National Science Foundation
Spring 2023 NSF Virtual Grants Conference
June 8, 2023
NSF Systems Update
National Science Foundation
2
Presenters
Stephanie Yee
IT Project Manager
Research.gov/FastLane/Grants.gov Operations & Management Lead
Office of Information and Resource Management
Division of Information Systems
syee@nsf.gov
Alex Wilson
IT Project Manager
Research.gov Account Management Co-lead
Office of Information and Resource Management
Division of Information Systems
alwilson@nsf.gov
National Science Foundation
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Agenda
• NSF.gov Updates
• September 29th FastLane Proposal Decommissioning Deadlines
• Recent Research.gov Proposal Enhancements
• Research.gov Account Management Reviewer Integration
• Information Resources & Contacts for Questions
National Science Foundation
Updating NSF's Digital Footprint
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New
homepage
Updated
navigation
Funding and
awards
Focus areas
National Science Foundation
Improving Customer Experience
• Simplify and standardize NSF's web presence
• Improve overall site experience and navigation
• Make it easier for users to find high-priority information
• Rename new site to address user confusion about 'beta' name
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Share your experiences with a short
survey on new.nsf.gov
National Science Foundation
September 29
th
FastLane Proposal
Decommissioning Deadlines
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National Science Foundation
Important September 29th FastLane Proposal Decommissioning Deadlines
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Action Deadline
UPDATE EXISTING
Last day to submit proposal file updates and budget revisions in FastLane Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM
submitter’s local time)
WITHDRAW EXISTING
Last day to withdraw FastLane submitted proposals Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM
submitter’s local time)
VIEW EXISTING
Last day to access FastLane submitted and in-progress letters of intent and proposals
*FastLane submitted and in-progress letters of intent and proposals will not be
transferred to Research.gov; however, the reviews and summaries for proposals
submitted in FastLane will remain available in Research.gov. See Instructions to
Access and Download/Print FastLane Letters of Intent, Proposals and Supplemental
Funding Requests
Friday, September 29, 2023 (11:00 PM
Eastern Time)
Notes:
• Last day to submit new proposals in FastLane was January 27, 2023
• See the FastLane Decommissioning page for more information
National Science Foundation
FastLane September 29
th
Proposal File Update and Budget Revision
Submission Timelines
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Proposal Submitted
In ….
Proposal File Update and
Budget Revision Must be
Submitted In….
Submission System
Decommissioning Deadline
FastLane FastLane
Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time)
Grants.gov on or before
November 18, 2022
FastLane
Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM submitter’s local time)
Grants.gov on or after
November 21, 2022
Research.gov N/A
Research.gov Research.gov N/A
• Proposal file updates and budget revisions must be submitted in the same system in which the proposal
was submitted (i.e., all in FastLane or all in Research.gov)
• Proposal file updates and budget revisions for Grants.gov proposals must be submitted in the same system
in which the proposal was processed (i.e., FastLane on or before November 18, 2022, or Research.gov on or
after November 21, 2022)
National Science Foundation
Important September 29
th
FastLane Supplemental Funding Request
Decommissioning Deadlines
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Action Deadline
WITHDRAW EXISTING
Last day to withdraw supplemental funding requests submitted in FastLane Friday, September 29, 2023 (5:00 PM
submitter’s local time)
VIEW EXISTING
Last day to access FastLane submitted or in-progress supplemental funding
requests
*FastLane submitted and in-progress supplemental funding requests will not be
transferred to Research.gov. See Instructions to Access and Download/Print
FastLane Letters of Intent, Proposals and Supplemental Funding Requests
Friday, September 29, 2023 (11:00 PM
Eastern Time)
Notes:
• Last day to submit new supplemental funding requests in FastLane was January 27, 2023. Supplemental funding requests can be submitted
in Research.gov regardless which system (Research.gov, FastLane, or Grants.gov) was used for proposal submission
• See the FastLane Decommissioning page for more information
National Science Foundation
FastLane Decommissioning Information Resource
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• FastLane Decommissioning page will be updated on an
ongoing basis until all FastLane functionality is fully
transitioned. Please bookmark this page and check back
frequently
• FastLane Decommissioning page includes Instructions to
Access and Download/Print FastLane Letters of Intent,
Proposals and Supplemental Funding Requests
• Although FastLane submitted and in-progress letters of
intent, proposals, and supplemental funding requests
will not
be transferred to Research.gov, the reviews and
summaries for proposals submitted in FastLane can be
accessed in Research.gov using the Proposal Status link
under Proposals on the Research.gov homepage
• Transition information for FastLane proposal review
functions and panel review functions will be added to
the page when finalized
National Science Foundation
Recent Research.gov Proposal Enhancements
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National Science Foundation
Recent Research.gov Proposal Preparation Enhancements
Effective May 22, 2023:
• Expanded postdoctoral fellowship proposal type capability to support proposals in response to postdoctoral
fellowship solicitations with reference letter requirements. These solicitations currently include:
Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB)
Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MSPRF)
• Swap Principal Investigator (PI)/co-PI functionality so prime organizations can exchange an individual with a
PI role on a proposal with an individual with a co-PI role on the proposal
• Ability for Sponsored Projects Offices (SPOs), Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs), and Other
Authorized Users (OAUs) to view the proposal error and warning messages
• Project data form updates to allow a maximum of five disciplines and sub-disciplines
• Updates to the NSF Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded) form on Grants.gov including requirement to enter
the System for Award Management (SAM) Unique Entity ID (UEI) for all prime organization senior personnel.
