NSF Grant Guide Revisions

Important Updates

The National Science Foundation (NSF) stresses that PIs contact the NSF Program Officer in your division prior to writing a proposal.

NSF has issued a revised version of its Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) . The revision is effective for all proposals submitted on or after January 30, 2023.

The PAPPG has been modified in its entirety, to remove all references to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and Award & Administration Guide (AAG). The document will now be referred to solely as the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG). The document will be sequentially numbered from Chapter I-XII and all references throughout have been modified to reflect this change. Part I of the document covers NSF’s proposal preparation and submission guidelines, and Part II covers NSF’s award, administration and monitoring guidelines.

The revision contains changes to policies and procedures associated with proposal submission. Overall changes in the NSF’s Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide are:

  • Editorial changes have been made throughout to either clarify or enhance the intended meaning of a sentence or section.
  • References to Research.gov have been incorporated throughout, as part of the final transition from FastLane to Research.gov for proposal preparation and submission.
  • Website and document references have been updated to reflect current information.
  • Updates have been made to ensure consistency with data contained in NSF systems or guidance located and terminology used in other NSF or Federal policy documents.

By chapter changes:

  • Chapters I.A, NSF Proposal Preparation and Submission and I.C, Categories of Funding Opportunities
  • Chapter I.D, Types of Submissions
  • Chapter I.E, Who May Submit Proposals
  • Chapter I.E.3, Unaffiliated Individuals
  • Chapter I.G.2, Requirements Relating to Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) and Registration in the System for Award Management (SAM)

Chapter II: Proposal Preparation Instructions

  • Chapter II.B, NSF Disclosure Requirements.
  • Chapter II.D.1.d, Proposal Certifications Provided by the Organization
  • Chapter II.D.1.e, Certification Requirement for Senior Personnel Specified in the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021
  • Chapter II.D.2, Sections of the Proposal
  • Chapter II.D.2.f(vi)(e), Subawards
  • Chapter II.D.2.f(viii), Indirect Costs
  • Chapter II.D.2.h(i), Biographical Sketch(es)
  • Chapter II.D.2.h(ii), Current and Pending (Other) Support
  • Chapter II.E.5, Proposals Involving Human Subjects
  • Chapter II.E.6, Potential Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)ff-Campus or Off-Site Research
  • Chapter II.F, Other Types of Proposals
  • Chapter II.F.5, Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) Proposal

Chapter VII: Award Administration

  • Chapter VII.D, Technical Reporting Requirements

Chapter IX: Recipient Standards

  • Chapter IX.B.1, Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR)
  • Chapter IX.C, Research Security

Chapter X: Allowability of Costs

  • Chapter X.C.1, Build America, Buy America, and Made in America Statutes
  • Chapter X.D.2, NSF Cognizant Organizations

Chapter XI: Other Post Award Requirements and Considerations

  • Chapter XI.B.1, Protection of Living Organisms
  • Chapter XI.B.5, Potential Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)
  • Chapter XI.J, Historic Properties
  • Chapter XI.K, Environmental Considerations
  • Chapter XI.M, Scientific Integrity

The PAPPG  presents an excellent summary of all the revisions in its opening pages.