National Science Foundation (NSF) Contents: What's New Proposal Guidance Budget Guidelines Compliance Award Guidance Subawards Prior Approvals Reporting Effort Reporting / Cost Share Record Retention Sponsor Resources Forms and Templates Archives What's New See other updates in the Archives section located at the bottom of this page. See NSF Policy Office Link for Most Recent Policy News: nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/index.jsp. Posted 2-8-2024: NSF PAPPG 24-1 Released The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 24-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after May 20, 2024. For more details, go to the general OSP summary of the new PAPPG. NSF will present information about these changes in a webinar on March 12th at 2 PM EST. Sign up on the Policy Office outreach website to be notified once registration opens Top PAPPG 24-1 Proposal Topics List: Guidance for budgeting a foreign organization (subaward) or foreign individual (consultant); guidance provided for excluding individuals who are a party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program; Biographical Sketch – form page limit has been removed; Synergistic Activities disclosure now submitted as part of the Senior/Key personnel documents; Senior/key personnel must prepare, save, certify, and submit Current and Pending (Other) SciENcv Support form as part of their proposal via Research.gov; Updates to allow proposal documents in landscape format; Proposals are reviewed for both their scientific and computational/data needs, as well as readiness to utilize Advanced Computing, Data, and Analysis Capabilities resources when applicable; Program Suitability and Proposal Concept Tool (ProSPCT) guidelines updated for when use of the NSF tool is required for proposal submissions; IRB, Non-Discrimination and Other Statutes & Regulations – guidance for implementing E.O. orders for “Environmental Justice for All" and “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency”; NSF's “Sexual Harassment, Other Forms of Harassment, or Sexual Assault" policies; and defining Scientific Integrity. Posted 8-22-2023: Fastlane Decommissioning and Other System-Related Deadlines Please see the NSF notice below; importantly, the download recommendation* before 9/29/23 for any submissions that were done in Fastlane. These proposals/letter-of-intent/supplemental funding requests will not be available in the future once Fastlane.gov has been turned off. This also applies to in-progress items. FastLane Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time) is the last day to submit proposal file updates and budget revisions in FastLane, withdraw FastLane submitted proposals, and withdraw supplemental funding requests submitted in FastLane. *Friday, September 29, 2023 (11:00 PM Eastern Time) is the last day to access letters of intent, proposals, and supplemental funding requests that were prepared or submitted in Fastlane - includes transactions in an in-progress status. See the FastLane Decommissioning page and Instructions to Access and Download/Print FastLane Letters of Intent, Proposals and Supplemental Funding Requests for details. Research.gov Friday, October 20, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time) is the last day the NSF fillable PDF format may be used for the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents. After Friday, October 20, 2023 proposers must use SciENcv to complete the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents. Please see the NSF Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support websites for more information. Questions? If you have NSF system-related questions, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 (7:00 AM – 9:00 PM ET; Monday – Friday except federal holidays) or via rgov@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions can be directed to policy@nsf.gov or your OSP Proposal Team. Posted 11-17-2022: NSF PAPPG 23-1 Released The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 23-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after January 30, 2023. For more details, go to the general OSP summary of the new PAPPG. Top PAPPG 23-1 Topics List: 1/27/23 is the last day to submit new proposals in FastLane; NSF has developed a Broad Agency Announcement & Management system (BAA & BAAM); New ProSPCT Concept Tool; Required use of SciENcv for the preparation of these documents begins in October 2023; New Off-Campus/Off-Site Research Checkbox; Safe & Inclusive Off-Campus/Site Research plan by PI; Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) training requirements. Posted 10-13-2021: Here are links to a recent video explaining how to use Research.Gov, a Research.Gov summary and use guide, and the Research.Gov demo website. Just a reminder that NSF is targeting to have all proposal preparation and submission functionality converted from FastLane to Research.gov by December 31, 2022. Research.Gov Recent Proposal Introduction & Creation Demonstration (Streamed live on Oct 8, 2021) View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7apVjEBbB8#t=5m54s Presented by Stephanie Yee NSF Office of Information & Resource Management syee@nsf.gov Research.Gov – Summary and Guide https://web.demo.research.gov/proposalprep/#/proposal-prep Welcome to the Proposal Preparation Demo Site The demo site is available to explore preparing proposals in Research.gov! All proposal types available on the Research.gov Proposal Submission System are available on the demo site. View the Research.gov Proposal Submission Capabilities for details. REMINDER: Required use of Research.Gov for some Program Proposals - NSF has a 2022 target date to incrementally switch submission of all proposals to the Research.gov system. Applicable funding opportunities will clearly specify if the use of Research.gov is mandatory. Many of the items listed below are automatically checked in the Research.Gov application development processes. Posted 9-1-2021: NSF PAPPG 22-1 Released The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 22-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after October 4, 2021. For more details, go to the general OSP summary of the new PAPPG. Top PAPPG 22-1 Topics List: NEW SECTION - Requests for Reasonable and Accessibility Systems Usability Accommodations; Biographical Sketches; Current and Pending Support Updates; Home Office Workspace Not Reimbursable; Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; Career-Life Balance (CLB) Supplemental Funding Request; Travel Proposal Written Code of Conduct Policy Addressing Harassment; Program Income Reporting Requirements; Grant Closeout Reporting Requirements Posted 3-25-2021: NSF Research.gov Update Try out the NSF Research.gov Demo Site Three additional proposal types can now be submitted in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research.gov Proposal Submission System Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) Equipment Travel proposal types Web link for Research.gov Why is this important to the user? New automated compliance checks and associated error and warning messages for these proposal types have been implemented. Web link for auto compliance checks New NSF Research.gov FAQ training resources: New and updated system-related FAQs by topic are available on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page (left navigation menu). Web link to the About Proposal Preparation and Submission page New NSF Research.gov Video training resource: A new 16-minute Research.gov proposal demo video has been added. The video highlights key proposal preparation steps including: Setting up a proposal Uploading a document and compliance messaging Preparing Proposal File Update/Budget Revisions Web link to the new Research.gov proposal demo video Proposal Guidance Guidance on the requirements of your NSF proposal will be in the solicitation and further details on proposal guidelines can be found in the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG, https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf20001) on the NSF website. Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals (webpage includes a helpful FAQ document). Proposal Tips Please see OSP’s NSF Proposal Checklist for additional detailed proposal requirements. Following is a list of some NSF proposal requirements (note, this is not a comprehensive list): Fastlane submissions - page numbers must be added prior to uploading files (Research.gov automatically paginates) Proposal font, spacing and margin requirements – use of small font sizes may be grounds for NSF to return the proposal without review Project Summary – no more than 1 page in length Collaborators and Other Affiliations – use the COA template provided by NSF Project Description must include sections labeled “Broader Impacts” and “Results from Prior NSF Support” Biographical Sketch is limited to three pages Budget Justification – limited to five (5) pages; include MSU’s definition of the term “year”, sample language can be found here; specify total indirect cost amount Current and Pending Support forms are required for all Senior Personnel included in the proposal. For additional information on completing Current and Pending Support forms, see the Current and Pending/Other Support Requirements by Sponsor webpage. Submission System NSF proposals are prepared and submitted using the Fastlane submission system. Obtaining an NSF ID (access to NSF Fastlane and Research.gov) To obtain a new NSF Fastlane and Research.gov account or add a new role, users now register themselves by following the steps outlined in the detailed registration process. Department Administrators should only request the Other Authorized User (OAU) role Faculty should request an Investigator role To affiliate an existing Fastlane account with MSU, users can add roles at a new organization to their existing NSF account. See Working at Multiple Organizations or Moving to Another Organization in the registration process. NOTE: Organizational or Financial roles will not be authorized for most users. Preparing the Proposal in Fastlane Once logged into Fastlane or Research.gov the preparer will choose “Proposals, Awards & Status”, then “Proposal Functions” and then “Proposal Preparation”. Proposers may upload files in Word, Excel, or PDF into the various sections of the proposal or use the FastLane templates. Some sections require the use of web templates within Fastlane. For example, the budget template calculates and formats your information to the standard NSF budget page (Form 1030), and the Current and Pending template formats your data to the standard NSF Current and Pending page. For detailed information about how to build your proposal in Fastlane, please follow this link to the Fastlane Help document. Budget Guidelines The budget justification must be no more than five pages (each subaward would also have their own five page limitation). Please review the NSF program solicitation for any additional budgeting requirements. See the PAPPG for NSF specific budget guidelines. Personnel Salary Salaries requested must be consistent with the organization’s regular practices The names of the PI(s), faculty, and other senior personnel and the estimated number of full-time-equivalent person-months for which NSF funding is requested, and the total amount of salaries requested per year must be listed. Senior Personnel NSF generally limits salary compensation requested in the proposal budget for senior personnel to no more than two months of their regular salary in any one year. Any compensation for such personnel in excess of two months annually from all NSF projects must be disclosed in the proposal budget, justified in the budget justification, and must be specifically approved by NSF in the award notice budget. NSF regards research as one of the normal functions of faculty members at institutions of higher education. NSF believes that faculty’s regular departmental salary support includes research and other sponsored-supported activities. In the budget A corresponding salary amount must be entered on the budget if person months will be requested for senior personnel. Senior personnel (except for the lead PI) should be removed from Section A of the budget if salary and person months are not being requested. In the budget justification Spell out the term “year” in the budget justification using the annual project periods Example justification language: “A. Senior Personnel - PI: CJ Bunt, University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University salary support is requested for 1 summer month of effort and 1 academic months in each year of the grant.” Postdoctoral Associates and Other Professionals The total number of persons for each position must be listed, with the number of full-time-equivalent person-months and total amount of salaries requested per year. Graduate and Undergraduate Students, Technical, etc. Provide only the total number of persons and total amount of salaries requested per year in each category. Administrative/Secretarial/Clerical Provide the total number of persons and total amount of salaries requested per year. In the budget justification address why administrative or clerical services are integral to the project or activity. These services are usually considered part of the recovered F&A (see link for more information) when incurred for common or joint objectives that cannot be readily identified to a particular sponsored project. Equipment Special purpose or scientific use computers or associated hardware and software may be requested as items of equipment when necessary to accomplish the project objectives and not otherwise reasonably available. Such items must be clearly disclosed in the proposal budget and justified in the budget justification. General purpose equipment are usually not an allowable expense. Participant Support Costs Participant Support Costs are for the primary purpose of attendance at a conference or training event for learning and receiving training as a participant. Participant support costs must be specified, itemized and justified in the budget justification. Includes stipends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances, and registration fees paid to or on behalf of participants or trainees (but not employees). Any additional categories (such as incentives, gifts, souvenirs, t-shirts and memorabilia), must be justified in the budget justification, and such costs will be closely scrutinized by NSF. The number of participants to be supported must be entered in the parentheses on the proposal budget. Budget the participants based on the type and duration of the activity, for a reasonable amount, in conformance with the policy of the proposing organization and limited to the days of attendance at the conference plus the actual travel time required to reach the conference location. Where meals or lodgings are furnished without charge or at a nominal cost (e.g., as part of the registration fee), the per diem or subsistence allowance should be correspondingly reduced. Although local participants may participate in conference meals and coffee breaks, funds may not be proposed to pay per diem or similar expenses. Costs other than PSC - If the primary purpose of an individual attending the conference or training event is to speak or assist with management of the conference, then such costs should be budgeted in appropriate categories other than participant support. Funds may not be used to cover room rental fees, catering costs, supplies, etc. Incentive payments to human research subjects are not considered PSC. Travel Travel and its relation to the proposed activities must be specified, itemized and justified by destination and cost. Allowance for air travel normally will not exceed the cost of round-trip, economy airfares. Travel costs including meal and hotel expenses of grantee employees who are not on travel status are unallowable. For international travel, provide the names of countries and dates of visit in the