National Science Foundation (NSF) Grants

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Applying for NSF Grants

Kenyon Procedure:

1. Contact the ADFGF (peelle@kenyon.edu) with notification of intent to apply well before the deadline. If it is determined that the proposal is institutional in purpose, the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations is included, as the proposal will require Grants Committee approval.  
   

   Communications between the PI and grant review personnel should include all parties to the review process:  

   • PI
   • Provost
   • Assoc. Director of Faculty Grants & Fellowships
   • Assistant Controller
   • Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations (for institutional grants only) 
2. Application Development
   • Contact the Assistant Controller for help in developing your budget. (The Assistant Controller must review and approve all budgets before the college will allow the final submission of the proposal. If there is any requirement of matching, the proposal will have to go through the Kenyon Grants Committee.)
   • Have your colleague/s and/or the ADFGF read the proposal for content and editorial advice.
• The ADFGF will be sure that you are registered in Fastlane.
• Find and download application packet.
• Carefully Read the (PAPPG) Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide and check the published funding opportunity for instructions specific to the opportunity. Be sure you have the most recent edition of the PAPPG.
• Develop the proposal and budget.
3. Review and approval to submit
• The PI is requested to send the proposal summary and the budget and budget justification to the Provost, the ADFGF and the Assistant Controller.
• The PI should arrange to meet/talk with the Provost
• When budget and narrative are both completed, and the PI is ready to submit, the Assistant Controller forwards the budget and justification to the Provost, advising that the budget meets College and granting agency guidelines; highlighting details of particular importance.
• The Provost advises the Assistant Controller and the FGFC that he approves submission of the proposal.
4. Submission and Signing
• The PI submits the grants package in Fastlane.
• Through Fastlane, the Assistant Controller will approve the proposal and BUDGET and formally submit the proposal.
• Through Fastlane, the FGFC will take care of the final signing and inform the PI, AC, Provost that the submission has been completed.

Please notify ADFGF peelle@kenyon.edu when you are contacted by NSF about the outcome of your application review.

Vanderbilt University has excellent instructions for NSF No-Cost-Extension requests.

Reporting

• Information and examples for submitting project reports through research.gov.
• Research.GOV Home  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• NSF publications: www.nsf.gov/publications
• NSF Office of Diversity and Inclusion  Harassment 
• FastLane: Use Fastlane to apply for NSF grants. Some NSF programs may allow the use of grants.gov, but Fastlane is generally considered the easier application system.
• Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guides 
• NSF: A Guide for Proposal Writing
• Broader Impacts: "Seven Steps to Help Investigators Think about and Communicate the Broader Impacts of Their Research" by Kendra Mingo, Office for Faculty Research and Resources, Willamette University
• Post Doctoral Mentoring Plan  The National Postdoctoral Association 

Required Data Management Plan

• NSF Required Data Management Plan
• NSF FAQ on DMP

Sample Templates/Tools

• U. Washington eScience Institute
• U.V. NSF DMP Template from University of Virginia Library DMP
• Data Conservancy Data Management Plan Template
• Data Management Tool from University of California Curation Center of the California Digital Library

Other Data Management Resources

• Long Term Ecological Research Network
• MIT
• U. Washington eScience Institute
• University of Virginia Library

Required Responsible Conduct of Research Education

• Kenyon

Other NSF Resources

• NSF
• Find Funding
• Programs Focused on Undergraduate Students
• Grants.gov You can search for all kinds of federal funding here.