There are three ways to get the precise help you need in Research.gov Help System:
New Guidance on Account Regirstration, My Profile, User Management etc… can be found on the About Account Management Page
1. In the Search box (Figure 1), type the action you need help for.
Figure 1 - Research.gov Help Search boxes
2. Click the Go button (Figure 1). The list of help topics covering that type of activity appears in the column below the Search box (Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Search Results
3. Click on a help topic heading (Figure 2) to see the topic contents displayed on the right side of the screen.
The Table of Contents contains a hierarchy of the activities for each major group of functions.
1. Click on a book (Figure 3) to see the help topics in the folder. The topics of the book display.
Figure 3 - Content Topics
2. Click on a help topic heading to see the topic contents displayed on the right side of the screen.
Keywords are listed in the Index in alphabetical order.
1. In
the Search box (Figure
4), type your keyword. The keyword automatically displays in the column
under the Keyword search box.
Figure 4 - Index
2. Click on a help topic heading to see the topic contents displayed on the right side of the screen.
Many of the services available on Research.gov, including SEE Innovation and Research Spending & Results, are available to the general public without registering for a Research.gov account. Additionally, there are four types of Research.gov accounts which provide role-based access to specific Research.gov services and features, so that applicants, grantees, NSF staff and members of the general public can personalize their Research.gov experience:
NSF User: Applicants and awardees can access grants management services from NSF and its partner agencies on Research.gov using their FastLane login and password. Access to services will be determined based on their FastLane role and permissions.
InCommon User: Applicants and grantees from InCommon member organizations who have requested InCommon Federation partnership with Research.gov can access grant management services on Research.gov using their organization-issued user ID and password.
NSF Staff: NSF staff can use their NSF LAN ID and password to access the Research.gov Desktop and the tools and resources they need to support their program work.
An NSF User account gives applicants and grantees access to grants management services from NSF and its partner agencies to help them monitor proposal status, manage awards, and meet reporting requirements. Depending on your FastLane role (i.e. Principal Investigator (PI), Sponsored Program Officer (SPO), etc.) you will have access to:
Project Reports – PIs can complete and submit the NSF-specific reporting requirements including Final, Annual, Interim and Project Outcomes Reports.
Proposal Status – Enables SPO/ AOR, PIs, and Project Directors (PD) to check the status of proposals submitted to NSF.
User Management – Allows Institution Administrators to add users and manage their profiles.
To access Research.gov, you and your organization must be registered in NSF’s FastLane system:
If you and your organization are already registered in NSF's FastLane system, you are automatically registered in Research.gov and can log in with your NSF FastLane ID and password.
2. If your organization is already registered in FastLane or Research.gov and you are not, you will need to be registered as a user. Notify your organization's Institution Administrator to add you as a FastLane user.
Once you are registered as a FastLane or Research.gov user, you can log into Research.gov to access grant management services:
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
You will be redirected to a page where you will enter your NSF ID and password and click Login.
NSF Staff can log in using their NSF ID and password to access the NSF Research.gov Desktop. The Desktop is an online workspace for NSF staff to access the resources needed to support their program work. Note: You must either be on the NSF internal network or connected remotely via Access NSF to log in.
To log in as NSF Staff:
1. Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
2. Click on the Log In for NSF Staff link from this page.
3. Log in and enter your NSF ID and password (if you have forgotten your ID or password, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 703-292-HELP or Rgov@nsf.gov) in the appropriate fields.
4. Click on the Log In button.
NSF Users from InCommon member institutions can access grant management services from NSF using their organization-issued user ID and password. InCommon member organizations must partner with Research.gov in order to become members of Research.gov’s InCommon Integration. To register for the program, email Research.gov at feedback@nsf.gov.
If you are already an InCommon User, and your organization has joined Research.gov’s InCommon Integration, you can log into Research.gov to access grant management services using your organization-issued user ID and password:
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
You will be redirected to a page where you select your organization and you will be taken to your organization’s login page.
At your organization’s login page, login with your organization-issued user ID and password; you will then be transferred to Research.gov.
If this is your first time logging in as an InCommon user, please follow the following set of additional steps:
1. Once you are logged in, click on the Activate Now link in the Account Activation section of Research.gov.
2. Read the Rules of Behavior and click the Activate button.
3. Enter your NSF ID and password in the appropriate fields and select submit.
4. You will then receive a message stating that activation has been submitted successfully and you are successfully logged into Research.gov.
If you are a principal investigator/project director, once logged in you should activate/associate your account with other Research.gov partner agencies (if you log in with your NSF account, you are automatically associated with NSF). This one-time activation process will give you access to application status information for applications (proposals) submitted to the participating Research.gov partners.
Note: Institution Administrators, Sponsored Project Officers and Authorized Organizational Representatives will automatically be associated with all Research.gov partner agencies so that they can access all proposals that have the same Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) ID associated to their NSF registered organization.
Note: The user's organization must have a valid DUNS Number issued by Dun and Bradstreet and be registered in the System for Award Management (SAM) in order to use Research.gov account-controlled services. To register in the SAM, go to https://www.sam.gov/. Please be advised that it takes approximately two business days to complete the registration process. (The System for Award Management (SAM) is the Official U.S. Government system that consolidated the capabilities of CCR/FedReg, ORCA, and EPLS.)
Users are allowed to activate multiple agency accounts including other FastLane accounts with a single Research.gov profile. To activate additional accounts navigate to the Welcome <Name> link section of Research.gov (Figure 6). This link is available on the right-hand side of the Research.gov Home Page.
Figure 5 – My Profile Link - Research.gov Agency Activation
On the Activation page users can add and edit your Agency Activations by clicking on Edit My Activations (Figure 2).
Figure 6 – Manage Your Profile and Account
Using the drop down box on the Edit My Activations Page (Figure 3) users can add additional Research.gov partner agencies.
Figure 7 – Add and Edit Your Agency Activation
Guidance on viewing and editing your profile, please visit the About Account Management page
Guidance on managing users for your organization, please visit the About Account Management page
Below is a table outlining the views based on user roles.
Role |
Definition |
What you can see and/or access |
Anonymous |
Anybody who has typed in www.research.gov but not logged in |
· An overview of Research.gov (e.g., who we are, service offerings, partner agency information, event calendar, and news headlines) · Policy Library · Information on getting started and log in instructions · Research Spending & Results |
Guest |
A user who has logged in, but not activated their account with a partner agency. |
All of the anonymous content, plus: · Links and instructions for activating their account with partner agencies |
The NSF User Account gives applicants and awardees access to grants management services from NSF and its partner agencies to help them monitor proposal status, manage awards, and meet reporting requirements. In order to obtain an NSF User Account, your organization must be registered in NSF’s FastLane system. To request an NSF User Account from your registered organization, please contact your organization’s FastLane administrator. Please note, all FastLane users are automatically registered for NSF User Accounts in Research.gov and can login using their NSF (FastLane) user ID and password.
Log into Research.gov using your NSF User Account:
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
Log In.
Figure 12 - Research.gov Homepage.
You will be redirected to a page where you will enter your NSF ID and password and click Login.
Figure 13 - NSF User Login Page.
NSF Staff can log into Research.gov using their NSF LAN ID and password to access the Research.gov Desktop and services. Please note: You must log in from the NSF Internal Network, Access NSF, or AccessWorkspace to access the Research.gov Desktop.
Note: If you have forgotten your ID or password, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 703-292-HELP.
To log in as NSF Staff:
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the site.
Click on the Log In for NSF Staff link from this page
Figure 14 – Log in as NSF Staff
Enter your NSF ID and password in the appropriate fields.
Figure 15 – NSF Staff Log In page
Click on the Log In button.
Research.gov allows you to use a robust keyword search to quickly find the information you are looking for. Easily target your search results by applying additional keywords or by searching within specific services or areas of the site.
To conduct a keyword search on Research.gov, type the keyword, a title, or description (use quotes “” around phrases) into the Search box located at the top right corner of all pages and click Search (Figure 1).
Figure 16 – Quick Keyword Search on the Research.gov Homepage
Once you have entered your search criteria, click on the magnifying glass in the Search box
The search results page will display all relevant search results page (Figure 2). You can further refine your search results by:
Section of the site
Type of information
Date range
Note: You can sort your search results by Relevance (default), Title, or Date using the drop down box in the upper right-hand corner of the “Search Results” page.
Figure 17 – Refine Search Results Page
The National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Public Access policy is intended to expand public access to the results of its funded research and aligns with the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to clear and open communication of research results, which is central to fulfilling NSF’s primary mission of promoting the progress of science, advancing the frontiers of knowledge, and helping to ensure the nation’s future prosperity.
NSF’s Public Access plan (NSF 15-52) describes a set of steps that meet the policy objectives set forth in the February 22, 2013 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Increasing Access to the Results of Federally Funded Scientific Research. These include making copies of articles in peer-reviewed scholarly journals and juried conference papers resulting from NSF awards available to the public free of charge no more than 12 months after initial publication. The NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR) provides mechanisms that enable NSF-funded investigators to meet this deposit requirement and to include the relevant information in their project reports. NSF-PAR also provides search mechanisms to enable the public to find and use these articles and papers.
Does Public Access Apply to me?
If your organization receives an award based on a proposal submitted, or due, on or after January 25, 2016, then the Public Access requirement applies. You will then need to deposit publications resulting from that award in the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR). Specifically, peer-reviewed journal articles and juried conference papers, based wholly or partially on NSF support, must be deposited in NSF-PAR. If the award is not subject to the Public Access requirement, you are still encouraged to deposit publications in NSF-PAR, even though they will not be automatically included in project reports.
What do I need to do?
Once you sign in to Research.gov, the “Submit Publications, Project Reports, and Outcomes” section of My Desktop includes several features that support Public Access activities. The two primary features are Deposit publication and Manage deposited publications. Below you will see instructions on how to use these features. In addition you will see a count of the number of publications that have been deposited and made publicly available for all of your awards through NSF-PAR as well as general information and Frequently Asked Question resources about Public Access.
Figure 18 – Public Access Features within My Desktop of Research.gov
To deposit publications in the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR):
1. Log in to Research.gov
Figure 19 – Research.gov Homepage log in
2. Choose Deposit publication (NSF-PAR) from the “Submit Publications, Project Reports, and Outcomes” section of My Desktop
Figure 20 – My Desktop – Deposit publication
Within NSF-PAR, you will need to:
A) Submit the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the publication. If you do not have a DOI, you will have an option to manually input the publication information.
What is a Digital Object Identifier (DOI)? A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string assigned to a digital object (e.g., a journal article). DOIs allow the system to retrieve bibliographic information about a scholarly publication and creates a permanent link to the object on the web.
B) If you have previously deposited your publication in another repository, choose “Yes” and select a federal repository from the dropdown box and submit to continue. When a match to the DOI you entered is found in Department of Energy (DOE) E-Link system, the Deposit Publications Page will display a link allowing you to view the matched file. If the matched file is correct, you will not be required to upload a duplicate Accepted Manuscript PDF file.
C) If you have not previously deposited your publication in another repository, you will need to provide a PDF copy of the journal or juried conference paper. In general, this is either a copy that has been published in an Open Access journal or is the Final Accepted Version in PDF/A (i.e. the author’s version). The Version of Record may be used only if the authors have been given adequate rights to it.
What is the Final accepted version of the manuscript? The final accepted version is the author's final manuscript of a peer-reviewed paper accepted for journal publication, including all modifications resulting from the peer-review process. It is the version before the journal makes edits that will constitute the final "version of record."
D) Choose the Award ID(s) (a list will be automatically provided)
Publications deposited in NSF-PAR can be reviewed, edited, and searched. To view publications associated to your awards in NSF-PAR click on the Manage deposited publications link under My Desktop (displayed below). Note that clicking this link will open a new window or tab where you will be directed to NSF-PAR.
Figure 21 – My Desktop – Manage deposited publications
Journals or Juried Conference Papers that have been deposited in NSF-PAR will be automatically included in project reports for Awards that are subject to the Public Access requirement. Simply open the project report associated with the publication and navigate to the “Products” tab (or refresh your browser). Please note that once deposited, it may take up to 6 hours for the publication to be available in project reports. If the award is not subject to the Public Access requirement, you are still encouraged to deposit publications in NSF-PAR, even though they will not be automatically included in project reports.