budget justification. Domestic travel includes U.S., Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and U.S. Possessions. Funds may be requested for field work, attendance at meetings and conferences, and other travel associated with the proposed work, including subsistence. However, attendance at meetings or conferences must be necessary to accomplish proposal objectives or disseminate research results. Other Direct Costs Conference Proposal See the PAPPG for specific guidance. Consultant Services (Also referred to as Professional Service Costs) Services must be justified and information furnished on each individual’s expertise, primary organizational affiliation, normal daily compensation rate, and number of days of expected service. Consultants’ travel costs, including subsistence, may be included. The proposer must be able to justify that the proposed rate of pay is reasonable. Materials & Supplies Budget justification must detail the types of expendable materials and supplies required. Other Costs must be itemized and detailed in the budget justification. Publication/Dissemination Includes costs of documenting, preparing, publishing or otherwise making available to others, the findings and products of the work conducted under the grant. This generally includes the following types of activities: reports, reprints, page charges or other journal costs (except costs for prior or early publication); necessary illustrations; cleanup, documentation, storage and indexing of data and databases; development, documentation and debugging of software; and storage, preservation, documentation, indexing, etc., of physical specimens, collections or fabricated items. Subaward If known at the time of proposal submission, the intent to enter into such arrangements must be disclosed in the proposal. Each subawardee must provide a separate budget, budget justification of no more than five pages, description of the work to be performed and a signed MSU Commitment form. F&A (Indirect Costs) The calculation and amount should be specified in the budget justification. Except where specifically identified in an NSF program solicitation, the applicable US Federally negotiated indirect cost rate(s) must be used in computing indirect costs (F&A) for a proposal. Use of an indirect cost rate lower than the organization’s current negotiated indirect cost rate is considered a violation of NSF’s cost sharing policy. Cost Share Cost sharing is rarely required by NSF and must be specified in the solicitation otherwise the proposal can be rejected. Do not include voluntary cost share in the budget, budget justification, or project description. If the PI wants to include voluntary uncommitted cost share, it must be in the Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources section of the proposal without quantifying effort or dollars. NSF Programs with Mandatory Cost Sharing include: Enabling Access to Cloud Computing Resources for CISE Research and Education (Cloud Access) Innovation Corps Program (I-Corps) Major Research Instrumentation Program Robert Noyce Scholarship Program Engineering Research Centers Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Compliance Conflicts of Interest (COI) Project based and annual Conflict of Interest disclosures must be completed by all key personnel before a proposal can be submitted to NSF. Also, annual COI disclosures must be kept up to date throughout the award project period. For more OSP-NSF specific COI guidance see the following link and for NSF Field-by-Field Current & Pending Form Completion Information visit this link Human Subjects / IRB If the project includes human subject’s research, IRB approval will be required prior to account set-up. Animal Subjects / (IACUC) If the project includes animal subjects, IACUC approval will be required prior to account set-up. NSF Policies on Harassment NSF requires institutions to report findings of sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault by principal and co-principal investigators (PI/Co-PI) to the foundation. For additional information, visit the NSF section on the Resources Related to Harassment Notification Requirements webpage. Responsible Conduct of Research NSF Training / RCR Who needs RCR training for NSF Awards? All undergraduate students, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers who are supported from NSF sponsored programs. When should RCR training take place? The institution's plan for training should specify when individuals are to receive the training. NSF allows an institution to determine the frequency of RCR training. What subjects must be included? No minimum content requirements are specified; NSF allows the institution to determine the content of RCR training, acknowledging that training needs may vary depending on the circumstances. How much training is required? No minimum requirements: NSF allows institutions to determine the duration of RCR training. How should RCR training be delivered? NSF does not specify any required RCR training methods. Training can be delivered in a face-to-face setting or through online resources. Additional Information For more information related to RCR training requirements, please refer to our Responsible Conduct of Research - Training Requirements by Agency webpage. References https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/issuances/in140.jsp?org=NSF https://www.nsf.gov/od/recr.jsp Award Guidance NSF typically issues grants with standard research terms and conditions. Subawards Typically, the CGA Awards Group issues and amends subawards on an NSF award. At the proposal stage, please provide a budget, budget justification, scope of work and commitment form for all subawards. Prior Approvals NSF requires prior approval for the following: Change in scope or objective of the project Disengagement from the project for more than three months, or a 25 percent reduction in effort Transfer of funds budgeted for participant support costs to other categories of expense Subawards not budgeted Incur project costs more than 90 calendar days pre-award Second no-cost extension – after first 12 months Salaries of administrative and clerical staff Faculty salary in excess of Institutional Base Salary Requests for prior approval are submitted via Fastlane or Research.gov. Please see https://cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/325/NSFPriorApprovals for additional information. For a full list of prior approvals, please see the Prior Approval Matrix: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/fedrtc/appendix_a.pdf Research Terms and Conditions and NSF Agency Specific Requirements can be located at: https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp Reporting The guidelines listed here are generally applicable to this sponsor. Please refer to the award notice and solicitation for any deviation to standard guidelines or specific requirements for a program. Progress Reports To be submitted by PI and/or Co-PI on Research.gov. Annual Project Report Annual Project Reports should address progress in all activities of the project, including any activities intended to address the Broader Impacts criterion that are not intrinsic to the research. These reports are not cumulative, and should be written specifically for the most recently completed budget period. Unless otherwise specified in the award, annual project reports should be submitted electronically no later than 90 days prior to the end of the current budget period to allow adequate time for the cognizant Program Officer to review and approve the report. Failure to submit timely reports will delay processing of additional funding and administrative actions, including, but not limited to, no cost extensions. For further information and help, see Research.gov Help. Final Project Report The Final Project Report should address progress in all activities of the project, including any activities intended to address the Broader Impacts criterion that are not intrinsic to the research. This report