Intro to ezFedGrants
Frequently Asked Questions - Introduction to ezFedGrants
The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) pages provide responses to common questions, concerns, errors, and issues related to ezFedGrants. The FAQs should be consulted prior to contacting the ezFedGrants Help Desk and as a supplement to the other training materials on this website.
Introduction
Refer to these FAQs if you are new to ezFedGrants or have a question about the purpose or basic features of the ezFedGrants External Portal, such as navigation, searching, actionable items, and notifications.
The ezFedGrants System
What is ezFedGrants? What is the ezFedGrants External Portal?
The ezFedGrants System is an online computer system used for managing the grant award process. Members of grant-seeking organizations use the ezFedGrants External Portal to view/apply to grant award opportunities, view grant award package documents, submit claims and reports, among other actions.
What type of grants are available through ezFedGrants?
ezFedGrants is designed for servicing grants to organizations (such as educational institutions and research organizations). ezFedGrants only accept applications to specific opportunities announced on either Grants.gov or the ezFedGrants External Portal.
Who is expected to use the ezFedGrants External Portal?
The following are examples of individuals who should use the ezFedGrants External Portal (commonly referred to as "external users"): Applicants for grant opportunities, Grants and Contracting Officers, Financial Managers, Project Director/Principle Investigators, Invoice Processors, Reports Processors, among other recipients, cooperators, and applicants.
Does ezFedGrants provide grants to individuals, veterans, or disabled persons?
ezFedGrants does not provide personal grants, financial assistance, or other services to individuals. For information on federal financial assistance programs, please visit Assistance Listings on Sam.gov (Formerly CFDA.gov). Assistance listings are detailed public descriptions of federal programs that provide grants, loans, scholarships, insurance, and other types of assistance awards. You may browse assistance listings across all government agencies to learn about potential funding sources. This site is the official source of public descriptions of federal assistance listings.
Does ezFedGrants share information with other USDA and Federal Government systems?
Yes. The information in the ezFedGrants System is linked to other USDA and Federal Government systems, such as FMMI (Financial Management Modernization Initiative) and ASAP (Automated Standard Application for Payments). Information from ezFedGrants may be shared with other systems, and ezFedGrants may pull information from other systems. The extent of information sharing varies by agency. For example, some agencies only post award opportunities on Grants.gov, but other agencies post opportunities on both Grants.gov and ezFedGrants.
Navigation and Display
How do I access screens and complete tasks in the ezFedGrants External Portal?
Please refer to the Using ezFedGrants – The Basics Job Aid (PDF, 1.1 MB) for information on basic navigation and use of the ezFedGrants External Portal.
I do not see the navigation menu on my screen.
Small screens and use of zoomed or magnified views may display the ezFedGrants External Portal with a collapsed left-hand navigation menu. Select the icon in the top left corner of the screen to display the menu, or zoom out 100% or 75% by simultaneously pressing the Control (ctrl) and minus (-) keys on your keyboard. To zoom in, simultaneously press the Control (ctrl) and plus (+) keys.
What does the asterisk (*) indicate?
In the ezFedGrants External Portal an asterisk indicates a required field. The ezFedGrants System will generate an error if required fields are not completed.
Searching
How do I use the search fields? Can I filter search results?
Please refer to the Using ezFedGrants – Searching Job Aid (PDF, 651 KB) for information on conducting searches and manipulating search results in the ezFedGrants External Portal.
Sometimes see a "no search results found" message, and other times there is no message or search results. Why is this?
In order to successfully execute a search in ezFedGrants, you must input information into at least one of the search criteria fields. Selecting the Search button without completing at least one search criteria field will generate the "no message" outcome. This is because the system will not attempt a search if no search criteria are provided.
I need help with a specific search in the ezFedGrants External Portal.
Information on specific searches, such as searching for an organization, can be found on the other FAQ pages and within relevant job aids. For example, the Onboarding and Accessing ezFedGrants FAQ page includes FAQs about searching for an organization when submitting an access request. Information on this search can also be found in the Role Assignment Submission Job Aid (PDF, 1.8 MB), which is linked from the Access and User Roles Job Aid Library.
Actionable Items and Notifications
Do I have to access work items through notification emails?
No, work items cannot be accessed through notification messages. Work items are accessed through the Actionable Items section on the ezFedGrants External Portal Home screen.
When I access my Actionable Items list, I am seeing duplicate work items. How do I fix this?
If you see duplicate work items when accessing your Actionable Items list, complete one of the items and the duplicate should disappear. Contact the ezFedGrants helpdesk at ezFedGrants-cfo@usda.gov for additional information.
Why am I seeing all of the work items and agreements for my organization within my actionable items?
To reduce the number of reassigned reports or reports being inaccessible because another user has one open, all reports will route to a centralized organizational workbasket. All reports will be accessible by all individuals within that organization that have an active ezFedGrants account. Please be sure to take advantage of the filter options available in order to locate your agreement-specific reports.
I did not receive a notification email.
Even if you did not receive a notification email, your work items will still be available on your ezFedGrants External Portal worklist until they are completed or reassigned (refer to the subsequent question for more detail). A notification email is not required to complete a work item.
I received a notification email, but the work item is not in my Actionable Items list.
Some work items are assigned to multiple users, but only one user needs to complete the work item. If another user has either opened, reassigned, or completed the work item, it will be removed from all other users’ worklists.
If a user opens but does not complete the work item, the unfinished work item should reappear in all assigned users’ worklists when the user closes the work item. However, in some cases the work item will become "stuck" with the user who first opened the work item. If a “stuck” work item cannot be reassigned, please contact the ezFedGrants help desk at ezFedGrants-cfo@usda.gov.
Can emails auto-generate to my organization’s Grants Administrative Officer (GAO) when items are ready for review/signature/submittal?
Emails are auto generated to the appropriate personnel (GAOs, Certifying Officials, Grants Processors, etc.) based on their place in the workflow. For example, once a Grants Processor submits an application, the Signatory Official for that organization will receive an email notification, as well as an actionable item in ezFedGrants, alerting them that the application is awaiting their review and approval.
Why can’t I select or type into any of the fields?
Some fields are auto-populated by the ezFedGrants system and designated as read-only and cannot be edited. Furthermore, applications, claims, repayments, and reports cannot be edited in certain statuses or while they are being edited by another user. Please ensure:
- The item is in an editable status (for example, if you need to edit an application, it must be in "draft" status, but not "draft pending signature").
- The item is not already being edited by another user.
- You have accessed a work item or previously-saved draft through the Actionable Items section of the Home screen, and not through a search screen that only displays read-only versions.
- You have the correct user role/permissions to edit the item.
- The field is not a designated auto-populated (read-only) field (typically indicated by the field being “greyed out”). If you believe an auto-populated field contains incorrect information, please contact the awarding agency or email the ezFedGrants Help Desk at ezFedGrants-cfo@usda.gov.
