NSF Notice Regarding Automated Compliance Checking of FastLane Proposal Submissions

Beginning March 18, 2013, the NSF will enhance the FastLane System to begin automated compliance checking for all required sections of full proposals. This will bring NSF systems in line with long-standing proposal preparation requirements as outlined in the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (Chapter II.C.2 of the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)). Preliminary proposals are not affected by this system enhancement.

The GPG-required sections of a proposal include:

  • Project Summary*
  • Project Description
  • References Cited
  • Biographical Sketch(es)
  • Budget
  • Budget Justification
  • Current and Pending Support
  • Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources
  • Data Management Plan*
  • Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan (if applicable)*

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Effective February 1, 2013 – NSF Revises Reporting Submission Process

NSF is transitioning annual, final and interim project reporting from FastLane to Research.gov

  • February 1st, 2013 – NSF Awardees must stop submitting reports in FastLane
  • March 15th, 2013 – Program Officers approve all pending FastLane projects
  • March 18th, 2013 – Turn off FastLane

NSF Letter to Colleagues: Implementing all Project Reporting in Research.gov (PDF)


NSF Issues New Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released a new version of the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG)(NSF 13-1). This version will be effective for all NSF proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013.

Some significant changes include:

  • Revisions to the NSF Merit Review Criteria which implement the National Science Board’s (NSB) recommendations. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected;
  • Revision of the Biographical Sketch(es) instructions to rename the “Publications” section to “Products” and amend terminology and instructions accordingly;
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Quick Resources

About The Office of Research

Without good administrative support, research nationally has shown that college and university faculty can spend as much as 40 percent of the time available for research on administrative responsibilities associated with grants.

Our goal is to help faculty with administrative functions so they can focus on their research and scholarship - we want them to achieve their research objectives with a minimum of hassle.

We are a team of professionals dedicated to providing highly responsive, effective complete life cycle support for grant and research administration. Office of Research (OR) staff serve as a liaison for researchers with sponsoring agencies, collaborating institutions and other offices on campus. We strive to balance a high-level of customer service to researchers while ensuring appropriate stewardship and financial compliance for research initiatives.

The OR is one of several departments under the umbrella of the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR), led by Dr. Robert Bernhard. An organizational chart of other departments and functional groups that report to the OVPR can be found in the Leadership section on ND.edu.

Research Funding Facts

The Office of Research, under the direction of Liz Rulli, the Associate Vice President for Research, administered approximately 1,000 proposal submissions in Fiscal Year 2012 totaling $530 million dollars.

Fiscal Year 2012 research awards to Notre Dame topped the $100 million mark for the third consecutive year. The figure of more than $104 million represents an increase of almost $30 million from four years ago, and an increase of almost $80 million in the last 10 years. Sixty-five percent of the funding was awarded by the federal government for research, facilities and equipment, and educational and service programs. Awards from industrial sponsors continued to increase from $7 million in 2010 to approximately $10 million in 2012. Research expenditures from external sources totaled over $104 million in 2012, an 8 percent increase from the prior year.