is not cumulative; it is the last annual report of the project and should be written specifically for the most recently completed budget period. By submitting the report, the PI is indicating that the scope of work for the project has been completed and that he/she does not anticipate any further action on the grant, including no cost extension requests, supplemental funding, or transfer of grant. Unless otherwise specified in the award, the final project report should be submitted electronically no later than 120 days following the end date of the grant.For further information and help, see Research.gov Help. Project Outcomes Report No later than 120 days following expiration of the grant, a project outcomes report for the general public must be submitted electronically. This report serves as a brief summary, prepared specifically for the public, of the nature and outcomes of the project. For further information and help, see Research.gov Help. Financial Reports To be prepared and submitted by CGA. CGA will contact PI and/or department if additional information is needed. Other Reports To be prepared and submitted by CGA. CGA will contact PI and/or department if additional information is needed. Cost Share Reports The amount of mandatory cost sharing must be documented (on an annual and final basis), certified by the AOR, and reported to the cognizant NSF Program Officer via Research.gov. Such notifications must be submitted no later than 90 days prior to the end of the current budget period to meet the annual notification requirement, and no later than 120 days following the end date of the of the grant to meet the final notification requirement. Program Income The Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) requires that all awardee organizations submit a Program Income Reporting Sheet. Starting October 1st all awardee organizations must report the amount of program income earned and expended as of September 30th each year. Awardee organizations will be required to submit the Program Income Reporting Sheet by November 14 in order to report the amount of program income earned and expended as of the end of the previous Federal fiscal year. Effort Reporting / Cost Share Effort Reporting Senior Project Personnel Salaries & Wages Policy - As a general policy, NSF limits salary compensation for senior project personnel to no more than two months of their regular salary in any one year. This limit includes salary compensation received from all NSF-funded grants. This effort must be documented in accordance with the applicable cost principles. If anticipated, any compensation for such personnel in excess of two months must be disclosed in the proposal budget, justified in the budget justification, and must be specifically approved by NSF in the award. After an award is funded, increases in person months are allowable without prior approval as long as there is no change in scope. MSU effort reporting overview and FAQ’s can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Effort/EffortReportingTools.aspx Effort reporting instructions can also be located on the Sponsored Program Administration website: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/231/EffortReportingInstructionsEffortAdministrators For additional questions and information, please contact the CGA Effort Reporting inbox at effortreporting@cga.msu.edu Cost Share The National Science Board issued a report entitled “Investing in the Future: NSF Cost Sharing Policies for a Robust Federal Research Enterprise” (NSB 09-20), which contained eight recommendations for NSF regarding cost sharing. In implementation of the Board’s recommendations, NSF’s revised guidance 52 (see Chapter II.C.2.g(xii)) is as follows: inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. It should be noted that foregoing full indirect cost rate (F&A) recovery is considered voluntary committed cost sharing; and when mandatory cost sharing is included on Budget Line M and accepted by NSF, the commitment of funds becomes legally binding and is subject to audit. Failure to provide the level of cost sharing required by the NSF solicitation and reflected in the NSF award budget may result in termination of the NSF award, disallowance of award costs and/or refund of award funds to NSF by the grantee. Additional information on cost share can be found on the Sponsored Program Administration website at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/249/CostSharePolicy In cases where salaried cost share has been committed, MSU uses the effort reporting system for tracking and documentation. Non-salary cost share is documented through PI certified operating statements. Record Retention Financial records, supporting documents, statistical records, and all other records pertinent to the NSF grant must be retained by the grantee for a period of three years from award financial closeout described in Chapter VIII.E.3, except as noted in 2 CFR § 200.333. Sponsor Resources NSF Policy Office https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/ Research Terms and Conditions and NSF Agency Specific Requirements https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/rtc.jsp NSF Guide to Programs Compilation of funding for research and education in science, mathematics, and engineering. NSF Bulletin (Called Active Funding Opportunities) Announces key deadline and target dates for upcoming NSF proposals. Time between announcement and deadline is typically three months. Deadlines that fall on a weekend/holiday move to the next business day. Frequently Asked Questions on Proposal Preparation and Award Administration Forms and Templates Collaborators and Other Affiliations Information Template NSF Forms Kit Archives Expired items from the Current Events section: News Archive - 2024 Posted 2-8-2024: NSF PAPPG 24-1 Released The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 24-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after May 20, 2024. For more details, go to the general OSP summary of the new PAPPG. NSF will present information about these changes in a webinar on March 12th at 2 PM EST. Sign up on the Policy Office outreach website to be notified once registration opens Top PAPPG 24-1 Proposal Topics List: Guidance for budgeting a foreign organization (subaward) or foreign individual (consultant); guidance provided for excluding individuals who are a party to a Malign Foreign Talent Recruitment Program; Biographical Sketch – form page limit has been removed; Synergistic Activities disclosure now submitted as part of the Senior/Key personnel documents; Senior/key personnel must prepare, save, certify, and submit Current and Pending (Other) SciENcv Support form as part of their proposal via Research.gov; Updates to allow proposal documents in landscape format; Proposals are reviewed for both their scientific and computational/data needs, as well as readiness to utilize Advanced Computing, Data, and Analysis Capabilities resources when applicable; Program Suitability and Proposal Concept Tool (ProSPCT) guidelines updated for when use of the NSF tool is required for proposal submissions; IRB, Non-Discrimination and Other Statutes & Regulations – guidance for implementing E.O. orders for “Environmental Justice for All" and “Improving Access to Services for Persons with Limited English Proficiency”; NSF's “Sexual Harassment, Other Forms of Harassment, or Sexual Assault" policies; and defining Scientific Integrity. News Archive - 2023 Posted 8-22-2023: Fastlane Decommissioning and Other System-Related Deadlines Please see the NSF notice below; importantly, the download recommendation* before 9/29/23 for any submissions that were done in Fastlane. These proposals/letter-of-intent/supplemental funding requests will not be available in the future once Fastlane.gov has been turned off. This also applies to in-progress items. FastLane Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time) is the last day to submit proposal file updates and budget revisions in FastLane, withdraw