Routing NSF Proposals

In order to route an NSF proposal through OSP, the department /PIs must provide:

·         a signed routing form, that is completely and accurately filled out and has the appropriate signature (first two pages)

·         third page of routing form (if there are any students working on the project)

·         SRO Access to Review/Edit/Submit

That’s it!  We don’t need your statement of work because it’s included in Fastlane (via the Project Summary).  Nor do we need your budget or justification, which are also provided in Fastlane.  What’s most important to routing NSF proposals is that your documents are loaded in Fastlane and that SRO access is granted with enough time to review.

Below is a list of the documents that should be uploaded in Fastlane before requesting OSP Review (along with what is reviewed in each)

·         Cover Sheet – checked for accuracy against routing form, NSF Solicitation number used to locate solicitation and verify other solicitation-specific requirements

·         Project Summary – checked for 1 page limit, characters limit, three distinct sections for Overview, Intellectual Merit, and Broader Impacts

·         Project Description – checked for 15 page limit (or limit per solicitation guidelines), separate Broader Impacts section, does not contain URLs, complete Results from prior NSF support section

·         References – checked for full list of author names (no et al’s)

·         Biosketches – checked that they are included for all that should have them, checked against GPG for formatting, content, and completion, 2 page limit

·         Budget – checked for mathematical accuracy for fringe, overhead, and tuition calculations, verify minimum effort, confirm no one over 2 months/budget period

·         Budget Justification – checked for accuracy against budget, verify that 3 page limit is observed

·         Current and Pending Form – checked that they are included for all that should have them, verify that current proposal is included in “Pending” and information matches proposal/routing form (title, dates, budget amount, committed effort)

·         Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources – checked that it’s included and does not include quantifiable financial information

·         Mentoring Plan for Postdocs – checked that it’s included for proposals that have postdoctoral researchers

·         Data Management Plan – check that it’s included and does not exceed 2 pages

The bolded sections are the ones required for Collaborative Proposals on which we are *NOT* the lead (expect more on collaborative proposals in future T³).

In other words, your proposal should be complete and ready to review when released to OSP.  OSP’s policy on routing can be found here and states that,

 “Electronic Submission Policy: proposals that are to be submitted by an electronic means need to be ready to be released to the sponsor 24 hours prior to submission deadline and additionally, it needs to be ready for OSP review 2 days prior to that.”

This means that SRO Access for Review/Edit should be granted 3 days before the deadline.  Going forward, proposals will be reviewed and notes will be provided according to the following timeline:

Review access of full proposal granted:

Ø  2+ days before deadline – thorough review with thorough notes

Ø  1-2 days before deadline – thorough review with limited notes (sections that are non-compliant with the GPG will be noted, but the specificity of the non-compliance will not be provided)

Ø  same day of deadline (before 3PM) -  limited review – that it has all the required sections (but not reviewed for actual content), Cover Sheet, Budget, and Justification

Ø  same day of deadline (after 3 PM) – submitted without review and documented as such

This timeline will not only assist with proposal reviews and submissions, it will also allow me to be more effective in serving your non-financial post-award needs.  Given the extremely high volume of NSF proposals that are routed through OSP, adherence to the OSP policy for submissions is important in allowing me to provide meaningful customer service.  It is the PI’s responsibility to prepare the proposal in accordance with the GPG requirements so that the proposal will not be rejected by NSF without review.  The GPG can be found at:  http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpg_index.jsp and should be referenced during your proposal preparation.