National Science Foundation (NSF)
Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG)

printable version

Part I of the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 09-29), effective April 6, 2009, is the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), which provides detailed guidance for the preparation and submission of proposals to the National Science Foundation and should be reviewed in advance on NSF’s website at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf09_29/gpg_index.jsp

A proposal may be submitted only once to NSF, even if the PI 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 return of the redundant proposals.

General information about NSF programs and specific funding opportunities are available on NSF’s website at: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/aboutfunding.jsp

The following is a summary of GPG proposal instructions:

• How to Submit
• Conformance with Instructions
• What to Submit
• When to Submit
• Special Considerations
• Additional Support

How to Submit

Proposals to NSF must be submitted electronically via the FastLane system or Grants.gov.

FastLane is a web-based system that is used for proposal submission and also provides information on the status of current and pending proposals, and must be used for project reporting and other post-award administrative business. For access to FastLane services, PIs who plan to submit a proposal to NSF for the first time must complete a Request for NSF FastLane Access, available on OSP’s website at www.nyu.edu/osp/res, which is responsible for registering each NYU user. (PIs at CIMS should contact Laura Bundesen). To test FastLane features before using them, go directly to NSF’s development site (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/jsp/homepage/demo_site.html). To facilitate proposal preparation, answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding electronic preparation and submission are also available. The actual submission of the final proposal is done by OSP, once the proposal is fully uploaded by the PI, OSP has been granted access to review and submit, and institutional approvals are in place.

Grants.gov is a single Government-wide portal for finding and applying for Federal grants online. Proposals submitted via Grants.gov must be prepared and submitted in accordance with the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide, available through Grants.gov as well as on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/grantsgovguide607.pdf Once the proposal is prepared in accordance with these instructions and submitted via Grants.gov, there is no further interaction with Grants.gov. NSF retrieves the proposal submitted via Grants.gov and inserts it into the NSF Fastlane system.

Do I use Fastlane or Grants.gov to prepare and submit my proposal?

Unless specifically stated in the funding opportunity notice, all NSF funding opportunities will either authorize, or *require* the use of Grants.gov to prepare and submit proposals. The only exception to this rule is in the case of a collaborative effort where multiple organizations are submitting separate proposals. In the case of collaborations involving separate submissions from multiple entities, the proposals must be submitted by each organization via Fastlane.

Conformance with Instructions

Proposals must be prepared in strict conformance with GPG instructions. Proposals that deviate may be returned without review by NSF, unless prior authorization has been granted. Deviations may be authorized in one of two ways: 1) by a formal program solicitation which contains instructions departing from these standards, or 2) with the approval of the cognizant NSF Assistant Program Director or his/her designee.

Proposal Format

All pages of the proposal must:

1. have one inch (2.5cm) margins on all four sides
2. use one of the following fonts (in black):
   1. Arial
   2. Helvetica
   3. Palatino
   4. Computer Modern
   5. Georgia typeface
3. use a font size of 10 points or larger
4. proportional spacing may not exceed 15 characters per horizontal inch
5. there should be no more than 6 lines to the vertical inch

Now that many reviews are conducted electronically, proposals should use only a standard, single-column format for the text.

Page limits for each section must also be observed (e.g., the Project Description is limited to 15 pages).

Note that FastLane cannot at this time reproduce proposals containing color. Therefore, PIs who must include in their project descriptions 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 proposal in hardcopy. This submission is in addition to, not in lieu of, submission by FastLane. The PI must notify his or her NSF Division head in advance of the electronic submission, after which time NYU will be notified of the number of copies required by that particular Division.

FastLane does not also automatically paginate a proposal. Each section of the proposal that is uploaded as a file must be individually paginated in advance. Use of URLs to provide information necessary to the review of the project description is discouraged, as reviewers are under no obligation to view such sites.

What to Submit

FastLane provides a standard electronic format for all proposals, as well as protocols for individual programs as specified in the solicitation. The following are the standard components of an NSF proposal:

• Cover Sheet
  For unsolicited proposals, choose Grant Proposal Guide from the drop-down menu and “no closing date”; otherwise, select the applicable program announcement, solicitation or program description. Preliminary proposals should be identified here where indicated, as should the related number if this is a full proposal that has been invited as a result of a preliminary submission.
• Project Summary (limited to one page)
  Written in the third person, and suitable for publication, describe the objectives and methods to be employed. Note that here, as in the Project Description, the PI must clearly address in separate statements both NSF review criteria, 1) the intellectual merit of the proposed activity, and 2) the broader impacts resulting from the proposed activity.
• Table of Contents (automatically generated)
• Project Description (15-page limit, including results from prior NSF support and visual materials including charts, graphs, maps, photographs and other pictorial presentations). Outline the statement of work, including the broad design of activities to be undertaken, and, where appropriate, describe experimental methods and procedures, as well as plans for preservation, documentation and sharing of data, samples, physical collections, curriculum materials and other research and education products.

  As an integral part of the narrative, also describe the broader impacts resulting from the proposed activities, such as the integration of research and education, participation of underrepresented groups, enhancement of the infrastructure for research and education, and potential benefits for society at large. Examples of broader impacts are available at: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/broaderimpacts.pdf

  Results of prior NSF support (during past five years). If any, provide:
  

  • NSF award number, amount and period of support
  • summary of results, including any contribution to the development of human resources in science and engineering
  • resulting publications
  • brief description of data, samples, physical collections and other related work products
  • if this is a renewal, a description of the relationship of the completed work to the proposed work.