FastLane submitted proposals, and withdraw supplemental funding requests submitted in FastLane. *Friday, September 29, 2023 (11:00 PM Eastern Time) is the last day to access letters of intent, proposals, and supplemental funding requests that were prepared or submitted in Fastlane - includes transactions in an in-progress status. See the FastLane Decommissioning page and Instructions to Access and Download/Print FastLane Letters of Intent, Proposals and Supplemental Funding Requests for details. Research.gov Friday, October 20, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time) is the last day the NSF fillable PDF format may be used for the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents. After Friday, October 20, 2023 proposers must use SciENcv to complete the biographical sketch and current and pending support documents. Please see the NSF Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support websites for more information. Questions? If you have NSF system-related questions, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 (7:00 AM – 9:00 PM ET; Monday – Friday except federal holidays) or via rgov@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions can be directed to policy@nsf.gov or your OSP Proposal Team. News Archive - 2022 Posted 11-17-2022: NSF PAPPG 23-1 Released The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 23-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after January 30, 2023. For more details, go to the general OSP summary of the new PAPPG. Top PAPPG 23-1 Topics List: 1/27/23 is the last day to submit new proposals in FastLane; NSF has developed a Broad Agency Announcement & Management system (BAA & BAAM); New ProSPCT Concept Tool; Required use of SciENcv for the preparation of these documents begins in October 2023; New Off-Campus/Off-Site Research Checkbox; Safe & Inclusive Off-Campus/Site Research plan by PI; Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) training requirements. News Archive - 2021 Posted 10-13-2021: Here are links to a recent video explaining how to use Research.Gov, a Research.Gov summary and use guide, and the Research.Gov demo website. Just a reminder that NSF is targeting to have all proposal preparation and submission functionality converted from FastLane to Research.gov by December 31, 2022. Research.Gov Recent Proposal Introduction & Creation Demonstration (Streamed live on Oct 8, 2021) View the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7apVjEBbB8#t=5m54s Presented by Stephanie Yee NSF Office of Information & Resource Management syee@nsf.gov Research.Gov – Summary and Guide https://web.demo.research.gov/proposalprep/#/proposal-prep Welcome to the Proposal Preparation Demo Site The demo site is available to explore preparing proposals in Research.gov! All proposal types available on the Research.gov Proposal Submission System are available on the demo site. View the Research.gov Proposal Submission Capabilities for details. REMINDER: Required use of Research.Gov for some Program Proposals - NSF has a 2022 target date to incrementally switch submission of all proposals to the Research.gov system. Applicable funding opportunities will clearly specify if the use of Research.gov is mandatory. Many of the items listed below are automatically checked in the Research.Gov application development processes. Posted 9-1-2021: NSF PAPPG 22-1 Released The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 22-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after October 4, 2021. For more details, go to the general OSP summary of the new PAPPG. Top PAPPG 22-1 Topics List: NEW SECTION - Requests for Reasonable and Accessibility Systems Usability Accommodations; Biographical Sketches; Current and Pending Support Updates; Home Office Workspace Not Reimbursable; Prohibition on Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment; Career-Life Balance (CLB) Supplemental Funding Request; Travel Proposal Written Code of Conduct Policy Addressing Harassment; Program Income Reporting Requirements; Grant Closeout Reporting Requirements Posted 3-25-2021: NSF Research.gov Update Try out the NSF Research.gov Demo Site Three additional proposal types can now be submitted in the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research.gov Proposal Submission System Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) Equipment Travel proposal types Web link for Research.gov Why is this important to the user? New automated compliance checks and associated error and warning messages for these proposal types have been implemented. Web link for auto compliance checks New NSF Research.gov FAQ training resources: New and updated system-related FAQs by topic are available on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page (left navigation menu). Web link to the About Proposal Preparation and Submission page New NSF Research.gov Video training resource: A new 16-minute Research.gov proposal demo video has been added. The video highlights key proposal preparation steps including: Setting up a proposal Uploading a document and compliance messaging Preparing Proposal File Update/Budget Revisions Web link to the new Research.gov proposal demo video News Archive - 2020 The National Science Foundation (NSF) released version 20-1 of their Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after June 1, 2020. For more details, go to the general summary of the new PAPPG on our website. Update 10-8-2020 Reminder – New NSF Biographical Sketch and Current & Pending Forms We have created a new resource that provides guidance on how to fill out the new Current & Pending Fillable Forms. Please contact your OSP representative if you have any questions. **New** MSU SPA resource for completing the NSF Current & Pending Fillable Forms NSF Proposal and Awards FAQs The Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on proposal preparation and award administration related to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) has been released. Topics addressed in these FAQs include biosketch requirements, current & pending reporting requirements, conference proposals, cost sharing, deadline dates, indirect costs, international activities/considerations, and participant support. If you have any questions regarding this document, please contact the DIAS/Policy Office by email at policy@nsf.gov. Click here for summary information regarding Biosketch and Current & Pending forms. Required use of Research.Gov for some Program Proposals NSF has a 2022 target date to incrementally switch submission of all proposals to the Research.gov system. Applicable funding opportunities will clearly specify if the use of Research.gov is mandatory. The Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) core programs that do not have deadline dates would be some of the first to switch. NSF encourages the community to become familiar with Research.gov and to begin using it for the preparation and submission of proposals, as well as to provide NSF with valuable feedback. For additional information, FAQs, opportunities for training and to provide feedback, please visit Research.gov. Video tutorials, Frequently Asked Questions, step-by-step guides, and a demonstration site. Current training materials are available on the About Research.gov site. Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Submissions with Active Other Support Changes Effective October 5, 2020, PIs and co-PIs must include an NSF-approved format for Current and Pending Support when notifying NSF that active other support has changed since the award was made, or since the most recent annual report. This new requirement serves as NSF’s implementation of the revised RPPR, a uniform format for reporting performance progress on Federally-funded research projects and research-related activities. Further details about the RPPR can be found on the Research.gov About Project Reports website. NSF Research.gov Profile Management Updates Effective September 28, 2020, the Research.gov Sign-in page will include three sign-in options. This change is intended to make it easier for users to remember their Research.gov sign-in information, as well as to align with the industry standards for sign-in using an email address. Additional information about NSF accounts and the primary email address is available on the Research.gov About Account Management page. An updated Account Management Guide and updated Frequently Asked Questions are be available on the Research.gov About Account Management. Questions? If you have IT system-related questions, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 (7:00 AM - 9:00 PM ET; Monday - Friday except federal holidays) or via rgov@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. Options are: Primary email address + password (new option) NSF ID + password (existing option) Organization-issued Credentials (InCommon Federation participating organizations only) (existing option) -> This option not currently available at MSU and will be implemented at MSU in the near future. Users will also be able to enter either their primary email address or their NSF ID for NSF account password recovery. The user's primary email address is the one they registered with on Research.gov, and this email address is displayed on their Research.gov My Profile page. News Archive - 2019 5/19/2020: NSF Biosketch and Current and Pending Support Format Change Pushed to October 1, 2020 The new NSF biographical sketch and current and pending support format requirement is now delayed until October 1, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, to allow for adequate implementation and training. Webinars covering the use of the NSF-approved formats as well as all of the significant changes to the PAPPG are available on the NSF Policy Outreach website. All other changes with the 20-1 PAPPG will be implemented on June 1, 2020. 12/12/2019: Approved format for Current and Pending Support form will be SciENcv The National Science Foundation sent a message informing the research community that with the implementation of the 2020 PAPPG they will be requiring the Current and Pending Support documents to follow an NSF-approved format. SciENcv has been designated as an approved format, which will produce the compliant PDF version of this form for users to save and attach to their proposal submissions in Fastlane. This change is likely to be effective in the Spring of 2020. 10/21/2019: NSF proposals/project reports cannot be prepared or submitted from Friday Evening, 11/8 - Tuesday Morning, 11/12 The National Science Foundation (NSF) will be updating FastLane and Research.gov to migrate its business applications to a modern and flexible platform. With this update both Fastlane and Research.gov will be unavailable from November 8 at 8:00 PM EST through November 12 at 6:00 AM EST. Migration will result in an upgrade to the systems display of its alpha-numeric character set for proposals and project reports. This will eliminate the use of the question mark symbol ("?") for previously un-displayable special characters. You can use the NSF Bulletin (Called Active Funding Opportunities) link to check the latest key deadline and target dates for upcoming NSF proposals. Deadlines that fall on a weekend/holiday move to the next business day. 9/5/2019: Upcoming Changes to the NSF Biographical Sketch Format NSF is standardizing the format for biographical sketches, which are required for all senior personnel included in a proposal. According to NSF, “Using a standard format helps reduce administrative burden and improve efficiencies by providing proposers with a compliant and reusable way to maintain this information for subsequent proposal submissions to NSF, while also ensuring that the information is submitted in a searchable composition.” Beginning in January 2020, NSF will only accept biographical sketches that are generated through use of an NSF-approved format. NSF has designated SciENcv as an approved format for NSF grant submissions and they are encouraging it’s use to prepare biographical sketches. A complete description of NSF-approved format(s) will be posted on the NSF website when the 2020 Grant Proposal Guide (PAPPG) is issued. SciENcv was developed by the National Institutes of Health and is provided free of charge on the web as the “Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae” (SciENcv) researcher profile system. It allows for ease of input, records maintenance and downloading your SciENcv biosketch PDF file to attach to your NSF proposal submissions. NSF FastLane, NIH eRA Commons and ORCID account holders who have linked their accounts to NCBI can populate their SciENcv profiles with the information stored in their eRA, FastLane, or ORCID accounts. The information transferred to SciENcv can be changed, hidden, augmented or deleted. SciENcv users control the content displayed in their SciENcv profiles. We recommend the following resources to assist with learning how to prepare your biographical sketch using the SciENcv format: Instructions show how to develop your NSF Biographical Sketch in SciENcv Accessing SciENcv Creating SciENcv Biosketches Using the NSF Biographical Sketch Editing and Deleting SciENcv Biosketches Sharing SciENcv Downloading SciENcv Adding Delegates to SciENcv Video explaining how to use SciENcv Video explaining ORCID Integration in SciENcv Overview of how and why SciENcv was developed Please contact your OSP Proposal Team if you need further assistance. News Archive - 2018 11/15/2018: NSF Released Version 19-1 of Their Grant Proposal Guide (PAPPG) The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a revised version 19-1 of their Grant Proposal Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. A general summary can be found on our website on the Summary of NSF PAPPG 19-1 Changes Effective January, 2019 page. 9/9/2018: NSF Announced Plans to Require Institutions to Report Sexual Harassment NSF announced plans to combat sexual harassment where NSF funded projects are conducted by requiring institutions to report findings of sexual harassment, other forms of harassment, or sexual assault by principal and co-principal investigators (PI/Co-PI) to the foundation. For additional information, visit the Resources related to NSF Harassment Notification Requirements webpage. April 30, 2018: Changes to NSF Research Terms and Conditions NSF Notice of Significant Changes regarding the NSF Agency Specific Requirements effective and dated March 1, 2018 - grants made to institutions of higher education and non-profit organizations will incorporate by reference the Research Terms & Conditions dated March 14, 2017 and the March 1, 2018 updates for new or amended awards (excluding cooperative agreements and individual-awarded fellowships). Highlights of the March 1, 2018 changes include: Article 2 related to Prior Approval Requirements has been updated to reflect that Research.gov has been modified to include an “Other” category, which must be used to submit prior approval requirements that do not already have a specific request type in NSF’s electronic systems. Article 35 has been added as a new section labeled Breach of Personally Identifiable Information, requiring Grantees to have procedures in place to respond to a breach of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) and notify NSF that a breach of PII within the scope of an NSF award has occurred. This applies to Grantees that use or operate a Federal information system or create, collect, use, process, store, maintain, disseminate, disclose, or dispose of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) within the scope of an NSF award, must have procedures in place to respond to a breach of PII. These procedures should promote cooperation and the free exchange of information with NSF, as needed to properly escalate, refer and respond to a breach within the scope of an NSF award. More information is coming concerning MSU’s implementation of this requirement. April 30, 2018: MSU Research.gov Pilot Program