Division of Ocean Sciences - Fall 1999 Newsletter

FastLane
Working Toward a Paperless Proposal Submission and Review Process

Photograph of Robert Gagosian, Al Gore, and Rita Colwell

(L-R) Director of WHOI Robert Gagosian, Vice President Al Gore, and NSF Director Rita Colwell at the press conference for the release of the National Ocean Report on September 2, 1999 in Boston, MA. Photo by S. Lauzon, WHOI, MA.

Since its inception, the National Science Foundation has dealt with paper copies of the thousands of proposals submitted and reviewed each year. In the interest of streamlining the process, NSF is moving toward a fully-integrated electronic proposal and award system, known as FastLane, that will provide a quick, secure, paperless record and transaction mechanism for all NSF awards, from proposal announcement to award closeout. Rapidly advancing technology is allowing us to break out of traditional modes of doing business and provides the potential for dramatic improvements in efficiency. Although the learning curve is steep, once techniques have been mastered, computer-based business solutions quickly become essential and routine. This will be the case for FastLane in the near future.

In order to make the transition from paper to electronic submissions as smooth as possible, the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) is working with the community and encouraging PIs to submit proposals via FastLane before the required date so that issues may be resolved before such time. In this way, the Division hopes to have learned about and solved many of the problems encountered using the FastLane system, without the immediate pressure of mandatory use (see below). Substantial progress remains to be made if the goal of 100% FastLane submission is to be achieved in a timely way (see Figure 1). In the first nine months of 1999, only 19% of proposals submitted to OCE were received via FastLane. In FY 2001, approximately 1000 more proposals will be submitted through the FastLane system!

Working toward the NSF mandated deadline for electronic submission of all proposals, OCE is still accepting the traditional paper proposal submissions for the usual unsolicited proposal target date of February 15, 2000. However, OCE will require that all proposals for the August 15, 2000 target date be submitted via FastLane. Currently, OCE is requiring all proposals submitted in response to special announcements to be electronically submitted. These requirements are being put in place now to avoid the otherwise inevitable chaos a year from now when paper submission will not be accepted by NSF.

The FastLane system is continuously undergoing enhancements to improve processing, both internally and externally. There are some challenges in its implementation that NSF still faces, but for the majority of the proposals submitted, the system works well. In the future, all proposals going out for review will be electronically distributed to the reviewers, although the schedule of this important transition is as yet undetermined. Until then, the proposals submitted via

 

Graph of OCE Proposal Submissions via FastLane

(L-R) Director of WHOI Robert Gagosian, Vice President Al Gore, and NSF Director Rita Colwell at the Press conference for the release of the National Ocean Report on September 2, 1999 in Boston, MA, Photo by S. Lauzon, WHOI, MA.

FastLane will be printed at NSF. NSF does not support the color printing of FastLane submitted proposals. Proposals containing color images should be submitted via FastLane, but until further notice, it is recommended that the required number of proposals also be submitted in the traditional paper form directly to OCE with the FastLane assigned proposal number on the cover page.

Another challenge for the FastLane system is the submission of collaborative proposals. Until further notice, collaborative proposals should be submitted in the traditional paper form. A method for handling collaborative proposals is being tested, and should be available to the public in the near future.

PIs and administrative staff can practice electronic proposal submission by utilizing the test server NSF set up for internal and external use. The test server is located at http://www.fldev.nsf.gov. This test server has most of the functionality of the FastLane system but allows you to enter data without the risk of accidentally submitting a proposal or the need for a personal identification number (PIN). You can fill in the cover sheet information, upload PDF files, and type budget information into the form provided or upload the budget information using the downloadable Excel spreadsheet. It is an effective way to learn how to use the system, while there is no time pressure of a deadline or target date.

It takes time and patience to work through the FastLane proposal submission process the first time it is attempted, but it does get easier with each submission. Since FastLane gives the PI the ability to create a template of the proposal, future submissions should be less time intensive. FastLane has 'smart form' capability that pulls in all individual and institutional information available in the NSF mainframe database, thereby minimizing the amount of repetitive typing for traditional paper submissions.

The deadlines established by NSF to achieve FastLane implementation:
October 1999 all Annual and Final Project Reporting is required to be performed via FastLane
January 2000 all Postaward Notifications and Requests are expected to be submitted electronically using FastLane
October 2000 NSF and the research community will use FastLane for all major proposal, review, award and other interactions

There is still time to "experiment" with FastLane and alert OCE to difficulties that arise so we can assist PIs and institutions before electronic submission is required Foundation-wide in October 2000. FastLane users needing assistance can contact the FastLane Help Desk by calling (703) 306-1142 or by sending an email to fastlane@nsf.gov. The Division of Ocean Sciences FastLane representative, Kandace Binkley, can be reached at (703) 306-1582 or by sending an email to ocefl@nsf.gov.

This article is one of many steps OCE is taking in order to prepare the community for the changes in the proposal submission process. In addition, the Division will be presenting a poster on FastLane at both the Fall AGU Meeting in San Francisco and the Ocean Sciences Meeting in San Antonio. The Division will keep the community informed to the best of its ability about changes in FastLane over this transition period. This change from paper to electronic submissions will prove to be challenging to both NSF staff and the community, and we ask for the community's cooperation in making this transition.