OSP AWARENESS SESSIONDECEMBER 6 , 2012

NSF Updates to the PAPPG 13-1

Significant changes coming for NSF Proposals due on or after 1/14/2013

Implementation of revised Merit Review Criteria

Project Summary changesProject DescriptionRevised BioSketch requirementsFacilities, Equipment and Other ResourcesCost Sharing UpdateNew Proposal Certifications required for AORNew Proposal status

‘Proposals Not Accepted’

Revised Merit Review Criteria

3 Guiding Principles:All NSF projects should be of the highest quality

and have the potential to advance, if not transform, the frontiers of knowledge.

NSF projects, in the aggregate, should contribute more broadly to achieving societal goals.

Meaningful assessment and evaluation of NSF funded projects should be based on appropriate metrics, keeping in mind the likely correlation between the effect of broader impacts and the resources provided to implement projects.

Revised Merit Review Criteria, cont’d

When evaluating NSF proposals, reviewers should consider what proposers:want to do, why they want to do it, how they plan to do it, how they will know if they succeed, and what benefits would accrue if the project is

successful.

Revised Merit Review Criteria, cont’d

2 Review CriteriaThese issues apply both to the technical aspects of the proposal and the way in which the project may make broader contributions. To that end, reviewers are asked to evaluate all proposals against two criteria:1.Intellectual Merit: The intellectual Merit criterion

encompasses the potential to advance knowledge; and

2.Broader Impacts: The Broader Impacts criterion encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes.

Revised Merit Review Criteria, cont’d

5 Review Elements: The following elements should be considered in the review for both criteria:1.What is the potential for the proposed activity

to: (1) advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields (Intellectual Merit); and (2) benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)?

2.To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts?

Revised Merit Review Criteria, cont’d

5 Review Elements, cont’d:3. Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well-organized, and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success?4. How well qualified is the individual,

team, or institution to conduct the proposed activities?

5. Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home institution or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities?

Revised Merit Review Criteria, cont’d

NSF Funding Opportunity Updates

Boilerplate text has been developed and is currently being incorporated to Program Announcements and Solicitations.

Program websites have been updated with important revision notes.

Changes to the Proposal Sections

Project SummaryProject Summary will now require text boxes

in Fastlane, not to exceed 4,600 characters and will include 3 distinct sections:

1. Overview - description of the activity & what are objectives and how what methods will be used.

2. Statement on Intellectual Merit – how will the proposed activity advance knowledge.

3. Statement on Broader Impacts – how will the proposed activity benefit society.

What if my Project Summary requires Special Characters?

Proposals with Special Characters may upload Project Summary as a PDF document, but must still represent the 3 sections and not exceed the character limit.

Text boxes must be completed or a PDF must be uploaded or Fastlane will not accept the proposal.

Effective Date Clarification

Proposals submitted before January 14, 2013 (with a due date = or after 1/14/13), must include a one-page Project Summary in accordance with the revised guidance.

On or after January 14, 2013, the Project Summary text must be included in the 3 text boxes:

(1) overview; (2) statement on intellectual merit; (3) statement on broader impacts.

On or after January 14, 2013, Fastlane will not accept proposals that do not complete all 3 sections.

Other Changes being implemented

Project DescriptionMust contain a separate section with a

discussion of broader impacts.Results from Prior NSF Support must

separately address intellectual merit and broader impacts.

Font for footnotes must comply with FASTLANE font requirements (NSF Font Requirements: Arial, Courier New, Palatino Linotype 10pt. or larger. Times New Roman 11pt. or larger.)

Other Changes being implemented

Biographical Sketch‘Publications’ are now referred to as ‘Products’Still limited to 5 products closely related to this

proposal, and 5 other significant products whether related or not.

Acceptable products must be citable and accessible e.g. publications, data sets, software, patents, and copyrights.

Unacceptable products are unpublished documents not yet submitted for publication, invited lectures, and additional lists of products.

Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources

Provides overarching description of internal and external resources (physical and personnel) that organization and collaborators will provide to the project. Do not quantify cost or effort, but do speak to roles and responsibilities on the project.

New Format will assist proposers in complying with NSF cost sharing policy.

Costs should not be quantified but it should clear whether the resources are currently available or will need to be purchased.

If no resources to describe, than it must be stated so and uploaded to this section.

Cost Sharing Policy Review

Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited in solicited and unsolicited proposals, unless approved by NSF for specific programs.

Only 6 programs have been approved by NSF to require cost-sharing, as follows: MRI – Major Research Instrumentation Robert Noyce Scholarship Program ERC – Engineering Research Centers EPSCoR – Experimental Programs to Stimulate

Competitive Research I-Corps – Innovation Corps I/UCRC – Industry/University Coop. Research Centers

Cost Sharing: Budget Page Update

In the past, the PI would show up on the budget page, even with no effort.

New FASTLANE update will allow removal of PI from the Budget Page when no effort to show.

Role should be described in the Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources section (but not quantified).

