NSF Delays Requirement of New Templates
As you may know, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released the new Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) 20-1 effective for proposals submitted or due, and awards made, on or after June 1, 2020. To assist the UF community, the UF Division of Sponsored Programs (DSP) has highlighted some of the key changes in PAPPG Summary of Changes. However, you are encouraged to review the by-chapter summary of changes provided in the Introduction section of the PAPPG. NSF has provided helpful resources related to these changes, which can be found on the DSP National Science Foundation Updates webpage.
NSF has delayed the requirement to use the NSF-approved formats for the biographical sketch and current and pending support sections of NSF proposals until October 5, 2020. NSF encourages everyone to begin using these formats prior to the October effective date. For FAQs on the new templates, see NSF Biographical Sketch and Current & Pending Support Fillable PDF Document FAQs. NSF has listened to community feedback and has made improvements to the biographical sketch and current and pending forms as follows:
Biographical Sketch Improvements
- Permit use of “et al.” for publication citations in the Products section in the event that listing multiple authors makes it difficult to fit the information into the allotted space (NSF fillable format and SciENcv format)
- Increased space for the Products section by removing instructional text. Links added to relevant PAPPG sections (NSF fillable format)
- Removed the requirement to include the NSF ID (NSF fillable format)
- Added a version date to the document (NSF fillable format)
Current and Pending Support Improvements
- Increased the number of Project/Proposal entries from 10 to 15 to support the majority of proposals submitted to NSF (NSF fillable format)
- Updated the Award Number field to allow entry of both numbers and letters (NSF fillable format and SciENcv format)
- Replaced the “Calendar Year” label with “Year” to be consistent with PAPPG guidance (NSF fillable format and SciENcv format)
- Removed the requirement to include the NSF ID (NSF fillable format)
- Added a version date to the document (NSF fillable format)
Please reach out to DSP should you have any questions or concerns.
