NSF Updates Proposal Policies

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued a revised Proposal and Award Policies & Procedures Guide – the PAPP.

Dear Colleagues:

We have published a revised version of the version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), (NSF 11-1): http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf11001/. The document is available in html, and, a pdf version of the document will be posted in the near future.

The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 18, 2011. Clarifications and changes include:


• Chapter II.C.2.j, Special Information and Supplementary Documentation, contains a clarification of NSF’s long standing data policy. All proposals must describe plans for data management and sharing of the products of research, or assert the absence of the need for such plans. Fastlane will not permit submission of a proposal that is missing the Data Management Plan. The Data Management Plan will be reviewed as part of the intellectual merit or broader impacts of the proposal, or both, as appropriate.

• Chapter II.C.2.g(xi), Cost Sharing, has been revised to implement the National Science Board’s recommendations regarding cost sharing. Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited. In order to assess the scope of the project, all organizational resources necessary for the project must be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal. The description should be narrative in nature and must not include any quantifiable financial information. Mandatory cost sharing will only be required when explicitly authorized by the NSF Director.

• Chapter II.C.2.a, Cover Sheet, has been revised for consistency with the requirements of the Federal Funding & Accountability Act, to replace the Performing/Research Organization information with Project/Performance Site Primary Location information. This change already has been made on a government-wide basis in the SF 424 family of forms. If the project will be performed at a location other than the awardee, additional geographic information must be provided.

A by-chapter summary of significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide to assist you in identifying the changes.


http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf11001/gpg_sigchanges.jsp