Electronic Grant Applications

Submission Deadline

How to Apply

MN-GEMS (Minnesota Grants Electronic Management System) is the University of Minnesota's grants management tool that replaced the EGMS platform in April 2024. Please refer to training information and FAQs provided.

Using Grants.gov

Learn how to apply using Grants.gov.

NIH Electronic Applications via eRA Commons ASSIST 

NIH's Application Guide

  1. SPA reviews the application and submits it via ASSIST to Grants.gov. After Grants.gov receives and validates the application, it sends it to NIH.
  2. When the application gets to NIH, the eRA Commons software checks the application against NIH's business rules. NIH then notifies both the project director (PD)/principal investigator (PI) and signing official (SO) at SPA by email. Errors in the application must be corrected and resubmitted through ASSIST. Warnings are advisory in nature and do not require correction.
  3. If there are no errors, PIs have the opportunity to view the "assembled image" of their application in the eRA Commons within two business days of the application being downloaded. If the PI chooses (due to technical transmission difficulties only) to reject the application, they must contact the SPA GA immediately, as only the SPA SO can reject an application once the image is available.

Instruction to register for NIH & NSF accounts.

Nonfederal Electronic Systems

Most private foundations, businesses, and other nonfederal organizations are accepting and requiring paperless proposal submissions. Some sponsors accept proposals by email, while others require that proposals be submitted through application systems featured on their websites, or through collaborative e-grants websites (e.g. RAMS/Proposal Central or American Council of Learned Societies). In most cases, principal investigators or department administrators will submit nonfederal electronic applications. However, all electronic proposals still must be reviewed by SPA prior to submission.

A complete proposal package for an electronic submission should include the following:

  • Complete a Funding Proposal in MN-GEMS, route for Ancillary Reviews, and submit for College Review (Department Review status in MN-GEMS). Once approved by the College Research Dean it will be routed for Specialist Review (SPA GCO) in MN-GEMS.
  • Some nonfederal sponsors may require a signed paper copy of the application in addition to an electronic one. Department is responsible for sending any paper copies to the sponsor.

After SPA GCOs complete their review of the proposal, they will send an email notification in MN-GEMS to the PI and department contact (individually listed on the FP), which authorizes submission.