See more details in the Adding Publications/Products section below.
On March 18, 2013, NSF transitioned all project reporting from FastLane to Research.gov. This means that PIs/Co-PIs use Research.gov to meet all NSF project reporting requirements, including submission of final, annual and interim project reports and the Project Outcomes Report.
Reminder - Project Reports are not Cumulative: Final reports are not cumulative; they are considered the last annual report of the project, and should be written specifically for the most recently completed budget period.
For more information about Project Reporting at NSF, click here
View the Example Project Reports (Demo site) to try out interacting with a project report
Consult the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) , for all of your questions on NSF policy regarding preparing project reports for NSF and NSF policy on awards.
Note: These links takes you outside of Research.gov.
Access the Project Outcomes Report by logging into Research.gov. There are multiple ways to navigate to the Project Outcomes Report tool on Research.gov. You can also access Research.gov through links provided in email notifications that you will receive for due and overdue reports.
To access the Project Outcomes Report tool, log into Research.gov:
1. Go to www.research.gov.
2. Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the Research.gov homepage.
Figure 22 – Research.gov homepage
3. On the NSF Login page, enter your NSF ID and Password and then click the “Log In” button.
Note: To use this tool and certain other tools on Research.gov, both the user and his/her institution must be registered in NSF’s FastLane. If your organization is not registered in FastLane, the Institution Administrator should register him or herself as the FastLane Contact at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a0/about/registration.htm. The institution registration information will be available on Research.gov the next day. Please refer to the “Get Started Now” page on Research.gov for more information on how to register.
Figure 23 – NSF User Log in page
Following login, you will see My Desktop on the Research.gov Homepage. The Dashboard is where you will find your final, annual, and interim project reports. For directions on how to submit final, annual, and interim project reports, see that section of the help system.
Figure 24 – My Desktop
Viewing the Status of Your Project Outcomes Reports on Research.gov
Once logged into Research.gov as a PI/Co-PI, Click on the “Project Outcomes Report” link provided on My Desktop to view, prepare, and submit reports.
Figure 24 – My Desktop
Preparing Your Report
To prepare your report:
Click on the Project Outcomes Report link provided on My Desktop of your Research.gov Homepage to view, prepare, and submit reports.
Select the report you would like to complete.
Figure 5 – Project Reports
Complete your report in the text editing box. Your report must be between 200 and 800 words.
Figure 6 – Project Outcomes Report
Adding Images to Your Report
To add images to your report:
Click the “Add an Image” button on the Project Outcomes Report editing page to add images to your report.
Figure 7 – Add an Image
Click Choose File to find and select the image you would like
to upload. Your image should be:
· Oriented as landscape (width is greater than height)
· Less than 8MB
· In one of the following file formats: JPG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIFF
Figure 8 – Add Image page
Complete the required information include an image title, caption
(up to 300 characters), and credit.
Note: You must have permission to use the images you upload.
Check the Primary Image box if you would like this image to be the main image posted with your report.
Note: If there are no current images associated with your report, this box will not appear and the image will automatically be made the primary image.
Figure 9 – Primary Image checkbox
Select the copyright designation of your image and check the copyright release box.
Explanation of Copyright Release:
By checking the “Copyright Release” box, I verify that I own the copyright to the uploaded images or I have a license to use the images and allow others to use them. I agree to indemnify the federal government against any loss or damages arising out of a copyright infringement action regarding the use of the uploaded images. I certify that I grant the National Science Foundation (NSF) permission to use and distribute my multimedia material submitted herewith on a royalty-free basis for news, educational and public-information purposes at NSF’s discretion. Such uses include, but are not limited to, posting the material on the NSF Multimedia Gallery website (thereby making it generally available to such outlets as news organizations, universities, teachers and the general public) and distributing the material to other websites for educational and/or informational purposes. The copyright owner keeps the copyright on the material.
Definition of Terms
The following website is helpful in understanding copyright terms in addition to the definitions below:
· http://stockphotolicense.com/faq
Copyrighted: Under the copyright law, the author/creator of the multimedia is the copyright owner unless there is a written agreement by which the author/creator assigns the copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher. In cases of works made for hire, the employer or commissioning party is considered to be the author. For more information about copyright see the U.S. Copyright Office website:
Public Domain: Multimedia in the public domain are those whose intellectual property rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Multimedia of the United States Government and various other governments are excluded from copyright law and may therefore be considered to be in the public domain in their respective countries. Multimedia in the public domain may be used freely without permission. For more information about Public Domain see the following websites:
· http://www.publicdomainsherpa.com/definition-of-public-domain.html
· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain
Creative Commons: Creative Commons licenses enable copyright owners to state specifically how others may use their multimedia. Some Creative Commons licenses, for example, permit others to copy, make derivative works or adaptations, or to distribute the multimedia, under specific conditions, such as requiring attribution (credit). See the terms of the license for credit requirements and restrictions. For more information about Creative Commons and types of licenses see the following website:
Royalty-free (restricted use – cannot be shared): This category refers to royalty-free multimedia that someone pays to use. The buyer may reuse the multimedia without additional payment, but may not share it with others.
Royalty-free (unrestricted use): This category refers to multimedia from free royalty-free sites that anyone may use, as long as the terms of use on the site are followed.
For more information about royalty-free multimedia see the following website:
· http://stockphotolicense.com/faq
Copyright owner is an institution with an existing agreement allowing use by NSF: Some institutions have given NSF “blanket permission” to use specific kinds of multimedia. Please check with your Public Information Officer (PIO) to see whether your multimedia is covered by such an agreement.
Figure 10 – POR Copyright Release
Click Save to add the image to your report.
To preview your image, select Preview under the image you would like to view.
Figure 11 – POR Image options
To edit your image’s caption or credit, select Edit under the image you would like to revise, edit the necessary information, and select Save.
Figure 12 – POR Edit Image
To delete your image, select Delete under the image. You will be asked to confirm that you wish to delete the image.
Figure 13 – POR Delete Image
Saving and Returning to Your Report, Later
To save your report:
Click Save at the bottom of the report editing page.
Figure 14 – Save Project Outcomes Report
To return to your report:
If you have logged out of Research.gov, log into Research.gov then log into the Project Reporting system (for instructions, refer to instructions for accessing your report).
Select Create/Edit Report for the report you would like to continue editing. You will be directed to your saved report.
Figure 15 – Project Reports
Previewing Your Report
To preview your report:
Click Preview Report on the report editing page.
Figure 16 – Preview report
You will see a preview of your report and images. Click Close Preview to close the preview window.
Submitting Your Report
To submit your report:
Click Save and Submit at the bottom of the report editing page.
Figure 17 – Save and Submit report
You will see a confirmation screen notifying you that your report has been successfully submitted. Additionally, you will receive an email confirming your report submission.
Note: Once your report has been submitted, you have 30 days to edit your report. To view your report after submission, follow the instructions outlined for returning to your report. Following submission, your report will be available on your award’s detail page in the Research Spending & Results service on Research.gov
Figure 18 – POR Submission Confirmation
To edit your submitted report during the 30 day editing period, refer to the instructions above for accessing your report, editing a saved report, and submitting your report.
To create an addendum:
Return to Research.gov and follow the steps for accessing the Project Outcomes Report to view a list of your reports.
Click the link to Create/Edit Report for the report you would
like add addendum to.
You will be directed to your report’s page.
Click the “Add Addendum” button.
Figure 19 – POR Disclaimer and Add Addendum
You can enter the addendum text in the text editor. Your addendum can be up to 800 words.
Figure 20 – POR Addendum Text Editor
Adding Images to Your Addendum
You can add up to six images with each addendum you create. To add images to your addendum, refer to the instructions on how to add images to your report.
Saving and Returning to Your Addendum Later
You can save your addendum and return later to complete and submit it. To save and return to your addendum, refer to the instructions on how to save and return to your report.
Previewing Your Report Addendum
To preview your addendum:
Click Preview at the bottom of the addendum editing page.
Figure 21 – Preview Addendum
You will see a preview of your report with addenda and images. Click Close Preview to close the preview window.
Submitting Your Report Addendum
When you are satisfied with the content of your addendum, you can submit it by clicking the "Save and Submit” button.
Note: Once submitted, addenda cannot be edited. Following submission addenda will be available along with your report through the Research Spending & Results service on Research.gov the next day.
Figure 22 – Save & Submit Addendum
Viewing Submitted Reports through Research Spending & Results on Research.gov
Once your Project Outcomes Report is submitted, it is made available
to the public through Research.gov’s Research Spending & Results service. The
public will access your report by completing a search in Research Spending
& Results. To view Project Outcomes Reports:
Go to www.research.gov.
Click on the “Search Awards” link under NSF Award Highlights or click on the Research Spending & Results link from the footer.
On the Research Spending & Results search page, enter awardee or award information text, obligated funds amount, project director or PI/Co-PI name, award date range, and indicate whether you are looking for Recovery Act Awards, then click the “Search” button.
Figure 23 – Research Spending & Results
.
On the search results page, click the Award ID number for the award in which you are interested in viewing.
Figure 24 – Search results in Research Spending & Results
This will direct you to the Research Spending & Results Award Detail page. Scroll down to the final section of the page to view the submitted Project Outcomes Report, including associated images and addenda.
Note: Visitors to Research.gov are not required to log in to view Project Outcomes Reports through the Research Spending & Results service.
Figure 25 – POR content in RS&R Search results
On March 18, 2013, NSF transitioned all project reporting from FastLane to Research.gov. This means that PIs/Co-PIs will now use Research.gov to meet all NSF project reporting requirements, including submission of final, annual and interim project reports and the Project Outcomes Report.
The project reporting service in Research.gov meets the federal government’s requirement that research agencies implement a reporting format for research and research-related projects called the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The RPPR is the result of a government-wide effort to create greater consistency in the administration of federal research awards by streamlining and standardizing reporting formats.
Reminder - Project Reports are not Cumulative: Final reports are not cumulative; they are considered the last annual report of the project and should be written specifically for the most recently completed budget period.
For more information about Project Reporting at NSF, click here
Note: If your organization receives an award based on a proposal submitted, or due, on or after January 25, 2016, then the Public Access requirement applies. You will then need to deposit publications resulting from that award in the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR). Specifically, peer-reviewed journal articles and juried conference papers, based wholly or partially on NSF support, must be deposited in NSF-PAR. If the award is not subject to the Public Access requirement, you are still encouraged to deposit publications in NSF-PAR, even though they will not be automatically included in project reports. (See Public Access.)
Accessing Final, Annual, and Interim Project Reports
Access your annual, final, and interim project reports by logging into Research.gov. Additionally, you will receive email notifications of due and overdue reports that provide links to Research.gov.
To access the Project Report Dashboard, log into Research.gov:
Go to www.research.gov.
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the Research.gov homepage.
Figure 26 – NSF User
Log In page
On the NSF Login page, enter your NSF ID and password and then
click the “Log In” button.
Note: To use this tool and certain other tools on Research.gov, both the user and his/her institution must be registered in NSF’s FastLane. If your organization is not registered in FastLane, the Institution Administrator should register him or herself as the FastLane Contact at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a0/about/registration.htm. The institution registration information will be available on Research.gov the next day. Please refer to the “Get Started Now” page on Research.gov for more information on how to register.
Figure 27 – NSF User Log In page
Following login, you will see My Desktop of your Research.gov Homepage. The Dashboard provides access to your annual, final, interim and Project Outcomes reports. You will also be able to view the number of POR reports you have Due, Overdue, Submitted, and Not Yet Due.
Figure 28 – My Desktop
Once logged on to Research.gov, you will see the My Desktop page. Now follow these steps to prepare and submit a report:
1. Click on the Annual, Final and Interim Project Report link provided on My Desktop of your Research.gov Homepage to prepare reports.
Note: Only PIs and co-PIs can prepare and submit a project report.
The tabs on the Project Report Page, as seen in the image below, will show you the status of your project reports that are due or overdue; reports that are due in less than 12 months; and all of your awards.
