On December 31, 2017 Grants.gov will be retiring the PDF package and will no longer accept it for applications for federal grants.  After this date all applications which previously would have used a grants.gov pdf package must use the grants.gov online portal, Workspace.  In order to apply through Workspace all PIs and business managers will need a grants.gov account ID that is associated with UMBC.  You will need to work with your Office of Sponsored Programs contacts for help creating these accounts.

Grants.gov Workspace is a web based proposal preparation site and tool that facilitate the completion of proposals submitted through Grants.gov without the transfer of PDF forms packages.  Multiple individuals can be granted access to work on the proposal package.  Grants.gov Workspaces can be created from the link on the Package tab in the view grant opportunity page.

A Webinar is available that shows a brief run through of a grant application and should help answer many of your questions.  Anyone submitting or helping with the creation of Grants.gov proposals is strongly encouraged to take the time to view this webinar. Please follow the attached link for the webinar:

Grants.gov Webinar

While many of the forms in the new Workspace will be familiar to you as they mimic the old forms, please be advised we are working with a new system which may involve some unexpected delays so it is imperative that grant applications are submitted to OSP early in order to avoid any unforeseen problems or delays.  Until all have adapted to this new system it is imperative that PI's follow the standard rule that all proposals must be submitted to OSP three working days in advance of the submission deadline in ready to submit status.

We hope to make this transition as smooth as possible, if you have any questions please contact OSPA@umbc.edu or your OSP manager directly for help with this new system.

Thank you,

Office of Sponsored Programs