Phase I: Proposal Preparation and Submission

NSF Announces Funding Opportunities

There are various resources available to help you find sources of funding from NSF. The NSF website provides a comprehensive source of information on NSF Directorates (including contact information), programs and funding opportunities. For complete information on this topic, see GPG, Chapter I.B. NSF Programs and Funding Opportunities. Specific resources on finding funding include:

• Find Funding is a tool on the NSF website that provides an electronic capability to search for funding opportunities via title, NSF organization, or NSF program area;
• National Science Foundation Update is an information-delivery system designed to keep potential proposers and other interested parties apprised of new NSF funding opportunities;
• Grants.gov provides an electronic capability to search for Federal grant opportunities.

NSF uses the following mechanisms to announce funding opportunities and generate proposals. Detailed explanations of each are provided in GPG, Chapter I.B. NSF Programs and Funding Opportunities.

• Program Descriptions are posted on the NSF Directorate/Division websites to encourage the submission of proposals in specific program areas of interest to NSF. Proposals for a program description must follow the instructions in GPG, Chapter II. Proposal Preparation Instructions;
• Program Announcements are formal NSF publications that describe an NSF program. Proposals for a program announcement must follow the instructions in GPG, Chapter II. Proposal Preparation Instructions;
• Program Solicitations are formal NSF publications that encourage the submission of proposals in specific program areas of interest to NSF. They generally are more focused than program announcements, and normally apply for a limited period of time. They also may include additional restrictions and/or requirements. Proposals must follow the instructions in the program solicitation; the instructions in the GPG apply unless otherwise stated in the solicitation;
• Dear Colleague Letters are notifications of opportunities or special competitions for supplements to existing NSF awards.

Organization Prepares/Submits Proposal

The GPG provides detailed information on pre-submission information (Chapter I.). Specifics include types of organizations who may submit proposals, when to submit, and how to submit. Information on proposal preparation and submission (including formatting and content requirements) is in Chapter II of the GPG. Two electronic mechanisms are available for preparing and submitting proposals to NSF: FastLane and Grants.gov (see Chapter I.A. in the GPG.)

Except where specifically noted in the funding opportunity, all NSF funding opportunities (including program descriptions, announcements and solicitations) will either authorize, or, in some cases require, use of Grants.gov to prepare and submit proposals. In determining whether to use Grants.gov or the NSF FastLane system for the electronic preparation and submission of a proposal, proposers should note that all collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via FastLane. (See GPG, Chapter II.D.4 for additional information on collaborative proposals.)

Contact with NSF program personnel prior to proposal preparation and submission is encouraged. Some NSF programs have program solicitations that modify the general provisions of the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide or the GPG. In such cases, the guidelines provided in the solicitation must be followed.

NSF Receives Proposal

The NSF Proposal Processing Unit receives all proposals that are submitted to NSF (via FastLane and Grants.gov). The Processing Unit then routes the proposal to the appropriate NSF Program Officer. For further information regarding the review process, see Phase II: Proposal Review and Processing