Figure 29 – Project Reports Landing Page
2. Click the Create/Edit link under the Action column for the award to create or edit an Annual or Final project report.
Figure 30 – Privacy Act and Public Burden Statement
3. Read the Privacy Act and Public Burden Statement, and then click Continue (Figure 30).
Figure 31 – Report Summary page
Next, you will be brought to the Report Summary page (Figure 31) which provides award information and progress/status of your report. Below the Report Summary page, you will see the Report Content.
Note: The default status of the Participants section will be ‘Started’ because the PI and co-PI (s) are included as project participants by default. You must visit the Participants tab and fill out the remaining required fields for each PI and co-PI(s) and include data for any additional project participants before the section is completed.
Figure 32 – Cover Tab
Note: Pre-populated information about your award can be found on the Cover tab.
4. Click Next Section or the Accomplishments tab to continue.
Figure 33 – Accomplishments tab
You will shift to the Accomplishments tab.
5. Fill out all required information and click Save/Next Section or the Products tab to continue. Within the Accomplishments tab, you will fill out text fields with information such as major goals, objectives, results, etc.
Note: If needed, you can save the report and come back to it at any time.
Note: The system session times out after 60 minutes of inactivity, so be sure to save frequently. A warning will be displayed 5 minutes before the timeout if you have not taken certain actions within the project report like key presses, text entry or button clicks .
6. To complete the Accomplishments tab, you must either fill out all required text boxes or click “Nothing to Report.” You also have the option to upload PDF files in support of the Accomplishments section.
Note: If you have previously submitted an Annual Report for the award through Research.gov and it is approved, then the major goals will be pre-populated with information from that previously approved Annual Report. Please review this information and edit the response as necessary.
Note: The text boxes have a maximum limit of 8000 characters. When more than 8000 characters are entered, the character counter turns red and shows a negative number to indicate that the maximum limit has been exceeded.
Note: If you have an image that you’d like to upload with your report, you will first need to convert it to PDF, save the file, and then upload it to this section of the report.
Note: Nothing to Report can only be selected as a response if you delete any existing information in the field. Conversely, you cannot enter information in a field if “Nothing to Report” is checked.
7. Next, you will shift to the Products tab. Fill out all required information and click Save/Next Section or the Participants/Organizations tab to continue. Also, within the Products tab, list any products resulting from the project during the reporting period. Once again, you have the option of uploading PDF files in support of this section.
For detailed instructions on entering products, refer to the section How to add Products to your Project Report.
Figure 35 – Products Tab
8. Next, you will shift to the Participants/Organizations tab. Fill out all required information and click Save/Next Section or the Impact tab to continue. You will now go to the Impact tab.
Figure 36 – Participants/Organizations tab
Remember to include additional participants or other collaborating organizations.
Note: Your name(s) (PI and co-PIs) will be pre-populated as a participant. You must select View/Edit for ALL pre-populated names and fill out all required information to complete this tab.
Figure 37 – Impact tab
9. To complete this tab, you must either fill out all required text boxes or click Nothing to Report. Then click Save/Continue. Remember to explain the impact of the project during the reporting period.
You now will go to the Changes/Problems tab.
Figure 38 – Changes/Problems Tab
10. To complete the tab, you must either fill out all required text boxes or click Nothing to Report. Within the Changes/Problems tab, describe any changes or problems that occurred on the project during the reporting period.
Note: If an award has a Special Reporting Requirement as described in the solicitation, a seventh tab will appear next to the Changes/Problems Tab. The Special Requirements tab allows the user to fill out text, and provides the ability to upload a PDF file.
When all sections are fully complete, the Progress Indicator will be full, and all sections will be marked Complete. At this point, a window will appear that will allow the report to be previewed or submitted. Also, when the report is Complete, the Submit Report link in the Available Actions box at the top of your page will be enabled. Either link can be used to submit the report.
Figure 39 – Preview Report links
If you would like to print the report, select Preview Report then print.
11. To complete the report, click submit.
Note: Requirements will vary for Interim Project Reports. There will also be no Progress Indicator included with interim reports.
12. Once you click to submit the report, review the checklist to ensure everything is complete. Then click Continue.
Figure 40 – Submission Checklist
13. Certify the report by checking the box, and click Submit Report. Upon submission of the report, the Program Officer (PO), PI and co-PI, Sponsored Programs Officers and Authorized Organizational Representatives will be notified via email of the report submission. Project participants, other than the PI and co-PI(s), will also receive an email with a request to provide their demographic information. Instructions will be included in the email.
Figure 41 – Report Certification page
The Special Requirements tab displays on the report creation page only if the solicitation cited special reporting requirements. Below is an example of the Special Reporting Requirements tab you will see on your project report. For instructions on how to get to this screen, see the How to Submit a Final, Annual or Interim Project Report section of this online help.
Figure 42 – Special Requirements tab
1. Login to Research.gov. On the My Desktop page, click on the Annual, Final and Interim Report Link on the My Desktop of your Research.gov Homepage.
Figure 43 – My Desktop
2. Click on the Award Number for which you want to see the Reporting Requirements. If you don’t see anything in the Reports Due tab, select the All Awards tab to get a listing of all of your awards.
Figure 44 – Project Reports Landing Page
You will now see the Reporting Requirements for the Award you selected.
Figure 45 – Reporting Requirements
You can attach files within three different tabs of your Project Report: the Accomplishments tab, the Products tab, and the Special Requirements tab.
Note: The Special Requirements tab will only be displayed if your award has a predetermined Special Reporting Requirement.
1. To upload a PDF, click the Browse button and select a file. You may upload up to four PDFs with a maximum size of 5 MB each for the Accomplishments or Products tab. The Special Requirements tab will accept four PDF files with a maximum size of 10 MB each.
Figure 46 – Add supporting files
2. Enter a PDF description and click the Upload File button to attach the PDF.
Figure 47 – Remove supporting files
To remove your PDF file, click the Remove link shown above.
To view a PDF attachment within a project report, complete the following steps:
1. Click Preview Report in the Available Actions box at the top of your page. Scroll to the section where the PDF was uploaded.
2. Click the Download link, and a dialog box will be displayed.
3. Select Open to view the PDF.
Note: The instructions in this section only apply for viewing uploaded PDFs of reports that were submitted through Research.gov. For reports submitted through FastLane, all attachments will be viewable when you click Preview Report in the Available Actions box.
Figure 48 – Download supporting files
To check the completeness of your project report, you can click the Check Report Completeness link in the Available Actions box at the top of your page.
Figure 49 – Available Actions box
You can also view the Progress Indicator bar located in the Report Summary of your report. The list of tabs next to the progress indicator shows what sections are complete, started, and not started.
Below is example of the Progress Indicator Bar for a completed project report.
Note: When the report is complete, the Check Report Completeness link in the Available Actions box will be disabled, and the Submit Report link will be enabled. The Check Report Completeness link is only available for Annual and Final Project Reports. It is not available for Interim Project Reports.
Figure 50 – Progress Summary
After clicking the Check Report Completeness link in the Available Actions box, you will see a detailed list of information that is required to complete and submit the report.
Figure 51 – Check Report Completeness Page
If you need to recall a submitted report, follow these directions:
1. Go to the Project Reports Due tab (or Reports Due < 12 Months tab if your report is not in the Due tab), and locate the award for which you want to recall a report. Then click the Recall link located under the Action column.
Figure 52 – Recall a report
2. Next, click the Recall Report button to completely recall your report. Once you recall the report, the co-PI(s) and PO will be notified that the report has been recalled.
To review project reports previously submitted in FastLane or in Research.gov complete the following:
1. Go to the Reports Due, Reports Due < 12 Months, or the All Awards tab.
2. Click the Award Number link.
3. To view a specific award, click the Award Number.
4. Then click the View link under the Action column to view the report.
Figure 53 – View a Report
Note: FastLane submitted reports will be in PDF format and Research.gov submitted reports will be in HTML format.
If your Program Office returns a submitted report to you, you will see your report in the Reports Due tab of the Project Report Dashboard with a status of Returned. To view the Program Officer’s comments to your report, follow these steps:
1. Click on the Review Comments link under the Action column.
Figure 54 – Returned Report
2. You will now be able to review your report comments.
Figure 55 – Review the comments
To add a participant to your project report, complete the following steps:
1. Click the Participants/Organizations tab and then click the Add a New Participant button.
Figure 56 – Add new Participant button on Participants/Organizations tab
2. Next you will fill out the participant’s information. Note: All fields are mandatory.
Figure 57 – Save a new participant
On the participant screen you will need to provide information about project participants who have worked at least one month per year during the reporting period, regardless of the source of compensation.
3. Once you have completed providing the participant information, click the Save Entry button at the bottom of your screen.
To delete a participant, complete the following steps:
1. Click the Delete link located in the Action column next to the participant you want to delete.
Figure 58 – Delete a participant
Note: Participants with the PI or co-PI role cannot be added or deleted in Research.gov. They must be added or deleted using FastLane’s What People Have Worked on the Project screen.
2. Click the Save button.
In Research.gov you do not need to enter demographic information for your project’s participants; instead, Research.gov will send an automated email to each participant and ask that they complete their own demographic information. The system will send an email to each participant who has contributed more than 160 hours to the project and is listed on the project report. This email will have instructions on how to provide/update their demographic information.
If you are a participant who has worked more than 160 hours on a project we ask that you also supply demographic information. Individuals will receive an email with instructions on how to supply the demographic information.
Demographic information includes:
• Gender Values:
– Male
– Female
• Ethnicity definition
– Hispanic or Latino, for a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture of origin, regardless of race
– Not-Hispanic or not-Latino
• Race definition
– American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment
– Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam
– Black or African-American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.
– Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands
– White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa
• Disability Status values:
– Yes (check any of the following that apply)
· Deaf or serious difficulty hearing
· Blind or serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses
· Serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs
· Other serious disability related to a physical, mental, or emotional condition
– No
Submitting demographic information is voluntary. You will suffer no adverse consequences if you choose not to submit it.
We use the demographic information to generate statistics that help us:
• Evaluate outputs and outcomes of the programs that taxpayers support through NSF
• Report to Congress as required on NSF programs and their results and outcomes
• Gauge whether our programs and other opportunities in science and technology are fairly reaching and benefiting everyone regardless of demographic category
• Ensure that those in under-represented groups have the same knowledge of and access to programs, meetings, vacancies, and other research and educational opportunities as everyone else
• Assess involvement of international investigators or students in work we support
Your information helps assure the statistical validity of our data.
To add a partner organization to your Project Report, complete the following steps:
1. Go to the Participants/Organizations tab.
2. Click the Add New Organization button.
3. Next, fill out the required fields and describe the partner organization that has been involved with the project
4. Click the Save Entry button to add the partner organization to your report.
Figure 59 – Add a new organization
Note: If needed, you can delete the partner organization by clicking the Delete link.
A partner organization is one that is outside your own organization that contributes to your project. Partner organizations could be academic institutions, nonprofits, industrial or commercial firms, state or local governments, schools or school systems, or other organizations.
Activities of partner organizations might be:
• Providing financial or in-kind support
• Supplying facilities or equipment
• Collaborating in the research
• Exchanging personnel
Listing your partner organizations helps us gauge and report our performance in promoting partnerships. NSF’s ambitious goals for the country’s science and technology base cannot be met with NSF resources alone. That is why we strongly encourage working in partnership with other public and private organizations engaged in science, engineering, and education. We also seek partnerships across national boundaries, working with comparable organizations in other countries wherever possible.
To add a Product to your project report, complete the following steps
1. Go to the Product tab within your report.
2. Click on the ‘Select Products’ dropdownlist from the Submit New Product(s) section and select a products type if you wish to add a product or select ‘Nothing to Report’.
Figure 60 – Add a product
3. If you wish to add a supporting file, use the ‘Browse for PDF’ button to locate a PDF file, enter a required product ‘Description’ in the text box.
4. Click the ‘Upload File’ button.
1. Go to the Product tab within your report.
2. Click on the ‘Select Products’ dropdownlist from the Submit New Product(s) section.
3. Select the Upload multiple products using BibTex (Except items previously deposited in NSF-PAR
option and click on the GO button.
