Minneapolis VA Health Care System Research Service
Submitting a VA Grant
How do I submit a VA grant?
The grant application process for VA proposals is outlined below. Applicants submitting through the Research Office are encouraged to review the resources linked below. Those submitting HSR applications should contact CCDOR for guidance.
Important Note
VA Office of Research & Development (ORD) services have been realigned into Investigators, Scientific Review and Management (ISRM) in Fiscal Year 2025, which will cause significant changes to the grant application process. Information below is current as of October 2024, but may be subject to change in future grant cycles.
Information provided to date indicates that the realignment will reduce the number and complexity of VA RFAs. Updated information will be provided here once the changes are implemented and finalized.
Step 1: Determine appropriate VA research service and funding opportunity
VA grants are funded through VA ORD Notices of Special Interest (NOSI). Most NOSIs are grouped into two areas: Broad Portfolios (similar to the previous VA services) and Actively Managed Potfolios (AMPs). Other NOSIs that do not fall within these categories focus on specific VA research priorities. Within each NOSIs, applicants can choose from available Requests for Application (RFAs): Merit Award / Clinical Trial Merit Award (I01), Pilot Project (I21), Career Development Award 1 (IK1) / Career Development Award 2 (IK2), or Research Career Scientist award (IK6). Each prospective applicant should begin by determining in which NOSI their work best fits.
After determining the appropriate NOSI, applicants should next determine the specific RFA to which they intend to apply.
VA NOSIs and RFAs are posted to the VA ORD Intranet site at: http://vaww.research.va.gov/funding/rfa.cfm (copy and paste this link into your browser). When in doubt, investigators are encouraged to contact the relevant Scientific Review Officer or Program Manager identified in the NOSI.
Step 2: Determine eligibility and prerequisites
Specific eligibility requirements or prerequisites apply depending on selected NOSI and RFA.
- All VA services require that the applicant have at least a 5/8ths paid VA appointment, or that the applicant be eligible to accept a minimum 5/8ths appointment if selected for funding.
- While clinicians are automatically eligible to apply to all NOSIs, applicants who are not clinicians must request eligibility through a pre-application process for the Medical Health (MH) and Brain, Behavior, and Mental Health (BBMH) Broad Portfolios. Applicants should plan to request eligibility well in advance of their intended grant submission cycle. Note: Applicants who have held VA funding within the past 12 months are eligible to submit to MH/<title="Brain, Behavior, and Mental Health">BBMH. Non-clinician applicants who are more than 12 months past end of their last VA award lose eligibility and must request permission to submit to MH/<title="Brain, Behavior, and Mental Health">BBMH.
- Career Development Award (CDA) applicants generally must be within five years of obtaining their terminal degree or last clinical training. Applicants should refer to the "Eligible Individuals" section of the RFA for guidance.
- All VA RFAs now require a pre-application in advance of the application. Applicants should refer to the guidance in the appropriate pre-application RFA for details.
Step 3: Select application cycle and request grant package
VA has four application cycles annually, however many portfolios only allow application twice per year (Spring/Fall or Winter/Summer). Applicants should determine the best cycle in which to apply based on their own current funding and projected project start dates. Whenever possible, applicants should consider how resubmissions will affect continuity of funding, should an application not be selected on the first submission.
To request a grant application package, contact the Signing Official (SO) responsible for submitting the grant:
- Most VA awards are submitted through the Research Office. Contact the Research Grants Manager for your grant package.
- HSR Broad Portfolio applications are submitted by CCDOR. Contact the CCDOR Administrative Officer for guidance.
The SO or delegate will prepare your grant package and provide necessary templates, guidance, and examples as needed. Grant packages may be provided as individual files, or via web-based tools. VA grant submission uses Grants.gov and eRA Commons. Applicants who do not currently have an eRA Commons account should contact the relevant SO to obtain a VA-affiliated eRA Commons ID.
A note for Site PIs: If you are the lead for Minneapolis VA but not the overall lead investigator for a multi-site grant, the lead site should be preparing the grant package. The lead site will need specific institutional information from Minneapolis to complete the grant package. See the Institutional Information page for frequently requested Minneapolis VA institutional information for Research.
Step 4: Complete grant package and return to the SO within applicable deadlines
Both the Research Office and CCDOR maintain internal deadlines to ensure adequate time for administrative review of grant packages prior to submission. Per Research Service policy, individuals who fail to adhere to stated deadlines may be refused permission to submit a grant in a given application cycle.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to meet with the SO or delegate responsible for administrative review of the grant package. The SO or delegate will go over timelines, provide general instructions, and explain any significant changes or new requirements affecting that submission. Applicants will be provided with a grant applicant checklist to help them understand what components should or must be included with each grant submission package.
Applicants are also strongly encouraged to meet with the Budget Analyst when planning the grant budget. The Budget Analyst can provide information on salary expenses, allowed expenditures, and assist in planning annual costs to ensure applications do not exceed budget caps.
During administrative review, the SO or delegate will check for errors such as omission of required components, inclusion of URLs, and attachments that exceed applicable page or margin limits. The SO or delegate may comment on typographical or grammatical errors if noted, but will not routinely proofread grant sections nor provide scientific critique. Applicants are instead strongly encouraged to rely on peer support for scientific feedback prior to submission.
Once a grant has passed administrative review, and the applicant has confirmed that s/he considers the application to be final, the SO or delegate will submit the grant through Grants.gov. Applicants should recieve notification when the grant has been accepted in eRA Commons. At that point, applicants should log in to eRA Commons and review the assembled grant. The applicant will have a maximum of two business days to make changes or corrections to the submitted grant. After two business days, or close of the application cycle (whichever comes first), submitted grants will be locked and cannot be changed.
Step 5: Grant review, scoring, and intent to fund
Grant review cycles vary by ORD service. Typically, a review committee will meet to discuss an application within 1 to 2 months post-submission. Grants may be assigned a score, or may be triaged (not discussed). When impact and/or percentile scores are assigned, applicants will be able to see these scores in eRA Commons. Similarly, once summary statements are available, applicants can review the statement in eRA Commons.
Grants that recieve a score will be next reviewed at the margins meeting, typically held 2-4 months after grant submission. The margins meeting is where funding decisions are made. Applicants should recieve a statement after the margins meeting, indicating whether the application was selected for funding or not. A courtesy copy of funding decisions is also sent to the Research Office. Applicants may not contact Scientific Review Officers until after the funding decisions have been made.
Grants that were not selected for funding may be resubmitted, with some exceptions. Some special RFAs do not allow resubmission, and RFAs that do allow resubmission typically limit applicants to one (pilot project) or two resubmissions (Merit and Career Development). If applicants determine that resubmission is appropriate, they are encouraged to contact the appropriate SO to plan for the next grant application cycle.
Step 6: Just-In-Time and post-award
Successful applicants will need to complete Just-In-Time (JIT) paperwork to secure release of grant funds. Beginning in January 2022, VA awards will use the eRA Commons system for JIT. Applicants will need to secure local R&D Committee approval for their research protocol. If applicable, investigators must also complete registration with ClinicalTrials.gov, complete waivers for off-site research, and respond to ORD concerns regarding budget or other aspects of the proposal. Once all JIT requirements are satisfied, a start date can be selected and funds will be released to station.
For JIT assistance or guidance, investigators should contact the individual who submitted the grant (Research Grants Manager or CCDOR Administrative Officer).
