APPENDIX A - PROPOSAL PREPARATION CHECKLIST

As stated in Chapter II, Section A, it is important that all proposals conform to the proposal preparation and submission instructions provided in the GPG. Conformance is required and will be strictly enforced unless a deviation has been approved. NSF may return without review proposals that are not consistent with these instructions. See Chapter IV.B, Return Without Review, for additional information.

Prior to electronic submission, it is strongly recommended that an administrative review be conducted to ensure that proposals comply with the instructions, in the format specified. This checklist is not intended to be an all-inclusive repetition of the required proposal contents and associated proposal preparation guidelines. It is, however, meant to highlight certain critical items so they will not be overlooked when the proposal is prepared.

[ ] Proposal is responsive to the program announcement/solicitation or to the GPG. If previously declined, proposal has been revised to take into account the major comments from the prior NSF review.

[ ] Proposed work is appropriate for funding by NSF, and is not a duplicate of, or substantially similar to, a proposal already under consideration by NSF from the same submitter.

[ ] Proposal Format (ensure compliance with font, margin and spacing requirements, bearing in mind that proposal readability is of utmost importance)

[ ] Information About Principal Investigators/Project Directors (except for the required information regarding current or previous Federal research support and the name(s) of the PI/co-PI, submission of the information is voluntary)

[ ] List of suggested reviewers, or reviewers not to include (optional)

[ ] Deviation Authorization (if applicable)

[ ] Proprietary or Privileged Information Statement (if applicable)

[ ] SF LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (if applicable) (one copy only, scanned as a single copy document)

[ ] Cover Sheet

    [ ] Program Announcement/Solicitation No./Closing Date (If the proposal is not submitted in response to a specific program announcement/solicitation, proposers must enter NSF 04-23)

    [ ] Specific NSF program(s) identified (if known)

    [ ] For renewal proposal, previous award number entered

    [ ] Related preliminary proposal number entered (if applicable)

    [ ] Appropriate boxes on Cover Sheet checked

[ ] Project Summary (one page only with both merit review criteria separately addressed within the body of the Summary)

[ ] Project Description (15 page limitation)

    [ ] Results from Prior NSF Support (required only for PIs and Co-PIs who have received NSF support within last 5 years)

    [ ] Merit Review Criteria (ensure both merit review criteria are described as an integral part of the narrative. ⁴⁵ )

    [ ] Human-resource information (required for renewal proposals from academic institutions only)

[ ] References Cited (No page limitation, however, this section must include bibliographic citations only and must not be used to provide parenthetical information outside of the 15-page Project Description. Each reference must be in the specified format.)

[ ] Biographical Sketch(es) (2-page limitation, required for all senior project personnel. The required information must be provided in the order and format specified.)

[ ] Proposal Budget (cumulative and annual)

    [ ] Budget Justification (3 page limitation per proposal)

    [ ] Cost Sharing

        [ ] For proposals submitted in response to the GPG or an NSF program announcement, only the statutory cost sharing amount (1%) is required. In such cases, proposers are advised NOT to identify cost sharing amounts on Line M of the proposal budget.

        [ ] For proposals submitted in response to solicitations that require cost sharing, proposers are advised not to exceed the cost sharing level or amount specified in the solicitation.

[ ] Current and Pending Support (required for all senior project personnel)

[ ] Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources

[ ] Special Information and Supplementary Documentation (See Chapter II, Section C.2.j for types of information appropriate for submission in this section, as required.)

[ ] Any additional items specified in a relevant program solicitation

[ ] Proposal Certifications (submitted by the Authorized Organizational Representative within 5 working days following the electronic submission of the proposal.)

⁴⁵ Examples illustrating activities likely to demonstrate broader impacts are available electronically on the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/broaderimpacts.pdf.Back to Text