ERA Forum April 2019 Webinar – Questions & Answers

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

This document contains the questions and answers about Separately Submitted Collaborative Proposals from Multiple Organizations on

Research.gov discussed during the ERA Forum Webinar on April 10, 2019.

For further questions and ongoing feedback about Research.gov proposal preparation and submission, click the Feedback button at the bottom

of the Research.gov homepage, email rg[email protected] or call 1-800-381-1532. For questions regarding NSF proposal and award policies and

procedures, please see the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 19-1) or email polic[email protected].

General

Question

Answer

In a separately submitted collaborative proposal, can both the

lead and non-lead organizations have subawards as part of the

same proposal?

Yes, both the lead and non-lead organizations have the option

for subawards in a separately submitted collaborative proposal.

When is proposal submission required for each separately

submitted proposal? If the lead organization is on the East

Coast and a non-lead organization is on the West Coast, what

would be the submission deadline?

Proposals must be received by 5 p.m. submitter's local time on

the established deadline date. In this example, the lead

organization on the East Coast must submit by 5 p.m. Eastern

Time, and the non-lead organization on the West Coast must

submit by 5 p.m. Pacific Time.

Can proposal linking occur if the non-lead organization uses

FastLane, but the lead organization does not?

Proposals prepared in Fastlane cannot link to proposals

prepared in Research.gov and vice versa. In addition, a proposal

file update (PFU) must be prepared and submitted in the

system where the proposal was initiated.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

Can I submit collaborative proposals in Research.gov?

Beginning in summer 2019, collaborative research proposals

from one organization (i.e., proposals with subawards) will be

able to be prepared and submitted in Research.gov. Proposers

will still be able to use FastLane and Grants.gov to prepare and

submit collaborative proposals with subawards, but we

encourage proposers to use the new Research.gov capability.

The Research.gov Proposal Preparation and Submission Site is

being developed incrementally, and feedback from the research

community is a vital part of the development process. Using the

new Research.gov site for proposal preparation and submission

and providing your feedback will only help to improve the site.

If you choose no subawards on a separately submitted

collaborative proposal but later need to add a subaward, would

you have to start a new proposal?

For the initial release of the capability to support separately

submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations,

if the collaboration type needs to be changed after proposal

creation, you would have to start a new proposal with the

updated collaboration type. A future release will include the

ability to change the collaboration type of an in-progress

proposal. For the initial release, if “subawards” was selected, at

least one subaward must be present in the proposal in order to

submit. Similarly, for the initial release, if non-collaborative is

selected, a subaward cannot be added later in the process.

Can the lead organization be notified when all non-lead

organizations have submitted their proposals?

This automated email messaging feature is possible for a future

release. In the initial release, the lead organization will have a

"Manage Collaborative Proposals" page that displays the

submission status of each non-lead organization proposal.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

Is there a timeline for when submission via Research.gov will be

required? When will we be able to submit collaborative

proposals which only have subawards in Research.gov? When

will the collaborative capability be released in Research.gov?

To minimize impacts, NSF will provide ample warning of

FastLane's retirement to the research community. The

functionality to support full research collaborative proposals

with subawards is planned for a Summer 2019 release.

The Research.gov functionality for separately submitted

collaborative proposals from multiple organizations has not yet

been scheduled for release.

This ERA Forum is part of the socialization process to solicit

feedback and identify design considerations. Use of

Research.gov is currently optional. FastLane will remain

available until all necessary functionality has been released in

Research.gov. NSF strongly encourages the use of Research.gov

where possible and wants feedback on your experience, so NSF

can continue to prioritize features and offer a better user

experience.

Business Rules

Question

Answer

The list for lead/non-lead requirements does not state which

can upload Other Supplementary Documents and/or Single

Copy documents. Will Other Supplementary Documents and/or

Single Copy Documents be available for both lead and non-lead

organizations to upload?

