SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT CHANGES

Foreword

• The listing of NSF Programs identified in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance has been revised to include "Academic Research Facilities and Instrumentation".

Sections I - VII

• References to the Grant Policy Manual (GPM) have been modified throughout document for consistency with the GPM revision dated August 7, 1995.

Descriptions of "Unsolicited Proposals" and "Solicited Proposals" have been incorporated. (Section I.A)

References to Authorized "Institutional" Representative have been changed to "Organizational" for consistency with GPM. (Section I.B)

Text eliminated from GPM regarding eligibility of proposers under joint appointments has been added to the definition of Federal Agencies in GPG. (Section I.C)

• Definitions have been added for target dates and deadline dates. Coverage regarding timeliness of proposals submitted to NSF has been modified for consistency with current practice. (Section I.D)

A description of the NSF FastLane project has been incorporated. (Section I.E)

New Section entitled "Format of the Proposal" has been added. This section consolidates proposal formatting instructions that previously were included in other sections of the document as well as clarifies line spacing requirements. Clarification regarding NSF's proposal page numbering policy also has been provided. (Section II.C)

Reference has been added to the NSF "format acceptance" policy which is described in Chapter IX, Proposal Forms Kit. (Section I.D)

New text has been added to section on "Special Instructions for Single-Copy Documents" to indicate placement and order for use in proposal submission. Order has been modified to place "list of suggested reviewers" as first item. Duplicative list of single-sided documents has been deleted from Section II.C. (Section II.B)

• Coverage has been added to the section on the Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF Form 1207) for the following: (1) treatment of the form since it is double-sided; (2) a reminder that proposers must provide program announcement number, if applicable; and (3) new financial disclosure certification as identified in Important Notice No. 118, Investigator Financial Disclosure Policy. (Section II.D.1)

SF LLL - "Lobbying Disclosure Form" has been deleted from GPG since this form is rarely used. Proposer may obtain copy of form from Policy Office. (Section II.D.1)

• Bibliography - Proposal Section D has been changed to "References Cited" to clarify the intended use of this section of the proposal. (Section II.D.5)

Information has been added to the instructions for Budget preparation including the following: (1) treatment of secretarial/clerical costs (Section II.D.7.a(i)); (2) treatment of proprietary information (moved from Section VII to Section II.D.7.a(iii)); and (3) equipment definition revised consistent with OMB A-110. (Section II.D.7.c)

• NSF policy on travel has been clarified. For purposes of budget preparation, domestic travel includes travel in the U.S., its possessions, Puerto Rico, and travel to Canada and Mexico. (Section II.D.7.d.i)

• Subcontracts coverage has been renamed "Subawards" and coverage has been expanded. (Section II.D.7.f(v))

• Completion of NSF Form 1030 (Line K), Residual Funds, has been clarified. (Section II.D.7)

• Reference to OMB Circular A-110 criteria and procedures in satisfying cost-sharing requirements and consequences of failure to provide cost-sharing amounts have been added. (Section II.D.7)

Title has been changed from "Proposals as Public Record" to "Release of Grantee Proposal Information" and textual coverage regarding labeling of Propriety Data has been moved to Section II.D.7. (Section VII.J)

References have been added for examples in Proposal Section I -- Special Information and Supplementary Documentation section. (Section II.D.10)

• An overall acquisition plan has been added to the list of items to include in an equipment proposal. (Section II.D.12)

A new section has been added for Human Subjects which clarifies NSF policy on use of Human Subjects in research proposals. (Section II.D.12)

"Proposal Processing and Review" section has been expanded to incorporate coverage deleted from GPM and appropriate headings added. (Section III) The award recommendation threshold for NSB review/approval also has been added. (Section III.C)

• "Withdrawals" has been added to the section title; a separate paragraph on proposal "Returns" which clarifies NSF policy on the return of proposals has been incorporated. (Section IV.C)

• Research Opportunity Awards and Research Experiences for Undergraduates Facilitation Awards have been separated into two new sections entitled, Research Opportunity Awards (Section V.H) and Research Experiences for Undergraduates. (Section V.I)

SBIR and STTR descriptions have been updated. (Sections V.K and L)

• GPM has been cited as a source of additional coverage on NSF awards. (Section VII)

• Clarification regarding the request of supplemental funds and merit review requirements has been added. (Section VI)

• Specific contents of the Annual Grant Progress Report (NSF Form 1328) has been deleted since the section now references the form in the Appendix for this information. (Section VI.B.1) Time frames for submission of annual progress reports have been added. (Section VII.G)

Section VIII - Appendices

Appendix B - Checklist for Proposal Preparation - Revised to add the following:

1. Two new boxes added under Cover Sheet; one for Announcement Number and one for identification of Program;

2. Statement about Human Subjects added; and

3. Codes for use of format added.

• Appendix C - Definitions of Categories of Personnel - Clarifies that if more than one PI is listed, the first one will have primary responsibility for the project and the submission and signing of reports.

• Appendix D - Annual NSF Grant Progress Report - (NSF Form 1328) - Revised to require PIs to relate summary of progress to the general goals of the grant. This was required in earlier versions of the NSF Form 1328 but was inadvertently deleted from the version dated 1/94.

• Appendix E - NSF Grant Transfer Request (NSF Form 1263) - Deleted. The form is available in the GPM, on STIS and from the Forms and Publications Unit. Appendix F relabeled as Appendix E.

Appendix G - Disclosure of Lobbying Activities - Deleted. Text in GPG changed to state that Lobbying forms may be obtained from the Policy Office.

Section IX - Proposal Forms Kit

NSF Form 1207 - Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation

1. Page 1: Program Announcement/Solicitation block - proposers must enter the applicable program announcement/ solicitation number, if applicable or GPG.

2. Page 1: Subject matter boxes have been reorganized to more closely follow contents of the GPG, with applicable GPG reference numbers added. Space also has been added which permits proposers to enter IRB and IACUC approval dates, if available, or in the case of human subject proposals, exemptions from coverage under the Common Rule.

3. Page 2: Certification Page - Conflict of Interest certification has been added for Authorized Organizational Representative.

NSF Form 1359 - Table of Contents

1. Form modified to add column for page numbers for proposers who wish to number proposals consecutively

2. Space added under Section C, Project Description, to allow for proposers to insert additional subheadings

NSF Form 1362 - Biographical Sketch - Language has been added to clarify what information is being requested for graduate and post-graduate advisees. (Item D)

NSF Form 1030 - Summary Proposal Budget

1. Amount for permanent equipment changed from $1,000 to $5,000

2. Use of Line K., Residual Funds clarified

3. Reference for Residual Funds changed from GPM to GPG

4. GPM references updated

5. Definition of Equipment updated

6. Mexico added, for purposes of budget preparation, to domestic travel

• NSF Form 1239 - Current and Pending Support - Changes have been made to categories identified on the form to better explain to proposers the information requested from senior project personnel.

All other forms/formats remain substantially the same (i.e., NSF Forms 98A, 1225, 1358, 1360 and 1363)

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