National Science Foundation
Northwestern University
June 24, 2022
National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposal Submission
Modernization
National Science Foundation
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Agenda
• NSF’s System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) Implementation
• Login.gov Option for Research.gov Sign In
• Migrating Proposal Preparation and Submission from FastLane to Research.gov
When, Why and How
Advantages of Research.gov Proposal Preparation
Research.gov Proposal Tips
• Research.gov Proposals: Where We Are and What’s Ahead
• Recent Research.gov Proposal Enhancements
• Research.gov Proposal Demo
• Providing Feedback and Why It’s Important
• Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site and Training Resources
• Information Resources for the Research Community & Contacts for Questions
National Science Foundation
NSF’s System for Award Management
(SAM) Unique Entity Identifier (UEI)
Implementation
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National Science Foundation
• NSF replaced DUNS numbers with SAM.gov-assigned UEIs
for all NSF-registered organizations in NSF systems as of
February 28, 2022
• SAM Legal Business Name and SAM Physical Address
updates made in SAM.gov. Organizational address changes
no longer accepted in FastLane
• Any subrecipients named in a proposal are also required to
obtain a SAM UEI and register in Research.gov.
Subrecipients named in the proposal, however, do not need
to be registered in SAM. Entities can obtain a SAM UEI
without full SAM registration
• DUNS number only used or displayed at NSF for historical
reference
NSF’s SAM UEI Implementation
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Effective April 4, 2022
Government-wide transition from DUNS
number to SAM UEI as federal entity
identifier
SAM.gov-issued UEI required to register
new organization in Research.gov
Proposal validation checks verify the
organization's SAM UEI
Proposing organization must have a valid
and active SAM registration to submit a
proposal to NSF
National Science Foundation
Login.gov Option for Research.gov
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National Science Foundation
Migrating Proposal Preparation and
Submission from FastLane to
Research.gov
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National Science Foundation
• FastLane targeted to be removed
as submission option from all
solicitations when the Proposal
& Award Policies & Procedures
Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1) goes
into effect in January 2023
• Solicitations clearly specify
whether submission via
Research.gov is available or
required
• Grants.gov remains an option for
most proposals
Goodbye FastLane Proposal Preparation…Hello Research.gov
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION AND REVISION NOTE
ABOUT RESEARCH.GOV PROPOSAL PREPARATION:
Innovating and migrating proposal preparation and
submission capabilities from FastLane to
Research.gov is part of the ongoing NSF information
technology modernization efforts, as described in
Important Notice No. 147
. In support of these efforts,
proposals submitted in response to this program
solicitation must be prepared and submitted via
Research.gov or via Grants.gov and may not be
prepared or submitted via FastLane.
Solicitations
National Science Foundation
• FastLane targeted to
be removed as
submission option
from all program
descriptions (PDs)
when the PAPPG
(NSF 23-1) goes into
effect in January
2023
• PD migration process
started in March 2022
Goodbye FastLane Proposal Preparation…Hello Research.gov (cont’d)
Program Descriptions
Alert: Many NSF programs are only
accepting proposals in Research.gov
or Grants.gov. FastLane may no
longer be a submission option. For
more information, please
visit
Program Descriptions that
Require Proposal Preparation and
Submission in Research.gov or
Grants.gov
.
National Science Foundation
Migrating Proposal Preparation and Submission from FastLane to
Research.gov: Why?
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• Launched in 1994, FastLane was cutting-edge technology….28 years ago
• Research.gov built on modernized architecture to meet current and future requirements
Features to help reduce administrative burden for both the research community and NSF staff and
minimize return without review proposals (e.g., expanded automated compliance checking)
Improved user experience with a modern and intuitive interface and inline help throughout the
application
• Research.gov is being developed incrementally, and features have expanded to support the transition of
all proposal preparation and submission functionality from FastLane to Research.gov when the PAPPG
(NSF 23-1) goes into effect in January 2023
• Target date to fully transition all remaining FastLane functions to Research.gov has not yet been
determined
• Grants.gov continues to be option for the preparation and submission of most types of NSF proposals
National Science Foundation
Migrating Proposal Preparation and Submission from FastLane to
Research.gov: How?