For the requirements list, please reference ERA Forum Webinar

presentation (slide #14). Presentation can be viewed on the

ERA Forum website

(https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/era_forum.jsp)

Supplementary Documents and Single Copy Documents will be

available for both lead and non-lead organizations to upload.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

If the proposal title is pre-populated for the non-lead

organization proposal, how will the non-lead Primarily

Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) add the Research in

Undergraduate Institution (RUI) acronym to their project title

per the RUI guidelines in Program Solicitation NSF 14-579?

Currently, per solicitation NSF 14-579, RUI proposals must be

submitted in FastLane. Future enhancements will include the

ability submit RUI proposals via Research.gov. Once available in

Research.gov the non-lead organization should coordinate with

the lead organization to ensure that "RUI" appears in the title

per the solicitation.

10.

For separately submitted collaborative proposals, what is the

limit for Principal Investigators (PI) and co-Principal

Investigators (co-PIs)? Please clarify whether the limit is PI-plus-

four for the collaborative proposal, or PI-plus-four co-PIs for the

lead proposal and PI-plus-four co-PIs for the non-lead proposal.

The lead proposal can have a PI-plus-four co-PIs, and non-lead

proposals can have a PI-plus-four co-PIs.

11.

Does Research.gov employ solicitation-specific logic? For

example, if a program solicitation does not allow separately

submitted collaborative proposals from multiple organizations,

will the option to link be available?

Currently, separately submitted collaborative proposals from

multiple organizations and other unsupported proposal types

are not yet available in Research.gov. Solicitation-specific logic

will be built into future Research.gov releases.

12.

Since only the lead organization can enter the proposal title,

does the non-lead organization leave that section blank? Can an

incomplete Cover Sheet be saved in Research.gov?

The proposal title cannot be blank. At a minimum, the system

will pre-populate "Collaborative Research" in the title field. The

lead organization's title will be applied upon linking. An

incomplete Cover Sheet can be saved but cannot be submitted.

13.

If the non-lead organization submits a PFU or revised budget,

will the linking between the lead organization proposal and

non-lead organization proposal be unlinked as it is now?

Currently, it requires the Authorized Organizational

Representative (AOR) from the non-lead organization to have

Research.gov restore the link after the updated/revised

submission.

Collaborative proposals will not have to be unlinked for the

lead, non-lead, or both lead and non-lead organizations to

complete a PFU or revised budget. However, a change in one

proposal could necessitate an update in a linked proposal and

both changed proposals would have to be submitted.

14.

Is there a limitation on the number of non-lead organizations

that can participate in a collaborative proposal?

No, there is no limit on the number of non-lead organizations

that can participate in a collaborative proposal

15.

What is the maximum number of subawards allowed per lead

organization proposal and non-lead organization proposal?

There is no maximum number of subawards for lead and non-

lead organization proposals.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

16.

How will title information in the non-lead organization

proposal(s) be reconciled with the lead organization proposal’s

title, if they are different? If the title order requires program,

size, then collaborative research, can the pre-populated

collaborative research text be reordered?

The PAPPG states that the collaboration allows investigators

from two or more organizations “to submit a single, focused

proposal.” In Research.gov, that single proposal will have a

single title. The lead organization proposal contains the title

and the non-lead organization proposal acquires that title upon

proposal linking.

17.

When preparing a collaborative proposal, does the proposal

title need to begin with the term "Collaborative Research"?

Yes, both types of collaborative proposals will automatically

have “Collaborative Research” inserted at the beginning of the

proposal title.

18.

When the Collaborative Research title auto-generates, can

other indicators be added in front of the term "Collaborative

Research" (e.g., CPS: Medium: Collaborative Research: Title)?

The current design approach will let the lead organization add

any required acronyms after the term “Collaborative Research”

and this will be accepted by NSF.

19.

Can the Sponsored Project Office (SPO) see the proposal before

the PI forwards it to the SPO/AOR?

The PI or co-PI must grant access to the SPO/AOR before they

are able to view it.

20.

Does a compliance check exist to ensure that the total budget

does not go over the budget limit when collaborative budgets

are added together? Will both the lead organization and non-

lead organization get a notification if the budget limit has been

reached?