4. Use the Browse button to locate a BibTeX file.
5. Click the Upload File button.
6. Once the products have been uploaded, they will be displayed in a table format.
Note: This list of products is for your review. The products have not yet been added to the report at this point.
7. Review the list of uploaded products from your file and uncheck any products that you do not want added to the project report. By default, all products that contain required fields and are supported by Research.gov are checked.
Note: NSF currently supports the following BibTeX Entry Types: Article, Book, Booklet, InBook, InCollection, Mastersthesis, PHDThesis, Conference, Proceedings, and InProceedings. For detailed information on which fields NSF requires, please review the table below.
BibTeX Entry Type |
BibTeX Required Fields |
Project Report Product Type |
Project Report Required Fields |
Article* |
· author · title · journal · year |
Journals |
· Author(s) · Title · Journal · Year, if Status of Publication is “Published” |
Book |
· author · title · year |
Books |
· Author(s) · Title · Year, if Status of Publication is “Published” |
Booklet |
· author · title · year |
Books |
· Author(s) · Title · Year, if Status of Publication is “Published” |
InBook |
· title · author · book title · year |
Book Chapters |
· Chapter Title · Author(s) · Book Title · Year, if Status of Publication is “Published” |
InCollection |
· title · author · book title · year |
Book Chapters |
· Chapter Title · Author(s) · Book Title · Year, if Status of Publication is “Published” |
Mastersthesis |
· title · author · school · year |
Thesis/Dissertation |
· Title · Author(s) · Institution · Year |
PHDThesis |
· title · author · school · year |
Thesis/Dissertation |
· Title · Author(s) · Institution · Year |
Conference |
· author · title · book title or journal · address · year |
Conference Papers and Presentations |
· Author(s) · Paper Title · Conference Name · Conference Location · Year (if Status of Publication is “Published” |
Proceedings |
· author · title · book title or journal · address · year |
Conference Papers and Presentations |
· Author(s) · Paper Title · Conference Name · Conference Location · Year (if Status of Publication is “Published” |
InProceedings |
· author · title · book title or journal · address · year |
Conference Papers and Presentations |
· Author(s) · Paper Title · Conference Name · Conference Location · Year (if Status of Publication is “Published” |
*If your award is subject to the Public Access requirement, the Article type is not supported. Published Journals or Juried Conference Papers must be deposited in the NSF Public Access Repository, which will then be automatically included in project reports.
Note: Products that have a red X in the “Add to Report” column, cannot be added to the project report because either the required information is missing or the product type is not yet supported by Research.gov
Note: The list of products on this page is temporary and you will not be able to return to this list after products have been added to the Project Report. If the import function must be used again to import additional products, you should only add to the report products that were not previously added, to avoid duplicate entries.
8. You are required to confirm the publication status and acknowledge federal support. Optionally, enter publication identification information and whether or not the product was peer reviewed,
9. Click the “Add to Report” button to save these products into the Project Report. The main products screen will be displayed.
10. To view the added products in detail and further edit them, click the Add/Edit link for the corresponding product type.
List the major publications resulting from the project in articles or papers in scientific, technical, or professional journals.
Only list the major publications of your work. We are looking to evaluate not the number of publications, but rather what the publications demonstrate about the excellence and significance of the research.
If you are manually adding a publication, you will have the option to choose from the following publication categories:
Book
Book Chapters
Invention
Journal or Juried Conference Paper
License
Other Conference Presentation / Paper
Other Product
Other Publications
Technologies and Techniques
Thesis/Dissertations
Website
To add a Publication to your project report manually, complete the following steps:
1. Go to the Products tab within your report.
2. Click on the Select products dropdownlist from the Submit New Product(s) section
3. Select the product type you want to add and click on the Go button
4. Fill out the required fields
5. Then click Save Entry to complete this task.
Please note: For awards subject to the Public Access requirement, you will no longer be able to add Journals or Juried Conference Papers that are published.
For awards subject to the Public Access requirement, you will no longer be able to add Journals or Juried Conference Papers that are published. These publications must be deposited in the NSF Public Access Repository (see Depositing Publications). Deposited publications will automatically be included in your Project Report (this may take up to six hours from the time of deposit).
1. Deposit your publication in NSF-PAR (see Depositing Publications).
2. Open the project report for the award(s) associated to the deposited publication and navigate to the “Products” tab.
Figure 1 – “Products” tab for an Award Subject to the Public Access Requirement
3. You will see your NSF-PAR journal/juried conference paper in the products list. These will included three links: DOI, Full Text, Citation details.
Figure 2 - Additional links included with NSF-PAR Journal/Juried Conference Paper
4. Links and reminders will be displayed when attempting to submit Journals or Juried Conference Papers with a Published status.
Figure 3 - Links and reminders appear when reporting a journal/juried conference paper in a published status
If the Journal or Juried Conference paper has not yet been published, information about it can still be entered in the usual manner described above. You can update this preliminary entry by changing the status of the product to Published and deposit the item in NSF-PAR.
If the Journal or Juried Conference paper has not yet been published and deposited in NSF-PAR but the project report has been submitted and approved, the product will be carried over to the next year’s annual report for completion.
To edit a product in your project report, complete the following steps:
1. Go to the Products tab within your report.
Click the Edit Details* link for the appropriate
Product option.
Figure
61 – Edit a product
2. Edit the appropriate Product fields.
3. Then click Save Entry to complete this task.
*Please note that for awards subject to the Public Access requirement, published Journals or Juried Conference Papers may only be edited within the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR). See How to Edit Journals and Juried Conference Papers for awards Subject to the Public Access requirement.
For awards subject to the Public Access requirement, published Journals or Juried Conference Papers may only be edited within the NSF Public Access Repository (NSF-PAR). These changes may take up to 6 hours to be reflected in Project Reports. There are some limitations to the information that can be edited for these publications:
· Records created using DOI lookup do not allow changes to the citation information (the publisher controls this information)
· Only the person who created the record can change the PDF document associated to the record and change citation information if it was manually entered
· Associated Award IDs can only be added and NOT removed from a publication record.
Note: Please ensure you have associated the correct Award ID with your publication as this information, once submitted, cannot be changed.
1. To edit an NSF-PAR deposited Journal/Juried Conference Paper in your project report, complete the following steps:Go to the Products tab within your report.
2. Click
the Edit in NSF-PAR link for the appropriate Journal/Juried Conference
Paper.
Figure
– Edit in NSF-PAR
3. You will be taken to a new page in NSF-PAR where you will be able to review and edit the publication according to the guidelines above.
4. Edit the appropriate sections and click save (Edit publication information, Change file, or Add additional award ID, where applicable).
Note: Please ensure you have associated the correct Award ID with your publication as this information, once submitted, cannot be changed.
5. Review changes and click Submit Updates.
6. Close the browser tab for NSF-PAR and return to your project report.
Please Note: These changes may take up to 6 hours to be reflected in Project Reports.
As a Sponsored Project Officer (SPO) or Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), you will need to view project reports submitted by your PIs. To view awards, complete the following steps:
1. Navigate to My Desktop.
2. Click the award number of the report you would like to review.
3. Click the View link next to the project report you would like to review.
Figure 62 – View a project report as a SPO
After clicking View, the report will open up as an HTML or PDF File.
As a Sponsored Project Officer (SPO) or Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR), you will need to view project reports submitted by your PIs. To search for awards, complete the following steps:
1. Navigate to the Report Search tab.
2. Enter relevant criteria for the report(s) that you would like to review.
3. Click the Search button on the bottom of the page.
Figure 63 – Report Search
Financial Users must now log into Research.gov to access the following Financial Services: Cash Requests, Cash Request History, Grantee EFT Update and Grantee EFT Update History.
To access financial services via Research.gov, please follow these steps:
Go to www.research.gov.
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the Research.gov homepage.
Figure 1 – Research.gov homepage
On the NSF Login page, enter your NSF ID and Password and then click the “Log In” button.
Figure 2 – NSF User Log In page
Access Financial Services by clicking the “Financial Functions” link located under the Manage Financials menu on the top navigation. This will allow you to access Cash Requests, Cash Request History, Grantee EFT Update and grantee EFT Update History.
The Award Cash Management $ervice (ACM$) is an approach to award payments and post-award financial processes which will transition financial processing of award payments from the current “pooling” method to a “grant-by-grant” method. This will require the submission of award level payment amounts each time funds are requested.
Your organization can administer user access using the NSF FastLane system. Before you can access ACM$, you must become a Financial Function User (FFU). Becoming an FFU involves three steps:
An Institution Administrator or Sponsored Project Officer (SPO) representative in your organization with permissions to Add, Modify, and Delete users gives an individual in your organization the Financial Administrator permission. The Financial Administrator is usually a member of your organization’s Finance Office, such as the Controller or Deputy Controller. (If necessary, the SPO can also be the Financial Administrator.)
The Financial Administrator gives permissions to one or more of your organization’s authorized FastLane users to perform financial functions. An individual with these functions is a Financial Functions User. (If necessary, the Financial Administrator can also be a Financial Functions User.)
The Financial Functions User(s) conducts the financial functions with NSF on behalf of your organization for ACM$ Preparer, ACM$ Certifier, or ACM$ Financial Representative.
Note: An organization can have one FFU be assigned both the Preparer and Certifier functions (see below).
Figure 3 - Financial Permissions Page ACM$ Permissions highlighted
To conduct financial activities with the National Science Foundation (NSF), you must be assigned Financial Functions User (FFU) permissions through FastLane. FFU permissions are assigned by your organization’s Financial Administrator. Once you are a Financial Functions User (FFU), you can conduct one or more of the following activities:
Grantee Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT) Update
Provide NSF with your organization’s banking information so
that NSF can transfer funds electronically to your organization’s
bank account. Users with EFT Update permission can enter and
modify any banking information for their organization. All
NSF grantees with the exception of certain non-US grantees
must provide banking information through this service in order
to request and/or receive payments.
Grantee EFT History
View the history of your organization’s EFT updates.
ACM$
Request payments for NSF awards; view and organize payment
history and financial information.
For instructions on accessing ACM$ as a new NSF awardee, please click here.
Financial users must first login to Research.gov to access ACM$. Please complete the following steps to login and access Award Cash Management $ervice (ACM$):
Go to www.research.gov.
Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the Research.gov homepage.
Figure 4 – Research.gov homepage
On the NSF Login page, enter your NSF ID and Password and then click the “Log In” button.
Figure 5 – NSF User Log In page
4. Access ACM$ by clicking the “ACM$ (Award Cash Management $ervice)” link located under the Manage Financials menu on the top navigation.
5. If you are currently associated with more than one organization, you will see the following screen after clicking the “Award Cash Management $ervice” link. Click on the name of the organization for which you would like to see information.
Note: If you are only associated with one organization, you will be taken directly to the homepage for that organization.
Figure 6 - ACM$ Home Page with Organization List
6. You will now be on the ACM$ homepage for your organization. The Organization Summary page will allow you to submit a new transaction, search for transaction or award, and display items that require your immediate attention. You will also be able to navigate in ACM$ using the left-hand navigation menu.
Figure 7 - ACM$ Organization Home Page
To search for payment transactions and awards:
Login to Research.gov as an NSF User and access the ACM$ homepage. You will have the option to search for payment transactions and awards. You can complete a quick search for a transaction by entering the transaction ID, disbursement number, or selecting a transaction status from the drop down menu and clicking “Search.” You can complete a quick search for an award by entering the Federal award ID and clicking “Search.”
Figure 8 - Search for Transaction or award
The results will be displayed or you will receive a message of no results found.
You can sort the results by selecting a heading from the search results.
Note: ACM$ will never display more than 2,000 search results. You can also perform an advanced search for an award or transaction by clicking the “Advanced Award Search” or “Advanced Transaction Search” link under Search for Transaction or Award (see below).
Enter the requested search criteria into the fields and select “Search.”
You can sort the results by selecting a heading from the search results. Also, you can export the search results by clicking the XLS, XLSX or PDF links.
Figure 9 - Advanced Transaction Search
Figure 10 - Advanced Award Search
Note: If you search for an award, you can see the award details by clicking the Federal Award ID. If you search for a transaction you can see the transaction details by clicking on Transaction ID.
