Merit Review and Proposal Preparation

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Merit Review andProposal Preparation
Mark Courtney Division of Environmental
Biology mcourtne_at_nsf.gov
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The NSF Merit Review Process

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NSF Proposal Award Process Timeline
NSF Announces Opportunity
Returned Without Review/Withdrawn
GPG Announcement Solicitation
Min. 3 Revs. Req.
Via DGA
Award
N S F
NSF Program. Office
Program Office Analysis Recomm.

• Org.
• submits
• via
• FastLane

Mail
DD Concur
Panel
Both
Organization
Research Education Communities
Decline
Proposal Receipt at NSF
DD Concur
Award
90 Days
6 Months
30 Days
Proposal Receipt to Division Director Concurrence
of Program Officer Recommendation
DGA Review Processing of Award
Proposal Preparation Time
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NSF Merit Review Criteria

• NSB Approved Criteria include
• Intellectual Merit
• Broader Impacts of the Proposed Effort

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Proposal Review Criterion Intellectual Merit

• Potential to advance knowledge and understanding
  within and across fields
• Qualifications of investigators
• Creativity and originality
• Conceptualization and organization
• Access to resources

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Proposal Review Criterion Broader Impact

• Advances discovery while promoting teaching,
  training and learning
• Broadens the participation of underrepresented
  groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability,
  geographic, etc.)
• Enhances the infrastructure for research and
  education, such as facilities, instrumentation,
  networks and partnerships
• Results disseminated broadly
• Potential benefits to society

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NSF Merit Review Criteria
Any proposal that does NOT address both merit
criteria in the Project Summary will be
RETURNED WITHOUT REVIEW.
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Return Without Review

• Does not meet NSF proposal preparation
  requirements, such as page limitations,
  formatting, etc.
• Is inappropriate for funding by the NSF
• Is not responsive to the GPG or program
  announcement or solicitation
• Does not meet an announced proposal deadline date
• Is submitted with insufficient lead-time to a
  target date
• Is a duplicate of, or substantially similar to, a
  proposal already under consideration
• Was previously reviewed and declined and has not
  been substantially revised.

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NSF Sources of Reviewers

• Program Officers knowledge of what is being done
  and whos doing what in the research area
• References listed in proposal
• Recent technical programs from professional
  societies
• Recent authors in Scientific and Engineering
  journals
• Reviewer recommendations
• Investigators suggestions
• Volunteers to Program Officer

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Reasons For Funding A Competitive Proposal

• Likely high impact
• PI Career Point (tenured/established/
  beginning)
• Place in Program Portfolio
• Other Support for PI
• Impact on Institution/State

• Special Programmatic Considerations
  (CAREER/RUI/EPSCoR)
• Diversity
• Educational Impact
• Launching versus Maintaining

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The Proposal Cycle
Funded!
Declined
Revise
What next?
Write
Try again
Conceptualize
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Summary

• A good proposal is a good idea, well expressed,
  with a clear indication of methods for pursuing
  the idea, evaluating the findings, making them
  known to all who need to know, and indicating the
  broader impacts of the activity.

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Proposal Preparation

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Call Your Program Director!
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Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)

• Provides guidance for preparation of proposals
• Describes process -- and criteria --by which
  proposals will be reviewed
• Describes process for withdrawals, returns and
  declinations
• Describes the award process and procedures for
  requesting continued support
• Identifies significant grant administrative
  highlights

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What to Look for in a Program Announcement

• goal of program
• eligibility
• special requirements

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Types of Proposal Submission

• No deadlines
• Deadlines
• Target dates

• Submission Windows
• Preliminary proposals

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A Good Proposal

• A good proposal is a good idea, well expressed,
  with a clear indication of methods for pursuing
  the idea, evaluating the findings, and making
  them known to all who need to know.

A Competitive Proposal is
All of the above Appropriate for the
Program Responsive to the Program Announcement
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What Makes a Proposal Competitive?

• Likely high impact
• New and original ideas
• Succinct, focused project plan
• Knowledge of subject area or published, relevant
  work
• Experience in essential methodology
• Clarity concerning future direction
• Sound scientific rationale
• Realistic amount of work
• Sufficient detail
• Critical approach

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Budgetary Guidelines

• Amounts
• Reasonable for work - Realistic
• Well justified - Needs established
• In-line with program guidelines
• Eligible costs
• Personnel
• Equipment
• Travel
• Participant Support
• Other Direct Costs (including subawards,
  consultant services, computer
• services, publication costs)

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Simple tips for a better proposal

• Follow formatting requirements carefully
• (Use eligible fonts as in GPG)

• Compliance check before submitting
• (FastLane wont do it for you!)

• Be available by email to fix compliance problems
  (proposals may be returned if NSF cant contact
  you)

• Suggest reviewers

• Include all conflicts of interest in your CV

• Respond explicitly to previous reviews
• (Panels are asked to comment on this)

• Emphasize readability avoid verbiage

• Talk to your Program Director!

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Advice

• Learn to love rejection
• Contact the program officer with specific
  questions
• Revise and resubmit
• Collaboration is good, if appropriate
• Discover alternative funding sources

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Myths about NSF

• Only funds researchers from elite institutions
• Once declinedalways declined
• Only funds normal science
• Advisory committees make funding decisions

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Dos and Donts

• Talk to your Program Officer
• Less verbiage, more readability
• Anticipate objections or criticisms
• Justify your budget
• Dont be greedy
• Follow the rules
• Give yourself plenty of time
• Study reviews carefully

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Ask Us Early, Ask Us Often!!
The Prime Directive


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Merit Review and Proposal Preparation
QUESTIONS? Mark Courtney Division of
Environmental Biology mcourtne_at_nsf.gov