Agency Guidelines

Proposal Preparation Checklists

Checklists are for guidance only.  Please ensure that you read the solicitation.

Agency Templates

Other Support Reporting

  • NIH resources: NIH Other Support Website (including sample)
  • NSF resources: NSF Current and Pending Support Website
  • URI Specific Other Support Guidance 
  • Other Support Review: Please note that  many of the outside activities, relationships, or interests (“outside activities”) you disclose to the University in the InfoEd COI disclosure form should also be reported to federal sponsors in sponsor documentation (e.g., Biosketch, Other Support, Current & Pending, and Facilities, Equipment, or Other Resources). The URI Office of Research Integrity can assist investigators with both outside activity disclosures and sponsor reporting obligations by reviewing outside activity disclosures in InfoEd COI disclosure form, including those involving an institution, government, or company located outside the U.S.

Agency Updates

  • NSF > NSF has issued a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1). The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after January 30, 2023. Significant changes include: 
    • Revisions to incorporate Research.gov as the replacement for FastLane for proposal preparation and submission.
    • Information about the use of Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs) and the BAA Management System (BAAM).
    • Revisions to the certification for Responsible and Ethical Conduct of Research (RECR) for proposals submitted on or after July 31, 2023, which expands the training to faculty and other senior personnel as well as requires specific training mandated by the America COMPETES Act, as amended.
    • Use of Concept Outlines as a submission type and the Program Suitability and Proposal Concept Tool (ProSPCT).
    • Requirement for proposers to provide a certification regarding Safe and Inclusive Working Environments for Off-Campus and Off-Site Research.
    • Revisions to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support formats to include certifications from the individual (as required by the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act,  Section 223) regarding information being accurate, current, and complete.
    • Requirement for NSF program officers to request updated Current and Pending Support information prior to making a funding recommendation, in accordance with the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance.
    • Requirements for use of SciENcv for the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support documents.
    • Implementation of Build America, Buy America statutes.
    • New sections on Research Security and Scientific Integrity.
  • NIH > NIH issued a new notice Implementation Details for the NIH Data Management and Sharing Policy, that includes details in several areas, including: 
    •  A preview of an optional  DMS Plan format page that includes elements of the plan Elements of a DMS Plan as NIH envisions them 
    • A new placement of the plan under the NEW Form H form set, effective in the fall (instead of in the Resource Sharing Plan section). 
    • Description of how the plan will be assessed at the proposal stage 
    • Description of the post-award plan revision and submission process 
  • NIH >   An updated RPPR Instruction Guide is now available. The instruction guide reflects changes associated with recently issued guide notices on Other Support and Biosketch format pages, human subjects, Trainee Diversity Report and NRSA childcare costs reporting (see NOT-OD-22-130 for details).  Note that a final RPPR Instruction Guide will be published on June 23 to reflect the revised screenshots accompanying the new look and feel of the RPPR module.  See also: 
    Action Required for In-Progress RPPR Budget Forms By or Before June 22 (NIH Extramural Nexus) https://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2022/05/18/action-required-for-in-progress-rppr-budget-forms-by-or-before-june-22/ and URI’s page on RPPRs
  • NSF > FastLane will be officially disappearing as a submission portal at the end of the year. Even for current opportunities, FastLane may be unavailable in some NSF solicitation/programs, requiring the use of Research.gov. Research.gov does have some benefits including “real-time” auto-compliance checks throughout the process and Research.gov “Demo Site,” to practice within.

In Research.gov, Other Authorized Users (OAU) can be designated on proposals in order to allow another person access to work on the proposal (e.g., research support staff, non-Co-PIs, etc.). Unlike FastLane, where the PI gives the OAU the proposal # and a PIN to sign in, in Research.gov, the PI actually designates individual OAU(s) for the proposal, and when the OAU signs in, the proposal appears on the OAU’s list of proposals.

Specific steps are:
Login to your proposal in Research.gov. To designate an Other Authorized User (OAU), click on “Manage Personnel and Subaward Organizations” on the left panel. Then under the Prime Organization, click “Manage Personnel” to the right. Then under “Other Authorized User(s),” click “Add Other Authorized User” on the right. Type in the OAU’s NSF ID# (or email). Then click “Add to Proposal.” It will display the OAU’s name that they’ve successfully added. 

  • NSF > NSF has issued a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 22-1). The new PAPPG will be effective for proposals submitted or due on or after October 4, 2021. Significant changes include: 

    1. A new section covering 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; 
    2. A table entitled, NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support. 
    3. Increasing the page limit for the biographical sketch from two to three pages; 
    4. Updates to the current and pending support section of NSF proposals to require that information on objectives and overlap with other projects is provided to help NSF and reviewers assess overlap/duplication;
    5. Adding planning proposals and Career-Life Balance supplemental funding requests as new proposal types; 
    6. Updates to travel proposals will require that AORs certify that prior to the proposer’s participation in the meeting for which NSF travel support is being requested, the proposer will assure that the meeting organizer has a written policy or code-of-conduct addressing harassment.
  • NSF >  NSF has developed a new resource regarding pre-award and post-award disclosure information in biographical sketch and current and pending support proposal sections entitled,  NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support, to identify where these disclosures must be provided in proposals as well as in project reports. As a reminder, current and pending support information is used to assess the capacity of the individual to carry out the research as proposed, as well as to help assess any potential overlap/duplication with the project being proposed.    
  • NIH > Upcoming changes to NIH Biographical Sketch and Other Support Format page for due dates on or after May 25, 2021. NIH has updated its application forms and instructions to support the need for applicants and recipients to provide full transparency and disclosure of all research activities, foreign and domestic. This includes but is not limited to: resources and/or financial support from all foreign and domestic entities, consulting agreements, when the PD/PI or other senior/key personnel will be conducting research as part of the consulting activities (non-research consulting activities are not Other Support), and in-kind contributions, e.g. office/laboratory space, equipment, supplies, or employees or students supported by an outside source. Details can be found at Notice NOT-OD-21-073. The updated format pages and instructions for Other Support can be found here. Updated Biosketch resources, including FAQs and sample Biosketch format pages can be found here.
  • NSF > New with PAPPG 20-1. Biographical Sketches and Current and Pending Support now must be submitted in one of two formats. The two approved formats are SciENcv or the NSF Fillable PDF
  • NSF > New with PAPPG 20-1. The Project Description has been revised to remove the requirement to contain a separate section within the narrative labeled “Intellectual Merit”