The principal purpose of this revision is to incorporate the revised NSF merit review criteria which were disseminated by NSF Important Notice No. 121, New Criteria for NSF Proposals, dated July 10, 1997. (See GPG Chapter III.) Other sections have been revised, as appropriate, for clarity as well as to make the Guide consistent with current NSF policies, practices and procedures. A summary of significant changes is included on page (iii) of the GPG.

 As stated in Important Notice 121, the new merit review criteria for reviewing proposals will be effective for proposals submitted on or after October 1, 1997. For consistency with this requirement, this version of the GPG also will be effective October 1, 1997. After October 1, 1997, the previous version of the GPG should be discarded.

 The complete text of the GPG (as well as other NSF policy documents) is available electronically on NSF's home page at www.nsf.gov. In the near future, the GPG (including all forms) also will be available on the NSF home page in both Microsoft Word and HTML formats.

 Please address any questions or comments about the GPG to the Division of Contracts, Policy & Oversight, Policy Office, on 703-306-1243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov.

Joseph L. Kull

Chief Financial Officer