist has reviewed and approved the proposal, they will move the proposal to Final Review Status. This indicates the proposal is finalized and is queued to be submitted to the sponsor. The status of the Funding Proposal will change to “Pending Submission to Sponsor”.

After the proposal has been submitted, GCA will update the Funding Proposal to the “Pending Sponsor Review” status and the workflow chart will now be in the Sponsor Review bubble. Note: If the proposal is submitted directly by the PI (i.e.: sponsor portal website), be sure to forward the submission confirmation received to the GCA Specialist along with a copy of the submitted application. They will use this documentation to update the status to “Pending Sponsor Review”.

The PI and any Administrative Contact or Editor included in the Funding Proposal will receive an automated GRAMS notification email from DoNotReply-GRAMS-Grants@untsystem.edu when the proposal status is changed to “Pending Sponsor Review”.

The Funding Proposal will stay in this status until a funding determination is made by the sponsor.