Section II. Instructions for Proposal Preparation

A. Conformance With Instructions for Proposal Preparation

It is important that all proposals conform to the instructions provided in this Section and the Proposal Forms Kit. Conformance is required and will be strictly enforced unless a deviation has been approved. Proposals that are not consistent with these instructions may be returned without further consideration by NSF. Particular attention will be given to proposal length, content and formatting, including the page limit on the Project Description, page limitations on other proposal sections, and the use of Appendices.

Any deviations from these instructions must be authorized in advance by NSF. Deviations may be authorized in one of two ways:

1. By the inclusion of specific different requirements in another NSF Announcement or Solicitation.

2. By the written approval of the cognizant NSF Assistant Director or designee. Such deviations may be a "blanket deviation" for a particular program or programs, or in rare instances an "individual" deviation for a particular proposal.

Proposers may deviate from these instructions only to the extent authorized. Proposals must identify the deviation in one of the following ways as appropriate: (a) by identifying the Program Announcement or Solicitation number in the appropriate block on the Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation, NSF Form 1207; or (b) by identifying the date of the deviation authorization, in the Program Announcement/Solicitation block on the NSF Form 1207, and including one copy of the written deviation authorization with the single-copy documents identified in paragraph B.