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Hi,<br>
<br>
Recently NSF sent out a newsletter - I think most of our scientific
staff are on the email lists... I sent this to you for information -
please share within your department as appropriate.<br>
<br>
<p><b><font face="Arial">9. Proposal Compliance and Target Dates</font></b>
</p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="2">We are seeing an increasing number of
proposals that do not conform to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and
long-standing Program policies. In the past we have been fairly liberal
in allowing non-conforming proposals to be revised before we send them
out for review. However, Program time spent checking compliance and
corresponding with principal investigators (PI) to make corrections has
become such a burden that it compromises other aspects of the review
process. Therefore, we strongly recommend that the sponsored research
office and principal investigators make every effort to ensure that
proposals are compliant with the Grant Proposal Guide before submission
and before the target date. Starting in 2008, proposals identified by
the Program as non-compliant will have a very narrow window after the
target date in which the PI can correct the proposal. If the
non-compliant proposal is not corrected or a non-compliance issue is
identified after this time period then the proposal will be returned
without review for non-compliance. If you have questions regarding
compliance feel free to contact the Program to which you are submitting
your proposal prior to submission. The following is a brief reminder
of policies that seem to be the most often misunderstood:</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="2"> </font>
<br>
<b><font face="Arial" size="2">Target Dates</font></b><font face="Arial"
size="2">
– 15 August and February. Proposals are to be submitted on or shortly
prior to this date. The target date designation allows for leniency
when a PI has exigent circumstances that preclude them from a timely
submission. In such rare cases, the principal investigator should
contact the program prior to the target date. Proposals submitted
after this date without prior authorization from the Program will still
be accepted, although they will be held for the following panel cycle.
In these circumstances, it may be best to withdraw the proposal rather
than leave it static in the period between target dates.</font></p>
<p><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Organizations Eligible for NSF
Support – </font></b> <font face="Arial" size="2">Proposals submitted
to OCE requesting support</font> <font face="Arial" size="2">for
foreign organizations, state governments and other federal agencies are
usually non-compliant. It is not in keeping with long standing NSF
Policy to provide support for foreign organizations, other federal
agencies and state governments. In the case of foreign organizations,
exceptions may be granted where there is an exceptionally strong case
that the supported activities cannot be obtained by a U.S.
organization; however, these exceptions should be cleared with the
Program in advance of submitting a proposal so that unneeded efforts
and returned proposals are not a result. As for federal employees,
we cannot provide salary or travel expenses for other Federal employees
and, as Program policy, we do not generally provide research expenses
for other Federal research efforts. We follow similar guidelines for
State agencies and personnel, but we do have flexibility to support
funding for educational purposes. We do not view courtesy appointments
of Federal or State employees at eligible organizations as a legitimate
way to circumvent the intention of policy. Organizations</font> <font
face="Arial" size="2">eligible to receive NSF support are listed in
the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG Section I.E.). </font></p>
<p><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Results from Prior NSF Support</font></b><font
face="Arial" size="2">
- PIs and co-PIs who have received NSF support within the last 5 years
are required to provide information on the award(s). Proposals lacking
full development of this section may be returned as non-compliant. In
addition, an increasing number of investigators have submitted
proposals that include in the</font><i><font face="Arial" size="2"> </font></i></p>
<p><b><font face="Arial" size="2">References Cited</font></b> <font
face="Arial" size="2">section
of the proposal a separate section of references for publications
related to Results from Prior NSF Support. Using the references
section to provide information that should be included in the 15-page
Project Description goes against the GPG. A list of specific
information that should be addressed in the prior support section of
the Project Description is found in Section II.C. of the GPG</font></p>
<p><font face="Arial" size="2"> </font>
<br>
<font face="Arial" size="2">The issues, highlighted above, are
covered by the GPG and, in some cases, we have developed Program
guidelines to provide further guidance. Program Officers are here to
discuss your potential submission well in advance of proposal
preparation.</font></p>
<p><b><font face="Arial" size="2">Biographical Sketch(es)-</font></b> <font
face="Arial" size="2">Please
ensure that biographical sketch information is current. This
information is used by the programs to check for conflicts and provides
reviewers with relevant publications for review.</font></p>
<br>
<pre class="moz-signature" cols="72">--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Claire L. Reid
Director, Grant & Contract Services
Fenno House, ms #39
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole, MA 02543
Phone: 508-289-2462
Fax: 508-457-2189
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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