Proposal NSF

Required Forms or Formatting

Biographical Sketch and Current Pending located under SciENcv—no other format allowed as of Oct. 23, 2023 in Research.gov

Collaborator and Other Affiliation Form (COA)

The editable 2023 COA Template is allowed and is provided here coa_template.xlsx (live.com)

NSF Letter of Collaboration–Recommended Text for Standard proposal (PAPPG 24-1, II-32-II-33)

While not required, the following format may be used in preparation of 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 and Other Resources section of the proposal.”

While letters of collaboration are permitted, unless required by a specific program solicitation, letters of
support should not be submitted as they are not a standard component of an NSF proposal.
Proposals that contain letters of support not authorized by the program solicitation
may be returned without review.

Letters of Collaboration additional information. Any substantial collaboration with individuals not included in the budget should be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section of the proposal (see Chapter II.D.2.g) and documented in a letter of collaboration from each collaborator. Such letters should be provided in the supplementary documentation section of Research.gov and follow the format instructions specified in Chapter II.D.2.i. Collaborative activities that are identified in the budget should follow the instructions in Chapter II.E.3.

Letters of Collaboration for MRI proposals are different but do have specific text to follow.

Data Management Plan Guidance

GEO Directorate Guidance & Examples

ENG Directorate Guidance and Policy

Office of OPP Guidance and Policy

BIO Directorate Guidance & Policy

CISE Directorate Guidance for DMP

STEM Education Directorate Guidance

NSF Collaborative Proposal Components

NSF submission of collaborative proposals from multiple organizations (PAPPG 24-1, II-36)

  • Must be submitted via research.gov
  • Require each non-lead organization to provide a PIN which is then added to the lead proposal (linked).

  • Verify within the solicitation, the title must begin with
    Collaborative Research: XXXXX

Required sections of the proposal differ based on the organizational role. The following sections are required for a collaborative proposal submitted by:

Lead Organization

  1. Cover Sheet
  2. Project Summary
  3. Table of Contents (auto-generated)
  4. Project Description
  5. Reference Cited
  6. Biographical Sketch(es)
  7. Budget
  8. Budget Justification
  9. Current and Pending Other Support
  10. Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources
  11. Collaborators & Other Affiliations COA(s)
  12. Synergistic Activities
  13. Data Management Plan
  14. Mentoring Plan (if applicable)

Non-Lead Organization

  1. Cover Sheet
  2. Table of Contents (auto-generated)
  3. Biographical Sketch(es)
  4. Budget
  5. Budget Justification
  6. Current and Pending Other Support
  7. Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources
  8. Collaborators & Other Affiliations COA(s)
  9. Synergistic Activities

Chapter II.D.2.i for additional guidance on the mentoring and data management plan requirements for collaborative proposals. NSF will combine the proposal submission for printing or electronic viewing.

Broader Impacts

Broader Impacts ideation resource from ARIS

Diversity and STEM: Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities

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