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How To Apply for APHIS Funding:

Getting Started

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New to APHIS funding? Preparing early can help you avoid last-minute surprises or

obstacles when you apply.

Sign Up for Email Updates

Award Process

Applying for an APHIS funding opportunity generally involves these steps:

1. Search for open opportunities.

Opportunities are sometimes cross-listed on one or more of these sites:

grants.gov, research.gov, and ezFedGrants

2. Review the funding opportunity to see if you and your organization are eligible

for it.

3. Apply by following instructions in the funding opportunity.

4. Watch for the release of information regarding awards/spending.

5. If selected, follow the instructions in your award notification to manage and

report on funds.
Get Ready To Apply

These are steps you can take at any time so you're ready to apply when the next

funding opportunity opens.

1. Register your organization with the U.S. Government System for

Award Management (SAM). You must be registered with SAM to apply for

Federal funding, including all APHIS opportunities.

Don't wait! It takes at least 10 business days after you submit your

registration for it to become active in SAM, plus at least 1 more day until

it's available in other Government systems.

You can register in SAM at any time, even if you're not applying for

funding right away.

2. Browse successful projects from past funding opportunities. Many of

our funding programs publish their spending plans as well as brief descriptions

of funded projects. These examples may give you ideas or help you see which

funding program is the best fit for your project.

3. Familiarize yourself with the application method for your funding

program. Application methods vary; the funding opportunity will always list its

application method. Most require you to set up an account and apply through

an online system.* The accordions below include details about these systems.

4. Review the general application guidance for your funding program. You

can find these details in previous opportunities if no opportunities are open

right now.

* Exceptions include the National Clean Plant Network and the National Animal

Health Laboratory Network funding programs, which accept applications via email.

Application Systems

ezFedGrants

ezFedGrants is USDA's online system for receiving grant and cooperative agreement

applications and managing awards. Most APHIS funding programs use this system. It

is not used for proposal applications for the Plant Pest and Disease Management

and Disaster Prevention Program; see information in the next section on
ServiceNow. You also may use a different system for funding opportunities APHIS

offers in partnership with other agencies, such as USDA's National Institute of Food

and Agriculture and the National Science Foundation (see "Other Application

Systems" below).

Before you can access ezFedGrants, you'll need to complete two tasks:

1. Create a Login.gov account. This gives you secure access to USDA's online

systems and services, including ezFedGrants.

Note: The use of Login.gov is optional for existing USDA eAuthentication

account holders. For more information, visit Login.gov for Existing USDA

Customers.

2. Establish an account with ezFedGrants. Follow these basic instructions to

get started. USDA also offers ezFedGrants training sessions via monthly

webinars.

You'll need to have at least one Grants Administrative Officer and one

Signatory Official to set up your account. We recommend identifying these

individuals ahead of time to help speed up the process.

For help using the ezFedGrants system, contact the help desk at

ezFedGrants@cfo.usda.gov.

ServiceNow (Used Only for PPDMDPP)

The Plant Pest and Disease Management and Disaster Prevention Program

(PPDMDPP) uses the ServiceNow platform to manage its suggestion submission

process. Within ServiceNow, it is called the "PPA 7721 Suggestion Submission

Portal."

You must have a "Level 1" USDA eAuthentication account or a Login.gov account to

access this system. With your eAuthentication or Login.gov account, you can go

directly to the PPA 7721 portal, and a single-stage login will take you to the start of

the suggestion submission process.

Helpful Tips

ServiceNow works best with Google Chrome, Firefox and Firefox ESR, Microsoft

Edge Chromium, and Safari 12.0 and up.
Close all other programs on your computer, along with any other internet

windows, while in ServiceNow to avoid any system disruptions.

Turn off your pop-up blocker. Many of the content windows in ServiceNow pop

up while you're navigating the system.

ServiceNow has a 30-minute session time-out for inactivity, and partially

completed suggestions cannot be saved within ServiceNow. We recommend

composing your project suggestion in a word processing program first to

copy/paste into the PPDMDPP Suggestion Submission System form.

Other Application Systems

Several of our One Health funding opportunities are offered in partnership with other

Federal agencies. You'll use the partner agency's system(s) to apply for funding in

these cases.

Our current partners include the National Science Foundation and the Agriculture

and Food Research Initiative (part of USDA's National Institute of Food and

Agriculture ).

Read about funding and awards at the National Science Foundation, and explore

their grants management system, research.gov.

Learn about applying for grants at NIFA and their preferred application system,

grants.gov.

What To Expect After You Apply

If your application package meets the minimum eligibility requirements, it goes

through a merit review process. This process is designed to be fair and

impartial. A team of experts reviews the applications and scores them. Scores

are based on how well the application meets the evaluation criteria (listed in

the funding opportunity announcement).

The review team makes award recommendations to the agency's awarding

official. APHIS (or the awarding agency) considers the review team's

recommendations in making final funding decisions.

If selected, you will be contacted directly when it's time to begin the

cooperative agreements process, if not before.
APHIS issues a press release or other public announcement of all funding

awards. Most programs also publish a spending plan and list of funded projects

each year.

To make sure you receive announcements about open opportunities and awards,

sign up for email updates on topics related to your funding program. 

Terms and Conditions

All APHIS funding awards are subject to general terms and conditions for cooperative

agreements and grants.

The use of award funds must follow Federal cost principles (2 CFR 200, Subpart E).

Additional program-specific cost guidelines (listed in the funding opportunity

announcement) may also apply.