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Dear Colleagues:

We have published a revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 09-1, <http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf091> that will be effective for proposals received on or after January 5, 2009. Given the significance of some of the changes contained in this revised version, we wanted to provide the community with appropriate advance notice.

The significant changes include:

* Entirely new guidance that addresses and implements the mentoring requirement of the America COMPETES Act;
* A major revision of NSF’s faculty salary reimbursement policy, to limit compensation for senior personnel to no more than two months of their regular salary in any one year from all NSF-funded grants;
* Debut of the Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) and EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER) mechanisms, that replace the SGER program; and
* Revision of the definition of co-PI for greater consistency with guidance issued by OSTP.

While this version of the PAPPG becomes effective on January 5, 2009, in the interim, the guidelines contained in the current PAPPG (NSF 08-1) will continue to apply. We will ensure that the current version of the PAPPG remains on the NSF website, with a notation to proposers that specifies when the new PAPPG (including a link to the new Guide) will become effective. In addition, we plan to revise existing funding opportunities with due dates between January 5th and March 31st to alert proposers that significant changes have been made to NSF proposal preparation guidelines.

If you have any questions regarding these changes, please contact the Policy Office on 703.292.8243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Regards,
Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution and Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance & Award Management