submitting a proposal in research gov

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Submitting Your Proposal

This page highlights key information about submitting your proposal to the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Refer to the  Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) I.G  for complete guidance on how to submit a proposal to NSF.

Most proposals to NSF can be submitted either through  Research.gov  or  Grants.gov . A small number of proposals to NSF, which are submitted in response to a broad agency announcement, should instead be submitted through  Baam.nsf.gov .

On this page

Is your organization new to applying for nsf funding.

To submit a proposal to NSF, your organization must have:

• An active and valid  SAM registration .
• A valid  Unique Identity ID (UEI) .

Be sure your organization is registered in SAM and has a valid UEI well in advance of the date you'll be submitting your proposal; NSF recommends  at least 90 days  before you plan to submit.

• Submission guidance for organizations new to NSF View timelines and other guidance prepared by NSF's Directorate for Technology, Innovation and Partnerships.

Submitting through Research.gov

Research.gov allows you to create, submit, track and update a proposal to NSF.

The links below will guide you in how to register in and submit a proposal via Research.gov:

1. Registering an organization on Research.gov

You will need to  register your organization  on Research.gov before you can prepare your proposal.

2. Registering for an NSF ID

You will need  an NSF ID  to prepare your proposal in Research.gov.

3. Preparing and submitting a proposal in Research.gov

Research.gov features  how-to guides and tutorials  on preparing and submitting a proposal through the site. These resources cover topics such as:

• Starting a new proposal.
• Uploading senior personnel information and documents.
• How to prepare your proposal budget.
• Adding or removing subaward organizations.
• Submitting letters of intent and proposals.
• And others.

4. Proposal compliance checks

Research.gov performs automatic compliance checking on proposals being prepared for submission.  See the list of compliance checks  the system performs on different types of proposals to NSF.

Submitting through Grants.gov

Grants.gov allows you to create and submit proposals to NSF. The links below will guide you in how to register an organization and submit a proposal using Grants.gov:

1. Registering an organization on Grants.gov

You will need to  register your organization  on Grants.gov before you can prepare your proposal.

You will need  an NSF ID  to prepare your proposal in Grants.gov.

3. Preparing an NSF proposal in Grants.gov

The  NSF Grants.gov Application Guide  provides detailed guidance on how to prepare and submit a proposal to NSF using Grants.gov. The guide includes information on topics such as:

• Uploading proposal files.
• Completing the NSF cover page.

4. Submitting an NSF proposal in Grants.gov

Once all documents have been completed in Grants.gov, the proposer's Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must verify the funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted and sign and submit the proposal to Grants.gov. Once submitted, the completed proposal will be transferred to Research.gov for further processing.

Grants.gov proposals must pass all NSF pre-check and post-check validations to be accepted by Research.gov; see the Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov document and Grants.gov Proposal Processing in Research.gov how-to guide for additional information.

When submitting via Grants.gov, NSF strongly recommends proposers initiate proposal submission at least five business days before a deadline to allow adequate time to address NSF compliance errors and resubmissions. Please note that some errors cannot be corrected in Grants.gov. Once a proposal passes pre-checks but fails any post-check, a proposer can only correct and submit the in-progress proposal in Research.gov.

How to check proposal submission status:

Until a proposal has been received and validated by NSF, the Authorized Organizational Representative may check the status of an application on Grants.gov. After proposers have received an e-mail notification from NSF, Research.gov should be used to check the status of a proposal that was submitted via Grants.gov.

Submitting through Baam.nsf.gov

NSF's  BAAM system  can be used to prepare, submit and track proposals that are submitted in response to one of NSF's  broad agency announcements . The BAAM system uses a simple application process that's designed to save time and effort.

Before you can apply using Baam.nsf.gov, you must have:

• A  Login.gov  account.