About GAMS

GAMS may be used in a variety of capacities. There are three basic paths through GAMS and each is described more fully in the paragraphs that follow. They are “Full-Budget GAMS”, PropXls, and FastGrant.

"Full-Budget GAMS" is defined as a proposal that is begun in GAMS using the smart budget-building capabilities and the IPF is generated automatically. The PI then attaches the proposal and routes it and the IPF through the University in GAMS. In some cases it may be possible to submit the proposal electronically to the sponsor after routing and review (see FastGrant below). For assistance with Full-Budget GAMS, see "Self-Directed Full-GAMS Training Materials". These are a series of PDFs that capture screen prints of the various steps in creating a proposal budget, using NIH as an example. The segments from "PropXls" entitled "IPF" and "Attach Proposal" may be applied after the budget has been created to edit the IPF and attach the proposal for routing.

“PropXls” is useful if a user wants to create their own budget outside of GAMS but use GAMS to generate the IPF and attach the proposal for routing and OGCA review. For assistance with this process see "PropXls Training Materials". These are a series of recorded segments demonstrating the use of PropXls and there is a handout to accompany each segment if the user wishes to have a local PDF or hard copy for reference.

“FastGrant” is a suited to the proposal that is being submitted via Grants.gov. The budget and IPF may be generated in GAMS, and the Grants.gov opportunity forms are pulled into GAMS where they will be pre-filled. The Proposal components will be attached into the forms and the whole proposal reviewed and submitted from within GAMS. Use “Full-Budget GAMS” instructions and check off “Yes” to the Grants.gov Submission question on the first page. These directions will be helpful through Segment 5. Check back at this site for more documentation on the rest of the process but in the interim, please contact Leanne Every, every@research.umass.edu, 545-5892, for instructions on how to get started.