• References Cited (required).
  If the reference material is available electronically, inclusion of the website address is helpful, but not mandatory.
• Biographical Sketches (limited to two pages each)
  For all senior project personnel, list only (NO personal information):
  • Professional degrees and training, from undergraduate to postdoctoral, indicating institution, major or area and year
  • Academic/professional appointments, beginning with the present
  • Five publications most closely related to the project, and five others
  • Up to five examples of “synergistic activities” which integrate and transfer knowledge, such as innovations in teaching and training, development/refinement of research tools, problem-solving methods, databases, or service on national boards or committees
  • Collaborators (with institutional affiliations) within last 48 months, including co-editors (on a journal, compendium or conference proceeding) during the preceding 24 months.
  • Graduate and postdoctoral advisors, with current institutional affiliations
  • Thesis advisees and postdocs sponsored during past five years, with total number advised or sponsored.
• Budget and Justification
  The major cost categories are as follows: Salaries and Wages, Fringe Benefits, Equipment, Travel, Participant Support, Other Direct Costs (e.g. materials and supplies, publication, consultant services, computer services, subawards, and other), and Facilities and Administrative (F&A/indirect) costs. Prepare a budget for each year of support requested. A cumulative budget will be automatically generated. A budget justification of up to three pages should also be included. The budget justification should describe in detail the basis for the items included in the cost estimates and the need for the items in relation to the proposed activities (e.g. salaries should be justified with a description of the role and responsibilities each person has with regard to the scope of work, travel should be itemized by destination and cost for airfare, lodging, per diem, etc.) Note that salary compensation for senior personnel is limited to two months per year from all NSF-funded grants, whether during the academic year or summer.
• Current and Pending Support
  List outside support from all sources (Federal, State, private, etc.) for the PI and other senior personnel, even if no salary is charged. The total award amount for each project must be disclosed, as well as the number of person-months per year devoted to each project. Also include a list of all current proposals under consideration, by NSF or other sponsors.
• Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources
• Special Information & Supplementary Documentation: Include in this section any letters of commitment documenting collaborative efforts; information about the use of human subjects, recombinant DNA, hazardous materials or vertebrate animals; authorization for work in foreign countries, etc. Do not include letters of support unless required by the program solicitation, as reviewers are under no obligation to review them.
• Proposals requesting support for a postdoc must include, as a supplementary document of no more than one (1) page, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals, whether at NYU or at a subawardee organization. Examples of mentoring activities include career counseling, training in preparation of grant proposals, publications and presentations, guidance on ways to improve teaching and mentoring skills, how to collaborate effectively with other researchers, and training in responsible professional practices.
• Proposal Certifications:
  This section contains institutional certifications made by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) at the time of electronic proposal submission. The Office of Sponsored Programs is the AOR and thus, no action is required by anyone other than a member of OSP.

Appendices may not be included unless a deviation has been authorized as indicated above.

Some sections of the proposal are for “NSF Use Only” and therefore the information is not provided to reviewers during the peer review process. These are:
Single-copy documents:


• Information about Project Investigators/Project Directors
• Deviation Authorization (if applicable)
• List of Suggested Reviewers or Reviewers Not to Include (optional). Refer to the GPG for NSF criteria for excluding reviewers for Potentially Disqualifying Conflicts of Interest.
• Proprietary or Privileged Information (if applicable).

When to Submit

Unsolicited proposals should be submitted at least six months in advance of the requested start date for review and processing by NSF, if no target date has been established by the cognizant program. For a complete listing of target dates and deadlines, see http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_list.jsp?org=NSF&ord=date.

To ensure timely institutional review, PIs should grant OSP access to the FastLane proposal-in-progress at least 10 working days in advance of the target date or deadline. As with all NYU submissions, an OSP synopsis form must be completed and approved by the Department Chair (as appropriate) and Dean before OSP may release the proposal.

Special Considerations

All projects involving either vertebrate animals or human subjects must be reviewed and approved (or, for human subjects, be found eligible for exemption from approval) by the appropriate University oversight committees. For more information about the process for review and approval of research involving humans, visit the University Committee on Activities Involving Human Subjects (UCAIHS) website at http://www.nyu.edu/ucaihs/. Contact the Office of Veterinary Resources, http://www.nyu.edu/ovr/, about animal protocols. Proposals involving the use of vertebrate animals must include sufficient information within the project description to enable reviewers to evaluate the choice of species, number of animals to be used, and any necessary exposure of animals to discomfort, pain or injury.

Additional Support

Renewal proposals must also be submitted at least six months before additional funding is required. A traditional renewal proposal must conform to the same requirements as a new proposal. Alternatively, with approval by the NSF Program Officer, an Accomplishment-Based Renewal Proposal may be prepared, in which no more than six reprints of publications may be submitted in lieu of a Project Description, in addition to a brief (not to exceed four pages) summary of plans for the proposed period of support.

Incremental (usually annual) funding for continuing grants is based on NSF review of an Annual Project Report for each increment and does not require submission of a new proposal. The Annual Project Report must be submitted electronically via FastLane’s electronic reporting system at least three months prior to the end of the current funding period. These reports are submitted directly by the PI and do not require OSP review and approval.