On June 1, 2020, the National Science Foundation (NSF) implemented the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) for proposals due on or after that date. The revised PAPPG implements a variety of new requirements and clarifications. The most significant of these are changes to the following proposal sections:

  • Biographical Sketches: For the Biographical Sketch component of an application, NSF will only accept PDFs that are generated through the use of an NSF-approved format (This requirement went into effect on October 5).
    • Other changes include permission for the conditional use of “et al” for publication citations in the “Products” section, when citing multiple authors.
  • Current and Pending Support: The requirement to use an NSF-approved format for preparation of current and pending support went into effect for proposals submitted on or after October 5.
    • Along with the format change, the revised PAPPG expands the definition of current and pending support to include “all resources made available to an individual in support of and/or related to all of his/her research efforts… [including] in-kind contributions (such as office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, employees [or] students).”

An NSF webinar covering the new format requirements was recorded in April 2020 and can be accessed here. Click here for a summary of all significant changes and clarifications made to the PAPPG.