Critical Component Series: Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan

A critical component of a successful NSF proposal that requests funding to support a postdoctoral researcher is the Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan.  This section allows investigators to demonstrate their planned mentoring activities.  This is a required document for any proposals with support for postdocs; failure to include this section can result in the proposal being rejected without review.

Why Is This Document Critical?
Besides being required by the NSF, this document is important because it allows the PI to convey commitment to the career path of postdoctoral researchers under his/her tutelage.  Through career counseling, proposal preparation, preparation of publications for scientific journals and presentations at conferences, and teaching, the Postdoctoral Researcher should gain adequate knowledge and experience to excel in his/her career path.  PIs should also document how they plan to enhance the postdoctoral researcher's experience through structured mentoring activities regarding professional practices and technology transfer. Lastly, the Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan should establish and enforce assessment tools

Where Do I Upload This Document?
The Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan should be uploaded into the Supplementary Documents.

What about Collaborative Submissions?
In collaborative submissions, whether from a single organization and multiple organization, only one mentoring plan is required.  The mentoring plan must describe the mentoring that will be provided to all postdoctoral researchers supported by the project, irrespective of whether they reside at the submitting organization, any subrecipient organization, or at any organization participating in a simultaneously submitted collaborative project.

What Else Does the NSF Say about This Document?
Examples of mentoring activities include, but are not limited to: career counseling; training in preparation of grant proposals, publications and presentations; guidance on ways to improve teaching and mentoring skills; guidance on how to effectively collaborate with researchers from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary areas; and training in responsible professional practices.

Also, please note proposers are advised that the mentoring plan may not be used to circumvent the 15-page project description limitation.