“This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. (NSF grant number).”

PIs also must provide the following disclaimer (unless NSF states otherwise in the award document) in every publication of material (including World Wide Web pages) based on or developed under the PI’s NSF award, except scientific articles or papers appearing in scientific, technical or professional journals. 

“Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.”

NSF support also must be orally acknowledged by the PI during all news media interviews about the NSF project, including popular media such as radio, television and news magazines.

These requirements are found in the NEW NSF Award and Administration Guide (NSF 17-1), Chapter XI - Other Post Award Requirements and Considerations, section E. Publication/Distribution of Grant Materials.

New Proposal & Award Polocies and Procedures Guide (NSF 17-01)

Effective January 30, 2017 proposals must conform to the PAPPG-17 (NSF 17-01)

Partial List of Significant Changes:

• Chapter II.C.1.e, Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information, includes additional instructions for proposers. Each section of the Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information should be listed alphabetically by last name. The text has also been revised to remove the requirement that proposers list postgraduate scholar sponsors in this section of the proposal. 
• Chapter II.C.2.d(iii), Results from Prior NSF Support, includes revised language to clarify NSF’s purpose for collecting this information in the Project Description. The purpose of the Results from Prior NSF Support section is to assist reviewers in assessing the quality of prior work conducted with current or prior NSF support. Additional instructions have also been added regarding the type of information that should be included for projects that have been recently awarded, where no new results exist.
• Chapter II.C.2.g(vi), Other Direct Costs, has been updated to include information on incentive payments, for example, payments to human subjects or incentives to promote completion of a survey.
• Chapter II.D.5, Proposals Involving Human Subjects, has been updated to reflect the Foundation’s implementation of 45 CFR 690.118, applications and proposals lacking definite plans for involvement of human subjects. A hypertext link is provided to an NSF-approved format that may be used to submit such determinations by proposing institutions. Clarification has also been added regarding the IRB documentation that NSF must have in order to make an award when proposals involve human subjects.
• Chapter XI.B.1, Human Subjects, has been updated to reflect the Foundation’s implementation of 45 CFR 690.118, applications and proposals lacking definite plans for involvement of human subjects. Clarification has also been added regarding the IRB documentation that NSF must have for projects that involve human subjects.
• Chapter II.C.2.f(i), Biographical Sketch(es), Senior Personnel, has been revised to reflect that FastLane no longer accepts the Biographical Sketch inserted as text. The Biographical Sketch for each senior personnel must be uploaded as a single PDF file associated with that individual.
• Chapter II.C.2.j, Special Information and Supplementary Documentation:
  • has been updated to clarify where the "Mentoring Plan" and "Data Management Plan" should be uploaded in the Supplementary Documentation section of FastLane.
  • includes additional language to emphasize the importance of submitting letters of support only when specifically required by a program solicitation.
• Chapter II.D.3.b, Submission of a collaborative proposal from multiple organizations, has been updated to include the Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information in the list of required sections for a collaborative proposal. The Collaborators & Other Affiliations Information should be separately provided by the lead and non-lead organization(s) in a separately submitted collaborative proposal.

For a complete list of changes within the PAPPG, click here.

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Timely Topic

Establishing Guidelines for a Grant Budget

Grants Compliance Expert (Thompson Publishing) recommends establishing guidelines for a grant budget. Developing a STEADFAST grant budget enables an organization to accomplish the program objectives with a given amount of money; simplifies the grants management process; and ensures that the proposed budget will pass the scrutiny of federal agencies. 

To make it easier to remember, such a budget is one that addresses a Spending schedule, is Task-oriented, is Evaluative, is Accurate, is Dependable, is Flexible, Allocates resources, is Sustainable and is Team-oriented.