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Important Information about the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide

A new version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 09-1, has been posted on the NSF website and is available at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf091. The PAPPG is comprised of documents relating to the Foundation's proposal and award process and consists of:

(a) the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) for guidance on the preparation and submission of proposals to NSF; and

(b) the Award & Administration Guide (AAG) to guide, manage, and monitor the award and administration of grants and cooperative agreements made by the Foundation.

This new version of the PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted on or after January 5, 2009. Given the significance of some of the changes contained in this revised version, we wanted to provide the community with appropriate advance notice.

The significant changes include:

  • Entirely new guidance that addresses and implements the mentoring requirement of the America COMPETES Act;

  • A major revision of NSF’s faculty salary reimbursement policy, to limit compensation for senior personnel to no more than two months of their regular salary in any one year from all NSF-funded grants;

  • Debut of the Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) mechanisms, which replace the Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) program; and

  • Revision of the definition of co-PI for greater consistency with guidance issued by the Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP).

While this version of the PAPPG becomes effective on January 5, 2009, in the interim, the guidelines contained in the current PAPPG (NSF 08-1) continue to apply. We will ensure that the current version of the PAPPG remains on the NSF website, with a notation to proposers that specifies when the new PAPPG (including a link to the new Guide) will become effective. In addition, we plan to revise existing funding opportunities with due dates between January 5th and March 31st to alert proposers that significant changes have been made to NSF proposal preparation guidelines. Please direct any questions to the Policy Office in the Division of Institution & Award Support at policy@nsf.gov, or (703) 292-8243.