NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) 16-1
Proposal Checklist (for submissions after 1/25/16)
Recent changes to the GPG are highlighted in yellow. Program announcements or
solicitations may contain additional requirements in addition to the GPG requirements.
Please contact an SRS Representative in case there are any questions to the requirements
noted in this document.
All uploaded sections of a proposal, including supplementary documentation, must have:
a. One of the following typefaces identified below:
Arial, Courier New, or Palatino Linotype at a font size of 10 points or larger;
Times New Roman at a font size of 11 points or larger; or
Computer Modern family of fonts at a font size of 11 points or larger.
b. No more than six lines of text within a vertical space of one inch.
c. Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.
Cover Sheet
Proposal Title
Project Summary
(1 page)
Project
Description
References
Supplemental
Docs
Choose correct solicitation number and deadline. Proposers also
should enter the country/countries with which project participants
will engage and/or travel to attend international conferences. If the
specific location of the international conference is not known at the
time of the submission, proposers should enter "Worldwide".
Use correct title format (e.g., “Collaborative Research: Title”).
On FastLane, complete 3 text boxes to address "Overview", statement
on “Intellectual Merit", and statement on "Broader Impacts". The one
page limit still applies. The Project Summary can only be uploaded
as a pdf file if it contains special characters (mathematical
symbols or Greek letters). The aggregate of the 3 text boxes cannot
exceed 4,600 characters (including spaces). The maximum number of
lines (including blanks) on a page is 51.
15 pages - including “Results from Prior NSF Support” for PIs and
Co-PIs who have received NSF support with a start date in the last
five years. For more on this section, please see notes below. PD must
contain, as a separate section, a discussion labeled “Broader
Impacts.” PIs are advised that the PD must be self-contained and are
cautioned that URLs must not be used.
Please paginate. If there are no references, a statement to that effect
should be uploaded. Each reference must include the names of all
authors (in the same sequence in which they appear in the
publication), the article and journal title, book title, volume number,
page numbers, and year of publication. If the document is available
electronically, the website address also should be identified.
 Post-doc mentoring plan if applicable (1 page only)
 Up to 2 page Data Management Plan is required
 Letters of collaboration, not support: Such letters should be
limited to stating the intent to collaborate and should not contain
endorsements or evaluation of the proposed project. Proposals
that are not consistent with the instructions in this section will
Biosketches
Collaborators &
Other Affiliations
Current &
Pending
Budget
Budget
Justification
be returned without review. You must use the format
provided below.
Two-page limit, required for all senior personnel, in NSF format only.
Bios for Other Personnel may be uploaded (in Other Supplemental
Docs) but must be clearly identified. “Publications” has been
renamed “Products” and may include publications, data sets,
software, patents, and copyrights. If only publications are included,
the heading “Publications” may be used for this section. Inclusion of
information beyond that specified may result in the proposal
being returned without review. Personal info is not appropriate.
New information requested includes location of undergrad, grad,
and postdoc institutions. Collaborators & Other Affiliations are
now provided in a separate document.
Required for all senior project personnel. The new format no longer
requires proposers to identify the total number of collaborators and
other affiliations when providing this information. Required
information follows:
 Collaborators and co-Editors. A list of all persons in
alphabetical order (including their current organizational
affiliations) who are currently, or who have been
collaborators or co-authors with the individual on a project,
book, article, report, abstract or paper during the 48 months
preceding the submission of the proposal. Also include those
individuals who are currently or have been co-editors of a
journal, compendium, or conference proceedings during the
24 months preceding the submission of the proposal. If there
are no collaborators or co-editors to report, this should be so
indicated.
 Graduate Advisors and Postdoctoral Sponsors. A list of the
names of the individual’s own graduate advisor(s) and
principal postdoctoral sponsor(s), and their current
organizational affiliations, if known.
 Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate-Scholar Sponsor. A list of all
persons (including their organizational affiliations, if known),
with whom the individual has had an association as thesis
advisor. In addition, a list of all persons with whom the
individual has had an association within the last five years as
a postgraduate-scholar sponsor.
Required for all senior personnel (include the proposal being
submitted) – and should include internal funds allocated toward
specific projects.
The charging of computing devices as a direct cost is allowable for
devices that are essential and allocable, but not solely dedicated, to
the performance of the NSF award.
For each sub-award, also. Three page limit per budget. All travel must
be justified. Consultant services must be justified with information
furnished on each individual’s expertise, primary organizational
affiliation, normal daily compensation rate, and number of days of
expected service. Consultants’ travel costs, including subsistence, may
Facilities,
Equipment, and
Other Resources
Single Copy Docs
be included. If requested, the proposer must be able to justify that the
proposed rate of pay is reasonable.
An aggregated description of the internal and external resources that
are, or will be available to the project (both physical and personnel).
Ensure that no quantifiable financial information is provided.
List of Suggested Reviewers, or Reviewers Not to Include (optional)
Format for Letters of Collaboration:
If the proposal submitted by Dr. [insert the full name of the Principal Investigator]
entitled [insert the proposal title] is selected for funding by NSF, it is my intent to
collaborate and/or commit resources as detailed in the Project Description or the
Facilities, Equipment or Other Resources section of the proposal.
Results From Prior NSF Support:
If a PI or Co-PI has received NSF funding (including any current funding) in the past
five years, information on the award(s) is required, irrespective of whether the
support was directly related to the proposal or not. In cases where the PI or co-PI
has received more than one award (excluding amendments), they need only report
on the one award most closely related to the proposal. Funding includes not just
salary support, but any funding awarded by NSF. The listing of publications
resulting from an NSF award must provide a complete bibliographic citation for
each publication in either the Results from Prior NSF Support section or in the
References. The following information must be provided:
(a) the NSF award number, amount and period of support;
(b) the title of the project;
(c) a summary of the results of the completed work, including accomplishments,
separately described under two distinct headings, related to the Intellectual
Merit and Broader Impact activities supported by the award;
(d) the publications resulting from the NSF award;
(e) evidence of research products and their availability, including, but not limited to:
data, publications, samples, physical collections, software, and models, as described
in any Data Management Plan; and
(f) if the proposal is for renewed support, a description of the relation of the
completed work to the proposed work.
Reviewers will be asked to comment on the quality of the prior work described in
this section of the proposal. Please note that the proposal may contain up to five
pages to describe the results. Results may be summarized in fewer than five pages,
which would give the balance of the 15 pages for the Project Description.