NSF has recently made enhancements to the biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support fillable PDF formats. The updated formats are consistent with the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1) and are available on the NSF biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support websites. NSF made the following enhancements in response to feedback received from the research community:
Current and Pending (Other) Support
Corrected the Status of Support radio button
Corrected fonts and margins for compliance with NSF policy
Included the revision date (rev. 01/19/2023) at the bottom of each page
Biographical Sketch
Corrected margins for compliance with NSF policy
Included the revision date (rev. 01/19/2023) at the bottom of each page
Staff from NSF and NIH conducted a webinar to discuss the revised formats and demonstrate the SciENcv system. A recording of the webinar will be made available in the coming days at: https://nsfpolicyoutreach.com/.
NSF appreciates the feedback from the research community. Additional feedback and questions may be submitted to: policy@nsf.gov
In accordance with Important Notice No. 147, many National Science Foundation (NSF) program solicitations now require the use of Research.gov for the preparation and submission of proposals. Please be advised that NSF will now start requiring the use of Research.gov for the preparation and submission of proposals in response to program descriptions. As a reminder, FastLane is targeted to be removed as a submission option from all funding opportunities when the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) goes into effect in January 2023. Grants.gov will remain a submission option for most NSF proposals.
Program Descriptions in Research.gov To assist the research community, NSF developed a dynamic listing of program descriptions that require submission in Research.gov. Follow these steps to determine if your proposal for a specific program description must be prepared and submitted in Research.gov
The document will identify program descriptions requiring Research.gov preparation and submission and the associated effective date. This document will be updated on an ongoing basis as FastLane will be removed from all program descriptions as a proposal preparation and submission option when the PAPPG goes into effect in January 2023. Since many program solicitations also require submission in Research.gov, proposers should pay close attention to the requirements identified in those specific funding opportunities.
Research.gov Proposal Capabilities and Transition from FastLane Proposal Preparation Nearly all FastLane proposal preparation and submission capabilities are now available in Research.gov. For details about the remaining proposal features that will soon be added to Research.gov, please see the Proposal Submission Capabilities table on the Research.govAbout Proposal Preparation and Submission page. To stay informed about Research.gov and FastLane changes, we invite you to join our System Updates listserv. Sign up by sending a blank email to: system_updates-subscribe-request@listserv.nsf.gov. NSF strongly encourages proposers to prepare and submit all supported proposals in Research.gov now, to facilitate a smooth transition from FastLane proposal preparation to Research.gov over the next several months. In addition, NSF relies on your vital feedback to help ensure the system is working as intended and to identify areas of improvement. Feedback may be submitted at https://www.research.gov/research-web/feedback.
Research.gov Proposal Preparation and Submission Training Resources
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.
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.
