This is in response to Nancy Dean's e-mail about the foundation commons
site, GEPPS (Grantmakers Electronic Proposal Processing System).
SITE NAME:
We especially appreciate Nancy's alert about a porn site having the .com
version of GEPPS. This information has caught us and the GEPPS Consortium
(the American Cancer Society, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation) unaware,
as the .com site was a private web page until quite recently. The move to a
new name -- http://www.FoundationCommons.org -- had already started, and
this pushes it to top priority.
The goal of the consortium is to bring the electronic grants submission
process to the private community, just as it is being done for the federal
community. Research and Management Systems, Inc. (RAMS), has built the web
site for the Consortium and provides its support.
ORGANIZATIONAL APPROVALS:
FoundationCommons.org does, in fact, require organizational approval for any
grant application. Because currently the electronic submission process
cannot provide a way to attach signatures, a paper copy containing
signatures MUST be received by the deadline in order for the grant to be
considered. The FoundationCommons.org Consortium highly values the work of
research administrators in providing assistance to faculty and researchers
in the grant management process. The site states that GEPPS provides the
"Ability to submit secure proposals from PI's with appropriate Research
Office approval." If a PI submits an electronic submission and does not
follow that with a cover sheet with all appropriate signatures, the
application will not go forward.
USE OF ADOBE ACROBAT TOOLS:
Recently CFF made a decision to require electronic submission along with a
paper copy submission, and FoundationCommons.org is the route used for
electronic submission.
ACS does not require the electronic process and is providing it as an
alternative for applicants beginning to learn how to use the web for doing
business.
If using electronic submission, you must have either Adobe Acrobat Exchange
(3.0) or Adobe Acrobat (4.0) -- one or the other of these software systems
is required to save information in the .pdf format and to work with the
Acrobat forms that make up the application. Adobe technology was chosen
because it enables the PI to download the application form from the
FoundationCommons.org site, work on the application off the web as
convenient, copy it, circulate it, and upload the finished application.
There were some early problems using Adobe Exchange 3.0 that have been
cleared up. We apologize for problems anyone incurred trying to use 3.0 in
the past and have been assured by recent applicants that 3.0 can be used
successfully.
CUSTOMER SUPPORT
FoundationCommons.org has a FAQ and staff available for assistance at all
times to help applicants with the electronic submission process. We can't
claim a perfect record, but consider customer service our #1 priority.
Additionally, we provide users with the ability to provide specific
suggestions on making the process easier, and have implemented some great
ideas submitted by our user base.
Please let us know of any suggestions or comments. The URL for feedback is
http://www.gepps.org/geppsapp/feedback/

Marilyn Keyes
Vice President, Research and Management Systems, Inc. (RAMS)
www.foundationcommons.org   www.rams.com   xxxxxx@rams.com
301-975-0103   Fax 301-975-0109

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