The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a revised version of the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), version 23-1. Below are some notable policy changes related to proposals and awards that we want to draw your attention to. For a complete list of the changes and for additional detail, please see the updated PAPPG (NSF 23-1). Please contact your OSP Proposal Team with any proposal questions and the CGA Awards Group with any post award questions.
Important FastLane Proposal Preparation and Submission Decommissioning Deadlines:
- 1/27/23 - Last day to submit new proposals in FastLane (@ 5:00pm submitter’s local time). After this date all new proposals must be initiated and submitted in Research.gov
- How a Principal Investigator Initiates a New Proposal in Research.gov:
Funding Opportunities – NSF has developed a Broad Agency Announcement & Management system (BAA & BAAM). The new system allows for proposal input flexibility and supports select post-award administrative activities like those found in Research.gov. BAAM policy and procedural guidance is found in the relevant solicitation or Broad Agency Announcements (BAA).
“Concept Outline” Submissions – Planning and time-sensitive proposals* must submit concept outlines (sent either by email to the Program Officer or using the new ProSPCT Concept Tool) prior to submission of a full proposal inorder to confirm SOW appropriateness (see NSF Funding Opportunity for guidance). The PI will receive confirmation from the Program Officer if the proposal is accepted for submission; uploading this email to the “Program Officer Concurrence” proposal section is required. (*Planning, Rapid Response Research - RAPID, Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research - EAGER, and Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering - RAISE).
UEI and SAM Registration - Subaward entities need not complete a SAM registration; rather, they need to obtain a UEI number from the SAMS website and be registered in Research.gov. SAM registration is required for entities that receive direct federal funds.
PI Disclosure Requirements - Researchers personally certify their Bio-sketch and Current/Pending Support forms as accurate, current, and complete for new applications, at the award Just-in-Time stage, and with annual/final reports. Required use of SciENcv for the preparation of these documents begins in October 2023. Important reminder: knowingly completing forms with inaccurate, out-of-date or inadequate information can result in rejection of the proposal, notifications to other federal agencies of such failed disclosures, and censure including award termination.
New Off-Campus/Off-Site Research Checkbox - check this box when data/ information/ samples are being collected off-campus or off-site, such as fieldwork and research activities including activities on vessels and aircraft.
Safe & Inclusive Off-Campus/Site Research – the PI is required to have a plan in place for conducting safe and inclusive research (i.e., plan development, communication including reporting, and dissemination). More information and MSU’s policies can be found at the following link.
Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) - Requires appropriate training and oversight in the responsible and ethical conduct of research to undergraduate students, graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and – as of July 31, 2023 – the requirement is expanded to include faculty, and other senior personnel. The revised section also specifies expected mentor and mentorship training content. See MSU OSP/CGA link for more details.
A summary of the changes can also be found on the Summary of NSF PAPPG 23-1 Changes webpage. For additional NSF proposal and award information, please visit the NSF Sponsor webpage.
