\'grants.gov\' on Macs

Following reports of the new Mac-incompatible grants.gov electronic service, the University of Wisconsin has released a standalone package for using Grants.gov on Mac OS X as a service to the community. The package uses Citrix client software and a special settings file to access the central Citrix server provided by Grants.gov, allowing users to access and use the PureEdge software via a remote Windows machine running Citrix server software. The Grants.gov system is designed to replace paper applications with electronic forms and is being phased in at the National Institutes of Health, Department of Housing and Urban Development and other federal agencies--with all 26 grant-giving agencies expected to implement the new system by 2007. The report cited many problems that Mac users were having trying either Virtual PC or other workarounds.

IBM, which purchased the PureEdge software package--now rebranded IBM Workplace Forms--plans to add Mac support by November of 2006 and Grants.gov said that such a solution could be in place by Spring of next year. In the interim, Grants.gov, in conjunction with NIH, has created a Citrix server solution that allows Mac OS X users to complete their application packages using Mac OS X.

The University of Wisconsin has created a single preconfigured package for Mac OS X users to access this solution. This is provided as a service to the community and said it could not provide support for this solution.

by MacNN Staff