Their name will remain on CoversheetOSP notes that PI’s should ordinarily charge

effort to the project (exceptions would be REU Site, MRI, etc)

Additional AOR Certifications

• Proposal Certifications have been updated to include:– a new Organizational Support Certification to address Section 526 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act (ACRA) of 2010.– additional certifications on tax obligations/liability andfelony conviction. These certifications were added to implement provisions included in the Commerce, Justice, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012.

• Parallel language also will be added to the award terms and conditions on tax obligations/liability and felony conviction.

What does the new Organizational Support Certification mean?

The New AOR Certification regarding Organizational Support creates a ‘binding’ offer.

Commitments of institutional support made available as described in the proposal to address the broader impacts and intellectual merit activities to be undertaken.

OSP has updated the Internal Routing and Review form to assure that institutional commitments are agreed to by Investigators, Dept. Chairs, and Deans prior to AOR signature.

Proposals Not Accepted

New category of ‘non-award’ decisions and transaction: Proposal Not Accepted

Defined as “Fastlane will not permit submission of the proposal”

This category requires that proposals contain compliant: Data Management Plans Postdoctoral Mentoring Plans (if applicable) Project Summaries.

High-Resolution Graphics

NSF will no longer support high resolution graphics due to small usage by the research community

The check box on the Cover Sheet will be removed accordingly.

Conferences, Symposia & Workshops

Information regarding proposals for Conferences, Symposia, and Workshops was updated to include:

Improved clarification of what information should be included in different sections of the proposal; and

Greater consistency regarding conference proposal instructions for better alignment with research proposal guidance.

Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR)

Government-wide effort to create consistency in the administration of federal research awards by streamlining and standardizing reporting formats.

RPPR is intended to replace performance reporting formats currently in use by federal agencies

NSF led research agencies in developing the draft data dictionary for RPPR

Data dictionary is available here: www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/rppr/

NSF Implementation of RPPR

NSF will implement RPPR components in Research.gov, with the following standard formats:

Mandatory Category Accomplishments: What was done? What was learned?

Optional Categories Products: what has the project produced? Participants & Collaborators: Who was involved? Impact: Impact of the project? How has it contributed? Changes/Problems Special Reporting Requirements (if applicable) Budgetary Requirements Appendix 1: Demographics for Significant Contributors

Anticipated Benefits of New Project Report Format

Consolidated dashboard that includes all available reports (Annual, Final, Interim, and Project Outcomes)

Reduction of PI and C0-PI burden through more pre-population of fields where possible by NSF

More structured approach to data collection for NSF use; better consistency.

Adoption of federal-wide data dictionary for increased consistency of multi-agency implementation

Additional Benefits of New Project Report Format

Rich Text editor that supports common scientific characters

Ability to upload PDFs for complex graphics/images

Provides access to Thomson Web of Science for improved citation searching

Special reporting requirements are controlled by the proposal solicitation

PI no longer needs to provide demographic info on significant participants

Implementation Dates for Research.Gov Project Reporting

Phase I Pilot – Began October 22 Six institutions in Phase I Fastlane freeze 10/1 – 10/21

Phase II Pilot – Began December 3 (SU is in Phase II) Additional 25 institutions join for Phase II Preceded by FASTLANE freeze for Project Reporting (11/13 –

12/2) Due dates for Annual and Final reports extended in

Research.gov.Projected Target for Full Implementation: March 2013

All NSF Awards and Institutions NSF-wide Fastlane Freeze for Project Reporting

Tools Available on OSP Website

Updated NSF Proposal Checklist, which has been updated for PAPPG 13-1.

Updated BioSketch format template which now reflects ‘Product’ terminology

Data Management Tool on OSP website, or you can work with Library Services, Yuan Li or Paul Bern.

NSF Format sample budget JustificationPost-doc Mentoring Plan template

All above forms located here: http://www.osp.syr.edu/forms%20and%20pages/forms.html

Closing Thoughts

…The more things change, the more they stay the sameNSF, as always, is extremely ‘format’ sensitive.

They are receiving record numbers of proposals; and not following NSF’s well established guidelines for formatting could mean return without review.

References cited must contain all authors, no et al references and must provide full journal titles.

Biosketch formats must be GPG compliant, not only for SU, but for outside collaborators as well.

No headers or footers (other than pagination)

Closing Thoughts, cont’d

Before you submit, we suggest that you:

Contact your Program Manager EARLY Pitch your idea and see if they might be interested, or perhaps if

there may be other programs interested.Be sure to cite others work, plagiarism findings

appear to be on the rise (NSF OIG Report to Congress, Sept. 2012)

Remember that individual Program Announcements trump GPG language, so read carefully.

Reach out to OSP early and often. How can we help?

OSP Resources

Amy Deppa (e-applications) asdeppa@syr.eduAmy Graves (CAS) ajgraves@syr.eduMeghan MacBlane (iSchool, BBI, IVMF)

mtmacbla@syr.eduCaroline McMullin (Maxwell, SoE)

cmcmulli@syr.eduMary Ellen Gilbert (LCSmith) Stuart Taub (general questions &

Research.gov help) staub@syr.edu