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I. Introduction
A. OVERVIEW
The Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) provides guidance for
the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF. Some NSF programs have program
solicitations that modify the general provisions of this Guide, and, in such cases,
the guidelines provided in the solicitation must be followed. Contact with NSF
program personnel prior to proposal preparation is encouraged.
The Foundation considers proposals submitted by organizations on behalf of
individuals or groups for support in most fields of research. Interdisciplinary
proposals also are eligible for consideration.
NSF does not normally support technical assistance, pilot plant efforts, research
requiring security classification, the development of products for commercial
marketing or market research for a particular project or invention. Research with
disease-related goals, including work on the etiology, diagnosis or treatment
of physical or mental disease, abnormality, or malfunction in human beings or
animals, is normally not supported. Animal models of such conditions or the development
or testing of drugs or other procedures for their treatment also are not eligible
for support. Research in bioengineering, with diagnosis or treatment-related goals,
however, that applies engineering principles to problems in biology and medicine
while advancing engineering knowledge is eligible for support. Bioengineering
research to aid persons with disabilities also is eligible.
The NSF website (https://www.nsf.gov/) provides
the most comprehensive source of information on NSF Directorates (including contact
information), programs and funding opportunities. Use of this website by potential
proposers is strongly encouraged. In addition, the NSF Custom News Service is
an information-delivery system designed to keep potential proposers and other
interested parties apprised of the issuance of new program announcements and solicitations
(as well as other NSF publications and policies) through Internet e-mail or the
user’s Web browser. Subscribers are informed each time new publications are issued
that match their identified interests. The Custom News Service is available on
NSF’s website at https://www.nsf.gov.
Research proposals to the Biological Sciences Directorate (not proposals
for conferences or workshops) cannot be duplicates of proposals to any other Federal
agency for simultaneous consideration. The only exceptions to this rule are: (1)
when the proposers and program managers at relevant Federal agencies have previously
agreed to joint review and possible joint funding of the proposal; or (2) proposals
for PIs who are beginning investigators (individuals who have not been a principal
investigator (PI) 1 or
co-principal investigator (co-PI) on a Federally funded award with the exception
of doctoral dissertation, postdoctoral fellowship or research planning grants).
For proposers who qualify under this latter exception, the box for “Beginning
Investigator” must be checked on the proposal Cover Sheet.
B. THE PROPOSAL
The proposal should present the (1) objectives and scientific or educational
significance of the proposed work; (2) suitability of the methods to be employed;
(3) qualifications of the investigator and the grantee organization; 2
(4) effect of the activity on the infrastructure
of science, engineering and education; and (5) amount of funding required. It
should present the merits of the proposed project clearly and should be prepared
with the care and thoroughness of a paper submitted for publication. Sufficient
information should be provided so that reviewers will be able to evaluate the
proposal in accordance with the two merit review criteria established by the National
Science Board. (See Chapter III.)
NSF expects strict adherence to the rules of proper scholarship and attribution.
The responsibility for proper attribution and citation rests with authors of a
proposal; all parts of the proposal should be prepared with equal care for this
concern. Serious failure to adhere to such standards can result in findings of
misconduct in science. NSF policies and rules on misconduct in science and engineering
are discussed inGrant Policy Manual (GPM) Section 930.
PROPRIETARY OR PRIVILEGED INFORMATION
Patentable ideas, trade secrets, privileged or confidential commercial or
financial information, disclosure of which may harm the proposer, should be included
in proposals only when such information is necessary to convey an understanding
of the proposed project. Such information must be clearly marked in the proposal
and be appropriately labeled with a legend such as,
"The following is (proprietary or confidential) information that (name
of proposing organization) requests not be released to persons outside the Government,
except for purposes of review and evaluation."
Such information also may be included as a separate statement accompanying
page 1 of the proposal Cover Sheet and submitted within 5 working days following
the electronic submission of the proposal to the following address:
National Science Foundation
DIS-FastLane
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
The box for "Proprietary and Privileged Information" must be checked
on the Cover Sheet when the proposal contains such information. While NSF will
make every effort to prevent unauthorized access to such material, the Foundation
is not responsible or in any way liable for the release of such material. (See
also Chapter VI, Section J, "Release of
Grantee Proposal Information.")