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• Incrementally remove FastLane from funding opportunities as an option for proposal
submission. Gradual proposal system transition decreases burden on both the
research community and NSF staff (e.g., Program Officers and NSF Help Desk
technicians)
• Complete development and deployment of remaining proposal preparation
functionality in Research.gov (Research.gov Proposal Submission Capabilities)
• Engage NSF staff to facilitate a smooth transition
• Expand Foundation-wide efforts to reach the research community
• Bolster training resources for internal and external stakeholders
• Update NSF policy documents including the PAPPG
National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposal Preparation: Advantages for Principal
Investigators and Research Administrators
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Features to help reduce proposal preparation administrative burden:
• Improved user experience through intuitive and dynamic interfaces that provide only relevant proposal
preparation options
• Immediate feedback within each proposal section and for each document upload rather than at proposal
submission in FastLane
• Faster document uploads (a few seconds versus 30-90 seconds for each document upload in FastLane)
• Expanded automated compliance checking utilizing error messages (stopping proposal submission) and
warning messages (allowing proposal submission)
Currently ~450 compliance checks in Research.gov across multiple submission types (full proposals, renewals,
preliminary proposals, and letters of intent) versus 56 compliance checks in FastLane for full proposals only
Specific, actionable error and warning messages
• Higher quality proposal submissions (e.g., PDF uploads are not altered)
• Minimized Return without Reviews due to some proposal formatting issues
National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Tips
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• Proposal information cannot be transferred from FastLane to Research.gov and vice
versa
• Letters of intent and preliminary proposals must be prepared in the same system as the
full proposal (i.e., all in Research.gov or all in FastLane)
• All proposals in a separately submitted collaborative from multiple organizations must be
prepared in the same system (i.e., all in Research.gov or all in FastLane)
• Proposal file updates (PFUs) and budget revisions must be executed in the same system
as the proposal was submitted (i.e., all in Research.gov or all in FastLane)
• Proposals submitted in Research.gov evaluated by NSF in the same way as proposals
submitted in FastLane and Grants.gov, and this migration does not affect the merit
review process in any way
National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposals: Where We Are and What’s Ahead
Current Capabilities Future Capabilities
Proposal Types
Research: Single Submissions from One Organization (April 2018);
Single Submission Collaborative Proposals with Subawards (June 2019);
Separately Submitted Collaborative Proposals from Multiple
Organizations (March 2020)
Rapid Response Research (RAPID) (November 2020)
EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) (November
2020)
Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering
(RAISE) (November 2020)
Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities
(FASED) (March 2021)
Equipment (March 2021)
Travel (March 2021)
Conference (August 2021)
Ideas Lab (August 2021)
Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)
(October 2021)
Planning (October 2021)
Center (November 2021)
Research Infrastructure (November 2021)
Postdoctoral Fellowship (proposals for fellowship solicitations that do
not contain reference letter requirements) (April 2022)
Submission Types
Letter of Intent (October 2021)
Full Proposal (April 2018)
Preliminary Proposal: Ideas Lab (August 2021); Non-Ideas Lab
(November 2021)
Full Proposal related to a Preliminary Proposal (November 2021)
Renewal Proposal (August 2021)
Accomplishment-Based Renewal Proposal (August 2021)
Solicitation-specific Requirements
EHR Project Data Form (April 2022)
Secondary Units of Consideration (April 2022)
Recent Proposal Features
Withdrawal (Single and Separately Submitted Collaborative Proposal
Submissions) (March 2021)
Project Descriptions Exceeding 15 Pages (November 2021)
Separate Uploads of Multiple Supplementary Documents (April 2022)
Training
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site (October 2020)
Topic-specific How-to Guides (Ongoing)
Webinars and Demos (e.g., Spring 2022 NSF Grants Conference and
Summer 2022 ERA Forum) (Ongoing)
Proposal Types
• SBIR and STTR Phases I/II
(fall 2022 release)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship
(proposals for fellowship
solicitations that contain
reference letter requirements)
(release TBD)
Grants.gov Integration
(Grants.gov applications only; fall
2022 release)
• Grants.gov applications will be
inserted into Research.gov after
they are received and validated
by NSF
• Research.gov will be used to
add or correct information in
Grants.gov applications after
submission in Grants.gov
Post-award Actions
• Supplemental Funding
Requests, including Career
Life Balance Supplemental
Funding Requests (fall 2022
release)
As of 5/12/2022
National Science Foundation
January 2023 Key Migration Milestone
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Effective with PAPPG (NSF 23-1) Implementation in January 2023:
• All FastLane proposal preparation and submission functionality
