FORMS-G – We’re Ready, Are You?

Hopefully, you’ve seen our notices (NOT-OD-22-018; NOT-OD-21-169 ), tweets, and previous Nexus posts (Goodbye FORMS-F, Hello FORMS-G; Goodbye DUNS, Hello UEI) regarding our pending transition to an updated set of grant application forms we refer to as FORMS-G. If so, you already know that you must use FORMS-G forms for grant application due dates on or after January 25, 2022 and FORMS-F for due dates on or before January 24, 2022. You might have even started preparing your FORMS-G application.

Here are a few updates and tips to help navigate the transition.

• The How to Apply – Application Guide page includes application form instructions for both Version F and Version G.
  • Review the Significant Changes section of the Version G instructions to familiarize yourself with major instruction changes between Versions F and G.
  • Refer to our FORMS-G Annotated Form Set for a visual representation of the new forms.
• FORMS-G application packages are now available on many of our active funding opportunity announcements (FOAs).
  • We will complete the bulk of our updates by November 25, though package posting for small business and fellowship FOAs will continue into December.
  • Both FORMS-G and FORMS-F packages will be associated with our FOAs for a short transition period. Carefully choose the correct form package based on the targeted due date and Competition ID.
    • Tip – Use the application package Competition ID to determine the form version. If you aren’t sure what an application package “Competition ID” is or where to find it, check out Do I Have the Right Form Version For My Application?
    • Tip – Take advantage of the copy features in ASSIST, Grants.gov Workspace, and many system-to-system solutions if you need to move your application data from one version to another.
  • All of our FORMS-F packages are set to close on January 24, 2022 regardless of opportunity expiration date. This bulk change was made to help facilitate the transition. Application due dates remain unchanged. You must refer to the FOA for key date information (i.e., do not rely on the package close date reflected in ASSIST or Grants.gov).
• The Biosketch and Other Support  pages currently have two sets of format page information – a tab for “Due dates on/after January 25, 2022” and a tab for “Due dates on/before January 24, 2022”. You MUST use the updated formats with FORMS-G applications.
  • Tip – Use the updated biosketch and format pages now. Since these format pages are used for attachments within the application and aren’t part of the application forms themselves, there is no need to wait for FORMS-G to use them.  
  • Tip – Check out our Biosketch FAQs and Other Support FAQs. If your question isn’t answered in our online resources, reach out to nihosbiosketch@nih.gov.
• Unique Entity Identifiers (UEIs) are used with FORMS-G application in place of DUNS.
  • The System for Award Management (SAM) automatically issued UEIs for existing registrations and is assigning UEIs to all new registrations.
    • DUNS still required for SAM registrations until April 2022.
  • eRA is pulling SAM UEI data for organizations registered in eRA Commons.
  • ASSIST users can now see their UEI when using the “Click for SAM Registration Details” feature at initiation and within the FOA Information section of the application Summary Tab.
  • In early January, UEI information will be displayed in the eRA Commons Institution Profile (IPF).
• Although our system updates are already in place for FORMS-G, updates to our Forms Library are still in progress. As a reminder, most of the forms included in the Forms Library are for reference only. Applications and reports must be prepared and submitted through our electronic systems.
  • If you are working on a Training application for the January 25, 2022 due date there is no need to update your training tables to FORMS-G versions since only the OMB approval date changed between FORMS-F and FORMS-G.

Hungry for even more details? View this recorded presentation titled Deep Dive into FORMS-G and Related Policy Changes (video, PowerPoint, Transcript) originally presented as part of our NIH Virtual Seminar on Program Funding and Grants Administration held earlier this month.

Direct questions regarding our form update to:

NIH Office of Policy for Extramural Research Administration (OPERA)
Systems Policy Branch
Email: OPERAsystemspolicy@nih.gov