C. WHO MAY SUBMIT PROPOSALS
Scientists, engineers and educators usually initiate proposals that are officially
submitted by their employing organization. Before formal submission, the proposal
may be discussed with appropriate NSF program staff. Graduate students are not
encouraged to submit research proposals, but should arrange to serve as research
assistants to faculty members. Some NSF divisions accept proposals for Doctoral
Dissertation Research Grants when submitted by a faculty member on behalf of the
graduate student. The Foundation also provides support specifically for women
and minority scientists and engineers, scientists and engineers with disabilities,
and faculty at primarily undergraduate academic institutions.
CATEGORIES OF PROPOSERS
Except where a program solicitation establishes more restrictive eligibility
criteria, individuals and organizations in the following categories may submit
proposals:
-
Universities and colleges-- US universities and two-and
four-year colleges (including community colleges) acting on behalf of their faculty
members.
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Non-profit, non-academic organizations -- Independent
museums, observatories, research laboratories, professional societies and similar
organizations in the US that are directly associated with educational or research
activities.
-
For-profit organizations -- US commercial organizations, especially
small businesses with strong capabilities in scientific or engineering research
or education. An unsolicited proposal from a commercial organization may be funded
when the project is of special concern from a national point of view, special
resources are available for the work, or the proposed project is especially meritorious.
NSF is interested in supporting projects that couple industrial research resources
and perspectives with those of universities; therefore, it especially welcomes
proposals for cooperative projects involving both universities and the private
commercial sector.
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State and Local Governments -- State educational
offices or organizations and local school districts may submit proposals intended
to broaden the impact, accelerate the pace and increase the effectiveness of improvements
in science, mathematics and engineering education in both K-12 and post-secondary
levels.
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Unaffiliated Individuals -- Scientists, engineers or educators
in the US and US citizens may be eligible for support, provided that the individual
is not employed by, or affiliated with, an organization, and:
-
the proposed project is sufficiently meritorious and otherwise complies with
the conditions of any applicable proposal generating document;
-
the proposer has demonstrated the capability and has access to any necessary
facilities to carry out the project; and
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the proposer agrees to fiscal arrangements, that, in the opinion of the NSF
Division of Grants & Agreements, ensure responsible management of Federal
funds.
Unaffiliated individuals should contact the appropriate program before preparing
a proposal for submission.
-
Foreign organizations -- NSF rarely provides support to foreign
organizations. NSF will consider proposals for cooperative projects involving
US and foreign organizations, provided support is requested only for the US portion
of the collaborative effort.
-
Other Federal agencies -- NSF does not normally support
research or education activities by scientists, engineers or educators employed
by Federal agencies or Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs).
A scientist, engineer or educator, however, who has a joint appointment with a
university and a Federal agency (such as a Veterans Administration Hospital, or
with a university and a FFRDC) may submit proposals through the university and
may receive support if he/she is a bona fide faculty member of the university,
although part of his/her salary may be provided by the Federal agency. Under unusual
circumstances, other Federal agencies and FFRDCs may submit proposals directly
to NSF. Preliminary inquiry should be made to the appropriate program before preparing
a proposal for submission.
D. WHEN TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS
Many NSF programs accept proposals at any time. Other programs, however, establish
target dates 3 ,
deadlines 4 or
submission windows 5
for submission of proposals to allow time for their consideration by review panels
that meet periodically. These target dates, deadlines, and submission windows
are published in specific program announcements and solicitations that can be
obtained from the NSF Clearinghouse at pubs@nsf.gov
or electronically through the NSF website at https://www.nsf.gov.
6 Unless
otherwise stated in a program announcement or solicitation, proposals must be
received by the specified date (and time, where indicated.) If the deadline date
falls on a weekend, it will be extended to the following Monday; if the date falls
on a holiday, it will be extended to the following business day. The deadline
date only will be waived in extenuating circumstances. Inquiry about submission
also may be made to the appropriate program.
Proposers should allow up to six months for programmatic review and processing
(see Chapter III for additional information on the
NSF merit review process). In addition, proposers should be aware that the NSF
Division of Grants and Agreements generally makes awards to academic institutions
within 30 days after the program division makes its recommendation. Grants being
made to organizations that have not received an NSF award within the preceding
two years, or involving special situations (such as coordination with another
Federal agency or a private funding source), cooperative agreements, and other
unusual arrangements may require additional review and processing time. Proposals
that are time sensitive (e.g., conference, group travel, and research involving
ephemeral phenomena) only will be accepted for review if, in the opinion of the
cognizant Program Officer, they are received in sufficient time to permit appropriate
NSF review and processing to support an award in advance of the activity to be
supported. Every effort is made to reach a decision and inform the proposer promptly.
