Using the HMS eCommons Dropbox

To submit your electronic application to SPA, use our dropbox located on SPA's page in the HMS eCommons (not to be confused with the NIH Commons). All HMS employees, faculty, and staff who submit grant applications through the HMS Sponsored Programs Administration office, including those at affiliate institutions, are eligible for an eCommons account. If you don't have an account, contact the HMS help desk at 617-432-2000 or helpdesk@hms.harvard.edu.

To get to the SPA Dropbox:

1. Log into eCommons.
2. Click Shortcuts, and type "SPA" in the search box.
3. From the list that displays, click SPA. The SPA eCommons home page displays.
4. In the Links list in the right column, click Grants.gov Upload. The Upload Document screen displays.
5. If you're submitting an application that includes a draft version of the science, please add a note in the "Brief Description" box.
   

   Note: SPA will accept draft applications from Grant Administrators, however, the final application can only be uploaded to the dropbox by the Principal Investigator. This is a necessary policy to ensure that HMS is compliant with NIH certification rules. The SPA Dropbox includes a checkbox that Principal Investigators will check to indicate the application is a final version. Only upload applications marked as final when the PI fully prepared for the application to be submitted to the sponsor. The dropbox tracks Harvard ID of the person who is logged to eCommons.

If you have questions about this process, contact your SPA Representative.

SPA Submits to Sponsor

All Grants.Gov applications must be submitted by the HMS AOR (Deborah Good) at least 2 business days prior to announced deadline to allow time for Grants.Gov to validate the electronic submission. If warnings are returned no corrections need to be made. If errors are returned the PI must correct and upload the new version to the eCommons dropbox for resubmission.