Timely reminders for your upcoming NSF AISL submission

The Wednesday, Nov. 7 deadline for proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) program is drawing near. Here are a few reminders of things to check before hitting “submit”:

Most importantly, check the current version of NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG; NSF 18-1). For example, Project Descriptions must now contain separate sections specifically identified as “Intellectual Merit” and “Broader Impacts”; this is in addition to those sections being in the Project Summary. You can find a list of the significant changes in the front section of NSF 18-1.

Tips for submitting

• If you are submitting via Grants.gov, remember it can take up to 48 hours before you get the email confirming your proposal was received and accepted by NSF and containing your official NSF proposal number. If you end up with a message saying something is missing, the deadline remains 5:00pm local time on Nov. 7 to get your corrected proposal uploaded to Grants.gov, transmitted to NSF, and receive your confirmation email with your NSF proposal number. How will you know you are successful? All successfully submitted proposals will have a number starting with “19xxxxx”.
• If you are submitting via Fastlane/Research.gov, the platform will not be available from Saturday, Nov. 3, 8:00pm to Sunday, Nov. 4, 4:00pm due to maintenance. Plan accordingly.
• Having technical problems with your submissions? Depending on how you are submitting your proposal, contact the helpdesk of either Fastlane/Research.gov (7am-9pm ET, Monday through Friday) or Grants.gov (available 24/7) for assistance. Program Officers cannot help you with technical problems.