Reporting
Requirements for Awards
There are additional
reporting requirements for CAREER awards. As with other NSF awards,
annual and final reports are required, and CAREER reports must
also provide approval and reaffirmation of the department's endorsement
of the work plan and continuing partnership in the individual's
career-development plan. This approval and reaffirmation of support
must be signed by the awardee's department head or equivalent and
scanned and uploaded into the report as a PDF file. Alternatively,
you may save the scanned image as a JPEG file, insert this file
into a standard Word Processing program, and upload the Word processing
file.
To prepare a project report:
From the FastLane Web site (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov),
select “Proposals, Awards & Status.” After logging
in select "Award and Reporting Functions" and then "Project Reports
System."
To include the departmental endorsement in your project report:
-
Scan the document and convert to PDF or insert image into
a Word Processor file. Please review the NSF rules for PDF files
and important information on scanning procedures below.
-
On the Project System Control Screen inside the Project Reports
System, select the “Attach File” link and upload
the endorsement.
Refer to the GPG,
Chapter VI.G.1 for information on preparation and submission
of annual and final reports. Annual progress reports should summarize
progress in both research and education and, where appropriate, collaborative
activities. The report should also include an update of other
support, if applicable.
NSF RULES FOR PDF FILES AND IMPORTANT INFORMATION ON SCANNING PROCEDURES
Summary of NSF Rules for PDF Files (https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.htm):
- Do not use Adobe Acrobat PDFWriter
- Always embed all fonts
- Always use embeddable Type 1 or True Type fonts
- Always check your results
- If using TeX or LaTeX, subset your fonts at 100%
PDF Reminder on Software to Use to Create PDF Files:
- Adobe Acrobat Distiller (3.x or higher) or Ghostscript (6.5
or higher)
Very Important Scanning Information:
Size of Scanned Document
Once your document is scanned and converted to PDF format, open
the file using Adobe Reader. Look at the bottom of the document
and you will see the file size. It should be 8.5 x 11. FastLane will
block the upload of non 8.5" x 11" files, but will
offer to attempt to fix the page size The automatic fix is nearly
perfect for scanned documents, but please proofread the
resulting file carefully. If you wish to set the 8.5" x 11" page size yourself,
please consult the instructions in the scanner's manual. OR, if you use Abobe
Distiller to convert your files to
pdf, please download the Adobe JobOptions as described in the NSF PDF instructions https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.htm.
Orientation of File
As long as the page size is 8.5" x 11", you may choose either
portrait or landscape orientation.
Resolution
Do not scan at the highest resolution. In most cases, this will
cause your files to become very large. NSF is only concerned with
being able to read the document. The file does not need
to be in color. Some scanned files at a lower resolution may look "fuzzy," but
as long as they are readable, NSF will be satisfied. The larger the file, the
longer it will take to transfer the
file over the Internet, which can cause timeout conditions for PIs or reviewers
using modems.
Adobe Photoshop Hints
If you scan your documents into Adobe Photoshop (Illustrator
and Framemaker also apply), you still need to convert them to PDF
files using Adobe Distiller. The PDF output from
Photoshop (Photoshop PDF *pdf) is not the same output you achieve when using
Distiller-even though both products are made by Adobe. (The Photoshop PDF uses
PDFWriter is blocked
by FastLane.) Please save your Photoshop file as "Photoshop EPS" and upload
the EPS file to FastLane (or use Distiller to convert to PDF).
If you do use Adobe Photoshop, make sure your document is not
inverted (black background and white text). If the file is inverted,
click on the "Image" menu and select "Adjust" and then"Invert."
Do Not Scan and Save as TIFF
Do not save your file as TIFF. Sometimes TIFF files produce an
error message and FastLane is unable to read the file. TIFF files
usually include an EOFB (end of data) command that
indicates where each file's image information stops. Some applications insert
the EOFB command before the last line of the file when they create TIFF files.
For example, if the TIFF file
contains 4400 lines, the application may insert the command at line 4368. Acrobat
viewers will return an error message when they read an EOFB command before
the actual last line of a
TIFF file.
JPG or BMP
Once you scan in your document, save it as .jpg (preferred) or
.bmp and then insert (rather than "cutting and pasting") into a
Word Processing document. Alternatively, you can covert the
image file to PDF if you have Acrobat Distiller - FastLane does not convert
JPEG or BMP files to PDF.
Always Preview
Preview your scanned document to make sure no characters were
inserted into the document. This happens when you scan using OCR
technology.
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