NIH AREA Grant Proposal
We (Eastern Illinois University) succeeded on our fourth attempt to submit an AREA proposal. We had to overcome two errors:
1. Like several other institutions, our F&A amount generated an error. We solved this problem by two methods: trial and error (with emphasis on the trial).
On the first attempt, we rounded down to the nearest dollar.
On the second attempt, we rounded up to the nearest dollar.
On the third attempt, we truncated to the nearest cent (since the real number had half a cent in it).
On the fourth attempt, we, ahem, rebudgeted so that the F&A total came out to an integer value. That solved the F&A problem.
2. Invalid email address of the "person to be contacted" on form SF 424
I kept getting the statement that my email address was invalid. It turns out that in the 424 field, I had entered a space after my email address without realizing it.
Of course, you can't see a space at the end by looking at what you have entered. So Commons was holding a six-figure proposal hostage to an invisible space
after the end of my email address. As Dave Barry says, I am not making this up. I never would have found this problem on my own. It was found by the very
helpful NIH support person who cheerfully cussed the Commons software.
Bob Chesnut (not Chestnut)
Eastern Illinois University
====================================================================== Instructions on how to use the RESADM-L Mailing List, including subscription information and a web-searchable archive, are available via our web site at http://www.hrinet.org (click on "Listserv Lists") ======================================================================
-- Dave B. Harris, Assistant Director ISU Office of Sponsored Programs Box 8046, ISU Pocatello, ID 83209-8046 (208)282-2592 http://www.isu.edu/grants mailto:xxxxxx@isu.edu _______________________________________________________________________