enabled in Research.gov
• FastLane removed as preparation and submission option from all
funding opportunities
• No NEW proposals can be prepared or submitted in FastLane
National Science Foundation
Recent Research.gov Proposal Enhancements
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National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposal Enhancements Available as of May 2
• New proposal type supported:
Postdoctoral Fellowship (proposals
specifically for fellowship
solicitations that do not contain
reference letter requirements)
• New features supported:
Project Data Form
Secondary Units of Consideration
Separate Uploads of Multiple
Supplementary Documents
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Research.gov Proposal Screenshot: Full Proposal Type Options
Current Capabilities
Future Capabilities
Now Available
Fall 2022 release
National Science Foundation
Project Data Form Available as of May 2
Research.gov Screenshot: EHR Sample Proposal Main Page
• Project data form will display in the
Required section on the proposal main
page when the selected funding
opportunity requires submission of the
form
• Information on the form is used to
direct proposals to appropriate
reviewers and to determine the
characteristics of projects supported by
the Directorate for Education and
Human Resources (EHR)/Division of
Undergraduate Education (DUE)
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National Science Foundation
Secondary Units of Consideration Available as of May 2
• Proposers now have to the ability to choose additional Directorate/Division/Program options
(i.e., secondary units of consideration) to direct proposals to NSF
• Secondary units of consideration may be added in the Where to Apply proposal wizard setup step
OR using the Manage Where to Apply link on the proposal main page
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Proposal main page excerpt screenshot
Where to Apply proposal wizard setup step screenshot
National Science Foundation
Separate Uploads of Multiple Supplementary Documents
Available as of May 2
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National Science Foundation
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Research.gov Proposal Demo
• Proposal Setup Wizard
• Main Page
• Document Upload and Compliance
Error/Warning Messages
• Budget
• Highlights of recent enhancements
National Science Foundation
Providing Feedback and Why It’s Important
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National Science Foundation
Providing Research.gov Proposal
Feedback and Why It’s Important
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Why?
• Help NSF continue to build and refine Research.gov
• Help ensure the system is working as intended and
identify areas of improvement
How?
• Feedback may be submitted on the Research.gov
Feedback page
Select “Proposal Preparation & Submission”
under the Site Area dropdown menu to
provide feedback on the Research.gov
Proposal Submission System
Select "Proposal Preparation Demo Site"
under the Site Area dropdown menu to
provide feedback on the demo site
National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo
Site and Training Resources
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National Science Foundation
• Demo site can be used to explore
preparing proposals and to check
compliance of uploaded proposal
documents (e.g., Collaborators and Other
Affiliations and Biographical Sketch)
• All demo site users are automatically given
the PI role for demo site purposes, in order
to perform the proposal preparation
functions that a PI can do in the actual
system. Proposal submission capability is
disabled
• See the demo site FAQs on the
Research.gov About Proposal Preparation
and Submission page for information on
demo site access and features
Research.gov Demo Site: Proposal Preparation Homepage
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site
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https://web.demo.research.gov/proposalprep/#/proposal-prep
(You will be prompted to sign in to Research.gov if you are not already signed in)
National Science Foundation
Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission Page
Training Resources
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• NEW FAQs
Managing Where to Apply and Secondary Units of Consideration
FAQs (see the General FAQ topic)
Postdoctoral Fellowship Proposals FAQs (see the General FAQ topic)
Project Data Form FAQs (see the Proposal Sections FAQ topic)
• NEW and Updated How-to Guides
Initiating a New Proposal (same link with updated guide)
Adding or Removing an OAU
Sharing Proposal and Proposal File Update/Budget Revision Access
with SPO/AOR (same link with updated guide)
Entering Proposal Budgets
Adding or Removing Subaward Organizations
Adding or Removing Collaborators and Other Affiliations
Deleting an In Progress Letter of Intent, Proposal, or Proposal File
Update/Budget Revision
Submitting Letters of Intent and Proposals
Submitting Proposal File Updates/Budget Revisions
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https://www.research.gov/research-web/content/aboutpsm
National Science Foundation
Research.gov Proposal System Help Features
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Inline help features are available to
proposers throughout the Research.gov
proposal system and the proposal
preparation demo site:
• Information tool tips indicated by the
blue information icon:
• Links to the PAPPG
