NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) 16-1
Proposal Checklist (for submissions after1/25/16)
Recent changes to the GPG are highlighted in yellow. Program announcements or solicitations may contain additional requirements in addition to the GPG requirements.
Please contact an SRS Representative in case there are any questions to the requirements noted in this document.
All uploaded sections of a proposal, including supplementary documentation, must have:
- One of the following typefaces identified below:
Arial, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger;
Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger; or
Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger.
- No more than six lines of text within a vertical space of one inch.
- Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.
Cover Sheet / Choose correct solicitation number and deadline.Proposers also should enter the country/countries with which project participants will engage and/or travel to attend international conferences. If the specific location of the international conference is not known at the time of the submission, proposers should enter "Worldwide".
Proposal Title / Use correct title format (e.g., “Collaborative Research: Title”).
Project Summary
(1 page) / On FastLane, complete 3 text boxes to address "Overview", statement on “Intellectual Merit", and statement on "Broader Impacts". The one page limit still applies. The Project Summary can only be uploaded as a pdf file if it contains special characters (mathematical symbols or Greek letters). Theaggregate of the 3 text boxes cannot exceed 4,600 characters (including spaces). The maximum number of lines (including blanks) on a page is 51.
Project Description / 15 pages - including “Results from Prior NSF Support” for PIs and Co-PIs who have received NSF support with a start date in the last five years. For more on this section, please see notes below. PD must contain, as a separate section, a discussion labeled“Broader Impacts.” PIs are advised that the PD must be self-contained and are cautioned that URLs must not be used.
References / Please paginate. If there are no references, a statement to that effect should be uploaded. Each reference must include the names of all authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number, page numbers, and year of publication. If the document is available electronically, the website address also should be identified.
Supplemental Docs /
- Post-doc mentoring plan if applicable (1 page only)
- Up to 2 page Data Management Plan is required
- Letters of collaboration, not support: Such letters should be limited to stating the intent to collaborate and should not contain endorsements or evaluation of the proposed project. Proposals that are not consistent with the instructions in this section will be returned without review.You must use the format provided below.
Biosketches / Two-page limit, required for all senior personnel, in NSF format only.Bios for Other Personnel may be uploaded (in Other Supplemental Docs) but must be clearly identified. “Publications” has been renamed “Products” and may include publications, data sets, software, patents, and copyrights. If only publications are included, the heading “Publications” may be used for this section. Inclusion of information beyond that specified may result in the proposal being returned without review. Personal info is not appropriate. New information requested includes location of undergrad, grad, and postdoc institutions. Collaborators & Other Affiliations are now provided in a separate document.
Collaborators & Other Affiliations / Required for all senior project personnel. The new format no longer requires proposers to identify the total number of collaborators and other affiliations when providing this information. Required information follows:
- Collaborators and co-Editors. A list of all persons in alphabetical order (including their current organizational affiliations) who are currently, or who have been collaborators or co-authors with the individual on a project, book, article, report, abstract or paper during the 48 months preceding the submission of the proposal. Also include those individuals who are currently or have been co-editors of a journal, compendium, or conference proceedings during the 24 months preceding the submission of the proposal. If there are no collaborators or co-editors to report, this should be so indicated.
- Graduate Advisors and Postdoctoral Sponsors. A list of the names of the individual’s own graduate advisor(s) and principal postdoctoral sponsor(s), and their current organizational affiliations, if known.
- Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate-Scholar Sponsor. A list of all persons (including their organizational affiliations, if known), with whom the individual has had an association as thesis advisor. In addition, a list of all persons with whom the individual has had an association within the last five years as a postgraduate-scholar sponsor.
Current & Pending / Required for all senior personnel (include the proposal being submitted) – and should include internal funds allocated toward specific projects.
Budget / The charging of computing devices as a direct cost is allowable for devices that are essential and allocable, but not solely dedicated, to the performance of the NSF award.
Budget Justification / For each sub-award, also. Three page limit per budget. All travel must be justified. Consultant services must be justified with 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. If requested, the proposer must be able to justify that the proposed rate of pay is reasonable.
Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources / An aggregated description of the internal and external resources that are, or will be available to the project (both physical and personnel). Ensure that no quantifiable financial information is provided.
Single Copy Docs / List of Suggested Reviewers, or Reviewers Not to Include (optional)
Format for Letters of Collaboration:
If the proposal submitted by Dr. [insert the full name of the Principal Investigator] entitled [insert the proposal title] is selected for funding by NSF, it is my intent to collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the Project Description or the Facilities, Equipment or Other Resources section of the proposal.
Results From Prior NSF Support:
If a PI or Co-PI has received NSF funding (including any current funding) in the past five years, information on the award(s) is required, irrespective of whether the support was directly related to the proposal or not. In cases where the PI or co-PI has received more than one award (excluding amendments), they need only report on the one award most closely related to the proposal. Funding includes not just salary support, but any funding awarded by NSF. The listing of publications resulting from an NSF award must provide a complete bibliographic citation for each publication in either the Results from Prior NSF Support section or in the References.The following information must be provided:
(a) the NSF award number, amount and period of support;
(b) the title of the project;
(c) a summary of the results of the completed work, including accomplishments, separately described under two distinct headings, related to the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact activities supported by the award;
(d) the publications resulting from the NSF award;
(e) evidence of research products and their availability, including, but not limited to: data, publications, samples, physical collections, software, and models, as described in any Data Management Plan; and
(f) if the proposal is for renewed support, a description of the relation of the completed work to the proposed work.
Reviewers will be asked to comment on the quality of the prior work described in this section of the proposal. Please note that the proposal may contain up to five pages to describe the results. Results may be summarized in fewer than five pages, which would give the balance of the 15 pages for the Project Description.