Resubmit Your Proposal
If your proposal was not funded, do not be discouraged. Many successful awards result from revising an earlier submission and applying again - either to the same sponsor or to a different one. A thoughtful, well targeted resubmission often has a strong chance of success.
When Your Proposal is Declined
If your application is not selected for funding:
- Request reviewer comments as soon as they are available.
- Follow up with the Program Officer (PO) for additional clarification, guidance, or suggestions about resubmission.
- If the sponsor discourages resubmission, you may need to identify alternative funding sources or revise the project scope or approach. Your Program Officer, colleagues, and OSP can help you assess these options.
If the sponsor encourages resubmission, your likelihood of success generally improves. When preparing a revised application:
- Address each reviewer's comment explicitly in your narrative.
- Highlight what you have changed to strengthen the proposal.
- Clarify any areas that may have been misunderstood in the initial review.
- Stay open to constructive feedback and be willing to refine the project's aims, methods, or framing.
Close collaboration with your Program Officer and a willingness to objectively reassess your proposal greatly enhance resubmission competitiveness.
Resubmissions to NSF
Unlike NIH, NSF does not have a formal resubmission mechanism. Each proposal - revised or not - is treated as a new submission. Program Directors are not required to compare your application to a previously declined version and may not realize it is a revision unless you proactively frame it that way in your narrative.
If your NSF proposal is declined:
- NSF will provide a written explanation and copies of the reviewer comments.
- If you believe the review was not handled appropriately, NSF policy allows you to request reconsideration by the cognizant Assistant Director or Office Head. This process evaluates whether the review was fair both procedurally and substantively.
- Refer to the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) for full details on the reconsideration process and which types of decisions are eligible.
Resubmissions to NIH
NIH uses a formal resubmission process, and revised applications are designated with an “A1” indicator.
NIH provides extensive guidance on how to determine whether to:
- Revise and resubmit,
- Appeal a review outcome,
- Submit a new (A0) proposal instead, or
- Seek alternative funding mechanisms.
If your NIH application is not funded:
- Review the Summary Statement and any posted scores or critiques.
- Consult your Program Officer for guidance on whether a resubmission is appropriate.
- Use NIH’s structured tools, guidance pages, and flow charts to determine the proper path.
- The Center for Scientific Review (CSR) provides additional information on how applications are evaluated and how to understand review outcomes.
