National Science Foundation Directorate for Engineering Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems 4201 Wilson Boulevard Suite 545 Arlington, Virginia 22230

DATE: July 15, 2004

SUBJECT: CMS UNSOLICITED PROPOSAL SUBMISSION WINDOWS

Dear Colleagues:

To ensure both the timely handling of proposals and fairness in comparing competing requests for funding, starting in calendar year 2005, the Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems (CMS) in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) has established two proposal submission windows for all investigator initiated/unsolicited proposals submitted to CMS's disciplinary programs. The submission windows are the month of February, closing on March 1, and the month of September, closing on October 1 (5:00 PM local time). If March 1 or October 1 falls on a weekend or a Federal holiday, the closing date will be the first Federal business day thereafter. Federal holidays can be found at http://www.opm.gov/fedhol/index.htm. Only proposals submitted during these proposal submission windows will be considered for review; proposals submitted outside these windows will be returned without review.

For the remainder of calendar year 2004, the proposal submission window for all investigator initiated/unsolicited proposals submitted to CMS's disciplinary programs remains the same, i.e., the month of November, closing on December 1, 2004.

The CMS Division discourages multiple proposals by the same PI and/or co-PI within the same submission window.

These Proposal Submission Windows do not apply to proposals submitted in response to Foundation-wide solicitations with their own deadlines.

The following types of requests are NOT subject to the proposal submission windows and may be submitted at any time during the year:

• Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER) or workshops, but only after contacting the cognizant program director first.
• Supplements to existing grants such as Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) or Research Experiences for Teachers (RET).

CMS requires that all proposals be submitted via FastLane. NSF requires that all proposals must adhere to the guidelines described in the most recent issue of the Grant Proposal Guide. Proposals not adhering to the guidelines and not explicitly addressing the review criteria (intellectual merit and broader impacts) will be returned without review.

A. Galip Ulsoy
Director, Division of Civil and Mechanical Systems
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 545
Arlington, VA 22230