National Science Foundation (NSF)
Proposal Preparation by Opportunity
NSF at a Glance
With an annual budget of about $6.9 billion, NSF is the funding source for approximately 20% of all federally supported basic research conducted by America's colleges and universities. Read more NSF at a Glance.
NSF Policy Additions and Revisions
These and other NSF policies may be found on the NSF Policy Office page.
- NSF Implementation of OMB's Uniform Guidance (effective 12/26/14). A summary of the significant changes can be found in the NSF PPAG.
- NSF project reporting moving from FastLane to Research.gov (effective 1/1/2013) Beginning in January, 2013, all NSF reports must be prepared, submitted and reviewed on Research.gov. Read more.
- Revisions to NSF Grant Proposal Guide (effective 1/14/2013). Significant revisions have been made to this document that impact proposal submissions to NSF. These changes are summarized in the first few pages of this document and should be reviewed by all potential applicants. See new GPG.
- Data Management Plan Requirements on NSF Grant Proposals (effective 1/18/2011). NSF requires all grant proposals to include a supplementary document of no more than 2 pages describing how the proposal will conform to NSF policy on the dissemination and sharing of research results. Each NSF directorate and division has its own guideline for how this “Data Management Plan” should be prepared. Read more.
- Revised Cost Sharing Policy on NSF Grant Proposals (effective 1/18/2011). NSF prohibits inclusion of any voluntary cost sharing in an NSF grant proposal unless specifically required in the NSF solicitation. Read policy statement.
NSF Special Programs
- For Undergrads
- For Grad Students
- For Postdoc's
NSF PEER Review
NSF Links
- NSF Grant Proposal Preparation and Submission Guide
- NSF Advanced Funding Search
- Upcoming NSF Due Dates
- FastLane Homepage
- FastLane FAQ
- NSF FastLane Help System
- NSF Strategic Plan
- Dear Colleague Letter: Career-Life Balance
- Research.gov (NSF reporting site)
- Broader Impact Review Criterion
Grantsmanship Assistance
- How to write a successful NSF preliminary proposal
- Grant Application Writers Workbook (a hard copy is available for loan from OSP)