Guides & checklists
Practical, deadline-driven checklists for the parts of research administration that cost you if they slip. New to the full picture? Start with the grants management guide.
Proposal & pre-award
Building and submitting a competitive proposal: budgets, sponsor forms, and the submission systems you file through.
Proposal Submission Checklist for Sponsored Programs
A pre-submission checklist for research proposals: solicitation review, internal routing, budget, compliance, and sponsor-system steps to hit the deadline cleanly.
Research.gov for NSF Proposals: Sign-In, Roles, and Submission Walkthrough
How to sign in to Research.gov, the NSF roles that control who can prepare and submit, and a walkthrough of preparing and submitting an NSF proposal under the PAPPG.
eBRAP Guide: Registering and Submitting DoD CDMRP Proposals
How eBRAP works for DoD CDMRP funding: PI and organization registration, letters of intent and pre-proposals, submitting the full application through Grants.gov, and the verification period.
NSPIRES Guide: How to Submit a NASA Proposal
How to submit a NASA proposal through NSPIRES: individual and organization registration, ROSES program elements, notices of intent and Step-1 proposals, team member confirmations, and submission.
Budget & costs
Building and defending grant budgets: direct vs. F&A costs, rate calculations, and cost allowability.
Understanding F&A (Indirect Cost) Rates
Where your institution's F&A rate comes from, what it's applied to, and why small budgeting choices change how much indirect cost an award recovers.
Direct vs. Indirect Costs in Grants: Definitions, Examples, and How to Calculate Them
The difference between direct and indirect costs on research grants, with examples of each, the gray areas like administrative salaries, and how indirect costs are calculated from your F&A rate.
De Minimis Indirect Cost Rate: 10% vs. 15%, Who Can Use It, and How to Calculate It
The de minimis indirect cost rate explained: the 15% rate under 2 CFR 200.414(f), why NIH awards still use 10%, who is eligible, and how to calculate it on modified total direct costs.
NIH Modular Budget: Rules, Justification, and a Worked Example
How NIH modular budgets work: the $250,000 threshold, $25,000 modules, consortium F&A, what goes in the personnel, consortium, and additional narrative justifications, and a worked example.
Post-award
Managing an award after it is funded: progress reports, award terms, extensions, and closeout.
NIH RPPR Instructions: Annual, Interim, and Final Progress Reports
How to complete the NIH Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR): annual, interim, and final RPPR due dates, a section-by-section checklist, the participants section, and what holds up funding.
Grant Closeout Checklist: Closing Out a Federal Award
Everything to submit and reconcile when a federal grant ends: final reports, financials, inventions, subawards, and the 120-day deadlines that can freeze future funding.
How to Read Your Notice of Award
The parts of a Notice of Award that determine what you can spend, when, and what needs prior approval, plus the terms that cause disallowed costs if missed.
No-Cost Extensions (NCE): NIH, NSF, and DoD Rules and How to Request One
What a no-cost extension is, NIH and NSF rules for first and subsequent extensions, deadlines, what to include in the justification, and reasons that do not qualify.
Compliance
Staying audit-ready: effort reporting, cost transfers, subrecipient monitoring, and the rules behind them.
Effort Reporting: A Practical Guide
How effort works on federal awards, the difference between committed, charged, and certified effort, and the pitfalls that turn into audit findings.
Subrecipient Monitoring Checklist
The prime recipient's obligations when part of a project is subawarded: subrecipient determination, risk assessment, flow-down terms, and ongoing monitoring.
Cost Transfers: How to Do Them Right
When a cost transfer onto a federal award is allowable, the documentation it requires, and why late or unexplained transfers draw audit scrutiny.
Never miss a deadline again
GrantsManager surfaces every reporting and closeout deadline before it's late.