To view award details, complete the following steps:
Search for an award via the ACM$ homepage quick search or through advanced award search, and you will be provided with a results screen. You can also click on an award ID from the Payments tab of a payment transaction.
Select the hyperlinked number under the Federal Award ID column for the award you wish to view.
Figure 11 - Search Results page
The Awards Detail page will be displayed. If you would like to see the award abstract, select the hyperlinked Federal Awards ID number under Award Information.
Figure 12 - Awards Details page
To view the detail transactions at the amendment and split level for an award:
Navigate to a particular award’s Award Details page.
Select the “View Amendments & Splits” link.
Figure 13 - Award Amendments & Splits screen
You will now see the award amendments for your selected award. To see the split details for a particular amendment, select “Show.”
Figure 14 - Award Amendments & Splits screen
You will now be able to see the detail transactions for each funding source in the amendment.
Note: You can export the splits by amendment information into XLS, XLSX and PDF.
Figure 15 - Amendment Details screen
To view organization level thresholds:
Login as an Awardee Preparer, Awardee Certifier, or Awardee Financial Representative and select an organization (if necessary).
On the Organization Summary homepage, scroll down to the Organization Thresholds section and select “View Thresholds.”
Figure 16 - Organization Thresholds section
The organization threshold log will be displayed for your organization.
To view award/organization/system level thresholds:
Select the hyperlink for an award ID either by searching for an award or selecting an award from a list.
On the Award Details page, scroll down to view all thresholds at the award, organization, or system level as well as the logs for each type of threshold.
Figure 17 - Thresholds section
To view payment transaction details, complete the following steps:
On the ACM$ homepage, below quick search, you will see three sections: Draft Transactions, Awaiting Awardee Certification and Received Transactions. Select the transaction ID number under Draft Transactions, Awaiting Awardee Certification, or Received Transactions to see the payment transaction details.
Note: The ACM$ homepage will display the five most recent transactions for each section. To view all transactions, please select the “View All” link above each list.
Note: You can also navigate to a Payment Transaction Details page by selecting the transaction ID that appears in the results of a quick search or advanced transaction search.
Figure 18 - Transaction Section Details
You can now see the payment transaction summary for your selected transaction. You may also navigate to the Payment or Adjustment tabs for the selected transaction.
Figure 19 - Transaction Summary
To create a draft payment transaction:
On the ACM$ homepage, a Submit New Transaction section is located near the middle of the page.
Figure 20 - Submit New Transaction on the Home Page
Select a Payment Date Requested and click “Continue.” A new payment transaction will be created.
Clicking Save or navigating away from the new transaction screen will create a draft payment transaction.
Note: The payment date defaults to the current date.
ACM$ allows payments to be entered that will be processed on a future date. To create a warehoused payment transaction:
On the ACM$ homepage, a Submit New Transaction section is located near the middle of the page.
Select a date in the future for Payment Date Requested and click “Continue.” A warehoused payment transaction will be created
To edit a draft payment transaction, complete the following:
On the ACM$ homepage, scroll down to the Draft Transactions section.
Click on the transaction ID number that you would like to edit.
Figure 21 - Draft Transactions
You are now able to edit the payment transaction.
Figure 22 - Payment Transaction screen
Note: Click “Save” if you would like to come back and work on the payment transaction at a later date.
To make a payment request:
On the ACM$ homepage, click “Continue” inside the Submit New Transaction field.
On the Payments tab for the transaction, enter the payment amount in the Payment Amount Requested Field.
Note: You can filter the list of awards by selecting one of the following filters displayed above the list of payments: New awards, Cancelling awards, Thresholds applied or Payment outstanding. Also, you can refine the list of awards displayed by selecting “Edit Awards List” and selecting the awards to display.
Click “Save” to save your input and move to the Adjustments tab.
Figure 23 - Payments Tab with the Save button highlighted
Note: If desired, you can input the Recipient Account Number under the Payments tab.
A progress bar will appear indicating that the data is being saved.
Figure 24 – Progress Bar
Once complete, a pop-up box will appear informing you that the payment transaction has been saved.
Figure 25 - Payment Transaction Dialogue Box
If there are errors, error or warning messages will be displayed. Errors have to be fixed for payment data to be saved.
To enter payment requests via Excel or XML:
Navigate to the Payments tab and select the “Upload/Download” button.
Figure 26 - Payments Tab
For Excel, select the appropriate format (xls or xlsx) and click “Download File.” For XML, please see the XML Upload Guide and skip to Step 4.
Figure 27 - Download Data File Screen
Update the Excel file by entering the Recipient Account Number (optional) and amount of funds you are requesting by award, and updating the Final Flag for any award you want to financially close.
Save the file to a location you will remember.
Select the “Browse” button and locate the Excel or XML file containing the payment transaction and click the “Upload” button.
The system will display any errors in the file or give confirmation that the upload was successful.
Figure 28 - Download Data File Screen
ACM$ will allow upward and downward adjustments to financially closed awards. The minimum amount for adjustment is +/- $1.00. To make an adjustment request to a closed award, complete the following steps:
From the ACM$ homepage, either follow the steps to create a payment transaction or click on the transaction ID number under Draft Transactions of the transaction you would like to edit.
Select the “Step 2. Adjustments” tab.
Note: You can also make an adjustment request immediately following the creation of a payment transaction.
Figure 29 - Adjustments tab
To enter an adjustment request, enter the Federal Award ID for each financially closed award and click “Validate Awards.” You must provide a brief justification in the Justification textbox in order to enter an adjustment to a closed award.
Note: You may enter adjustment requests for up to 5 awards at a time.
Figure 30 - Adjustments tab
If the Federal Award ID is validated, you will be provided the option to make an adjustment request. The system will display the maximum amount available for upward and downward adjustments. Enter positive amounts for an upward adjustment and negative amounts for a downward adjustment,
After completing the Adjustment Requested column, select “Save.”
Note: Eligibility Status definitions:
“Eligible” is listed for upward and downward adjustment
“Ineligible” is listed due to a cancelled appropriation or award has been closed for 15 months.
“Downward Only” is listed if an award is ineligible for adjustment. You will also see a pop-up error box after clicking “Validate.”
To review and forward payment transactions for certification:
From the ACM$ homepage, under Draft Transactions, click on the transaction ID number of the transaction you would like to review and forward. You can also complete this action after creating a payment transaction and completing steps 1 (Payments) and 2 (Adjustments).
Select the “Step 3. Review” tab.
You can provide a comment on the transaction if desired. Comments will remain internal to your organization and will not be seen by the National Science Foundation. A minimum of 25 characters must be included in your comments in order to forward for certification.
Figure 31 - Transaction Comments
You can also provide remarks on the transaction. The National Science Foundation will be able to view any remarks added by the Preparer. A minimum of 25 characters must be included in the remarks.
Click “Forward for Certification” once complete.
The system will ask the user to confirm their action.
Click “Ok.”
The system will display a confirmation that the action was successful.
An email notification will be sent to the Awardee Certifier.
Figure 32 - Transaction Comments
To certify a Payment Transaction:
Log into ACM$ as an Awardee Certifier.
On the ACM$ homepage, scroll down to the Awaiting Awardee Certification section.
Select the transaction ID number of the transaction you would like to certify.
Figure 33 - Awaiting Awardee Certification section
You will be able to review the transaction and, if desired, provide comments and/or remarks.
Figure 34 - Review Tab
Once you are satisfied with your review and are ready to submit, check the “I ____certify” box and then select “Certify & Submit Transaction.”
Confirm that you want to certify and submit transaction.
Click “Ok”
They system will display a notification that the transaction was processed.
ACM$ will send an email confirming your successful cash request.
Figure 35 - Certification Screen
Note: Clicking “Reject Transaction” will send the transaction back to draft status.
Note: If the payment being certified is not a warehoused payment, a disbursement ID number will be generated for NSF’s financial accounting system.
Payments in pending/received statuses can only be cancelled on the same day they are submitted to NSF. To cancel a payment transaction:
Login as a Certifier.
On the ACM$ homepage, scroll down to the received transaction section.
Select the transaction ID number of the transaction you would like to cancel.
You will be able to review the transaction and you must provide a reason for the cancellation in the remarks section with a minimum of 25 characters.
Click “Cancel Transaction” to send to cancelled status.
The system will ask you to confirm the action.
Click “Ok”
The system will display a confirmation that the transaction has been cancelled.
Note: All preparers and certifiers for your organization will receive an email notification of the cancellation
To view previously submitted FFRs:
Login to Research.gov as an “NSF User” and navigate to the Federal Financial Reports Dashboard section.
From the FFR Dashboard page, select the “Federal Financial Report” link under the My Business Services area (top left) or you can select the “Federal Financial Report” link from the Dashboard to view the FFR History page.
Figure 36 – Federal Financial Report
Figure 37 - Federal Financial Report History
From the Federal Financial Report History page, select the date of the ending quarter of the report from the list provided.
Notifications & Requests is in the process of moving from FastLane to Research.gov. Awardees may view the status of all notifications and requests in either FastLane or Research.gov, regardless of where they were created and submitted. Please visit Research.gov Notifications and Requests for more information.
To log into the Notifications & Requests module in Research.gov, please perform the following steps:
1. Follow the instructions to login to Research.gov.
2. Access the Notifications & Requests module by clicking the Notifications & Requests link under the Awards & Reporting section of the screen.
Note: If you are directed to a page titled “Access Denied” or “Access Denied to Notifications and Requests,” and believe you should have access to this tool, please contact the NSF Help Desk at 800-381-1532.
3. The Notifications & Requests landing page (Figure 1) displays a list of notifications and requests associated with your awards and requiring attention. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to search for a specific item.
Note: If you are an SPO/ AOR supporting multiple institutions, you will first be asked to select an organization (Figure 2).
Figure 1 – Notifications & Requests landing page
Figure 2 – Select Organization
Notifications & Requests is in the process of moving from FastLane to Research.gov. Some types of notifications and requests are only available in FastLane at this time. Please visit Research.gov Notifications and Requests for more information.
Access the Prepare New Notification/Request screen by clicking the Prepare New button on the Notifications & Requests landing page (see Figure 1), which will bring you to the Prepare New Notification/Request page (Figure 3).
Figure 3 – Prepare New Notification/Request screen
Step 1: Select the type of change.
Step 2: Choose the specific notification/request from the drop down menu and click the Go button.
Step 3: Notifications & Requests is in the process of moving from FastLane to Research.gov. Some types of notifications and requests are only available in FastLane. If you chose a notification/request that is still in FastLane, please click the Continue to FastLane link. If you chose a notification/request that is in Research.gov, please enter your award number and click the Prepare New button.
Note:
The following must be true for you to create a notification/request for an award:
· You are associated with the award, as a Principal Investigator (PI) or co-PI, as a Project Director (PD) or co-PD, as a representative of the awardee organization’s Sponsored Projects Office (SPO), or you are designated as an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR).
· The award is open and has unliquidated balance available.
· The award’s final report has not been approved and its project outcomes report has not been submitted.
If any of the above criteria are not met, you will not be able to prepare a notification or request for the award in FastLane or in Research.gov.
The Status column on the Notifications & Requests landing page provides current status of each item.
Figure 4 – Notifications & Requests landing page
Items that are in progress or awaiting your review are visible in your Items Needing Action box.
PI/co-PI or Project Director (PD)/co-PD Items Needing Action |
SPO/ AOR Items Needing Action |
Work In Progress – Draft item not yet forwarded to the SPO. |
Work In Progress – Draft item not yet submitted to NSF. |
Returned by SPO – Item was returned by the SPO. An email notification is sent when this occurs. The SPO may enter a comment to explain why the item was returned. |
Forwarded to SPO – Item forwarded by PI/co-PI or PD/coPD for your review and AOR submission to NSF. |
Once your notification/request has been submitted to NSF, you may continue to track the status in Research.gov or FastLane. Please use the search function at the bottom of the landing page to find the item of interest.
