V. The Award and Continued Support
A. STANDARD AND CONTINUING GRANTS
NSF awards two types of grants:
Standard Grants, in which NSF agrees to provide a specific level
of support for a specified period of time with no statement of NSF intent
to provide additional future support without submission of another proposal,
and
Continuing Grants, in which NSF agrees to provide a specific
level of support for an initial specified period of time, usually a year,
with a statement of intent to provide additional support of the project
for additional periods, provided funds are available and the results achieved
warrant further support.
Notification of an NSF grant is by a letter signed by an NSF Grants Officer,
and transmitted to the organizations via e-mail. An NSF grant consists
of:
- the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable
to the grant and any numbered amendments thereto;
- the budget, that indicates the amounts, by categories of expense,
on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific
approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures);
- the proposal referenced in the award letter;
- the applicable grant conditions29
, such as Grant
General Conditions (NSF GC-1) or Federal
Demonstration Partnership (FDP) Terms and Conditions; and
- any NSF brochure, program guide, solicitation or other NSF issuance
that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. NSF transmits
grants to organizations via e-mail.
In addition to the e-mail notification, grantees can access NSF award
letters in FastLane. Sponsored projects offices are able to view, print
and/or download NSF award letters for their organizations.
Effective/Expiration Dates and Preaward Costs.The
grant period begins on the effective date specified in the award letter
or, in its absence, the date of the award letter and runs until the expiration
date indicated. Expenditures incurred within the 90-day period preceding
the effective date of the grant may be authorized by the grantee organization.
Such expenditures, however, are made at the grantee’s risk. Expenditures
after the scheduled expiration date of the grant only may be made to honor
documented commitments made on or before the expiration date. PIs should
consult their business offices for details.
B. ADDITIONAL SUPPORT
1. Incremental Funding
Incremental funding for continuing grants within the total duration
of the project is based on NSF review of project reports and does not
require submission of a new proposal. NSF must receive an annual project
report for each increment of funding at least three months prior to the
end of the current funding period. See Chapter
VI, Section G.1. for information on NSF’s electronic reporting system.
2. Renewal Proposals
Renewal proposals are requests for additional funding for a support
period subsequent to that provided by a standard or continuing grant.
Renewal proposals compete with all other pending proposals and must be
submitted at least six months before additional funding is required or
consistent with an established deadline, target date or submission window.
In preparing a renewal proposal, proposers should assume that reviewers
will not have access to previous proposals.
All proposals for renewed support of research projects, from academic
institutions only,must include information on human resources
development at the postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate levels as
part of Results from Prior NSF Support. 30
This may involve, but is not limited to, the role of research
in student training, course preparation and seminars (particularly for
undergraduates). Special accomplishments in the development of professional
scientists and engineers from underrepresented groups should be described.
Graduate students who participated in the research should be identified
by name. This requirement does not apply to non-academic organizations.
PIs are encouraged to discuss renewal proposals with the Program prior
to submission of a proposal. Unless precluded by individual program requirements,
PIs can choose either of the following two formats for preparation of
a renewal proposal. Both types of renewal proposals must be submitted
electronically via the NSF FastLane system.
-
Traditional Renewal. The “traditional”
renewal proposal is developed as fully as though the proposer were
applying for the first time. It covers all the information required
in a proposal for a new project, including results from the prior
work. The 15-page limitation on the project description applies.
-
Accomplishment-Based Renewal. In
an "Accomplishment-Based Renewal" (ABR) proposal, the Project Description
(including the Results from Prior NSF Support) is replaced with the
following items:
-
copies of no more than six reprints 31
of publications resulting from the research supported by NSF (including
research supported by other sources that is closely related to the
NSF-supported research) during the preceding three to five year
period. Of the six publications, two preprints (accepted for publication)
may be included;
-
information on human resources development at the postdoctoral,
graduate and undergraduate levels; and
-
a brief summary (not to exceed four pages) of plans for the proposed
support period.
All other information required for NSF proposal submission remains the
same.
It must be clearly indicated in the proposal that it is an ABR submission
and the box for "Accomplishment-Based Renewal" must be checked on the
proposal Cover Sheet. ABR proposals may not be submitted for consecutive
renewals.
3. Two-Year Extensions for Special Creativity
A Program Officer may recommend the extension of funding for certain
research grants beyond the initial period for which the grant was awarded
for a period of up to two years. The objectiveof such extensions is to
offer the most creative investigators an extended opportunity to attack
adventurous, “high-risk” opportunities in the same general research area,
but not necessarily covered by the original/current proposal. Awards eligible
for such an extension are generally three-year continuing grants. Special
Creativity Extensions are initiated by the NSF Program Officer based on
progress during the first two years of a three-year grant; PIs will be
informed of such action a year in advance of the expiration of the grant.
4. Supplemental Funding
In unusual circumstances, small amounts of supplemental funding and up
to six months of additional support may be requested to assure adequate
completion of the original scope of work. The grantee must submit a request
for supplemental funding to the cognizant NSF Program Officer at least
two months before funds are needed.
Requests for supplemental funding may be initiated in the FastLane system
by using the "Supplemental Funding Request" function.32
Such requests must include a summary
of the proposed work, a brief justification, and a budget for the requested
funds.
Note: A signed paper copy of the supplemental funding request
budget is no longer required to be submitted to NSF because all necessary
certifications are provided at the time of submission of the supplemental
funding request.
Program Officers may make decisions regarding whether or not to recommend
a small supplement without merit review of the supplemental request. Requests
for larger supplements, or for more than six months, may require additional
merit review. Supplemental funding requests will not be approved for such
purposes as defraying costs associated with increases in salaries or additional
indirect cost reimbursement. Grantees should contact the cognizant Program
Officer prior to submitting a request for supplemental funding.
C. NO-COST EXTENSIONS
1. Grantee-Authorized Extension
Grantees may authorize a one-time extension of the expiration date of
the grant of up to 12 months if additional time beyond the established
expiration date is required to assure adequate completion of the original
scope of work within the funds already made available. This one-time extension
may not be exercised merely for the purpose of using the unliquidated
balances. The grantee shall notify NSF, providing supporting reasons for
the extension and the revised expiration date, at least ten days prior
to the expiration date specified in the grant to ensure accuracy of NSF’s
grant data. All grantee-authorized extension notifications must be submitted
via the FastLane system. For grantee authorized extensions, no amendment
will be issued.
2. NSF-Approved Extension
If additional time beyond the extension provided by the grantee is required
and exceptional circumstances warrant, a formal request must be submitted
to NSF. The request must be submitted to NSF at least 45 days prior to
the expiration date of the grant. The request must explain the need for
the extension and include an estimate of the unobligated funds remaining
and a plan for their use. As indicated above, that unobligated funds may
remain at the expiration of the grant is not in itself sufficient justification
for an extension. The plan must adhere to the previously approved
objectives of the project. All requests for NSF-approved extensions must
be submitted via the FastLane system. Any NSF-approved no-cost extension
will be issued by an NSF Grants Officer in the form of an amendment to
the grant specifying a new expiration date. Grantees are cautioned not
to make new commitments or incur new expenditures after the expiration
date in anticipation of a no-cost extension.
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