These updates increase the compatibility between the Grants.gov system with Research.gov compliance
checks and improve the user experience. See additional details in the appendix
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National Science Foundation
Research.gov Account Management
Reviewer Integration
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National Science Foundation
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NSF vision: A single unique identity that persists across all NSF business applications for each member of the
research community throughout their career.
One Account with
One or More Roles
Who
Why
Account
Principal Investigators
GRFP Applicants &
Fellows
Panel Reviewers**
Admin & Coordinating
Officials
Ad Hoc Reviewers
What
Profile Data Expansion
Enhance analytics
and reporting
Create a seamless
user experience
Enhance Merit
Review and Post
Award Processes
Reduce burden
Improve data quality
Other Participants
**Includes Panelists, Site Visitors, Advisory
Committee members, Subcommittee members,
and Committee of Visitors
Research.gov Account Management Overview
Key
Complete
In Progress
Planned to Begin
National Science Foundation
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Research.gov Account Management Reviewer Integration
• Participants added to panel, site visit, advisory committee, subcommittee, and
committee of visitors meetings will be required to have an NSF account in Research.gov
and complete a simple one-time process to provide their reviewer profile information
• Meeting participants must complete this new process before they can access meeting
registration in the FastLane Travel & Reimbursement (FLTR) System
• Currently, individuals cannot volunteer to review or provide reviewer profile
information in Research.gov without first being added to a meeting
• For more information and links to training resources, please see the Research.gov
Account Management – Reviewer page. This page will be updated as additional
reviewer groups are integrated. See the six-minute Provide Reviewer Profile
Information video tutorial for an overview of the one-time process
National Science Foundation
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Research.gov Account Management Reviewer Integration (cont’d)
• After completing the account registration process in Account Management, reviewers
will self-manage their profile information going forward, including contact information;
demographic, academic, and professional information; organizational affiliations; and
areas of expertise
• The demographic information gender response options have been expanded to include
a new "Unspecified, or another gender identity" selection for reviewers, PIs, and
postdoctoral fellows in Account Management
Reviewer Self-managed Profile and New Gender Response Option
National Science Foundation
Information Resources &
Contacts for Questions
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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 decommissioning news! Sign up by sending a blank email to:
system_updates-subscribe-
[email protected]
• Automated Compliance Checking of NSF Proposals page
• FastLane Decommissioning page
• NSF Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support websites
• Research.gov About Account Management page
• Research.gov Account Management – Reviewer page
• Research.gov About Proposal Preparation and Submission page
• Research.gov About Supplemental Funding Request Preparation and Submission page
• Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site (You will be prompted to sign into Research.gov if you are
not already signed in.)
• Research.gov Supplemental Funding Request Demo Site (You will be prompted to sign into Research.gov if
you are not already signed in.)
