Important Information on Proposal Submission, Review, and Administration
In order to ensure both the timely handling of proposals and fairness in comparing competing requests for funding, the DMII Division has established two proposal submission windows for all unsolicited proposals submitted to the DMII disciplinary programs. Proposals that do not arrive within these windows, or that violate the NSF-wide policy on explicitly addressing review criteria (intellectual merit and broader impacts) will be returned without review. In addition:
- Proposals should be submitted within an acceptance window from either 1 September thru 1 October or 1 January thru 1 February (by 5 pm proposer's local time), or the first Federal business day thereafter if October 1 or February 1 falls on a weekend or Federal Holiday. Federal Holidays can be found at http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/index.htm . Proposals submitted either before or after the acceptance window may be returned without review. All proposals must be submitted via FastLane.
- This submission policy for DMII also applies to proposals submitted as requests for Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI), NSF 00-144, http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf00144 , or proposals submitted for Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI), NSF 98-142, http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?nsf98142 . These are reviewed together with unsolicited proposals submitted through disciplinary programs.
- Small group proposals: Proposals from small, multi-disciplinary groups are encouraged. A broad disciplinary base is sought, bringing expertise from engineering, physics, mathematics, and the social sciences to bear on issues in manufacturing machines and equipment. A goal of this program is to merge the theories of this field with those of other fields to gain a broader range of consistency in the theoretical base for manufacture. Investigators planning to submit a small group proposal must contact the Program Director and discuss ideas in advance of proposal submission. Submission deadlines above apply to small group proposals.
- The following types of requests are NOT subject to the acceptance window restrictions described above:
- Following discussion and encouragement from a Program Director in DMII, proposals submitted to request Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) or workshops may be submitted at any time during the year. However, it is strongly encouraged that these proposals be submitted early in the fiscal year (beginning October 1).
- Principal Investigators who wish to apply for supplements to existing grants to fund Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) or Research Experiences for Teachers (RET). Requests for REU or RET Supplements to existing grants must be made through FastLane.
- Principal Investigators wishing to make any other requests for supplements should first discuss their request with their DMII Program Director. Guidelines for Supplements are given in the GPG.
- Proposals must be prepared in compliance with the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). See http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?gpg . Please read this document carefully before proposal submission. Failure to follow GPG requirements will result in the return of a proposal without review.
- Pay particular attention to margins, font size and page limitations. Minimum suggested font size is 12 point . Smaller font sizes make reading difficult and generally result in lower ratings. Be sure all type on figures is legible. All proposals that have a Project Description section that exceeds 15 pages will be returned without review . No exceptions!
- ALL Proposals, including supplemental requests, intended for DMII, regardless of program, MUST be submitted via NSF´s FastLane system.
- Proposals are reviewed both for their Intellectual Merit and their Broader Impacts. Both criteria will be addressed explicitly in the review and in considering funding recommendations. Proposals that do not separately address the Broader Impacts Criterion in the project summary will be returned without review. PIs are reminded to insert a separate paragraph(s) explicitly entitled “Broader Impacts” in the project summary. Broader impacts should not be interpreted as a kind of political correctness filter; it is not necessary that every proposal have an impact in all areas, but those that have the potential for a large impact in any of the areas covered by that criterion will be given higher priority for funding. A major goal here is to encourage more systematic strategic thinking about ways to improve connections between one's area of research and a larger societal context. All proposals that fail to explicitly address both review criteria in the Summary and Project Description sections will be returned without review.
- Each year DMII sponsors the Design, Service and Manufacturing Grantees and Research Conference (DSMGRC). All DMII awardees are expected to submit a paper for the proceedings and to attend the conference and present a poster of their funded research project (current or anticipated results) progress. Please be sure to include funds in your travel budget and specifically mention in your budget explanation that funds to attend the annual DMII grantees conference are included in the budget, or that the funding for your attendance will come from other sources.
Questions regarding any type of funding request not covered above should be referred to a DMII Program Director.
See Deadlines for due dates of other kinds of proposals.
Most DMII proposals are reviewed by peer panels. Researchers interested in serving on panels are encouraged to contact the appropriate program officer to volunteer their services as panel members. It is expected that people who submit proposals will occasionally serve as panelists.
Many questions about how to write proposals, how they are reviewed, and how to request changes in budgets, termination dates, etc. are answered in the presentation: Research Program Development Workshop 2004.
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