NIFA awards research funding through a combination of competitive grants and funds allocated to states under statutory formulas.
The lifecycle of grants and cooperative agreements consists of four phases: Pre-Award, Award, Post-Award, and Close Out. NIFA’s Office of Grants and Financial Management provides support and guidance for award recipients during each of these phases.
Grant Lifecycle Phases
Pre-Award
The Pre-Award phase begins with the announcement of funding opportunities for grants and involves the preparation, submission, and review of proposals to those announcements.
SEARCH
Search for grant and cooperative agreements
APPLY
Apply for a grant at Grants.gov
REVIEW
NIFA reviews your application
AWARD
The Award phase involves making funding decisions and notifying awardees of their selection for a grant.
RESPONSE
Applicants are notified of the funding decision
PROCESSING
NIFA reviews, approves, and sends award documents to awardees
POST-AWARD
The Post-Award phase involves setting up accounts in the financial payment system and monitoring awardees for compliance with applicable laws, regulations, policies, and submission of required reports.
PAYMENTS
Awardee sets up an account in the Automated Standard Application for Payments (ASAP) system to receive funding
MONITORING
Awardee and NIFA each monitor grant activities to ensure compliance with specific program policies, regulations, and required reporting, including annual accomplishments reports
CLOSE OUT
The close-out phase of the grant lifecycle involves the submission, review, and approval of all final reports as required by specific program policies and regulations.
REPORTING
Awardee submits the final federal financial report and final technical report
REVIEW AND APPROVAL
NIFA reviews and approves final financial and technical reports for regulatory compliance and quality of final technical accomplishment descriptions
