We just submitted a 1,012 page Center grant to NIH on Tuesday.  Several
months ago, in preparation for this happy task, we purchased GrantSlam, a
new Form 398 software from Cayuse, Inc.  We called Cayuse before we
purchased GrantSlam and tried to explain what we were trying to do.  They
felt the software would meet our needs and encouraged us to purchase it.
However, our experience with this software was not a pleasant one.  I
wasn't going to email this group with my comments because I figured that
no software could really handle a grant of this size.  Then, two things
happened.  First, I left a desperate message on Cayuse's answering
machine on Friday, 1/27, four days before the grant was due.  I've yet to
receive a return call (although they did return other calls we made
before that and provided some technical support).  Second, I got a
solicitation letter today from Cayuse stating, and I quote:
 "Perhaps the thought of assembling all the documents and forms
for an 854 page Center Grant to the NIH *thrills you to the bone*...you
will love GrantSlam from Cayuse."

Wrong.  At least in our case, that just isn't true.  Here's why (warning
- whining and complaining mixed with factual evidence follow...hey, I
haven't had sleep for a month):

Major problem #1 - you can't read files greater than 5,000 characters
into GrantSlam.  The GrantSlam people will admit this to you and suggest
alternative solutions, like print out pre-numbered blank continuation
pages and use them when printing files from a word processing program.
With 39 projects in this grant coming in on diskette using various word
processing software, we chose to read and format them in Wordperfect instead.

Major problem #2 - the files we did bring into GrantSlam - like
biosketches - came in with the formatting changed.  Reformatting was
painful, because neither GrantSlam nor Delrina FormFlow, on which it is
based, have anything but the most limited word processing capabilities.
When we tried to get Delrina to tell us how to indent lines and
paragraphs, they told us to buy some more software from them (forms
design) to do this.  So we had another $134 worth of software fedexed to
us, which, in the end, did not address the problem.

Major problem #3 - there are 26.3 FTEs on this Center grant, so we had to
use budget continuation pages.  *But* the personnel totals from these
continuation pages did not flow up to the final initial project period
budget page.  Perhaps there was a way to do this.  If Cayuse ever returns
my call, I'll let you know.

Major problem #4 - both written documentation and on-line help were
sketchy.  The GrantSlam manual is exactly 24 pages long.

Oh, by the way, if you don't have an HP Laserjet, or compatible printer,
GrantSlam doesn't guarantee the accuracy of your forms.  Fortunately,
that was one problem we didn't have.

Good things about GrantSlam - the forms come out looking real nice.  And
the technical people are very friendly, if you can get them to call back.

This software probably works well for individual grants, as long as you
originate the grant in GrantSlam, not another word processing program.
But for Center Grants, forget it.

Now, I struggled with whether or not to send this message.  I know that
this may negatively affect the amount of business they get, given the
number of subscribers to this list.  But I do believe y'all have a need
to know about grantwriting software (particularly a package that costs
upward of $500), and to hear an uncensored view of it from a large-scale
user.  So here you go.  I have not communicated this message to Cayuse,
but if someone has their email address, I'll send it on.  Comments,
suggestions and refutations welcomed, of course.

Marcia Huston-Lyons
Assistant Director, General Clinical Research Center
Bowman Gray School of Medicine
Wake Forest University
Internet:  xxxxxx@phs.bgsm.wfu.edu