NSF Issues New PAPPG; COGR Still Has Questions
Following publication in December of a draft version, the National Science Foundation (NSF) on June 22 published a final Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), which is applicable for proposals “submitted or due on or after” Oct. 4. As described on the NSF Policy Office website, new sections address “requests for reasonable and accessibility accommodations regarding the proposal process or requests for accessibility accommodations to access NSF’s electronic systems, websites and other digital content,” and the necessity of assuring that meetings for which support is requested have a “written policy or code-of-conduct addressing harassment.”
Biographical sketches will be allowed to increase in length from two to three pages under the new PAPPG, which also includes a table that “identifies where pre- and post-award current and pending support disclosure information must be provided.” NSF said “proposers and awardees may begin using this table immediately to assist with completing the relevant proposal and project report sections.” In a June 29 email, Jean Feldman, NSF policy head, also announced that the agency had issued new FAQs on current and pending support to harmonize with the table. In reporting to its members about the new PAPPG, the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) said NSF had responded to some changes it requested in the draft, but not all. COGR is seeking clarification on “how NSF defines visiting scholar, the treatment of consulting permitted by an individual’s appointment versus consulting that falls outside of an individual’s appointment, and questions related to start-up companies.”