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Overall Document -- Minor editorial changes have been
made throughout the document to either clarify or enhance the intended
meaning of a sentence or section. This version of theGrant Proposal
Guide (GPG) fully implements Important Notice 123. In accordance
with this change, Appendix A of the previous GPG, the Proposal
Forms Kit and any references to them have been removed.
References to the use of the NSF website to obtain information regarding
NSF programs and funding opportunities have been added. In addition,
given the installation of a new phone system at the Foundation, all
of the effected phone numbers throughout the document have been updated
with the correct information.
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Foreword -- The first two paragraphs,
that related to paper-based approaches, have been removed.
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Chapter I
-- Section A, Overview, has been condensed
and detailed references to unsolicited and solicited proposals have
been eliminated. In addition, the paragraph on proper scholarship
and attribution in NSF proposals has been moved to Section B to improve
the flow of the document.
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Chapter I
-- Section C, NSF FastLane System, has
been removed now that references to FastLane are incorporated throughout
the document.
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Chapter I
-- Section D, When to Submit Proposals,
has a new term relating to submission of proposals. In addition to
target dates and deadline dates, NSF also utilizes submission windows.
Submission windows are designated periods of time during which proposals
will be accepted for review by NSF.
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Chapter I
-- Section E, How to Submit Proposals,
has been revised to be consistent with Important Notice 123. New instructions
have been added for proposals that contain high resolution or other
graphics where exact color representations are required for proper
interpretation by the reviewers. When a proposal that contains graphics
is submitted, FastLane will notify the proposer of how many color
copies will need to be sent to NSF within five working days following
electronic submission of the proposal. Submission of the paper copies
is in addition to, not in lieu of, submission of the proposal via
FastLane.
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Chapter II
-- Section B.2, Proposal Margin and Spacing Requirements,
has had language added to clarify NSF’s intent for margins and spacing
in the proposal. The guidelines in the GPG establish the minimum requirements,
but PI’s are advised that readability is of paramount importance and
should be seriously considered when choosing which font size to use.
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Chapter II
-- Section C, Sections of the Proposal,
references the pilots that NSF is conducting regarding the use of
electronic signatures. Further, all specialized proposal preparation
guidelines (such as for collaborative, equipment or conference proposals)
have been incorporated into this section of the GPG.
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Chapter II
--Section C.3, Project Description, has
been supplemented with language to specify that Project Descriptions
must be submitted as PDF files. The section also has been updated
with language to highlight the importance of ensuring that, in addition
to the criterion relating to intellectual merit, the criterion relating
to broader impacts is considered and addressed in the preparation
and review of proposals submitted to NSF. In addition, the Group Proposals
section has been updated to provide a more descriptive definition
of a group proposal as well as to provide important information regarding
page limitations for group proposals. Previously, this information
was contained in a footnote.
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Chapter II
-- Section C.6, Budget, consolidates
all of the instructions for the creation of a proposal budget now
that the paper-based NSF Form 1030 has been eliminated.
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Chapter II
-- Section C.6.a.(iii), Confidential Budgetary
Information, has been supplemented with instructions on how
to submit the confidential salary information to NSF. Such information
must be submitted to NSF in an itemized statement with the signed
Cover Sheet. Only one copy of this statement is required.
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Chapter II
-- Section C.7, Current and Pending Support,
has been updated to include foreign government agencies and public
foundations in the list of sources of support that must be listed.
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Chapter II
-- Section C.11.a, Small Grants for Exploratory
Research (SGER), continues the supplementation and extension
process for SGER awards that was previously scheduled to expire October
1, 2000.
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Chapter III
-- Section A, Review Criteria, has been
supplemented with language that highlights Important Notice 125. This
Notice reminds proposers of the importance of ensuring that the criterion
relating to broader impacts is considered and addressed in the preparation
and review of proposals submitted to NSF, in addition to the criterion
relating to Intellectual Merit. NSF staff will continue to ensure
that this criterion is taken into consideration when making funding
decisions. Given the importance of both criteria, the designations
“Criterion 1” and “Criterion 2” have been removed to help eliminate
the perception that one criterion may be more important than the other.
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Chapter III
-- Section C, Revisions to Proposals made during
the Review Process, has been updated to inform proposers that
all budgetary revisions made during the review process must be submitted
electronically via FastLane.
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Chapter IV
-- Section B, Returns, has been supplemented
to state that if proposals are not submitted electronically, they
can be returned and not considered for review by NSF, unless a deviation
has been authorized in advance of the paper submission.
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Chapter V (of GPG 00-2) -- Special
Programs, no longer exists. Some of the information
on programs such as Doctoral Dissertation Research and International
Travel Grants has been moved to Chapter II.C.11, Special Guidelines,
to consolidate that material into one section for ease of use and
readability. Information on the other special programs listed in the
previous Chapter V is available on the NSF website.
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Chapter V
-- Section B.2, Renewal Proposals, has
been clarified to state that both traditional renewals and accomplishment-based
renewals must be submitted electronically via FastLane.
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Chapter V
-- Section B.4, Supplemental Funding,
has been revised to state that requests for supplemental funding may
be initiated via the FastLane Notification and Request module. In
the future, a supplemental funding request option will be available
in FastLane and an addendum to the GPG describing the process may
be issued at that time.
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Chapter V
-- Section C, No-Cost Extensions, has
been updated to reflect that all no-cost extensions, both grantee-authorized
and NSF-approved, must now be submitted via FastLane.
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Chapter VI
-- Section B, Prior Approval Requirements,
has been updated to specify that, with the exception of: Change of
PI; Transfer of a Significant Portion of the Project Effort (Subaward);
PI Transfer; and Requests for Supplemental Funding; all requests for
prior approval to NSF must be submitted electronically via FastLane.
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Chapter VI
-- Section G.2, Quarterly and Final
Expenditure Reports, has been updated to reflect that all
Federal Cash Transaction Reports (SF 272) must be submitted
electronically via the Business Office functions in FastLane.
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Appendix A -- Programs Providing Support for Scientific
and Engineering Research and Education and Appendix B -- Checklist
for Proposal Preparation (of GPG 00-2), have been removed.
Up-to-date information on Foundation programs can be found on the
NSF website. Given that proposals only will be accepted via FastLane,
the need to have a checklist of paper forms to be submitted is now
obsolete.
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The Proposal Forms Kit
also has been eliminated due to the fact that proposals now
must be submitted electronically and therefore, paper forms are no
longer necessary. The Cover Sheet for Proposal
to the National Science Foundation
(NSF Form 1207, Pages 1 and 2) as well as all other NSF proposal
formats can be electronically generated via the NSF FastLane System.
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Appendix A
-- Drug-Free Workplace Certification,
is being added as an appendix to the GPG. Previously, the certification
was part of the instruction sheet that accompanied the Cover Sheet
for Proposal to the National Science
Foundation in the Proposal Forms Kit.
The Cover Sheet can be electronically generated
via FastLane. We have included the full text of the certification
as Appendix A of this GPG.
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Appendix B
-- Definitions of Categories
of Personnel, used to be Appendix
C in the prior GPG. This appendix provides definitions of the personnel
categories listed on the proposal budget.