NSF Proposal Development
A page within Research & Sponsored Programs
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Proposal Planning & Development Resources
Funding
- NSF current funding search
- List of NSF directorates & programs: Funding opportunities are listed under each area.
- NSF award search: searchable repository of NSF-funded research
- Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI): As a predominantly undergraduate institution, UWL is eligible to submit applications to eligible programs with the RUI designation.
Proposal planning & timeline
A successful proposal starts with thorough planning before you begin drafting the application. See below for the required NSF proposal planning resources:
- NSF proposal development guide & checklist: extensive compilation of the required UWL forms, relevant NSF guidance, and templates
- NSF proposal development timeline generator: automatically generates a timeline for required internal deadlines to submit proposal components to ORSP, your chair/unit director, and your dean/division director for review and approval. This follows the UWL grant submission timeline requirements.
Use the timeline to work backwards from the submission deadline to establish proposal development due dates to guide your work. Keep in mind that substantive proposals (e.g., federal applications, collaborative projects) should be developed over a much longer timeline - typically six months to a year in advance of the deadline.
Below are additional tools to get you started:
- NSF Proposal Preparation Checklist (PAPPG 24-1)
- Broader Impacts Toolkit & Wizard
- NSF Subaward Proposal Development Checklist: used when UWL is not the lead institution and would be a subrecipient
- NSF letter of intent (LOI) template
- Grant writing tips for success
- How to contact the potential funding agency
- How to develop a concept paper/letter of inquiry (LOI)
Required UWL forms
- UWL Grant/Contract Transmittal Form
- Form preview
- See Grant Submission Timeline and NSF Proposal Development Timeline Generator for due dates.
- Required for all federal proposals:
- Required for National Science Foundation (NSF) proposals:
- Required for proposals involving subawards:
Budgeting
Sponsor Guidance
Budget Templates & Rates
- Budget Helper Spreadsheet
- Budget Justification Template
- Cost Sharing Template
- Fringe Benefits and Indirect Costs - Current Rates
- Budget Guidance: Fringe Benefits Overview
Faculty & Staff Compensation
Student Compensation & Tuition
- Undergraduate Student Wage Guidance
- Graduate Assistant Compensation
- Tuition and Fee Information
Travel & Meals
- UWL Travel Information
- Lodging & Meal Per Diems
- Current rates until June 30, 2025:SFS Lodging & Meal Per Diem Calculator
- NEW calculator for travel occurring July 1, 2025 or later: Lodging & Meal Per Diem Calculator
- Ground Transportation
- UWL Food Host Meal Rates
Facility Rental
- For rental of on-campus facilities, contact Reservations for facility and cost information. A facility rate sheet is also available.
Narrative & supplementary documents
- Proposal content guidelines (PAPPG 24-1)
- Cover Sheet
- Project Summary
- Table of Contents
- Project Description
- References Cited
- Facilities, Equipment, & Other Resources
- Biographical Sketch(es)
- Required for each senior personnel
- SciENcv
- For proposals due on or after October 23, 2023, the SciENcv format is required.
- NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance (see p. 12-17)
- Current & Pending (Other) Support
- Required for each senior personnel
- SciENcv
- For proposals due on or after October 23, 2023, the SciENcv format is required.
- NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance (see p. 12-17)
- FAQs on using SciENcv
- Collaborators & Other Affiliations (COA)
- Required for each senior personnel
- COA template and information
- Synergistic Activities
- Mentoring Plan
- Data Management Plan (DMP)
- UWL template
- NSF DMP requirements by directorate, division, and program
- These requirements apply in addition to those described in the PAPPG and solicitation.
- Templates for various directorates/sponsors (DMPTool)
- Registry of Research Data Repositories
- Research in Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) proposals:
- As a predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI), UWL is eligible (but not required) to submit proposals to most NSF programs with an RUI prefix, designating it as an application from a PUI. The Facilitating Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions solicitation (NSF 14-579) would apply in addition to the targeted solicitation.
- RUI requirements:
- Add "RUI:" prefix to project title
- RUI Impact Statement (template)
- RUI certification (provided by ORSP)
- Other potentially required proposal components:
- Collaborative proposals
- Research off-campus or off-site
- Defined as data/information/samples being collected off-campus or off-site, such as fieldwork and research activities on vessels and aircraft
- UWL template
- Projects that may impact the resources or interests of Tribal Nation(s)
- Live vertebrate animals (IACUC)
- Human subjects (IRB)
- Proprietary or privileged information
- Life Sciences Dual Use Research of Concern (DURC)
- Recombinant or synthetic nucleic acid molecules (IBC)
- Advanced computing resources, data, and analysis resources
- International activities
- Logic models guidance and templates (UW Extension)
Sponsor guidance
- NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 24-1)
- Applicable to proposals due on or after May 20, 2024
- NSF Proposal Preparation Checklist (PAPPG 24-1)
- Merit Review Process
- Facilitating Research at Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (RUI) program solicitation
- As a predominantly undergraduate institution (PUI), UWL is eligible (but not required) to submit proposals to most NSF programs with an RUI prefix, designating it as an application from a PUI. The RUI solicitation (NSF 14-579) would apply in addition to the targeted solicitation.
- NSF: A Guide for Proposal Writing