A proposal submitted under the RUI activity is evaluated and funded by the NSF program in the disciplinary area of the proposed research. Thus, it is important to find the right program to which to submit a proposal. Some research projects, particularly collaborative projects, are likely not to fit neatly into a single NSF program. NSF disciplinary programs often cooperate in the review of interdisciplinary research and shared-use equipment proposals. However, the proposal is formally submitted to a specific research or instrumentation program.

The Foundation's research programs are summarized in the NSF Guide to Programs. Division Web pages are also an excellent source of information about the kinds of research that the various NSF divisions and programs support. These are reached from the NSF Home Page under the listing for program areas. Alternatively, at the top of the Home Page under "About NSF", one may access the Staff Directory that offers various search avenues, as well as links to the staff listings of each organizational unit and to an organizational list that spells out the various units and subunits (divisions).

Many NSF divisions and programs publish annual lists of research grants, and links to these are available on division Web pages. Lists of current awards for an NSF program may be generated by searching the award database, using the directions provided on this RUI/ROA Web home page under Making Connections for Research Opportunity Awards.