Relax, Applying with Workspace Is Easier Than You Think

As of late, the question we receive most often here at the Community Blog goes something like this:

As of December 31, we need to begin applying for federal grants using Grants.gov Workspace. What do I need to do in order to transition my organization to the new application method?

You might be surprised to learn that the answer to this question for most is quite simple: Nothing.

There is no special action you need to take – or magic button you need to click – in order to transition your organization to Grants.gov’s Workspace method of applying for a federal grant.

Questions and Answers from Grants.gov’s Town Hall Webinars

On December 5^th and 7^th Grants.gov held town hall-style webinars so that users could have their questions answered about Grants.gov Workspace and the upcoming retirement of the Legacy PDF application method.

What follows is a summary of the discussion during the two webinars.

In some cases, questions have been combined to minimize repetition. Also, we have added links to relevant training resources where applicable to shorten those answers.

The full video recording, available here and embedded below, is from the Dec. 7^th webinar.

Video: Grants.gov’s New Saved Search Management Features

It is now much easier to save and manage your searches for grant opportunities, thanks to Grants.gov’s latest release.

Simply log in, search, and save.

After naming your saved search, you will receive email notifications when new grants meeting your search criteria are posted. You can also review your saved searches at any time and edit or delete the records.

The video below highlights Grants.gov’s new saved search features, starting at 01:30.

Video: Grants.gov’s New Registration Process

When applicants registered with Grants.gov prior to Release 16.1, they were required to enter a DUNS Number as part of the registration process.

Today, this is no longer the case. Applicants can opt to register a Grants.gov account without a DUNS number.

You Asked, We Answered (in 46 Seconds or Less)

On Twitter, email, and the Community Blog (you’re here now), Grants.gov users regularly ask us about using Workspace to apply for federal grants.

Here we collect a few of the most pressing questions and embed a concise video answer for each.

How Do I Add Participants Who Are Outside My Organization?

This video in the Quick Clicks series explains how users of Grants.gov’s Workspace can add participants who are not part of their own organization.

Workspace Webinar Video and Recap – What You Missed

For those who missed Grants.gov’s live webinars on applying with Workspace, here is the webinar recording, along with a summary of the common questions we heard from the grants community.

Common Questions and the Answers

‘Harmonizing’ U.S. Federal Grant Terminology

The U.S. federal government is in the midst of an effort to fix inconsistencies in the terminology used across federal financial assistance application forms. The home for the newly “harmonized” terms is the Common Data Element Repository Library, or CDER Library.

Over the years, synonymous data elements on federal grant forms have sometimes been used interchangeably. For example, forms from different systems and applications have listed “address” as “Street 1”, as “Address Line 1” or as “Street Address Line 1”.

Grants.gov Workspace: Fast, Easy to Use, and Secure

UPDATES: Click here for the latest Workspace blog posts or training videos.

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#ReplyAll: Using Video Tutorials to Learn How to Apply with Workspace

You may have seen the video below about the benefits of Workspace. One user who watched the video wrote to us recently and requested videos that explain how to use Workspace. The good news is they already exist!

We have created two video series that can assist applicants applying for federal grants using Workspace.

Check for Errors before Submitting Application

Applicants who use Workspace to apply have several options for checking and validating the data they enter into application forms – before they even click Submit. To begin with, each form has a Check for Errors button and each Workspace has a Check Application button.

Some applicants also have access to the Preview Grantor Validation tab. When you use the validation, you can see the submission errors and warnings you would receive from the grant-making agency had you submitted your application package in its current state.