This page highlights additional guidance for NSF Directorate for Biological Sciences (NSF BIO) principal investigators preparing conference proposals and requests for support of undergraduate research experiences or research opportunities for faculty at predominantly undergraduate institutions.
Refer to the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (NSF PAPPG) for complete proposal requirements.
On this page
Conference proposals
Support levels
Funding is at the discretion of each program, depending upon the merit of the proposed activities and the availability of funds.
Most conferences and workshops are supported for only one year at a time, although support for multiyear meetings may be considered in rare instances.
Proposal preparation
Proposals should be submitted six to 12 months in advance of the scheduled meeting and should follow the requirements outlined in the NSF PAPPG.
Before submission, principal investigators (PIs) are strongly encouraged to email a program director, or program alias, to obtain feedback on the scientific and educational goals, scope, and budget of the meeting. The email should be accompanied by a short (1-3 pages) summary, addressing the following:
- Draft agenda summarizing planned activities.
- How the meeting will foster advancement of the field.
- How the meeting will enhance interdisciplinary areas of biology or facilitate multidisciplinary projects and collaborations.
- Products — papers, books, teaching materials, formation of research networks — that will be produced as a result of the meeting and how these will be disseminated to the scientific community.
- Approaches to encourage participation of early-career investigators and students, together with methods for selecting participants.
- Proposed broader impacts.
- Draft budget and budget justification.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
NSF BIO encourages involvement of undergraduates in research. Ideally, requests for funding REU activities should be included as a component in new or renewal grant applications. On rare occasions, if the need for undergraduate support was not foreseen at the time of the original proposal submission, funds for REU activities may be requested as a supplement to an existing award. Prior to submitting this type of request, principal investigators should contact their cognizant program director, as such requests are subject to availability of funds.
Please refer to the REU funding opportunity (NSF 23-601) for guidance on research and mentoring requirements and budget.
Research Opportunity Funding Requests for Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (ROA-PUI)
BIO encourages ROA-PUI funding requests to enable faculty members at primarily undergraduate institutions to pursue research as visiting scientists with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions. Ideally, requests for this funding should be included in new or renewal proposals.
Rarely, requests for ROA-PUI support that was not foreseen at the time of the original proposal submission may be submitted as a supplement to an existing award. Such requests should be submitted at least three months before the desired start of the proposed activity. Prior to submitting this type of request, PIs should contact the cognizant program director to determine if the proposed budget is appropriate and if funds are available.
Requests should follow the guidance in the PAPPG.