Until an award is made, NSF is not responsible for any costs incurred by the proposing
organization.
E. HOW TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS
1. Electronic Requirements
In order to provide better service to its customer communities, and to achieve
significantly greater efficiencies in proposal handling and internal record-keeping,
the National Science Foundation is rapidly moving toward all-electronic business
practices. To accomplish this goal, in September 1998, the NSF Director issued
Important Notice 123, Working Towards a Paperless Proposal and Award System
(https://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/
getpub?iin123). Important Notice 123 describes NSF’s vision for the future
in electronic business and outlines the schedule for implementation. As stipulated
in this Notice, effective October 1, 2000, ALL proposals to NSF must be
submitted electronically via the NSF FastLane system. 7
For proposers who cannot submit electronically,
a deviation must be approved in advance of submission of the paper proposal in
accordance with GPG Chapter II, Section A.
Upon receipt of the proposal by NSF, proposals are generally converted to
hard copy for distribution to the reviewer community. The rationale for this step
is that the wide variance of equipment available to reviewers may not, at this
time, assure that an all-electronic review process would be successful or totally
fair to proposers. In the near future, NSF envisions that it will be possible
to avoid this printing step and send proposals out for review solely by electronic
means.
Special Instructions for Proposals That Contain High Resolution
Graphics or Other Graphics Where Exact Color Representations are Required for
Proper Interpretation by the Reviewer
For cost and technical reasons, the Foundation cannot, at this time, reproduce
proposals containing color. Therefore, PIs generally should not rely on colorized
objects to make their arguments. PIs who must include in their project descriptions
very high resolution graphics or other graphics where exact color representations
are required for proper interpretation by the reviewer, must submit the required
number of copies of the entire paper proposal, including a paper copy of
page 1 of the proposal Cover Sheet, for use in the review process. This submission
is in addition to, not in lieu of, the electronic submission of the proposal via
FastLane.
Upon submission of the proposal, the proposing organization will be notified
of the required number of paper copies of the proposal that must be submitted
to NSF. The exact number of copies required will appear in an electronic message
at the time of FastLane submission and will depend on the NSF Division selected.
8 Such proposals must be postmarked
(or provide a legible proof of mailing date assigned by the carrier) within five
working days following the electronic submission of the proposal.
Unless the proposal contains very high resolution graphics or other graphics
where exact color representations are critical to the review of the proposal,
proposers should not send in paper copies.
2. Submission Instructions
A proposal needs to be submitted only once to NSF, even if the proposer envisions
review by multiple programs. The submission of duplicate or substantially similar
proposals concurrently for review by more than one program without prior NSF approval
may result in the return of the redundant proposals. (See Chapter
IV, Section B for further information on proposal return.)
In submission of a proposal for funding, the Authorized Organizational Representative
(AOR)9
is required to provide certain proposal certifications. (See Chapter
II, Section C for listing.) This process can concurrently occur with submission
of the proposal for those organizations where the individual authorized to submit
a proposal to NSF also is a designated AOR, or as a separate function for those
organizations that choose to keep the certification process separate from the
submission function. For those organizations that designate separate authorities
in FastLane for these functions, the AOR must provide the required certifications
within 5 working days following the electronic submission of the proposal.
Further instructions for this process are available on the FastLane website
at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov.
A proposal may not be processed until NSF has received the complete proposal
(including the electronic certifications from the AOR.)
3. Acknowledgement of Proposal Receipt
The acknowledgement of the receipt of the proposal will reference both the
NSF proposal number and the cognizant NSF program to which the proposal has been
assigned. Once the proposal is submitted, PIs can access the proposal number via
the “View Submitted Proposal” list in the FastLane Proposal Preparation module.
If a proposal acknowledgement is not received or proposal number is not reflected
in the FastLane System, contact the FastLane Help Desk at (800) 673-6188, or (703)
292-8142 or by e-mail to fastlane@nsf.gov.
When the proposal is assigned to an NSF program, the cognizant program information
is available through the FastLane “Proposal Status Inquiry” function for PIs and
through the “Recent Proposals” report for sponsored projects offices. Communications
about the proposal should be addressed to the cognizant Program Officer with reference
to the proposal number. Proposers are strongly encouraged to use FastLane to verify
the status of their submission to NSF.
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