National Science Foundation (NSF) is deploying Research.gov to replace the legacy system FastLane and beginning on April 30, 2018, the system will allow the preparation and submission of non-collaborative research proposals in Research.gov. Please continue to use the Fastlane system for your proposal submissions. OSP will be working with select departments to test and evaluate the submission of proposals through Research.gov. After the testing and evaluation period, we will share the results and MSU’s implementation plan with the MSU Research Community. In the meantime, when you log into Fastlane you will be directed to Research.gov. The NSF Fastlane Services are available from the home page of Research.gov. Click the Proposals, Awards & Status link (see screenshot at right) to access the normal proposal and award functions available in Fastlane. Updated User Login Information As part of the process of switching from Fastlane to Research.gov, NSF has introduced a new centralized and streamlined account registration process in Research.gov that will provide each new user with a single profile and unique identifier (i.e., NSF ID) for signing in to FastLane and Research.gov for proposal and award activities. The user will self-manage their account and will request a role based on their responsibilities. The new system requires that users have only one NSF ID in the system. For those users with only one NSF ID, the process will be a simple, one-time operation when you login. However, an existing NSF user may have multiple IDs (e.g. if the user transferred from one institution to another and requested a new ID upon transfer). Those users with multiple IDs will receive instructions from NSF on how to move forward. Sample email: “Your account email address(es) are associated with more than one NSF ID. NSF users should only have one NSF ID account per the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). You may continue work on proposals and awards, however, NSF has logged this discrepancy and will contact you to help reconcile your multiple accounts. Please be aware that these accounts must be reconciled, however there will be a grace period before your system access will cease. If you have questions, please contact the NSF IT Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 or rgov@nsf.gov.” Background FastLane was launched in 1994 and is built on technology now considered out-of-date and with inflexible architecture. This hindered NSF’s ability to quickly and cost-effectively meet NSF’s ongoing and emerging needs. Research.gov is using current technology that is integrated and flexible, enabling NSF greater automation and business process improvement. The initial release of this new capability will run in parallel with existing FastLane proposal preparation and submission capabilities. Beginning on April 30, 2018, proposers will be able to prepare and submit full, research non-collaborative proposals in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Research.gov system. News Archive - 2017 November 20, 2017 In October, NSF issued a Dear Colleague letter indicating that the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) will no longer require the submission of pre-proposals or have a fixed annual deadline for proposal submissions. This change is specific to BIO and NSF has no plans to have all NSF funding opportunities move to a no-deadline policy. Once the new solicitations are issued, the NSF Available Funding website page https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_list.jsp?ord=date_asc&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&status=1&showItems=All will be updated to reflect which proposals will be accepted at any time (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18011/nsf18011.jsp “All four [BIO] divisions will release new solicitations to replace these in the middle of calendar year 2018, inviting proposals to be funded with FY 2019 funds. There will be no deadlines for submissions to any of the new solicitations.”) For more information regarding the history of the BIO’s decision to make this change, see Jeffery Mervis’s article published on the ScienceMag.org website http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/10/nsf-drops-preproposals-deadlines-biologists-seeking-funding. November 15, 2017 Notice reminder - NSF proposals using the Collaborators and Other Affiliations template for more than 10 senior project personnel will encounter proposal print preview issues. If there are more than 10 individuals designated as senior project personnel on the proposal, or if there are print preview issues when using the COA template, each completed template must be saved as a .txt file [select the Text (Tab Delimited) option] rather than as an .xlsx or .xls file. This format will still enable preservation of searchable text and avoid delays in processing and review of the proposal. For Fastlane system-related questions, please contact FastLane User Support at 1-800-673-6188 or fastlane@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions regarding the content of the COA template should be directed to policy@nsf.gov. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a revised version 18-1 of their Grant Proposal Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. A general summary can be found on our website at https://cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/749/SummaryofNSFPAPPG181ChangesEffectiveJanuary2018. May 24, 2017 The National Science Foundation (NSF) is moving its headquarters to Alexandria, Virginia (link to notice). The email addresses and phone numbers for NSF employees and NSF offices will not change. NSF plans to minimize the move’s impact on the research community as much as possible. There are a few important impacts listed below: Due to the move of NSF's Data Center, NSF.gov, FastLane and Research.gov will be unavailable from Friday, June 30 at 8:00 PM until Tuesday, July 4 at 6:00 PM EDT. This move has been scheduled around a holiday weekend to minimize downtime and reduce the impact on the research community and NSF staff. During this outage period, proposals cannot be submitted in FastLane, and project reports and cash requests cannot be submitted in Research.gov. However, previously saved information and uploaded documents in FastLane and Research.gov, including in-process proposals and reports, will be accessible after the Data Center moves. The physical move to NSF's new headquarters will be phased over a six-week period, beginning Thursday, August 24 through Sunday, October 1. During this time, you may experience delayed response times when trying to communicate with NSF employees who will be in the midst of this move. NSF Cost Share FAQS - http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/csfaqs_jan13.pdf NSF will have a new mailing address effective Monday, October 2, 2017, as follows: National Science Foundation 2415 Eisenhower Avenue Alexandria, VA 22314 If you have any questions related to NSF’s move please contact Craig O’Neill, oneillc@osp.msu.edu. April 17, 2017 Effective April 24th 2017 NSF proposals will require the use of the spreadsheet for disclosing Collaborators and Other Affiliations (COA) (see https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/coa.jsp for more information). The spreadsheet is directly uploaded into FastLane as a “Collaborators and Other Affiliations Single Copy Document”. The spreadsheet must be saved in .xlsx or .xls format. News Archive - 2016 November 8, 2016 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a revised version 17-1 of their Grant Proposal Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. A general summary can be found on our website at https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/437/SummaryofNSFPAPPG171ChangesEffectiveJanuary2017. August 24, 2016 A draft version of the PAPPG can be located at the following link: https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/papp/pappg17_1/draftpappg_may2016.pdf It is anticipated