After submission to NSF, each notification or request has one of the following statuses:
Status |
Definition |
Submitted to NSF & Submitted Pending |
The Program Officer (PO) has not yet seen your notification or request. |
Reviewed by PO |
The PO has seen your notification. |
Acknowledged by PO |
The notification has been acknowledged by the PO. |
Rejected by PO |
The notification or request has been rejected by the PO. Please check email for response from PO. |
Approved by PO |
The PO has approved your request. You may proceed with this change to your award. |
Forwarded to Grants and Agreements |
The PO has forwarded the request for approval by the Grants Official. |
Returned to PO |
The PO and the Grants and Agreements office are addressing concerns about your request. |
Approved by Grants Official |
The Grants Official has approved your request. You may proceed with this change to your award. |
Cancelled, Previously Processed |
This request was already processed as part of another award action. |
1. If the notification or request is in FastLane, click the Go to FastLane link to search for the award number and forward the item. For all other items, click the Edit/Forward links under the Action column in the Items Needing Action box (Figure 5).
Figure 5 – Notifications & Request landing screen (PI view)
2. On the form, click the Save & Forward button after completing the required fields.
3. You will be taken back to the Notifications & Requests landing page, where you will see a confirmation message at the top of the screen confirming that the item has been forwarded.
1. If the notification/request is in FastLane, click the Go to FastLane link to search for the award number and submit the item. For all other items, click the Edit/Submit links under the Action column in the Items Needing Action box (Figure 6).
Figure 6 – Notifications & Requests landing screen ( AOR view)
2. On the request form, click the Save & Submit to NSF button after completing the required fields.
3. You will be taken back to the Notifications & Requests landing page, where you will see a confirmation message at the top of the screen confirming that the item has been submitted to NSF.
Note: This action can only be performed by a SPO/ AOR
1. From the Items Needing Action box, click the Edit/Submit link in the Actions column.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the request form and click the Return to PI button.
3. A comment box will appear. If needed, enter a comment and click the Return to PI button. The comment will be sent to the PI/co-PI or PD/coPD via email.
Figure 7 – Return to PI
For more information on Research Spending & Results, click here.
Research Spending & Results gives the public, the scientific community, and Congress insight into federally funded research. Research Spending & Results provides information about how federal research dollars are being spent, what research is being performed, and how the outcomes of research are benefiting society as a whole. Now search for Recovery Act awards made by NSF. Anyone can easily access, search, and sort information in new ways through Research.gov.
Go to www.research.gov.
Click on the “Search awards going back to 1994” link under NSF Award Highlights or click on the Research Spending & Results link from the footer
On the Research Spending & Results search page, enter awardee or award information text, obligated funds amount, project director or PI/Co-PI name, award date range, and indicate whether you are looking for Recovery Act Awards, then click the “Search” button.
Figure 1 - Research Spending & Results Search - Quick Search
Note: Click Description of Search Terms in the top right of the Search Research Spending & Results box for additional details related to each search term.
Note: To learn more about the Research Spending & Results service, click Learn More located just above the Search Research Spending & Results box.
On the search results page, click the Award ID number for the award in which you are interested in viewing.
Figure 2 – Search results in Research Spending & Results
The search results will only include awards that are active as of FY 1994 and beyond for NSF and active as of FY 2007 and beyond for NASA. Please note information may not be as complete for awards that date prior to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (awards not active as of October 2006 and beyond).
Note: You can view and download up to 2,000 search results.
To export your results to CSV, Excel, or XML, click the corresponding link on the top right of the Research Spending & Results page.
If the data in the spreadsheet does not display fully, expand the column to see remaining data.
Note: The exported file now includes the award abstract (at time of the award); a brief and informative overview of the planned research.
1. To view the detail page for an award, click on the corresponding Federal Award ID Number on the Research Spending & Results page.
Figure 3 – Research Spending & Results Detail Page
1. From the Research.gov Research Spending & Results Quick Search page, select Advanced Search. The Research Spending & Results Advanced Search page is displayed.
Figure 4 - Research Spending & Results Advanced Search
Note: Click Description of Search Terms in the top right of the Search Research Spending & Results box for additional details related to each search term.
2. Enter search criteria and click Search. The “Research Spending & Results” page is then displayed.
3. To perform a new search, click Change Search located at the top of the “Research Spending & Results” page.
Figure 5 - Research Spending & Results page
The search results only include awards that are active as of FY 1994 and beyond for NSF and active as of FY 2007 and beyond for NASA. Please note information may not be as complete for awards that date prior to the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act of 2006 (awards not active as of October 2006 and beyond).
Note: You can view and download up to 2,000 search results.
To export your results to CSV, Excel, or XML, select the corresponding link from the top right of the Research Spending & Results page.
If the data in the spreadsheet does not display fully, expand the column to see remaining data.
Note: The exported file now includes the award abstract (at time of the award); a brief and informative overview of the planned research.
1. To view the detail page for an award, click on the Federal Award ID Number for the award.
2. To return to the search results screen, click Back to Results located at the top/bottom of the Research Spending & Results detail page.
Figure 6 - Research Spending & Results detail page
Quick Search Fields
"Key Word" Text Box
This field searches all award information. Include "Quotes"
around phrases for an exact match.
“Awardee” Text Box
Searches by the legal name of the awardee or the 'Doing Business
As' name of institution. The term "Awardee" is the Legal
Name of the Institution. The term "Doing Business As"
name is the business name of the Institution (may be different
from the Legal Name). The "Awardee" is the organization
or other entity that receives a grant and assumes legal and financial
responsibility and accountability both for the awarded funds and
for the performance of the grant-supported activity. If the Legal
Name for an institution is not available, the system will display
the “Doing Business As” of the institution will be displayed in
the search results.
“Federal Award ID Number” Text Box
Searches by specific award number. The Federal Award ID Number
is the agency assigned award number.
"Funds Obligated to Date Between" Text Boxes
Returns awards that fall between the entered amount range. The
"Funds Obligated to Date" is the amount obligated to
date for the project.
"Project Director/Principal Investigator" Text
Box
Searches by the First Name and/or Last Name of the Principal Investigator,
co-Principal Investigator, Project Director, co-Project Director
"Award Date Between" Text Boxes
Restricts searches to a date range. The "Award Date"
is the date the project was awarded.
"Show Only Recovery Act Awards” Checkbox
Returns awards made with funding from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (“Recovery Act”).
“Show Only Awards with Project Outcomes Reports” Checkbox
Returns awards for which the Principal Investigator has submitted
a Project Outcomes Report for the General Public.
Advanced Search Fields
"Awardee" Text Box
Searches by the legal name of the awardee or the 'Doing Business
As' name of institution. The term "Awardee" is the Legal
Name of the Institution. The term "Doing Business As"
name is the business name of the Institution (may be different
from the Legal Name). The "Awardee" is the organization
or other entity that receives a grant and assumes legal and financial
responsibility and accountability both for the awarded funds and
for the performance of the grant-supported activity. If the Legal
Name for an institution is not available, the system will display
the “Doing Business As” of the institution will be displayed in
the search results.
"Funds Obligated to Date Between" Text Boxes
Returns awards that fall between the entered amount range. The
"Funds Obligated to Date" is the amount obligated to
date for the project.
"Estimated Total Award Amount" Text Boxes
Returns awards that fall between the entered amount range. "The
Estimated Total Award Amount" is the year one funding plus
anticipated increments.
"Transaction Type" Dropdown
Returns results for the Transaction Type selected from the dropdown.
"Agency" Dropdown
Returns results for the agency selected from the dropdown.
"Show Only Recovery Act Awards” Checkbox
Returns awards made with funding from the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (“Recovery Act”).
“Show Only Awards with Project Outcomes Reports” Checkbox
Returns awards for which the Principal Investigator has submitted
a Project Outcomes Report for the General Public.
"Award Date Between" Text Boxes
Returns awards that fall between the entered date range.
“Start Date Between" Text Boxes
Restricts searches to a date range. The "Award Start Date"
is effective date of the award.
"End Date Between" Text Boxes
Restricts searches to a date range. The "Expired Date"
is the date in which the award expires.
"CFDA Number" Text Box
Searches for the CFDA (Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)
Number entered.
"Primary Program Source" Text Box
Searches for the Program Source, or Treasury Account Symbol, which
provided the largest source of funding for an award.
"Award Title or Description" Text Box
Searches the award title and abstract fields. The "Award Title"
is the descriptive title of the project. The Abstract is a brief
description of the project at the time of award.
"Federal Award ID Number" Text Box
Searches by specific award number. The Federal Award ID Number
is the agency assigned award number.
"DUNS ID" Text Box
Searches by specific Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number.
The "DUNS" number is a nine-digit number assigned by
Dun and Bradstreet Information Services.
"Parent DUNS ID" Text Box
Searches by specific Parent Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS)
number
"Project Director/Principal Investigator" Text
Box
Searches by the First Name and/or Last Name of the Principal Investigator/Project
Director
"co-PD/co-PI" Text Box
Searches by the First Name and/or Last Name of the co-Principal
Investigator/co-Project Director
"Program" Text Box
Searches for awards made under specific programs. Enter part of
the name to get the most possible matches.
"Program Officer" Text Box
Searches for the awards made by a specific NSF Program Officer.
If unsure of the spelling, enter part of the name. Example: search
on "John" to match both "Johnson" and "Johnston".
If the NSF Program Officer contact information is not available,
please contact the Program. Contact information is available on
www.nsf.gov.
"City" (Awardee Location) Text Box
Searches the City of Awardee Location
"State" (Awardee Location) Drop Down Box
Selects by State for the awardee location. This also includes US
territories.
"ZIP Code" (Awardee Location) Text Box
Searches by five digits or nine digits ZIP Code.
"County" (Awardee Location) Text Box
Searches by County of the awardee location.
"Country" (Awardee Location) Drop Down Box
Searches by Country. It is not necessary to specify 'US' as the
country when also using a US state.
"Name" (Performing Location) Text Box
Searches by name of the performing location.
"City" (Performing Location) Text Box
Searches by City for performing location
"State" (Performing Location) Drop Down Box
Selects the State for the performing location. This also includes
US territories.
"ZIP Code" (Performing Location) Text Box
Searches by five digits or nine digits ZIP Code.
"County" (Performing Location) Text Box
Searches by County of the awardee location.
"Country" (Performing Location) Drop Down Box
Searches by Country. It is not necessary to specify 'US' as the
country when also using a US state.
"Congressional District" Drop Down Box
Searches by Congressional District.
The Proposal Status service is a grants management service that allows Sponsored Projects Officers (SPOs), Authorized Organizational Representatives (AORs), Principal Investigators (PIs) and co-Principal Investigators (co-PI) to check the up-to-date status of proposals submitted to NSF and partner agencies.
Proposal Status will normally be available 1 day after assignment to a Program Officer for NSF applications and up to 5 business days after the program deadline for USDA/NIFA applications.
1. Navigate to Research.gov and log in to view the Proposal Status Dashboard page.
The Dashboard page displays applications submitted to agencies for which you have activated your login account. Your role in Research.gov will determine the list of applications that are displayed.
Figure 1 - Proposal Status Dashboard page
Note: Columns displayed vary by user roles (i.e. PI/PD role, SPO role) and agency affiliation.
The Proposal Status Dashboard page displays proposals with an updated status change in the prior six months (for users with SPO/ AOR role). By default, the system displays up to 10 proposals with the most recent status changes.
If you have activated with more than one agency, you can select to view the recent status for a single agency by selecting the desired agency from the “Agency” dropdown on the Dashboard page.
2. Click the “All Last 6 Months” link to view a list of your applications and their status.
You will be able to see the status of applications submitted to all partner agencies with which you are affiliated. The list of applications defaults to those applications with updated status change in the past six months (for users with SPO/ AOR role). You can change this view by clicking the Change Search or Search Again link to modify the search criteria.
Figure 2 - Proposal Status View All page
Note: Columns displayed vary by user roles (i.e. PI/PD role, SPO/ AOR role) and agency affiliation.
3. The Proposal Status page provides you the ability to search all of the applications for which you have access depending on your role in Research.gov.
Note: Search fields vary by user roles (i.e. PI/PD role, SPO/ AOR role).
To export your results to Excel, CSV or XML, select the appropriate links from the Proposal Status page.
To view a printable version of your results, select the Printable Version link from the Proposal Status page.
