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Dear
Colleagues:
Effective October 5, 2020, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) will begin enforcing the Proposal
& Award Policies & Procedures Guide
(PAPPG) (NSF 20-1) requirement to use NSF-approved formats for the
preparation of the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support
proposal documents. The NSF-approved formats are SciENcv:
Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae and an NSF
fillable PDF.
All other PAPPG (NSF 20-1) changes were effective
on June 1, 2020. Please refer to the complete list of PAPPG (NSF 20-1) significant
changes and clarifications which include the IT system
changes and other policy-related changes. A set of Frequently
Asked Questions
(FAQs) on proposal preparation and award administration
related to NSF PAPPG
(NSF 20-1) is also available and includes Biographical
Sketch and Current and Pending Support information.
Biographical Sketch and Current
and Pending Support Websites
- The NSF Biographical
Sketch and Current
and Pending Support websites include links to
the NSF-fillable PDF formats, updated FAQs, and
instructions.
- For the fillable PDF formats,
NSF recommends users download and save the blank PDF document
prior to adding content. Populating content directly into a web
browser (e.g., Chrome or Safari) may result in formatting
inconsistencies. The completed and saved PDF can then be uploaded
via FastLane, Research.gov, or
Grants.gov.
- Beginning on October 5, 2020,
links to the Biographical
Sketch and Current
and Pending Support websites will also be
located in FastLane (on the Biographical
Sketch and Current and Pending Support Personnel pages), in
Research.gov (on the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending
Support Upload pages), and in Grants.gov (on the NSF Senior Key
Person Profile form version 2.0).
Change
of Principal Investigator (PI) and Add/Change Co-PI
Requests
- Effective October 5, 2020,
Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support documentation must
also be in an NSF-approved format when uploaded with a Change of PI
and an Add/Change co-PI request in FastLane.
Research
Performance Progress Report (RPPR) Submissions with Active Other Support
Changes
- Effective October 5, 2020, PIs
and co-PIs must include an NSF-approved format for Current and
Pending Support when notifying NSF that active other support
has changed since the award was made, or since the most recent
annual report.
- This new requirement serves as
NSF’s implementation of the revised RPPR, a uniform format for
reporting performance progress on Federally-funded research
projects and research-related
activities.
Automated
Compliance Checks for NSF-approved Formats
- Biographical Sketch and Current
and Pending Support documents not in an NSF-approved format will
trigger a compliance error and ultimately will prevent proposal
submission or completion of the post-award action. This compliance
check applies to proposals, Change of PI requests, Add/Change
co-PI requests, and relevant RPPR
submissions.
- Note that automated compliance
checks also apply when a proposal file update (PFU) is performed on
a proposal. Proposers should be aware that if a proposal was
previously submitted successfully, a PFU performed on the proposal
will be prevented from submission if the proposal does not comply
with the compliance checks in effect at the
time.
NSF-approved
Format Updates
Based on
feedback from the research community, NSF has enhanced both approved
formats, and users are encouraged to use the latest versions. Please see
the system-related FAQs
on using SciENcv
and the system-related FAQs
on using the NSF fillable PDF for a list of the
improvements to each format. In particular, note the permitted use of “et
al.” for publication citations in the Biographical Sketch when listing
multiple authors. Senior personnel who wish to include publications in
the products section of the Biographical Sketch that include multiple
authors may, at their discretion, choose to list one or more of the
authors and then "et al." in lieu of including the complete listing of
authors' names.
SciENcv
Enhancements
The SciENcv module for creating NSF Biographical Sketch
and Current and Pending Support documents will be updated prior to
October 5, 2020; however, all SciENcv-generated Biographical Sketch and Current
and Pending Support PDF documents created on or after April 1, 2020
remain compliant in NSF systems.
Prior to the October 5th
requirement to use the NSF-approved format, SciENcv will make a number of enhancements that
include:
- ability for users to reorder
products and appointments in the Biographical
Sketch
- ability for users to edit long author
citations imported from ORCID on the Biographical Sketch and add
“et al.”
- addition of a Current and
Pending Support tool tip to provide clarification and guidance on
how users should document support under a fiscal year
calendar
Please
see the system-related FAQs
on using SciENcv
for details.
As a reminder, the SciENcv tool integrates with ORCID, enabling users
to populate the Biographical Sketch by importing data directly from ORCID
records rather than having to manually enter all the required
information. This helps reduce administrative burden associated with the
Biographical Sketch preparation process. Additionally, SciENcv
allows users to grant access to delegates to assist with maintaining and
updating data. SciENcv also offers users a
dynamic and more customized PDF. For example, users with fewer Current
and Pending Support entries may elect to use SciENcv to generate their Current and Pending
Support PDF document since SciENcv will
produce a PDF without any blank pages. Conversely, the Current and
Pending Support fillable PDF will always be 15 pages regardless of how
much data is included.
Latest
NSF Fillable PDF Version
- Revised NSF fillable PDF
formats were released on May 1, 2020; however, the previous
versions remain compliant in NSF
systems.
- The May 1, 2020 version is
indicated by "Revised 05/01/2020" printed on the first page of
each form.
Additional
Training Resources
To learn more
about the NSF-approved formats for Biographical Sketch and Current and
Pending Support, please view the NSF
PAPPG (NSF 20-1) webinar and NSF-Approved
Formats
for the Biographical Sketch & Current and Pending Support Sections of
NSF Proposals webinar.
SciENcv
has created the following materials to guide NSF users through the
preparation of the NSF documents available in SciENcv:
Other
Updates for Proposers
A revised NSF
Grants.gov Application Guide will be published on September 16th and
effective October 5, 2020. The Guide will be updated to remove references
and instructions for the Research & Related Personal Data Form. NSF
will no longer require this form, and this form will no longer be
included in NSF's packages effective October 5, 2020.
Questions?
Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov.
If you have IT system-related or technical questions regarding the SciENcv or NSF fillable PDF formats, please contact
the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 (7:00 AM - 9:00 PM ET; Monday -
Friday except federal holidays) or via fastlane@nsf.gov.
Regards,
National Science Foundation
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