As part of NIFA's Grants Modernization Initiative (GMI), we are transitioning to the eRA grants management system to support a more efficient and streamlined grants process. To help prepare for this transition, we are committed to providing our applicant and research community with training and support.
We have rescheduled the following training sessions that were originally planned for October 2025 but were impacted due to the recent lapse in appropriations.
Upcoming training sessions
- Account Management - Administrative Staff Only (December 9, 2025, from 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM EST)
- Account Management – All Users (December 9, 2025, from 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM EST)
- Application Submission & Tracking (December 16, 2025, from 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM EST)
As a reminder, here’s a quick recap of the programs transitioning to eRA in the first half of FY 2026, along with key milestones and notes:
- Agricultural Genome to Phenome Initiative (AG2PI)
- Equipment Grants Program (EGP)
- Farm Business Management and Benchmarking Competitive Grants Program (FBMB)
- Food and Agriculture Service Learning Program (FASLP)
- Food Safety Outreach Competitive Grants Program (FSOP)
- Organic Agriculture Research & Extension Initiative (OREI)
- Renewable Resource Extension Act National Focus Fund Program (REEA-NFF)
- Secondary Education, Two-Year Postsecondary Education, and Agriculture in the K-12 Classroom Challenge Grants Program (SPECA)
- Smith-Lever Special Needs Competitive Grants Program (SLSNCGP)
Transition timeline (based on calendar year)
- Q1 2026: Notices of Funding Opportunity published for selected programs
- Q2 2026: Application reviews conducted
- Q3 2026: Awards issued; grants managed and tracked on eRA
- 2027-2028: Remaining NIFA programs transition to eRA
What does this mean for you?
- If you are planning on applying for one of the above opportunities, you should register for eRA Commons as soon as possible. Please see this announcement for more information on how to create an eRA Commons account with eRA.
- Only new applications will use eRA. Prior awards will continue to operate using previous systems and processes.
Stay updated
NIFA is actively working to onboard additional programs throughout FY26 and beyond. Keep an eye out for more updates as we continue to modernize our grants management system. For live updates and announcements on NIFA’s Grants Modernization Initiative and eRA migration, visit: www.nifa.usda.gov/gmi
Questions?
If you have questions, visit our GMI Resources: eRA Grants Management System Reference Center or reach out to the GMI team at NIFAGrantsMod@usda.gov