Carolyn: Hi this is Carolyn, and I’m here with Jonathan to talk about post awardamendments
for SAMHSA grants.
Jonathan, can you tell me a little bit about post awardamendments?
What does the phrase post award amendment mean?
Jonathan: Sure.
Post awardamendments are changesor modifications to grant awards that you as a grantee mayneed
to make during the year to accomplish your programs goals.
The kinds of changes we will be talking about in this video require formal prior approval
from SAMHSA before the changescan take effect.
To obtain SAMHSA’sformal prior approval in the form of an updated notice of award
you’ll need to submit a post awardamendment application so it canbe reviewedand approved
by federal staff.
SAMHSA has several types of post awardamendments that require formal prior approval.
They are divided into these seven categoriesin the eRA system.
Budget revision, Carryover request, Change in Scope, Key Personnel Changes, Merger Transfer
etc which is also used for successor in interest actions, no-cost extensions, and organizationchange
which is used for changesin your organizational information, not changes of the organizationitself.
Carolyn: Okay, that makes sense but how do I submit a post awardamendment application?
What are the most important things to know before I start this process?
Jonathan: Good question.
The most important things to know before starting are how to initiate post awardamendment applications
in era commons, how to fill out an application in assist, how to access an in-progress in
assist, and finally who cansubmit applications in assist and how they do so.
Let’sstart with how to initiate post awardamendments.
You’ll need to be the project director of a grant, or a signing official with the grantee
organization.
Once you’ve loggedin to eRA commons with your username and password, access the non-research
tab.
Then, choose the manage post award amendments subtab.
If you’re a signing official you’ll have to search for the grant you are looking for.
You can do that using the IC and serial number, which can be found in the grant number of
your existing award, or just click searchwithout entering anything to bring up a list of all
your organization’sgrants.
Then click the initiate dropdown and select an amendment type.
This will open a new application for you in ASSIST, the system that all post awardamendments
for SAMHSA grants are processed in.
If you are a project director, you can initiate a post awardamendment application by going
to the manage post awardamendments page but you don’t
need to search.
Instead, a list of all the grantsyou
are listed as the project director on will be displayed.
To start a new post awardamendment application simply select your amendment type from the
initiate dropdown.
You’ll notice I didn’t have to select which year I wantedto submit an amendment
for.
That’sbecause whenever you initiate an amendment application it is automaticallytied to the
current budget period.
Once the amendment application opens in assist, no matter who startedit the first thing you
should do is take note of the application identifier.
This is a unique identification that canbe used to find your application later.
Carolyn: Alright, that seems easy enough.
Once I’ve startedthe application, how do I fill it out?
Jonathan: First you should check to see if you need to add any optional forms.
All of the required forms for the amendment type you selectedin commons will automaticallypop
up, but if there’san optional form you want to fill out you’ll have to add it yourself.
You might need to do this if for example, you were filling out a key personnel change
application and wantedto include a biographical sketch or resume of the new staff member.
You could add the other narrative attachmentsform to be able to upload your PDF documents.
Let’s do that now.
First, click the add optional form button then select the form you want to add.
Click submit query to add it to your application and be takento that form.
If you accidentallyadd the wrong form you can click edit, and then click remove form.
Make sure you only remove optional forms you added though, because if you remove a form
that is required for your amendment type, you won’t be able to submit your application
until it is re-added and filled out.
If you don’t need any extra forms, you canjust click edit on a form and start filling it
out.
Anything with an asterisk is required, but some fields will automatically be filled out
for you using information from your existing award.
You should still check to make sure that they are accurate and up to date.
Carolyn: Okay but what if I have to fill out some of my application later?
How do I access an application I’ve started?
Or what if I’m a project director and I need my business official to fill out a form?
How do they find the application?
Jonathan: You can find your in progress applications by searching in assist.
If you’re loggedin to eRA Commons, click the ASSIST link in the navigation bar to be
takenstraight to ASSIST.
Once there, the easiest thing to searchby is the application identifier which can be
found on the summary page of every application.
This is the field we highlighted earlier and said you should write down.
If you know the application identifier, just navigate to the assist homepage, click on
the search option, and enter in the identifier.
If you don’t know the identifier you’ll have to use other search criteria such as
the project title but if you have the application identifier just enter it and click search
and you’ll only bring up one search result.
Select it to be taken to the application summary page for that application.
Carolyn: Great.
Let’ssay my application is all filled out.
What’s next?
Jonathan: Next you’ll want to submit your application.
The first part of this is updating the submission status.
Do this by clicking the update submission status button on the left and selecting readyfor
submission in the dropdown.
Then either add a comment or click the option to proceed without a comment.
These comments aren’t shown to SAMHSA and aren’t required.
Updating the status will also
run assist validations on your application, which are rules that check to make sure your
application is complete.
They are divided into warnings and errors, with warnings being things you can submit
with if you need to but errors being problems that will prevent you from submitting your
application until they are resolved.
If you have any errors goback and correct them by editing your forms and repeat the
process to change the application status.
If you have only warnings or no errors or warnings your application status will be changedto
ready for submission.
Next you’ll want to submit your application so SAMHSA can review it.
To do this you have to have an eRA commons signing official role with your organization,
whichyour organization’sbusiness official will have, and you’ll need to enter grants.govauthorizedorganizational
representative, or AOR for short, credentials.
Project directors have the PI role in commons, so they won’t be able to submit applications.
If you have the Signing official, or SO for short, role in eRA commons, and access to
grants.gov AOR credentials, click the submit application button on the summary tab.
This is where you will need your grants.gov AOR credentials.
Fill them out or have an AOR fill them out, and then click submit to complete submitting
your application.
You’ll see a confirmation message after you’ve submitted your application.
Carolyn: Got it.
So only someone with both an SO role in eRA commons, and AOR credentials with grants.govcansubmit
the application.
What happens after that?
Jonathan: The project director and business official will get an email that looks like
this.
This is just a confirmation that your application was submitted, so the next steps are with
SAMHSA.
You cankeep trackof what’sgoing on with your application by heading to the manage
post awardamendments page.
Let’sdo that now.
First access era commons and select the non researchtab.
Then click manage post awardamendments.
Remember, if you’re an SO you need to click searchbefore you can see grants.
If you’re a project director you’ll have a list of all your grants displayed without
having to search.
In the list of searchresults or your list of grants, click view tobe takento a page
where you cansee all of your submitted amendment applications for that grant.
Youcan also see their status here with four possible statuses consisting of submitted,
in review, disapproved, and awarded.
Submitted means SAMHSA has successfully receivedyour application.
Inreview means SAMHSA staff have startedto review your application and depending on if
your application is approved or disapproved, the status will either update to awardedor
disapproved.
Awarded indicates your amendment has been approved and a revised notice of awardhas
been issued, while disapproved indicates that SAMHSA has completed their review of your
amendment application and disapproved it.
Carolyn: Great, I feel like I know a lot more about SAMHSA post awardamendment process.
Thanks for the information Jonathan, and thanks for watching everyone.