Identify the key administrative roles in your IC

The first step of the grant submission process.

Know who holds the key administrative system roles in your Institute/Center.

Signing Official (SO) for eRA Commons

What you need to know about the SO:

The SO has the authority to legally bind your IC and assume responsibility for adhering to all federal grants administration requirements.
The SO accesses information for all applications and grants within your IC, including status award information.
The SO creates user names for first-time NIH grant applicants and assigns applicant roles (K99 applicants often need to be assigned the role of “PI”). Read this page for specific instruction on how to create a new user name/account in eRA Commons. This is a prerequisite for grant submission!
The SO is often but not always the Intramural Training Director.
Some ICs have more than one SO.

What you need to know about the AOR:

The AOR has the authority to legally bind your IC and assume responsibility for federal grant administration requirements. The AOR is typically the same person as the eRA Commons SO role. During the submission process, eRA Commons communicates directly with grants.gov.
The AOR signs and submits grant applications!

What you need to know about the eBiz POC:

The eBiz POC is designated through SAM.gov.
The eBiz POC authorizes IC representatives to perform specific tasks in grants.gov (e.g., assigns AOR role to users authorized to submit).