1. To search or filter the list of proposals, select the Search Proposals button on the Proposal Status Dashboard page. You can modify or enter new search criteria to view additional proposals.
Figure 3 - Proposal Status Search/Filter page
Proposal Detail allows you to view agency, application, program information, application status history, award notice and review information for a selected application. Only users with the PI/PD role can view released Review Information via the Proposal Detail page (if applicable). Users with the SPO/ AOR role do not have access to Review Information.
1. From the Proposal Status Dashboard page or the Proposal Status View All page, click on the Agency Tracking Number to view the Proposal Detail Page.
Figure 4 - Proposal Status Detail page
Below is a list of the Proposal Statuses for NSF and/or NIFA applications:
Statuses for Proposals |
|
Status |
Description |
Pending |
The proposal is in the process of undergoing peer review and/or agency consideration. |
Recommended |
A recommendation by the program to fund a proposal. This recommendation, however, does not constitute an award. Only an Agency’s authorized Grants Officials can obligate the Government. |
Declined |
A grant award was not made to the applicant. |
Awarded |
A grant award was made to the applicant. |
Withdrawn |
The proposal was withdrawn for administrative or programmatic reasons by the applicant, submitting organization, or the agency. |
Returned |
The proposal was not considered by the agency because it did not comply with the proposal preparation requirements specified in the agency’s policy documents or the specific funding opportunity or did not meet other agency requirements.
|
Statuses for Preliminary Applications |
|
Status |
Description |
Pending |
The proposal is in the process of undergoing peer review and/or agency consideration. |
Withdrawn |
The proposal was withdrawn for administrative or programmatic reasons by the applicant, submitting organization, or the agency. |
Declined |
A grant award was not made to the applicant. |
Returned |
The proposal was not considered by the agency because it did not comply with the proposal preparation requirements specified in the agency’s policy documents or the specific funding opportunity or did not meet other agency requirements.
|
Discouraged |
The applicant is discouraged from submitting a full proposal. |
Encouraged |
The applicant is encouraged to submit a full proposal. |
Invited |
The applicant is invited to submit a full proposal. |
Not Invited |
The applicant is not invited to submit a full proposal. |
Science, Engineering & Education Innovation (SEE Innovation) is an interactive public service that provides the public, the scientific community, and policy makers with quick, dynamic access to information about the outcomes of NSF-funded research projects. Learn about innovative research and how NSF awards are funding discovery and evolving the landscape of science across the country. SEE Innovation is your place to find a wide variety of information about NSF-funded projects, their outcomes, and their impacts to society
Begin using Science, Engineering & Education Innovation (SEE Innovation) by clicking on the “Explore thousands of research highlights” link on the homepage under the NSF Award Highlights section or by clicking on the SEE Innovation link from the footer. (Figure 1)
Figure 1 – Open Science, Engineering & Education Innovation from the Research.gov Homepage
There are multiple ways to navigate Science, Engineering & Education Innovation from the Homepage (Figure 1).
· Click through the image gallery on the top of the page to find:
§ Recent Award Highlights: Snapshots about NSF science and research-related awards, with easy-to-understand summaries describing research outcomes of projects and their benefits to society.
§ NSF Research Assets: Centers, facilities & networks, telescopes & observatories, and vehicles that make science and research possible
· Click on the Browse by Map link to search by States and Territories to find information about the awards granted in each state for a given fiscal year, including total amount of funds obligated in a fiscal year, recent award information, and award abstracts.
· Click through the 12 Research Areas to learn more about NSF research and discoveries including research highlights and research assets relating to you research area of interest.
· Use the left-hand navigation to quickly search by Science, Engineering & Education Innovation by clicking on:
§ Research Area
§ States & Territories
§ Research Assets
Figure 2 – Ways to Navigate Science, Engineering & Education Innovation Homepage
Science, Engineering & Education Innovation offers a view of NSF-funded research and education projects by sharing details about the outcomes of NSF awards, coupled with information about the scientists & engineers, researchers & educators, and resources (research assets) making these discoveries possible.
The following types of information are available through Science, Engineering & Education Innovation:
Award Highlights: Brief summaries that provide a snapshot about the outcomes of NSF-funded research from FY2008 and beyond, as well as how the outcomes of these awards benefit to society.
Research Assets: Information about NSF-funded infrastructure and investments in centers, facilities & networks, telescopes & observatories, vehicles, and more to enable research across the country. Provides an overview of each investment the area of science the research asset impacts and the outcomes it has enabled.
Award Statistics: Users can find award statistics by fiscal year, institution, and award amount from FY 2008 and beyond.
Users can navigate Science, Engineering & Education Innovation by:
Research Areas: The 12 categories NSF uses to group scientific research and education (Astronomy & Space, Biology, Chemistry & Materials, Computing, Earth & Environment, Education, Engineering, Mathematics, Nanoscience, People & Society, Physics, and Polar Research).
States or Territories: Use an interactive map to find a state’s total number of awards in a given fiscal year, total amount of funds obligated in a fiscal year, and recent awards and award abstracts.
For each Research Area, users can view Award Highlights and Research Assets related to that Research Area. These are the same 12 Research Areas used to categorize information on NSF.gov:
Astronomy and Space
Biology
Chemistry & Materials
Computing
Earth & Environment
Education
Engineering
Mathematics
Nanoscience
People and Society
Physics
Polar
There are two ways to search information related to a research area.
1. From the Science, Engineering & Education Innovation homepage users can click through the 12 categories of research funded by NSF.
OR
1. Click on View All 12 or the Research Area link on the left-hand navigation to open the “Research Area” homepage and from the homepage click on a Research Area of interest or Learn More (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - View Research Area of Interest
Click on an area of interest. This will open a list of the award highlights related to that research area. From here, you can find both Award Highlights and Research Assets related to your Research Area by clicking on the tabs at the top of the search list (Figure 4).
Figure 4 - Research Areas Page
2. Filter the Award Highlights by clicking on the various criteria, including:
Sub-area
Year
State
Click on an Award Highlight to find a synopsis of the award of interest related to this Research Area.
Information in the Award Highlight (Figure 5) includes:
A link to the Award
Recipient’s state
Recipient’s Congressional District
Research Area that the award is a part of
Figure 5 – Award Highlight Page
3. By clicking on the Research Assets tab (Figure 6) you can find major NSF-funded research infrastructure related to this Research Area.
Figure 6 – Find Research Assets Relating to Selected Research Area
Filter the Research Assets search by clicking various filters, including:
Sub-area
Asset type
State
Click on Research Asset of interest. Information on the research asset’s homepage (Figure 7) includes:
Institution
Asset Type
Brief description of the asset, including Research Area and Education Outreach Activities
Link to websites associated with the Research Asset
Award Information associated with the Research Asset
Award Highlights associated with the Research Asset
List of related/partner institution
Figure 7 - Research Asset Page
From the Science, Engineering & Education Innovation homepage you can learn more about NSF Research Assets.
1. Click on Research Assets in the left-hand navigation.
2. The Research Assets Homepage opens. Click on a Research Asset of interest or Learn More (Figure 8).
Figure 8 - Research Assets Homepage
There are 4 different areas of Research Assets funded by NSF including:
Facilities
Program Centers
Telescopes & Observatories
Vehicles
3. The “Research Asset’s” page opens which breaks down the Research Asset into different sub-types (Figure 9). Click on the type of Research Asset of interest or Learn More to find all NSF research assets in that category (Figure 10).
Figure 9 - Research Asset Sub-Types Page
Figure 10 - Research Asset Search Results Homepage
Filter the Research Asset by clicking various filters, including:
Research Area
State
4. Click on a specific research asset to open its page (Figure 11.
Figure 11 - Detailed Research Asset Page
Information available for each asset includes:
Institution
Asset Type
Brief description of the asset, including Research Areas and Education Outreach Activities
Link to websites associated with the Research Asset
Award Information associated with the Research Asset
Award Highlights associated with the Research Asset
List of related/partner institution
States and Territories
Users can use an interactive map to explore NSF investments by State or Territory. This interactive map includes the 50 states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands and international areas. Users can find many different types of information searching by state of territory, including:
State Statistics: NSF award statistics by U.S. State or Territory, fiscal year, institution, and award amount.
Award Highlights: Brief summaries that provide a snapshot about the outcomes of NSF-funded research from FY2008 and beyond, as well as how the outcomes of these projects benefit society.
Local Research Assets: NSF funded research infrastructure, including program centers, facilities & networks, telescopes & observatories, and vehicles.
Recent Awards and Abstracts (based on Research Spending & Results data).
From SEE Innovation homepage there are 2 ways to search by State and Territory.
1. If you know what state you are interested in, click on the state link at the bottom of the “SEE Innovation” homepage (Figure 12) to open the “State” homepage.
Figure 12 - Search a State from Science, Engineering & Education Innovation Homepage
OR
1. Click on the Browse by Map image or States & Territories link in the left-hand navigation to use the interactive map (Figure 13)
Figure 13 - Search Using Interactive Map from the Science, Engineering & Education Innovation Homepage
2. Using the interactive map, you can click on a specific state or territory to view quick statistics including:
Total number of awards funded in a given fiscal year, including new awards made and existing awards that received incremental funding (based on information provided by NSF’s Budget office and provide information about the total number of or award total amounts allocated for given fiscal year).
Total amount of funds obligated in a given fiscal year (based on information provided by NSF’s Budget office and provide information about the total number of or award total amounts allocated for given fiscal year).
Total number of research assets and total number of NSF awards.
Click on Visit a state to view even more information about the state on the state’s homepage. (Figure 14)
Figure 14 - Quick State Statistics from the Interactive Map
On the state homepage, (Figure 15) you can view:
State Statistics: NSF award statistics by U.S. State or Territory, fiscal year, institution, and award amount.
Award Highlights: Brief summaries that provide a snapshot about the outcomes of NSF-funded research from FY2008 and beyond, as well as how the outcomes of these projects benefit society.
Research Assets: Comprised of local NSF funded research infrastructure, including program centers, facilities & networks, telescopes & observatories, and vehicles.
Recent Awards and Abstracts: Based on Research Spending & Results data.
Figure 15 - State Homepage
View Award Highlights
Award Highlights show what exciting scientific research has been funded by NSF in each state or US territory. Highlights provide a snapshot about NSF awards as well as the outcomes of these projects and their benefit to society.
1. To see a full list of Award Highlights by using the Left-Hand Navigation clicking Award Highlights under state name (Figure 16)
OR
1. Clicking More under the “Award Highlights” section of the screen (Figure 16).
Figure 16 - Two Ways to View Full List of Award Highlights
2. On the Award Highlights Click on an Award Highlight of interest (Figure 17). You are able to filter the highlights by:
Research Area
Year
Congressional District
Figure 17 - Award Highlights Page
On an award highlight page (Figure 18) you will be able to find:
A link to the Award information (this will take you to Research Spending & Results Award Detail page)
Total estimated award amount
States and Congressional Districts in which research was conducted
Research Areas the award relates to
Principal Investigator contact information
Video or images relating to the highlight
Figure 18 - Award Highlight Detail Page
To find detailed information about the award highlighted, click on the NSF Award Title to open the Research Spending & Results detail page for the Award Highlight (Figure19). The award detail page provides:
Award or awardee name
A range of the funds obligated to date
Principal Investigator or Project Director name
Award abstract
Publication citations
And more
Figure 19 - Research Spending & Results Detail Page
International
Users can learn more about NSF funded work abroad on the Science, Engineering, and Education Innovation International page, including:
Award Highlights: Brief summaries that provide a snapshot about the outcomes of NSF-funded research from FY2008 and beyond, as well as how the outcomes of these projects benefit society
Research Assets: NSF funded research infrastructure, including program centers, facilities & networks, telescopes & observatories, and vehicles
From SEE Innovation homepage navigate to the International Awards page.
1. Click on the International link at the bottom of the “SEE Innovation” homepage (Figure 20) to open the “International” homepage.
Figure 20 – International page link
2. There are multiple ways to navigate the Science, Engineering & Education Innovation from the International Homepage.
Click through the image gallery on the top of the page to find:
Recent Award Highlights: Snapshots about NSF science and research-related awards, with easy-to-understand summaries describing research outcomes of projects and their benefits to society.
