NSF System Enhancements to Support the Revised PAPPG (NSF 23-1)

Please see the message below from NSF communicated 1/30/2023 to the community.

Dear Colleagues:

The National Science Foundation (NSF) made a number of system updates in Research.gov, FastLane, and Grants.gov in accordance with implementation of the revised Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1) for proposals submitted or due on or after January 30, 2023. Please see the Summary of Changes to the PAPPG (NSF 23-1) and view the Fall 2022 PAPPG (NSF 23-1) Revisions presentation.

Proposal Preparation and Submission in Research.gov

• New proposals must be prepared and submitted in Research.gov. FastLane proposal preparation and submission functionality has been decommissioned. Grants.gov remains a submission option for most NSF proposals.
• New supplemental funding requests must be submitted in Research.gov regardless of the system (Research.gov, FastLane, or Grants.gov) used for proposal submission.
• Multiple Research.gov training resources are available:
  • Visit the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page for Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), how-to guides, and video tutorials and the Research.gov About Supplemental Funding Request Preparation and Submission page for FAQs.
  • Explore preparing Research.gov proposals and supplemental funding requests on the Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site and Research.gov Supplemental Funding Request Demo Site. All Research.gov automated compliance checks are enabled on the demo sites, and the sites can be used to verify proposal and supplemental funding request document compliance in Research.gov before uploading documents in the actual systems.
  • View the Fall 2022 Proposal Submission Modernization Update recording including a demo of Research.gov proposal preparation features.

Additional System Enhancements to Support the PAPPG (NSF 23-1)

Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support

• As of January 30, 2023, Research.gov and Grants.gov only accept the revised biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support formats. Research.gov and Grants.gov will generate a compliance error message if a proposer or grantee attempts to upload a prior version of either document.
• The revised biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support formats are in SciENcv, and the fillable PDFs are available on the NSF biographical sketch and current and pending (other) support websites. Proposers currently may use either SciENcv or the fillable PDFs. Beginning October 23, 2023, use of SciENcv will become mandatory.
• The Research.gov Project Reporting System will enforce use of the revised current and pending (other) support format when uploaded in annual and final project reports.
• View the NSF Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support: SciENcv and NSF Formats webinar, NSF presentation, and NIH presentation.

Concept Outlines and ProSPCT

• Emails generated by the Program Suitability and Proposal Concept Tool (ProSPCT) for the concept outline submission type can be uploaded in the Research.gov Proposal Submission System. This applies to Rapid Response Research (RAPID), EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE), and Planning proposals.
• For additional guidance, refer to PAPPG Chapter I.D.1. and view the Concept Outlines at NSF webinar.

Additional Updates

• A new checkbox has been added to the proposal Cover Sheet for Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for Off-Campus or Off-Site Research. Refer to the PAPPG Chapter II.E.9.
• Functionality has been added in the Research.gov Proposal Submission System for proposers to provide updated current and pending (other) support information requested by NSF program officers prior to making funding recommendations. Refer to PAPPG Chapter II.D.2.h.(ii).
• A new Post Award Disclosure of Current Support and In-Kind Contributions notification has been added. Access this new request using the Notification & Requests link under Awards & Reporting on the Research.gov My Desktop page. Refer to PAPPG Chapter 9.C.

FastLane Decommissioning

• Limited FastLane proposal capabilities such as proposal file updates and budget revisions will remain available for FastLane-submitted proposals until September 29, 2023. This includes proposals submitted to NSF via Grants.gov on or before November 18, 2022.
• Refer to the FastLane Decommissioning page for additional information. This page will be updated on an ongoing basis.

Questions?

• For NSF technical questions or immediate assistance, please contact the NSF Help Desk (7:00 AM – 9:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday except for federal holidays):

• Email the NSF Help Desk: rgov@nsf.gov
• Call the NSF Help Desk: 1-800-381-1532

• For NIH SciENcv technical questions or immediate assistance, please contact the NIH Help Desk (7:30 AM – 5:30 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday except for federal holidays):

• Email the NIH Help Desk: info@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• Create a ticket: https://support.nlm.nih.gov/support/create-case/

• Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov.

My best regards,

Jean

Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution and Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management