You may have heard the news that S2S functionality in GMAS is going away. It’s true. As of January 25, 2018, GMAS will no longer support the system-to-system submission of proposals to Grants.gov. We wanted to provide a little background and information about the decision.

Background:​​​​​​​

• GMAS has supported direct system-to-system (S2S) submissions to Grants.gov since 2007. 
• The main goals of the original S2S project were to reduce duplicate entry and provide an easier entry and review interface (in 2007 Grants.gov used the PureEdge forms, which were especially tedious). 
• Every 2-3 years, new form versions are released. We also have to stay current with Grants.gov infrastructure and technology. Over the past 8 years, about 15-20% of effort in all GMAS releases has been dedicated to S2S support.
• For help desk, we estimate that 30-35% of our support requests are related to S2S.
• There is also considerable effort required for local S2S training. 

 Current State:

• Currently, an average of 44 proposals/month are submitted S2S. 96% of S2S submissions are to NIH.
• HMS and SPH have the highest S2S volume by far.
• In 2007, Grants.gov was the only option available for submission. Since then, the government has made more investments in technology (NIH ASSIST and Grants.gov workspace). ASSIST is popular and well-liked by users. 
• Grants.gov will be retiring the Adobe form entry method in January 2018.

Earlier this year, GMAS Leadership Team committed to assessing and consider retiring the S2S functionality in order to reduce the effort needed to support and maintain it.  The group determined that as of January 25, 2018, GMAS will no longer support the submission of proposal to Grants.gov via GMAS for new proposals.

FAQs

Will I need to continue to enter my proposals into GMAS?

Yes. Because GMAS is the University’s system of record for proposals, awards, financials, and documentation related to sponsored projects, it is critical that proposals continue to get entered into GMAS.

What will happen to my existing S2S proposals that have already been submitted to sponsor?

The view of proposals submitted to Grants.gov through GMAS will look the same as they do today after GMAS stops supporting S2S submissions.

What will happen if I have a S2S proposal in process on January 25, 2018?

If the proposal uses Grants.gov forms supported by GMAS, it will still be able to be submitted S2S.

Will I still be able to validate Grants.gov opportunity numbers to associate with my proposal in GMAS?

Yes. GMAS will still be able to associate Grants.gov opportunity numbers to proposals even though they cannot be submitted.

If you have any questions or concerns, please get in touch with us at contactgmas@harvard.edu.