NSF Research Assets: Centers, facilities & networks, telescopes & observatories, and vehicles that make science and research possible
Through the National Science Board (NSB) Nomination Site, the public can nominate individuals to serve on the National Science Board. For more information on the NSB member nomination process, please visit: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/members/nominations.jsp.
For technical questions or immediate assistance, please
contact the NSF Help Desk from 7 AM - 9 PM Eastern Time, Monday
through Friday (except for federal holidays):
Email the Help Desk at: rgov@nsf.gov
Call the Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532
To hear a recording about System Availability, call 1-800-437-7408
To submit a nomination, complete the NSB Nomination Form (Figure 1). Once you have completed the form, click the Submit Nomination button at the bottom of the page. Please note that all fields marked with an asterisk are required.
Figure 1 - NSB Nomination Form
After your nomination has been submitted, you will be asked to confirm your submission (Figure 2).
Figure 2 - Submission Confirmation
While the site is submitting your nomination, you will see an upload screen (Figure 3).
Figure 3 - Submission in Progress
If the nomination class is closed, you will see the following message (Figure 3). Click on the link found on the page for more information about when the Nomination Class will be reopened.
Figure 4 - Closed Nomination Class
How to Send Photos Directly to NSF’s Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA)
Media Upload Form
NSF awardees can now use Research.gov to upload images and videos directly to NSF‘s Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA). This feature allows the Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) to more easily showcase research results from NSF funding.
1. Navigate to Research.gov and log in, and click on the Submit Images/Videos link from the top navigation under the Awards & Reporting menu. This page also includes information about the permission and copyright guidelines that have to be followed to submit media to NSF.
Figure 1 – Media Upload Form
2. To upload, all the mandatory fields (marked with an *) need to be filled out. The guidelines for an acceptable image or a video are also displayed based on which type of media you select to upload.
3. After all the fields are filled in, you can click on submit to complete the upload.
4. While Research.gov is processing your image/video, you will see an upload screen (Figure 2).
Figure 2 – Upload screen
5. After the upload is completed, an “Image/Video Submitted Successfully” page is displayed or an error will be displayed if the submission did not occur successfully.
AOR - Authorized Organizational Representative
The administrative official who on behalf of the proposing organization
or institution is empowered to make certifications and assurances,
to endorse and submit all proposals, proposal file updates, withdrawals,
revised budgets, and notifications and requests, to commit the
organization to the conduct of a project that NSF is being asked
to support, and to guide adherence to various federal and agency
policies and grant requirements.
Awardee
The Awardee is the organization or other entity that receives
a grant and assumes legal and financial responsibility and accountability
both for the awarded funds and for the performance of the grant-supported
activity. NSF grants are normally made to organizations rather
than to individual Principal Investigator/Project Director(s).
CFDA Number - Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
The CFDA number is the program's id number in the Catalog of
Federal Domestic Assistance, a government-wide compendium of Federal
programs, projects, services, and activities that provide assistance
or benefits to the American public. It contains financial and
nonfinancial assistance programs administered by departments and
establishments of the federal government. (www.cfda.gov)
co-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/co-PROJECT DIRECTOR (PI/PD)
One of the individuals designated by the grantee and approved
by NSF, who will be responsible for the scientific or technical
direction of the project. If more than one, the first one listed
will have primary responsibility for the project and the submission
of reports. All others listed are considered co-PI/PD, and share
in the responsibility of the scientific or technical direction
of the project. The term "Principal Investigator" generally
is used in research projects, while the term "Project Director"
generally is used in science and engineering education and other
projects. For purposes of Research.gov, PI/co-PI is interchangeable
with PD/co-PDA.
DUNS Number - Data Universal Numbering System Number
The DUNS number is a nine-digit number assigned by Dun and Bradstreet
Information Services. If your organization does not have a DUNS
number, you may obtain one by calling Dun and Bradstreet at (800)
333-0505.
Password
A password is at least an 8, but no more than 20 character string that meets 3 of the following 4 rules:
· At least one lowercase letter
· At least one capital letter
· At least one number
· At least one of the following special characters #, &, %, !, @, (, ) (Greater than ‘>’ and less than ‘<’ characters or spaces are not permitted)
Users cannot reuse their last 6 passwords.
When the account is created, the password must be initialized
as a 6-20 character string that has at least one letter and one
number (not case sensitive) by a user who has the Add/Modify/Delete
permission in FastLane (e.g., Institution Administrator). When
logging in for the first time, users will be prompted to change
their password. Similarly, when users forget their password, users
will receive a new temporary password to the registered email
address on file, and they will be prompted to change their password
upon their next log in.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR/PROJECT DIRECTOR (PI/PD)
One of the individual designated by the grantee, and approved
by NSF, who will be responsible for the scientific or technical
direction of the project. If more than one, the first one listed
will have primary responsibility for the project and the submission
of reports. All others listed are considered co-PI/PD, and share
in the responsibility of the scientific or technical direction
of the project. The term "Principal Investigator" generally
is used in research projects, while the term "Project Director"
generally is used in science and engineering education and other
projects. For purposes of this Guide, PI/co-PI is interchangeable
with PD/co-PD.
Program Officer (PO)
Program Officers conduct merit review of proposals and recommend
which projects should be supported by the agencies. They are considered
subject matter experts and they often provide technical and programmatic
advice. Carrying out these responsibilities requires a thorough
intellectual understanding of the specialty and knowledge of its
substantive technical issues, as well as knowledge of the agency's
processes.
Received Date
Date that the proposal was received by the agency. For
applications received through Grants.gov, this date is when the
AOR pressed the "Sign & Submit" button.
Sponsored Projects Office (SPO)
The Sponsored Projects Office is the institutional office responsible for reviewing all proposals to extramural sponsors for research, training and public service projects.
See below for FAQ's related to Research.gov Services.
Are
investigators and Sponsored Projects Officers seeing the same
information?
Why
don't I see a complete list of applications I submitted to
NSF and/or NIFA in my Proposal Status
Dashboard?
Where
can I find a description of the Proposal codes for
NSF and/or
NIFA?
I
have the SPO role for my institution. Will I be able to view
proposals for which I am the PI?
Do
I need to create an account on Research.gov to access the
Research Spending & Results?
Where
can I find a description of the Research Spending & Results
fields?
What
should I do if I see incorrect data for an award record?
What
is the difference between Award Date and Award Start Date?
Can
I search for Contracts and Loans in addition to Grants on
Research.gov?
In
the Research Spending & Results, can I search for multi-year
awards?
In
the Research Spending & Results, will I be able to view
sub-award data on Research.gov?
1. Are
investigators and Sponsored Projects Officers seeing the same
information?
Research.gov is a role-based system that grants users access to information based on the permissions associated with their role. A user must have an investigator role (i.e. PI/PD),Sponsored Projects Officer role (i.e. SPO), or an Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) role in order to view any detailed proposal data. SPOs/ AORs cannot view reviewer comments or panel summaries. The PI/PD can view this information once it has been released by the Program Officer (PO) or National Program Leader (NIFA). However, SPOs/ AORs are given the ability to view all the proposals submitted for the institutions in which they belong. For or more information on the different Research.gov roles and how they work, see the section on Research.gov Roles.
2. I
previously used my Social Security Number (SSN) to login to
Research.gov. Why can I no longer use it?
As of September 6, 2008, users are no longer able to log-in to Research.gov using their social security number. Instead, users should log-in using their NSF ID. To lookup your NSF ID please click here. Please note that users can only look up their own NSF user IDs and cannot retrieve IDs for other users.
NSF and the Research.gov team are dedicated to protecting the privacy of our users by reducing and eliminating, where possible, the use of SSNs. Doing this also helps us comply with federal-wide guidance, including:
OMB M06-16 for the “Protection of Sensitive Agency Information”
OMB M07-16 for “Safeguarding Against and Responding to the Breach of Personally Identifiable Information”
U.S. Office of Personnel Management June 18, 2007 memo: “Guidance on Protecting Federal Employee Social Security Numbers and Combating Identity Theft”
In addition to eliminating the use of social security numbers as system Log In IDs, NSF is increasing protection where social security numbers must be used for business purposes and eliminating the use of SSNs in processes, systems, and files where no business need exists.
For questions or additional information, please contact
the Research.gov team.
The Proposal Status Dashboard page shows the first ten applications with status date changes in the past six months. In order to view a complete list, click on the View All Recent Proposals link and change the received date range in the Search criteria.
4. Where can I find a description of the Proposal codes for NSF and/or NIFA?
Refer to the Research.gov Online Help for a description of the proposal status codes.
If you are not able to see the list of proposals in the View All Proposals page, verify that you have successfully activated your account with NIFA; first (refer to Research.gov Online Help for instructions on Activating an Account with an Agency. If you have successfully activated your account and are still experiencing problems, please Contact Research.gov for help.
6. I have the SPO role for my institution. Will I be able to view proposals for which I am the PI?
Yes, you will be able to view all proposals submitted by your institution, including ones for which you are the PI. When viewing your proposals, you will be able to view additional information such as Review Information if it has been released by the agency. However, if viewing proposals for which you are not the PI, then you will not be able to view the same type of information that you are able to view on the proposals for which you are the PI.
If you have the SPO/ AOR role for your institution, then you should be able to view all proposals submitted by your institution. If you have the PI role for you institution, then you will have access to only the proposals for which you are the PI. For additional explanation of roles, refer to the Research.gov Online Help.
8. Do I need to create an account on Research.gov to access the Research Spending & Results?
No, the Research Spending & Results is a publicly available service offering available to all users.
The search results will only include awards that are active as of FY 1994 and beyond for NSF and active as of FY 2007 and beyond for NASA. If your search does not meet these criteria, the award record will not be displayed on Research.gov. Otherwise, if you believe that your search meets these criteria, then contact Research.gov for help.
Research Spending & Results currently makes grant award information searchable for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautical Space Administration (NASA). NSF plans to make award information available for other Federal research agencies that choose to partner with NSF on Research.gov in the future.
11. Where can I find a description of the Research Spending & Results fields?
Refer to the Research.gov Online Help document for a description of the search fields.
12. What should I do if I see incorrect data for an award record?
If you believe that the information on Research.gov is incorrect, contact Research.gov for help.
13. What is the difference between Award Date and Award Start Date?
The Award Date is the date the award is issued while the Award Start Date is the effective date of the award.
14. Can I search for Contracts and Loans in addition to Grants on Research.gov?
No, Research.gov currently enables users to search for Grants only.
15. In the Research Spending & Results, can I search for multi-year awards?
Yes, users can search for multi-year awards but Research.gov only displays awards active as of FY1994 and beyond for NSF and active as of FY2007 and beyond for NASA. Additionally, searching by a date range will narrow the results to awards with an award date within the date range entered.
16. In the Research Spending & Results, will I be able to view sub-award data on Research.gov?
The Research Spending & Results service does not provide information about sub-awards.
'Awardee' is the Legal name by which the entity is incorporated and pays taxes. 'Doing Business As' name is the business name of the entity.
If you attempt to log in one too many times using the incorrect username/password combinations, your account will be locked for a period of 60 minutes. You have one of many options to regain access to your account:
If you are a user with PI, SPO, or AOR role, you can do one of the following:
Wait 60 minutes and try again
Choose the Forgot Password link from the Log In page
Contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 and request to reset your password
If you are a user with Institution Administrator role, you can do one of the following:
Wait 60 minutes and try again
Contact the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 and request to reset your password
Following a password reset, you will receive a new temporary
password to the registered email address on file, and you will
be prompted to change your password upon your next log in.
19. Are Recovery Act awards available in Research.gov?
Yes, you can search for awards made under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“Recovery Act”) in the Research Spending & Results service. Select the available checkbox on the Quick Search or Advanced Search screen to search for only Recovery Act awards. Additional search criteria can be entered to further filter your search.
20. Does Research.gov use cookies and JavaScript?
Yes. Research.gov uses cookies and JavaScript. Research.gov uses "session cookies" to facilitate a visitor’s activity within a single session, but these cookies are not written as files to your computer’s hard drive and do not persist after you close your browser. Research.gov does not use "persistent cookies."