to be effective in January 2017. More details will be provided in the near future regarding the changes. News Archive - 2015 Oct 21, 2015 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a revised version 16-1 of their Grant Proposal Guide (PAPPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. A general summary can be found on our website at https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/337/SummaryofNSFPAPPG161ChangesEffectiveJanuary2016 April 20, 2015 Beginning April, 24, 2015, proposals submitted in response to Program Solicitations in FastLane will undergo a series of automated proposal compliance validation checks to ensure they comply with requirements outlined in the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (Chapter II.C.2. of the Grants Proposal Guide (GPG)). These checks will automatically validate a proposal for compliance against proposal sections per type of funding mechanism. For example, an error message will appear if a project description or budget are not provided in proposals submitted in response to a Program Solicitation. Checks will be triggered when proposers select the “Check Proposal,” “Forward to SPO,” or “Submit Proposal” functions. Depending on the rule being checked, a warning or error message will display when a proposal is found to be non-compliant. If an error message appears, the proposal cannot be submitted until it is compliant. Please note that these automated compliance checks will not be conducted on proposals submitted to NSF via Grants.gov. To view a detailed list of all compliance checks, click here April 7, 2015 NSF has provided a frequently asked questions (FAQs) document on their implementation of 2 CFR §200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (Uniform Guidance). Two clarifications related to pre-award are budgeting travel and the implementation of the 10% de minimus indirect cost (F&A) rate if not previously negotiated. Travel and its relationship to the proposed activities must be specified, itemized and justified by destination and cost. Budgets should provide as much information that is available, however, NSF recognizes that all details may not be available at the time of proposal submission and, thus, the justification might not provide such information. NSF will accept budgets that include indirect costs (F&A) at the institution's applicable U.S. federally negotiated indirect cost rate or the 10% de minimus MTDC rate if not negotiated. Budgets with 0% is not acceptable as this would represent a form of voluntary committed cost sharing which is prohibited under NSF's Cost Sharing Policy. NSF Cost Share FAQS - http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/csfaqs_jan13.pdf NSF-OSP Cost Share Summary - https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/220/NSFCostSharingPolicy January 19, 2015 On January 26, 2015, the National Science Foundation (NSF) implemented changes in FastLane to run additional automated compliance checks on proposals. Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 15-1) - Automated Compliance Checks: FastLane will begin to run an additional 24 automated compliance checks on proposals to ensure they comply with requirements outlined in the PAPPG, Chapter II.C.2 of the Grants Proposal Guide (GPG). These checks will validate a proposal for compliance with page count, proposal sections per type of funding mechanism and budget related rules for proposals submitted in response to the GPG, Program Announcements and Program Descriptions. At this time, these checks will not be enforced for proposals submitted in response to Program Solicitations. Page Count: Page count rules will be enforced on the following proposal sections: Project Description: 15-page limit [exceptions: 8-page limit for Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), and 5-page limit for Rapid Response Research (RAPID)] Budget Justification: 3-page limit for the proposing institution and a separate, 3-page limit for each sub-recipient organization Mentoring Plan: 1-page limit Data Management Plan: 2-page limit Budget: Budget-related checks will focus primarily on proposal duration and requested amount. For example, the system will enforce a maximum requested amount of $200,000 for a RAPID proposal and $300,000 for an EAGER proposal. Proposal Section: Proposal sections will be enforced by their funding mechanism for Program Announcement, Program Description and other GPG-type funding opportunities. For example, an error message will appear if a Project Description was not provided for an EAGER proposal. Budget Justification Upload: Budget justification can no longer be entered as text. Awardees will be required to upload a budget justification for each organization added to the budget via an upload screen. Already, 95% of proposers take advantage of the upload option. The checks detailed above will be triggered when the “Check Proposal,” “Forward to SPO,” or “Submit Proposal” functions are selected by a proposer or proposing organization. Depending on the rule being checked, a warning or error message will display when a proposal is found to be non-compliant. If an error message appears, the organization will not be able to submit the proposal until it is compliant. To view a detailed list of all compliance checks, click here. News Archive - 2014 November 20, 2014 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released version 15-1 of their Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. A general summary can be found on our website at https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/308/SummaryofNSFPAPPG151ChangesEffective122614 October 6, 2014 The Fall 2014 NSF Grants Conference Update Presentations - can be found at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/306/NSFUpdatePresentationsFall2014NSFGrantsConference February 1, 2014 The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released version 14-1 of their Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). This guide provides instructions for preparing and submitting proposals. A general summary can be found on our website at https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/SiteFiles/GetFile.aspx?id=286 January 23, 2014 Reminder - For all NSF proposals budgeting postdoctoral researchers, a supplemental document describing the PI’s overall mentoring plan must be included. The one-page plan must address those individuals supported directly by MSU as well as any collaborating organizations (e.g. a subawardee or collaborative project proposal). This plan will be evaluated by NSF as part of the “Broader Impacts” review criterion. NSF has stated that any proposals lacking this document will not be reviewed. More information concerning MSU's Individual Development Plans (IDP) for Postdocs and Graduate Assistants can be found that the following link: https://grad.msu.edu/sites/default/files/content/events/IndividualDevelopmentPlans.pdf News Archive - 2012 July 16, 2012 Reminder - NSF Data Management Plan required for all proposals and OSP information can be found at the following link: (Outdated Link - not in use) https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/219/NSFDataManagementGovernmentwideemphasisoncommunityaccesstodata News Archive - 2011 May 23, 2011 Reminder- NSF's cost sharing policy has been revised to implement the National Science Board's recommendations regarding cost sharing. The following changes have been implemented with the newest version of the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 11-1), and went into effect for proposals submitted on or after January 18, 2011. More information can be found at the following link: https://www.cga.msu.edu/PL/Portal/220/NSFCostSharingPolicy The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1950 "to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense…" With an annual budget of about $6.9 billion (FY 2010), we are the funding source for approximately 20 percent of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities.
