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NSF Announces New Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 17-1)

NSF recently issued a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, which will be effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 30, 2017. Until then, the current version of the PAPPG will still apply. Please note that this new version of the PAPPG (NSF 17-1) includes some significant modifications and changes, described in NSF notice below.

Read the full NSF notice here:

Dear Colleagues:

We are pleased to announce that a revised version of the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide, (NSF 17-1) has been issued. The PAPPG has been modified in its entirety, to remove all references to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) and Award & Administration Guide (AAG). The document will now be referred to solely as the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide. The document will be sequentially numbered from Chapter I-XII and all references throughout have been modified to reflect this change. Given the number of important revisions, the community is strongly encouraged to review the by-chapter summary of changes provided at the beginning of the PAPPG.

The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 30, 2017. In addition to the significant change mentioned above, other revisions include:

  • Addition of new sections on Special Processing Instructions and Types of Proposals, including two new types, RAISE and GOALI;
  • Additional instructions for proposers on completion of the Collaborators and Other Affiliations information;
    Supplemental guidance on submission of proposals by organizations impacted by a natural or anthropogenic disaster;
  • Implementation of 45 CFR 690.118 for applications and proposals lacking definite plans for involvement of human subjects;
  • Update on the type of information that NSF may request from proposers with regard to Federal environmental statutes;
  • Supplemental information regarding treatment of NSF awards with canceled appropriations; and
  • Numerous other changes and clarifications throughout the document.

Webinars to brief the community on the new PAPPG will be held on November 7th and January 19th at 1 PM EST. Registration is required on the outreach events website.

While this version of the PAPPG becomes effective on January 30, 2017, in the interim, the guidelines contained in the current PAPPG (NSF 16-1) continue to apply. We will ensure that the current version of the PAPPG remains on the NSF website, with a notation to proposers that specifies when the new PAPPG (including a link to the new Guide) will become effective.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Policy Office on (703) 292-8243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov.

Regards,

Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution and Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance & Award Management

There will be an NSF webinar in January that you can register for on the outreach events website. If you want to start getting up to speed on the new PAPPG, here is a list of some important points to note based on NSF’s informational webinar and Summary of Changes.

Significant Changes to Part I:

  1. Greater clarity on instructions for proposals submitted late due to natural or anthropogenic disasters
  2. Collaborator & other affiliations information: Thesis Advisor and Postgraduate Scholar Sponsor replaced with Ph.D. Advisor and instructions added for placement of this section in separately submitted collaborative proposals.
  3. Cost sharing:  Clarification of the difference between voluntary committed and voluntary uncommitted cost sharing, plus clarification that inclusion of indirect cost rates lower than negotiated rates is considered voluntary committed cost sharing.
  4. Human subjects: New language has been added on 45 CFR 690.118, including a new template.  Additional FAQs will be added on this topic by NSF.  There will be a new award clause for projects involving human subjects.
  5. Vertebrate Animals: Additional clarity has been added regarding departures from the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals; such departures must be approved by the IACUC.  There will be a new award clause for projects involving the use of vertebrate animals.
  6. Environmental requirements have been supplemented with a standard Organizational Environmental Impacts Checklist.
  7. Special processing instructions: A new section was added to Chapter II to address proprietary or privileged information, collaborative proposals, beginning investigators, vertebrate animals, human subjects, etc.
  8. Types of proposals: A newly-added section describes the various types of proposals that may be submitted, i.e., RAPID, EAGER, etc.  Two new proposal types were added:  Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE) and Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaisons with Industry (GOALI).
  9. International Travel Grants has been expanded to address support for both domestic and international travel.
  10. Participant Support vs. Student Employee:  Clarification and enhancement that the role of the student on the project must be used to determine how the student is compensated.

Significant Changes to Part II:

  1. NSF-Approved Extension: Language added so that there is grantee awareness of limited time period of availability of funds due to cancelation of appropriations.
  2. Addition of coPI/co/PD: AOR submits request to NSF.
  3. Travel and Temporary Dependent Care Costs are limited to those authorized by 2 CFR § 200.474.

Last Updated: 12/1/22