Division of Ocean Sciences - Spring 2000 Newsletter

FastLane Proposal Submission and Review System Update

As the National Science Foundation mandated deadline of October 1, 2000 for the research community to use FastLane for all major proposal, review, award, and other interactions fast approaches, the Division of Ocean Sciences (OCE) is encouraged by the recent FastLane proposal submission results. In the first six months of fiscal year 2000, OCE received a total of 785 proposals of which 44% (351) were submitted via FastLane. This is a substantial increase over the 19% (254) of proposals submitted electronically in all of fiscal year 1999. Although the ocean sciences community must be commended for making such strides, we still have a long way to go. OCE is still well under the average for the Foundation of 77%.

Some of the difference can be attributed to OCE's recommendation that collaborative proposals not be submitted via FastLane for the February 15, 2000 target date and the concern from the community that color is not printed by NSF.

OCE requires all proposals (including collaborative proposals) for the August 15, 2000 target date to be submitted via FastLane. Collaborative proposals, in which there is simultaneous submission of proposals from different institutions, with each institution requesting a separate award, must be submitted as follows: The lead institution submission will include a cover sheet, project summary, project description, references cited, biographical sketches, budgets and budget justification, current and pending support, and facilities, equipment and other resources for their institution. Non-lead institution submissions will include all of the above for their institution except the project summary, project description, and references cited (Grant Proposal Guide NSF 00-2 Chapter II.D.12.b).

We strongly encourage you to take some time to learn how to use the system before the target date. Should you run into any difficulties, contact numbers for each of the Division's FastLane representative can be found on the FastLane webpage at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. In addition, the FastLane Helpdesk can be reached by calling 1-(800) 673-6188 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.

A number of technical issues have surfaced with the use of FastLane. Here are some hints that may help with future submissions.

Proposal Preparation System

  1. Fonts - One of the major issues for OCE has been the use of Type 3 and computer modern fonts by TeX and LaTeX users. Type 3 fonts can be difficult to read on screen since most systems other than those of TeX and Latex users do not have Type 3 fonts, and often they cause printing problems for NSF's proposal printing unit.

    NSF recently revised the Hints and Pointers for Creating a PDF file. The new instructions can be found at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.htm. The instructions have been broken down by type of operating system and the type and version of software being used to create PDF files. There are also specific instructions for TeX and Latex users at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.htm#DVIPS. In addition, the Abobe webpage has a paper by Kendall Whitehouse called "Creating quality PDF files from TeX with DVIPS" at http://www.adobe.com/support/techdocs/543e.htm which contains a lot of useful information including where to find Type 1 versions of fonts.

  2. It is very important that before the proposal is submitted you view/print the entire proposal using the "Print Entire Proposal" button in FastLane. Some problems do not show up when you just view/print one section at a time. If you notice a problem viewing/printing a proposal after submission, please do not submit a second copy of the proposal via FastLane. Contact Kandace Binkley and she will work with you to fix the problem.

Annual and Final Progress Reports

Please submit all annual and final progress reports via FastLane prior to the deadline.

  1. You cannot submit more than one annual report for a reporting period. As you navigate to the annual progress report section, verify that the beginning and end dates in the boxes are for the correct reporting period.

  2. Once you have completed your progress report and you press the submit button, the report has not yet been submitted. The next screen that appears has a check box certifying that the information is correct. This must be checked before the system will allow the report to be submitted.

Notifications and Requests

  1. As described in the Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 00-2), to submit supplemental funding requests via FastLane, PIs should select the "Other" Request Option in the Notifications and Requests section of FastLane, provide the requested information, and then forward it to their Sponsored Projects Office (or equivalent) upon completion. Upon review and concurrence, the authorized organizational official will then submit the request to NSF for approval. A paper copy of the NSF Form 1030 (Summary Proposal Budget Form) signed by both the PI and Authorized Organizational Representative should be forwarded to NSF and postmarked within five working days following submission of the supplemental funding request. Please do not submit a supplemental funding request as a proposal in the Proposal Preparation Section of FastLane.