# 194 for Dummies

#### October 29, 2002

The e-Grants initiative is a government-wide response to statutory
requirements for increased electronic-enabling and streamlining of the
grants application and management process. The e-Grants strategy is to
use the eXtensible Markup Language (XML) to communicate grant-related
transactions between the grantee community and the e-Grants storefront,
and between the e-Grants storefront and Federal agencies.

The e-Grants grant application standard comprises *Core* and *Non-Core*
data elements.

### Core Data Standard

Core = SF424 + DUNS via TS194

### Core Data Elements

-   **SF424:** The Standard Form 424 is the OMB standard used by
    applicants as a required face sheet for pre-applications and
    applications submitted for Federal assistance.

-   **DUNS:** The Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S Number is a nine-digit
    identification sequence, which provides a unique identifier for a
    single business entity while linking corporate family structures
    together.

-   **TS194:** The ANSI ASC X12 194 Transaction Set was developed
    collaboratively by grant-making agencies with a research focus. It
    was later modified to address requirements of grant-making agencies
    with a State and Local Government focus. It contains the format and
    establishes the data contents of the Grant or Assistance Application
    Transaction Set for use in an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI)
    environment. This transaction set may be used by organizations
    submitting applications for grants, cooperative agreements, and
    other assistance.

    The X12 194 provides attributes for each data element contained in
    the transaction set, including:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Is the data element required?

-   Data element type (e.g., date, identifier, text, etc.).

-   Minimum and maximum length constraints.

-   Whether multiple values are permitted.

### Organizational Definitions

-   **ANSI:** The American National Standards Institute is a private,
    non-profit organization that administers and coordinates the U.S.
    voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.

-   **ASC X12:** The Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) X12 is
    chartered by ANSI to develop uniform standards for inter-industry
    electronic interchange of business transactions---Electronic Data
    Interchange (EDI).

### Non-Core Data Standard

E-Grants *Non-Core* data elements will be specific to an agency, a
program within an agency, a funding opportunity within a program, or to
initiatives that encompass multiple agencies. In the case of NIH, all
fields in the PHS398 application package that are not included on the
SF424 will be handled as *Non-Core*.

**Note:** The Transaction Set 194 is a set of data standards, not an XML
data stream. The standards will be used to provide a structure for the
formulation of XML data streams containing *Core* and *Non-Core* grant
application data for communication between grantees and government
agencies.

### Related Links

-   Consult Chapter 2 (pages 11--20) in this document for a history and
    description of EDI:
    <http://www.iaegc.gov/Subcommittees/R&RSub/grant1.pdf>.

-   XML is a formal recommendation from the World Wide Web Consortium
    (W3C). The W3C, which develops interoperable technologies
    (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) for the Web,
    provides this resource on XML: <http://www.w3.org/XML/>.

-   The TS194 data schema may be found at this address:
    <http://www.fedcommons.gov/Docs/42f194.pdf>.

-   The Inter-Agency Electronic Grants Committee (IAEGC) is established
    to coordinate, promote and facilitate the effective use of
    electronic commerce (EC) throughout the federal grants community.
    The IAECG provides the Grants Data Dictionary at this address:
    <http://www.iaegc.gov/IAEGCstuff/GrantDataDictionary/IAEGC_GDD.htm>.