NSF 08-565: Mathematical Sciences Research Institutes

Program Solicitation
NSF 08-565

 

National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences      Division of Mathematical Sciences

 

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

February 27, 2009

Revision Notes

Summary Of Program Requirements

General Information

Program Title: 

Synopsis of Program:

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

• Dean M. Evasius, telephone: (703) 292-8132, email: devasius@nsf.gov

• Joanna Kania-Bartoszynska, telephone: (703) 292-4881, email: jkaniaba@nsf.gov

• Hans G. Kaper, telephone: (703) 292-4859, email: hkaper@nsf.gov

• Christopher W. Stark, telephone: (703) 292-4869, email: cstark@nsf.gov

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):

• 47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences

Award Information

Anticipated Type of Award:  Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards:    4 to  6  

Anticipated Funding Amount:   $20,000,000  Up to this amount will be initially available for this activity in FY 2010, subject to availability of funds

Eligibility Information

Organization Limit: 

Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

• Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.
• Universities and Colleges: Universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) located and accredited in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.

PI Limit: 

None Specified

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 

None Specified

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI: 

None Specified

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• Letters of Intent: Not Applicable

• Preliminary Proposal Submission: Not Applicable

• Full Proposals:

  • Full Proposals submitted via FastLane: NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide, Part I: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Guidelines apply. The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg.

  • Full Proposals submitted via Grants.gov: NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at:
    https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/grantsgovguide607.pdf)

B. Budgetary Information

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required under this solicitation.  

• Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:  Not Applicable

• Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

C. Due Dates

• Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

  February 27, 2009

Proposal Review Information Criteria

Merit Review Criteria:   National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Award Administration Information

Award Conditions:   Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Reporting Requirements:   Additional reporting requirements apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.

Agency Contacts

Other Information

I. Introduction

II. Program Description

III. Award Information

IV. Eligibility Information

Organization Limit: 

Proposals may only be submitted by the following:

• Non-profit, non-academic organizations: Independent museums, observatories, research labs, professional societies and similar organizations in the U.S. associated with educational or research activities.
• Universities and Colleges: Universities and two- and four-year colleges (including community colleges) located and accredited in the US, acting on behalf of their faculty members. Such organizations also are referred to as academic institutions.

PI Limit: 

None Specified

Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 

None Specified

Limit on Number of Proposals per PI: 

None Specified

Additional Eligibility Info:

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will be accepted from colleges, universities, and other nonprofit institutions in the United States. Multi-institutional consortia are permitted, but a single entity must accept overall management responsibility in dealing with the NSF.

V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Grants.gov or via the NSF FastLane system.

• Full proposals submitted via FastLane: Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov. Proposers are reminded to identify this program solicitation number in the program solicitation block on the NSF Cover Sheet For Proposal to the National Science Foundation. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

• Full Proposals submitted via Grants.gov: NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at:
  https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/grantsgovguide607.pdf)

  To obtain copies of the Application Guide and Application Forms Package, click on the Apply tab on the Grants.gov site, then click on the Apply Step 1: Download a Grant Application Package and Application Instructions link and enter the funding opportunity number, (the program solicitation number without the NSF prefix) and press the Download Package button. Paper copies of the Grants.gov Application Guide also may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:

Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system. Chapter II, Section D.3 of the Grant Proposal Guide provides additional information on collaborative proposals.

The proposal must conform to the GPG or NSF Grants.gov Application Guide requirements, with the following modifications:

1. Cover Page

Proposers are reminded to identify the program solicitation number, identify the DIVISION OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES as the organizational unit and the MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES RESEARCH INSTITUTES as the program to receive the proposal. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

2. Project Description

The project description is subject to page limits, as described below. These page limits will be strictly enforced. Proposals not adhering to these page limits will be returned without further review. The Project Description consists of each of the following topics:

•  The intellectual focus of the proposed institute; the rationale for the proposed institute, its mission and goals, and its expected impact; and plans for future growth and resource development; results of prior NSF support (if applicable).  This section is not to exceed 20 pages total (including results of prior NSF support, up to 5 pages).
• The scientific activities planned for the entire five-year period.  Plans for a new institute must reflect a “ramp-up” period of up to two years, with a full complement of activities no later than the beginning of Year 3 of the award. This section is not to exceed 5 pages total.
• The governance and management structure of the proposed institute, including a list of individuals who have agreed to serve as members of a governing board or advisory council; mechanisms for focusing the proposed institute’s activities; criteria for selecting participants and allocating funds. This section is not to exceed 5 pages total.
• A plan reflecting the proposed institute’s approach to increasing diversity, broadening participation, and encouraging involvement of underrepresented groups; a description how this plan will be implemented; and an outline how its outcomes will be measured.  This section is not to exceed 3 pages total.
• The plans for human resource development, including plans for the selection and mentoring of students and postdoctoral fellows and for the selection and involvement of researchers at all career levels.   This section is not to exceed 3 pages total.
•  The plans for outreach and dissemination of results.  This section is not to exceed 2 pages total.
• Measures to evaluate progress toward the proposed institute’s goals; a procedure for the quantitative assessment of the impact of the proposed institute’s activities.  This section is not to exceed 3 pages total.

3. Biographical Sketches

For all key personnel, provide a brief biographical sketch, using the standard format. Do not exceed two pages per person. For each individual, add up to one additional page describing how that individual will contribute to the mission and goals of the proposed institute.

4. Facilities

Include a description of the facilities (including laboratories and computational facilities) that will be made available to the institute.

5. Supplementary Documentation

The following items are the only items permitted as supplementary documentation or appendices. Supplementary documentation should be saved and uploaded as a single Portable Document Format (PDF) file.

• A spreadsheet indicating the expenditure of total expected funds for each year and the cumulative total for the five-year period. The spreadsheet may be submitted directly as a PDF file.
• Letters of commitment documenting other support for the proposed project, including commitments for space, faculty, and staff positions, equipment, and access to facilities.  These letters may be submitted directly as PDF files.  Letters of endorsement and letter of a laudatory nature for the proposed project are not acceptable.
• Documentation of collaborative arrangements of significance to the proposal through letters of commitment may be included. Only letters of commitment will be permitted; "endorsement" letters are not acceptable. These documents may be submitted directly as PDF files.

B. Budgetary Information

Cost Sharing:   Cost sharing is not required under this solicitation.

Other Budgetary Limitations:  

Award amounts are expected to range from approximately $3 million/year to $5 million/year for proposals submitted in response to this solicitation.

C. Due Dates

• Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

  February 27, 2009

D. FastLane/Grants.gov Requirements

• For Proposals Submitted Via FastLane:

  Detailed technical instructions regarding the technical aspects of preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm. For FastLane user support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail fastlane@nsf.gov. The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity.

  Submission of Electronically Signed Cover Sheets. The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must electronically sign the proposal Cover Sheet to submit the required proposal certifications (see Chapter II, Section C of the Grant Proposal Guide for a listing of the certifications). The AOR must provide the required electronic certifications within five working days following the electronic submission of the proposal. Further instructions regarding this process are available on the FastLane Website at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp.

• For Proposals Submitted Via Grants.gov:

Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile. Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants.gov website. The Grants.gov's Grant Community User Guide is a comprehensive reference document that provides technical information about Grants.gov. Proposers can download the User Guide as a Microsoft Word document or as a PDF document. The Grants.gov User Guide is available at: http://www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport. In addition, the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide provides additional technical guidance regarding preparation of proposals via Grants.gov. For Grants.gov user support, contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email: support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants.gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation.

Submitting the Proposal: Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants.gov. The completed application will be transferred to the NSF FastLane system for further processing.

VI. NSF Proposal Processing And Review Procedures   

Proposals received by NSF are assigned to the appropriate NSF program where they will be reviewed if they meet NSF proposal preparation requirements. All proposals are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular fields represented by the proposal. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the oversight of the review process. Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal and/or persons they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer selection process at the Program Officer's discretion. Submission of such names, however, is optional. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts of interest with the proposal.

A. NSF Merit Review Criteria

All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board (NSB)-approved merit review criteria: intellectual merit and the broader impacts of the proposed effort. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.

The two NSB-approved merit review criteria are listed below. The criteria include considerations that help define them. These considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. While proposers must address both merit review criteria, reviewers will be asked to address only those considerations that are relevant to the proposal being considered and for which the reviewer is qualified to make judgements.

NSF staff also will give careful consideration to the following in making funding decisions:

Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities
Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.