• Links to FAQs
• Links to video tutorials
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Proposal Main Page Example
Example Information Tool Tip for
Senior Personnel Documents
National Science Foundation
Information Resources
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• Join our NSF System Updates listserv to receive the latest Research.gov system
enhancement information and FastLane news! Sign up by sending a blank email
to:
system_updates-subscribe-reques[email protected]sf.gov
• Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals page
• Resources for LaTeX Users: https://github.com/nsf-open/nsf-proposal-latex-
samples
• Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page
• Research.gov About Account Management page
• NSF Electronic Research Administration (ERA) Forum page
• NSF ERA Forum listserv to receive updates on ERA Forum activities. Sign up by
sending a blank email to:
NSF_ERA_FORUM-subscribe-request@listserv.nsf.gov
National Science Foundation
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Contacts for Questions
• For program-specific questions, please contact
the cognizant NSF Program Officer
• For IT system-related questions or technical
questions, please contact the NSF Help Desk at
1-800-381-1532 (7:00 AM - 9:00 PM ET;
Monday - Friday except federal holidays) or via
rgov@nsf.gov
• Policy-related questions should be directed to
policy@nsf.gov
National Science Foundation
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Thank you for your participation today!
National Science Foundation
Appendix
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National Science Foundation
• Per Important Notice No. 147,
NSF is taking proactive steps to
incrementally move the
preparation and submission of
all proposals from FastLane to
Research.gov
• Most NSF funding opportunities
are supported in Research.gov
and clearly specify whether
submission via Research.gov is
available or required
Research.gov Implementation – Important Notice No. 147
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National Science Foundation
• Automated proposal compliance checks triggering an error message will stop proposal
submission to NSF, whereas checks triggering a warning message will still allow proposal
submission
• Proposers receiving a compliance error or warning message should check the Automated
Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals page and the solicitation for specific proposal
requirements
• Proposers should also review the topic-specific FAQs on the Research.gov About Proposal
Preparation and Submission page
Uploading Documents topic includes document formatting FAQs
Proposal Sections topic includes Cover Sheet and budget FAQs
Research.gov Proposal Compliance Error and Warning Messages
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National Science Foundation
• Demo site FAQs are available on the Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page via
the left navigation menu. How-to guides with step-by-step instructions and screenshots are also available
• The demo site is available both to the research community and to NSF staff
• An orange "Proposal Preparation Demo Site" banner is at the top of each demo site page to indicate the
user is on the demo site
• The demo site allows users to prepare and edit proposals before preparing them in the actual
Research.gov site
• Demo site proposals are not visible or available in the actual Research.gov Proposal Submission System,
and data cannot be transferred between the demo site and the actual proposal system
• All proposal and submission types available in the actual system are also available in the demo site. As
proposal and submission types are added to the Research.gov Proposal Submission System, they will also
be added to the demo site
• All compliance checks enabled in the actual Research.gov Proposal Submission System are also in the
demo site. Proposers can use the demo site as a resource to check document compliance before uploading
them in the actual system
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site Tips
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National Science Foundation
• Proposals created in the demo site will be available for six months and then will be deleted by NSF.
Neither NSF nor users will be able to access deleted demo proposal data
• Demo site does not support proposal submission and will not trigger any system-generated email
notifications (e.g., link requests for separately submitted collaborative proposals)
• The organization that you are affiliated with in your NSF account profile will be incorporated when you
are in the proposal preparation demo site, but the user role(s) that you have will not be available in the
demo site
All users who access the demo site will be given the role of PI and the mock organization “National
Science Foundation”
This means that users from the research community will have the organization(s) they are affiliated
with in their NSF account profile plus the “National Science Foundation” mock organization as
available organizations in the demo site
• The only time other users will be able to view and/or edit any proposals that you create in the demo site
is if you add them to the proposal as a co-PI or OAU. If you don’t add any users to the proposal, no one
will else will be able to access, view, or edit your demo proposal
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site Tips (cont’d)
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