All US Federal research grant funding opportunities are posted on grants.gov. Each notice outlines eligibility requirements, program funding priorities, scoring criteria, and other essential information for potential applicants. Special restrictions may apply as Imperial is a non-US organisation. Researchers employed at Imperial can determine eligibility to apply by looking at individual call guidelines.
Subordinate US Federal Departments and Agencies may have additional funding programmes listed on their own websites where applications do not require proposals but will have specific deadlines, formats, and qualifications. Some US Federal Departments and Agencies also accept unsolicited proposals for ideas that do not fall into an open notice of funding.
US Federal contract opportunities over $25,000 are posted on the partner site sam.gov/content/opportunities Contracts are used by the US Federal Government to purchase services for direct benefit or use of the Government.
Submitting an Application
Interested researchers who have identified an opportunity should consult with their Department administration or Research Services Teamto confirm eligibility, and the Planning a Proposal web guide and policy: Planning a proposal | Research and Innovation | Imperial College London
Researchers should familiarise themselves with the various steps involved in applying for US Federal Research funding. A ‘Getting Started’ checklist is available here.
Grants.gov has a Community Blog with a helpful series on ‘What is a Grant’ which serves to demystify the language and process of applying for federal grants.
Applications for the majority of US Federal funding opportunities are submitted to Grants.gov. The process for submitting to Grants.gov depends on the funder; for example, applications for NIH funding can be made using the NIH’s eRA Commons submission platform to prepare the application and then submit this to Grants.gov. Additionally, applicants have the ability to submit an application directly within Grants.gov by creating a Workspace document, although for all NIH applications we would encourage the use of eRA Commons. A small number of other US Federal funding bodies maintain their own submission platforms, similar to eRA Commons.
Once an application has been submitted to Grants.gov, regardless of the platform used to submit, a Grants.gov tracking number will be assigned (e.g. GRANT12345678) and you will need this to track your submission. Your application can also be tracked within the relevant submission platform used to submit to Grants.gov, such as eRA Commons, for NIH submissions.
Bids for contract opportunities are made via the Workspace on sam.gov. A small number of US Federal Departments and subordinate Departments and Agencies have their own designated application platforms.
If you are submitting a proposal for NIH funding, see detailed guidance on the designated page: NIH Funding | Research and Innovation | Imperial College London
Institutional Registration: Imperial is already registered on sam.gov, which is a requirement for US Federal applications. Imperial’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and other US registration numbers are listed here: US Applications Registration Numbers [PDF].
Individual Registration: individual accounts must be requested from the Research Office for any US Federal application platform. If a PI intends to submit an application via NIH’s eRA Commons platform, then they will only need to be registered for that system and not Grants.gov (selecting their role as “PI”). If a PI intends to prepare the application using a Workspace directly on Grants.gov, and will not be submitting via eRA Commons, then they will require a Grants.gov login also (selecting their Profile Type as “Organization Applicant”).
Further Information
The principal regulations governing US Federal funds are the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). Administrative requirements are described in Part 200: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200
The Uniform Guidance for US Federal Awards aims to streamline US Federal Funding instructions and provides a Government-wide framework for grant management.
For internal award management of US Federal funded grants, please see the Pre and Post Award US Federal Funders Golden Rules page.
Additional Agency-specific regulations are linked here; US Federal Table of Funders (PDF).
Imperial is currently a prime recipient or sub recipient of research grants and contracts from the following US Federal Departments or their subordinate Agencies. Imperial researchers are more likely to identify suitable calls within these Departments.
- US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
- US Department of Defense (DOD)
- US Department of Energy (DOE)
- US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- US Department of State (DOS)