Additional Review Criteria:

IN ADDITION to the above criteria, the following will be used in the evaluation process:

• The overall impact of the proposed scientific activities on the mathematical sciences;

• The quality of the stated missions and goals of the institute and its likely effectiveness in meeting these missions and goals;

• The breadth of involvement of appropriate subfields of the mathematical sciences;

• The capabilities of the institute leadership, including management and organizational ability of the proposed director(s), and the commitment of the proposed leadership team;

• The design, structure and management of the operation of the institute, including the quality and effectiveness of the management plan (including plans for interaction among the institute staff), the method of selection of activities and the method of selection of participants;

• The level of the institutional commitment to promoting diversity and the quality of the implementation plan;

• The quality and appropriateness of the institute's education and training components, especially plans to attract, involve, and mentor researchers early in their career paths;

• The extent, where appropriate, to which communication and interaction with other areas of science and engineering are fostered. This may include linkages and partnerships with other university research groups or industry, national laboratories, non-profit organizations, etc.;

• The quality and likely effectiveness of the proposed outreach activities;

• The quality of the evaluation plan;

• The reasonableness and appropriateness of the budget;

• The quality and likely effectiveness of plans for future institute growth and resource development;

• The quality and appropriateness of the infrastructure support for the institute (including, but not limited to space, administrative staff, equipment, and access to facilities) and the suitability of location with regard to office space, laboratory space if needed, computing environment, access to library facilities, and housing.

B. Review and Selection Process

Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by Ad hoc Review and/or Panel Review, or Site Visit Review.

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will be merit-reviewed. The first phase of the merit-review process will consist of a review by a panel of experts from outside NSF, supplemented by additional ad-hoc (mail) reviews as appropriate. Each proposal will receive at least three written reviews. The reviews, together with a summary of the panel discussion, will be made available to the Principal Investigator. Those proposals that are considered the most meritorious by the DMS Institutes Management Team will receive site visits by a committee of external experts during the second phase of the merit-review process.

The committee of external experts will conduct an on-site review of the proposal using the criteria outlined in this solicitation and will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline the proposal. The committee will have access to the reviews and the summary of the panel's discussion. The DMS Institutes Management Team will consider the committee's advice and will formulate a recommendation to the management of the Division of Mathematical Sciences to either decline the proposal or recommend the proposal for an award.

Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation.

After scientific, technical and programmatic review and consideration of appropriate factors, the NSF Program Officer recommends to the cognizant Division Director whether the proposal should be declined or recommended for award. NSF is striving to be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time interval begins on the deadline or target date, or receipt date, whichever is later.  The interval ends when the Division Director accepts the Program Officer's recommendation.

A summary rating and accompanying narrative will be completed and submitted by each reviewer. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the Program Officer.  In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of the decision to award or decline funding.

In all cases, after programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review of business, financial, and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their own risk.

VII. Award Administration Information

A. Notification of the Award

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See Section VI.B. for additional information on the review process.)

B. Award Conditions

An NSF award consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award letter; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (GC-1); * or Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) Terms and Conditions * and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Cooperative agreements also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Financial and Administrative Terms and Conditions (CA-FATC) and the applicable Programmatic Terms and Conditions. NSF awards are electronically signed by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer and transmitted electronically to the organization via e-mail.

*These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at https://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/general_conditions.jsp?org=NSF. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions and other important information on the administration of NSF awards is contained in the NSF Award & Administration Guide (AAG) Chapter II, available electronically on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=aag.

Special Award Conditions:

The project will be funded for up to five years. Any award will be a continuing grant; funds are released annually subject to approval by DMS and the availability of funds.   In the third year of the award, DMS will convene a committee of external experts to conduct an in-depth evaluation of the institute’s activities.  The committee will advise DMS whether the institute’s activities warrant a renewal proposal for an additional five-year period subsequent to the current award period, or whether a phase-down plan for the last two years of the current award must be put into effect.

C. Reporting Requirements

For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the Principal Investigator must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period. (Some programs or awards require more frequent project reports). Within 90 days after expiration of a grant, the PI also is required to submit a final project report.

Failure to provide the required annual or final project reports will delay NSF review and processing of any future funding increments as well as any pending proposals for that PI. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.

PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project-reporting system, available through FastLane, for preparation and submission of annual and final project reports.  Such reports provide information on activities and findings, project participants (individual and organizational) publications; and, other specific products and contributions.  PIs will not be required to re-enter information previously provided, either with a proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system.  Submission of the report via FastLane constitutes certification by the PI that the contents of the report are accurate and complete. 

The grantee responsibilities include:

• The PI or his/her representative(s) will attend an annual meeting of DMS Institute PIs/Directors, at a time and place to be mutually agreed upon.
• The grantee must submit an Annual Progress Report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period.  The Annual Progress Report must include:

• A Participant List in a standardized and mutually agreed upon format;
• A Financial Support List in a standardized and mutually agreed upon format;
• An Income and Expenditure Report: A summary in spreadsheet form of the budget expenditures by activity and funding source for the reporting period;
• A copy of the minutes of the most recent Institute Directors Meeting;
• A Participant Summary Table providing the total number of  participants and subtotals for the number of participants who are women, US citizens and permanent residents, and members of underrepresented groups.

• The grantee shall post on the Institute’s website each Annual Progress Report, with proprietary information deleted but including Participant Summary tables.
• The grantee shall provide to DMS electronic source material for the Participants List and Financial Support list.   The grantee and DMS will collaborate on the format and design for these files.

VIII. Agency Contacts

General inquiries regarding this program should be made to:

• Dean M. Evasius, telephone: (703) 292-8132, email: devasius@nsf.gov

• Joanna Kania-Bartoszynska, telephone: (703) 292-4881, email: jkaniaba@nsf.gov

• Hans G. Kaper, telephone: (703) 292-4859, email: hkaper@nsf.gov

• Christopher W. Stark, telephone: (703) 292-4869, email: cstark@nsf.gov

For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact:

• FastLane Help Desk, telephone: 1-800-673-6188; e-mail: fastlane@nsf.gov.

For questions relating to Grants.gov contact:

• Grants.gov Contact Center: If the Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR) has not received a confirmation message from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submission of application, please contact via telephone: 1-800-518-4726; e-mail: support@grants.gov.

IX. Other Information

The NSF Website provides the most comprehensive source of information on NSF Directorates (including contact information), programs and funding opportunities. Use of this Website by potential proposers is strongly encouraged. In addition, MyNSF (formerly the Custom News Service) is an information-delivery system designed to keep potential proposers and other interested parties apprised of new NSF funding opportunities and publications, important changes in proposal and award policies and procedures, and upcoming NSF Regional Grants Conferences. Subscribers are informed through e-mail or the user's Web browser each time new publications are issued that match their identified interests. MyNSF also is available on NSF's Website at https://www.nsf.gov/mynsf/.

Grants.gov provides an additional electronic capability to search for Federal government-wide grant opportunities. NSF funding opportunities may be accessed via this new mechanism. Further information on Grants.gov may be obtained at http://www.grants.gov.

About The National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 USC 1861-75). The Act states the purpose of the NSF is "to promote the progress of science; [and] to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare by supporting research and education in all fields of science and engineering."

NSF funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the US. The Foundation accounts for about one-fourth of Federal support to academic institutions for basic research.

NSF receives approximately 40,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 11,000 are funded. In addition, the Foundation receives several thousand applications for graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, user facilities, certain oceanographic vessels and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry, US participation in international scientific and engineering efforts, and educational activities at every academic level.

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities to work on NSF-supported projects. See Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II, Section D.2 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals.

The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 292-5090 and (800) 281-8749, FIRS at (800) 877-8339.

The National Science Foundation Information Center may be reached at (703) 292-5111.

The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22230 For General Information (NSF Information Center): (703) 292-5111 TDD (for the hearing-impaired): (703) 292-5090 To Order Publications or Forms: Send an e-mail to: pubs@nsf.gov or telephone: (703) 292-7827 To Locate NSF Employees: (703) 292-5111

Privacy Act And Public Burden Statements

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; and project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to proposer institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies or other entities needing information regarding applicants or nominees as part of a joint application review process, or in order to coordinate programs or policy; and to another Federal agency, court, or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 69 Federal Register 26410 (May 12, 2004), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records, " 69 Federal Register 26410 (May 12, 2004). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding the burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:

Suzanne H. Plimpton
Reports Clearance Officer
Division of Administrative Services
National Science Foundation
Arlington, VA 22230