From The newsletter of APLU (American Public Land-Grant Universities) is a succinct note on upcoming changes for proposal submissions to NSF. I want to be sure our faculty are aware of these upcoming changes, especially given the pre-proposal requirement within some programs.Please share this information with them. Thank you.

Stella

NSF Issues New Proposal and Award Policies

October 8, 2012—The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released new guidelines changing the way proposals are submitted and the administration of grants and cooperative agreements made by the foundation. The new Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) goes into effect forproposals due on or after January 14, 2013. The current PAPPG will remain in effect until then.

Revisions to the merit review criteria are expected to have broad repercussions for proposers, reviewers and NSF staff. Some of the significant changes include:

• Project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.
• Instructions for preparation of the Biographical Sketch have been revised to rename the “Publications” section to “Products” and amend terminology and instructions accordingly. This change makes clear that products may include, but are not limited to, publications, data sets, software, patents, and copyrights.
• Coverage on compensation of Indirect Costs (also known as Facilities and Administrative Costs (F&A) for Colleges and Universities) has been clarified to specify that, except as noted in the GPG sections on participant support and international travel grants, or as specified in an NSF program solicitation, the applicable indirect cost rate(s) negotiated by the organization with the cognizant negotiating agency must be used in computing indirect costs for a proposal.
• Modification of the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of proposals to assist proposers in complying with the NSF cost sharing policy.
• Additional proposal certifications must be submitted by the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) covering organizational support of the proposed research, tax obligations/liability and felony convictions.
• Numerous clarifications also have been made throughout the document.

A by-chapter summary of the changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide to assist with identifying the changes. Proposers can also access the revised NSF Merit Review website  or visit the resource website for the proposer communitycontaining presentations, fact sheets and other important links. A webcast will be available in early Nov. 2012.

Direct link to the NSF website (in case link does not work)

http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/index.jsp