• Resources for LaTeX Users: https://github.com/nsf-open/nsf-proposal-latex-samples
National Science Foundation
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Contacts for Questions
• For program-specific or panel-related questions, please contact the cognizant NSF
Program Officer or Point of Contact
• For NSF technical questions or immediate assistance, please contact the NSF Help Desk
7:00 AM – 9:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays):
Email the NSF Help Desk at rgov@nsf.gov
Call the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532
• For SciENcv technical questions or immediate assistance related to the NSF-approved
format for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support proposal
sections, please contact the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Help Desk (7:30 AM –
5:30 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday except for federal holidays):
Email the NIH Help Desk at inf[email protected].gov
Create a ticket: https://support.nlm.nih.gov/support/create-case/
• 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
Research.gov Proposal and Supplemental
Funding Request 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 into 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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• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by topic including:
Uploading Documents
topic for document formatting FAQs
Proposal Sections
topic for Cover Sheet and budget FAQs
• How-to Guides
Initiating a New Proposal
Adding or Removing an OAU
Sharing Proposal and Proposal File Update/Budget Revision
Access with SPO/AOR
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
Resources for LaTeX Users
• Open-source repository of compliant LaTeX/TeX sample input/output files
for LaTeX/TeX users to reference for their own documents
• Repository link: https://github.com/nsf-open/nsf-proposal-latex-samples
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National Science Foundation
• All demo site users must have an NSF ID
for demo site access and authentication
and will be automatically given the PI role
for use in the demo site
• User’s actual awards as well as “dummy”
awards generated by the demo site will
display for selection to try out preparing a
supplemental funding request
• If user does not have any actual awards,
they can select from “dummy” awards
generated by the demo site
• Supplemental funding request submission
capability is disabled
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Research.gov Demo Site: Supplemental Funding Request Homepage
Supplemental Funding Request Demo Site
https://web.demo.research.gov/proposalprep/#/sfr
(You will be prompted to sign into Research.gov if you are not already signed in)
National Science Foundation
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About Supplemental Funding Request Preparation and Submission Page
Training Resources
https://www.research.gov/research-web/content/aboutsfr
FAQs by Topic
• General
• Uploading Documents
• Supplemental Funding Request Sections
• Supplemental Funding Request Submission
• Supplemental Funding Request Withdrawal
• Supplemental Funding Request Statuses
• Demo site FAQs
General
Access and User Roles
Demo Site Features
National Science Foundation
How Proposers Check Submitted
Proposal Status in Research.gov
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National Science Foundation
• Within 24 hours of proposal submission in Research.gov
(including proposals submitted via Grants.gov and processed
in Research.gov), the proposal will be listed on the
Research.gov Proposal Status page
• Proposers can access the Proposal Status page using the
Proposal Status link under Proposals on the Research.gov
homepage
• If proposers do not see a submitted proposal listed on the
Proposal Status page after 24 hours, the proposer should
contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 for assistance.
The NSF Help Desk is available by phone from 7:00 AM to
9:00 PM ET Monday - Friday except federal holidays or via
email to [email protected]
• In addition, proposal reviews and if applicable, the panel
summary, context statement, and site visit report will be
available on the Proposal Status page using the Proposal
Status link
How Proposers Check Submitted Proposal Status in Research.gov
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National Science Foundation
Providing Research.gov Proposal
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 refine Research.gov proposal
preparation and submission
• Help ensure the system is working as intended and
identify areas of improvement
How?
•
Feedback may be submitted on the Research.gov
Feedback page
using these drop-down menu
options:
Proposal Preparation & Submission
Proposal Preparation Demo Site
Supplemental Funding Request Preparation &
Submission
Supplemental Funding Request Demo Site
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
• 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 are created in the demo site
is if the user adds them to the proposal as a co-PI or Other Authorized User (OAU). If the user doesn’t add
any co-PIs or OAUs to the proposal, no one will else will be able to access, view, or edit the demo proposal
Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site Tips (cont’d)
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National Science Foundation
Research.gov Integration with Grants.gov
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National Science Foundation
Research.gov Integration with Grants.gov
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• Grants.gov proposals are processed in Research.gov
instead of in FastLane
• Corrections or additions to Grants.gov proposals
submitted to NSF on or after November 21, 2022,
must be made in Research.gov
• NSF Grants.gov Application Guide (NSF 23-006) is
effective for applications submitted (via Grants.gov)
or due on or after January 30, 2023
• Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov
how-to guide is available
National Science Foundation
NSF Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form Changes on Grants.gov
Effective May 22, 2023
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• "Organization Name" field has been renamed "Organization UEI"
Applicants will enter the Unique Entity ID (UEI) issued by the System for Award Management
(SAM) for all Senior Personnel
The "Organization UEI" field is optional for Other Senior Personnel
• Role field has been updated to only include the following three options: PI/PD, co-PI/PD, and Other
Senior Personnel
• The form version was updated from 3.0 to 3.1
• Applications submitted to NSF via Grants.gov on or after May 22nd must use version 3.1 of the
Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded) form to avoid submission validation errors
National Science Foundation
NSF Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded) Form Changes on Grants.gov
Effective May 22, 2023 (cont’d)
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• Adding UEIs on the Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded) form will allow Senior Personnel documents and
budget data for individuals (i.e., co-PIs and Other Senior Personnel) who do not have the PI/PD role to be
transferred to NSF when the application is submitted via Grants.gov for processing in Research.gov
• As of May 22nd, applicants will no longer be required to re-upload Senior Personnel documents or re-
enter budget data in Research.gov for co-PIs and Other Senior Personnel as a separate step after an
application is transferred from Grants.gov to Research.gov provided that:
UEI is entered on the Senior Key Person Profile (Expanded) form for the co-PI or Other Senior
Personnel
co-PI or Other Senior Personnel full name (i.e., first name and last name) matches the full name in
Research.gov Account Management and is associated to the individual's NSF ID
co-PI or Other Senior Personnel full name (i.e., first name and last name) matches the full name
entered for the individual on the budget
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov
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Proposal
submitted in
Grants.gov
Proposal
transferred to
NSF
Proposal
Pre-Check
Validation
Proposal
Post-Check
Validation
Proposal
Successfully
Submitted to
NSF
Proposal Failed Pre-Check Validation
Research.gov Email Notification: PI will be
notified via email of the error(s) triggered
during pre-check validation. The proposal
must be fixed in Grants.gov or in System-to-
System and then resubmitted in Grants.gov.
