Update: NSF Revised Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide

A message from Jean Feldman, Head of the National Science Foundation Policy Office:

---

Dear Colleagues:

The National Science Foundation is currently working to finalize a revised Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) for use in 2020. We anticipate that the revised PAPPG will be released in the coming months and, as is standard practice, will be effective 90 days after its release.

We wanted to highlight some important information to assist the community in preparing for this new PAPPG as it relates to the preparation and submission of the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support sections of NSF proposals that fall under this revised PAPPG.

• NSF is partnering with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to use SciENcv: Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae as an NSF-approved format for use in preparation of both the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support sections of an NSF proposal.
• Use of an NSF-approved format for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support documents will be required upon implementation of the PAPPG. NSF is encouraging proposers to begin using SciENcv for preparation of the Biographical Sketch now.
• SciENcv allows proposers to integrate their ORCiD to enable pre-population for the Biographical Sketch. Additional information is available on the ORCiD website.
• SciENcv will produce NSF-compliant PDF versions of these documents. Proposers must save these documents and submit them as part of their proposals via FastLane, Research.gov or Grants.gov.
• Additional resources including video tutorials are available on the SciENcv website.

NSF will continue to communicate with the community regarding the 2020 PAPPG and will provide further notice to the community as soon as the revised PAPPG is released. We encourage you to sign up for notifications about future PAPPG implementation webinars. In the meantime, proposers should continue to follow the guidance in the current PAPPG, (19-1).

Please direct any further questions to policy@nsf.gov.

Regards,

Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution & Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance & Award Management

---

May 29, 2019 Research Advocate: NSF Requests Comments: New Version of the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide
June 17, 2019 Research Advocate: Upcoming: NSF-Approved Biographical Sketch Format

Upcoming: Updated NIH and AHRQ Application Forms

The National Institutes of Health and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality have announced plans to transition to updated application forms and instructions for due dates on or after May 25, 2020.

The planned changes encompass the following areas:

• Training in techniques for rigorous and reproducible research
• Training in relevant quantitative and data science approaches
• Progress reporting for renewal applications
• Research training data tables
• Extending requirements for rigor and transparency to fellowship research projects
• Required letters for applications to diversity-related programs

For more information:

• NIH and AHRQ Announce Upcoming Changes to Policies, Instructions and Forms for Research Training Grant, Fellowship, and Career Development Award Applications
• New NIH "FORMS-F" Grant Application Forms and Instructions Coming for Due Dates on or after May 25, 2020
• Updated Grant Application Instructions and Forms Coming in Spring 2020