As of December 31, 2022 all NSF proposals must be submitted via Research.gov
The National Science Foundation is modernizing its electronic proposal submission process through the implementation of Research.gov. Transition to this new system from Fastlane has already begun, with the use of Research.gov required by some solicitations and available for most others.
Features and Perks
- Streamlined proposal set-up
- Expanded compliance and formatting checks, including instant feedback as each section is uploaded
- No alterations to PDF uploads
- On-screen links to relevant PAPPG sections
- Improved management of personnel and subawards
- Increased system speed and performance
Common Issues & Suggested Fixes
- Heading styles may cause a top margin error.
Try This: Press ctrl+A and select “Normal” to identify hidden content - Equations and formulas on the first line of a page may cause a top margin error.
Try This: Insert a blank line or two before the equation/formula - Fully justified margins bleed into right margin.
Try This: Increase right margin settings to 1.02 – 1.05 - Page numbers and text in the header or footer cause margin errors.
Try This: Remove page numbers (automatically added by the system) and/or move header/footer text to the appropriate proposal section (e.g., References) - Line spacing warning.
Try This: Open document layout tab. Open paragraph settings by clicking the arrow icon below the Spacing “before” and “after” options. Select the “Indents and Spacing” tab. In the “Spacing” section, go to “Line Spacing” and select “Exactly” in the dropdown menu and “12 pt” in the “At” field. - Error produced when uploading a Collaborators and Other Affiliations spreadsheet.
Try This: Make sure the spreadsheet is on the current template. Truncate text in cells with more than 255 characters. Remove special characters. Ensure that there are no words in any of the “Date” fields. Do not provide this document if it is for a conference proposal under $50,000.
Other Tips
- Make sure all section headings are on their own lines without any additional text.
- Review all inserted images, figures, shapes or hyperlinks in the event of a persistent margin error.
- Code inserted when using LaTeX to create the source file may cause a margin error.