Proposal Passed Pre-
Check Validation
Proposal
Available in
Research.gov –
In-Progress state
Proposal Failed Post -
Check Validation
Research.gov Email
Notification: PI,
SPO, and AOR will be
notified via email of
the error(s) or
warning(s) triggered
during post-check
validation. The
proposal must be
fixed in Research.gov
and then resubmitted
in Research.gov.
Proposal Passed Post-Check Validation
Proposal Passed
Research.gov Validation
Grants.gov Email Notifications
#1 and #2:
• Submission Receipt
• Submission Validation Receipt
Grants.gov Email Notification
#3:
• Agency Retrieval Receipt of
Application
Research.gov Email
Notification: PI, co-
PI(s), OAU, and AOR
will be notified via
email when the
Grants.gov proposal
successfully passes
all Research.gov
post-check validations
and is assigned a
submitted status and
an NSF proposal
number.
Grants.gov Email Notification
#4:
• Tracking Number Assignment
Overview of Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov
• Proposals submitted via Grants.gov
must pass through multiple systems
for processing
• Each Grants.gov proposal
successfully submitted to NSF
triggers four Grants.gov confirmation
emails and one Research.gov
confirmation email. Additional
Research.gov emails requiring action
by the proposer are possible
• Grants.gov proposals must be
successfully submitted to NSF by
5:00 p.m. submitter's local time on
the established deadline date
• See the appendix for example
confirmation email screenshots
National Science Foundation
NSF Proposal Functionality Limitations in Grants.gov
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• Unless otherwise specified in an NSF solicitation, proposals to NSF may be submitted via Grants.gov or
Research.gov
• Read the solicitation carefully because some submissions are not supported in Grants.gov, such as:
Separately submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations
Letters of intent
Preliminary proposals
• Some proposals can be submitted in Grants.gov but must be completed or updated in Research.gov,
such as:
Proposals with project data forms for the Directorate for STEM Education (EDU)/Division of
Undergraduate Education (DUE)
Postdoctoral fellowship proposals
Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) proposals
Proposals with subawards
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Grants.gov Confirmation Emails
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After a proposal is submitted to NSF in Grants.gov, four Grants.gov confirmation emails
will be sent to the PI:
1. Submission Receipt
2. Submission Validation Receipt
3. Agency Retrieval Receipt of Application
If the three Grants.gov confirmation emails listed above are not received within 10
minutes after submitting the proposal in Grants.gov, the PI should call the NSF Help Desk
at 800-381-1532 for assistance.
The fourth Grants.gov confirmation email is sent to the PI after the proposal has been
successfully submitted to NSF and a proposal number is assigned.
4. Tracking Number Assignment
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Grants.gov Confirmation Emails
(cont’d)
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Example Grants.gov Confirmation Email #1: Submission Receipt
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Grants.gov Confirmation Emails
(cont’d)
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Example Grants.gov Confirmation Email #2: Submission Validation Receipt
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Grants.gov Confirmation Emails
(cont’d)
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Example Grants.gov Confirmation Email #3: Agency Retrieval Receipt of Application
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Grants.gov Confirmation Emails
(cont’d)
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Example Grants.gov Confirmation Email #4: Tracking Number Assignment
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Research.gov Confirmation Email
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Example Research.gov Email: Successful Grants.gov Proposal Submission to NSF
NSF University
NSF University
NSF Proposal
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Potential Research.gov Notification
Email
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Example Research.gov Email: Proposal Failed Pre-Check Validation
• List of Grants.gov proposal
pre-check validations are
posted on the NSF.gov
Automated Compliance
Checking of NSF Proposals
page
• Proposal corrections must
be made in source system
(Grants.gov or System-to-
System) and proposal
resubmitted in Grants.gov
National Science Foundation
Grants.gov Proposal Submissions: Potential Research.gov Notification
Email
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• Post-check validations include
the Research.gov automated
compliance checks for the full
proposal submission type
posted on the NSF.gov
Automated Compliance
Checking of NSF Proposals
page
• Proposal corrections must be
made in Research.gov and
proposal resubmitted in
Research.gov
Example Research.gov Email: Proposal Failed
Post-Check Validation
NSF Proposal
NSF University
NSF University