Obtaining NSF Funding
Contact with Program Officers is Crucial:
- Talk with program officers at your professional meetings or at CUR meetings.
- Send email to program officers (addresses are in NSF directory on NSF website).
- Send a summary of your research to a program officer and set up a telephone appointment.
- Call program officer at NSF (Grants Office can help you identify which person to call).
Find out What NSF is Funding:
- Talk with program officer.
- Check journal articles to see what type of research NSF has funded.
- Search NSF website for awards and ask PI's for copies of their successful proposals
Plan Your Proposal:
- Organize folders/notes by required proposal elements.
- Allow enough time to draft proposal and rewrite.
- Address all "Review criteria" from the guidelines.
- Justify your budget request in detail - NSF allows three pages.
- State the significance of your research questions and defend your research design.
- Use clear prose (must be understood by anyone who is scientifically literate).
- Ask colleagues to serve as "reviewers" for your draft proposal -- incorporate their advice.
Follow the Guidelines:
- Note formatting requirements (margins, type size, pagination, stapling, etc.).
- Don't be afraid to call the FastLane Helpdesk for assistance with FastLane.
- NSF is serious about page limits and no appendices.
- Use checklist to make sure you've included everything.
- RUI proposals: Need RUI certification signed by appropriate college official and RUI Impact Statement (think if this as additional space to justify your project).