NSF Collaborative Proposals
Collaborative proposals involve investigators at two or more organizations working together on a unified research project.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) allows two submission pathways:
- Single Proposal with Subwards
One lead organization submits the entire proposal and issues subawards to collaborating institutions - Simultaneous Submission of Separate Proposals
Each collaborating organization submits its own proposal, and NSF links them together in Research.gov. Each organization receives its own award.
1. Single Proposal with Subawards
Creating a Subaward Budget in Research.gov
Lead institution/PI:
- On the Form Preparation screen, select Budgets - Go to Form.
- On the Organization Selector screen, click Add New Org and select the subaward organization.
- Click Use to create the subaward budget (you may need to add Senior Personnel).
- Add the total subaward amount to G.5 Subawards in the lead organization's budget.
For guidance on required subrecipient documentation, see Obtain Subrecipient Information.
2. Simultaneous Submission (Linked Proposals)
In this method, each institution prepares its own proposal in Research.gov. One institution must be designated the lead, usually the organization managing most of the project or budget.
Roles and Responsibilities
Lead Institution Must Include:
- Proposal Cover Sheet
- Project Summary
- Project Description
- References Cited
- Biographical Sketches (only for senior personnel at the lead institution)
- Budget & Budget Justification (lead institution's portion)
- Current & Pending Support
- Data Management Plan
- Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources (lead institution only)
- Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan (if applicable, for the entire project)
- All required supplementary documents (e.g., conflict of interest tables, letters of commitment, quotes)
Non-Lead Institutions Must Include:
- Cover Sheet
- Budget & Budget Justification (for their portion of the work)
- Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources
- Proposal Classification Form (if submitting to BIO)
- Biographical Sketches (institution-specific senior personnel)
- Current & Pending Support (institution-specific senior personnel)
Note:
The Project Summary, Project Description, and References Cited are submitted only by the lead institution and apply to all collaborators.
While non-lead institutions may upload supplementary documents, it is recommended that the lead institution do so to maintain document order.
Linking Proposals in Research.gov
Important: Do not submit any proposal until all collaborating proposals are linked.
Steps:
- Each organization creates its proposal, generating a temporary proposal ID.
- Non-lead institutions provide their temporary proposal IDs to the lead institution.
- The lead institution links the proposals using Link Collaborative Proposals in the Form Preparation screen.
- Non-lead institutions must accept the link request in their own proposal.
- Research.gov will then allow combined printing and electronic viewing of the entire collaborative package.
Submission Timing
- NSF requires that collaborative proposals be submitted "within a reasonable timeframe" of one another.
- No exact timeframe is defined, but OSP recommends submission within 48 hours to ensure compliance and avoid return without review.
- Non-lead institutions may submit before or after the lead, as long as the link is established.
OSP Visibility
OSP cannot see the submission status of linked proposals.
PIs must confirm that both lead and non-lead proposals have been successfully submitted.
Reviewing Linked Proposals
Both the lead and non-lead institutions can review the combined proposal package after
linking by selecting Print Proposal in Research.gov.
A PDF will be generated that contains every uploaded component across all participating
organizations.