The proposal submitters are responsible for reviewing the

budgets for accuracy and ensuring compliance with the

guidance in the solicitation. An automated budget limit check is

not currently being considered.

21.

Have there been enhancements to the compliance check

features (e.g., uploading files that are compliant with 1"

margins, PDF format, and correct font but receiving uploading

errors.)?

Compliance check features have been enhanced. If unexpected

errors occur when uploading a PDF document, please contact

NSF IT Help Central at 1-800-381-1532 for assistance. The PDF

can be analyzed, and a solution can be identified. NSF IT Help

Central is available by phone from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM ET

Monday -Friday except federal holidays or via email to

rgov@nsf.

22.

Since non-lead organization collaborators do not need to

submit the Project Summary, Project Description, etc., will a

check on the proposal show a “complete” proposal as long as

all seven other required documents have been uploaded?

Research.gov will perform checks to ensure that all required

sections have been uploaded before submission for both lead

proposals and non-lead proposals. Per the requirements in the

PAPPG, a non-lead proposal has fewer required sections than a

lead proposal.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Managing Access

Question

Answer

23.

Who receives the proposal request link at the non-lead

organization?

The proposal link request will be sent to the non-lead PI and co-

PIs in the initial release. NSF is considering whether requests

will also go to the non-lead SPOs, AORs, Other Authorized Users

(OAUs), and others designated by the non-lead organization.

Invitations to link notifications will be automated based on

Research.gov user roles and verified via account management.

Notification details have not yet been fully defined, and

additional notification functionality may become available in

future releases. NSF is working with the research community to

confirm the requirement for who needs to receive the proposal

link request, and NSF welcomes your feedback on this process.

24.

Once a separately submitted collaborative proposal has been

unlinked, will the non-lead organization receive an email

notification, or will the unlinking only be shown on the Proposal

Application screen?

An email notification could be sent to an organization that has

been unlinked from a proposal. However, this feature has not

yet been defined.

25.

If a non-lead organization drops out of a collaborative proposal,

does the lead organization have to start a new proposal since it

would no longer be a collaborative proposal? Or can a

collaborative proposal be changed to a non-collaborative

proposal?

If the proposal is no longer collaborative, the lead organization

must start a new proposal. The ability to change from a

collaborative to a non-collaborative proposal will be available in

the future.

26.

If the lead organization submits its proposal before the non-

leads submit their proposals, will the lead organization be

notified when submissions have been completed by the non-

lead organizations?

Once submissions have been completed by all non-lead

organizations and the lead organization, a proposal ID number

will be assigned, and an email will be generated informing that

the collaborative proposal has been submitted.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

27.

How does the lead organization get the temporary ID for the

non-lead organizations, in order to send the link invitation?

The temporary ID must be shared outside the Research.gov

system. Since all individuals involved with a collaborative

proposal should be communicating and collaborating, there is

no search feature available.

28.

Do you have to unlink proposals to make changes to your part

and then relink the proposals?

No, both lead and non-lead organization proposals can be

edited after linking. Linking the proposals ensures they are

together as a collaborative. Lead and non-lead organizations

can make changes to their respective proposals up to the point

of submission and even afterward using a PFU.

29.

Will non-lead organizations be able to see the entire proposal,

or at least the parts that are not proprietary?

The non-lead organization will have view-only access to the

lead organization proposal. NSF is in the process of determining

which proposal pieces can be viewed by non-lead

organizations. NSF is aware that single-copy or proprietary

parts of proposals cannot be shown.

30.

Does the non-lead organization need to generate a proposal

and share the proposal number with the lead organization in

order for the lead organization to send a request to link? What

if the non-lead and lead organization proposal titles do not

match?

The non-lead organization must start a proposal with the lead

organization for the lead organization to send a link request.

When linking occurs, both proposals will have the same title—

the title of the lead. The lead organization can make changes to

the title and those changes will propagate down to the non-

lead organization(s).

31.

Can the lead organization edit the personnel of the subaward

organization?

In a separately submitted collaborative proposal, a non-lead

organization would manage its own personnel and budgets. A

collaborative proposal from one organization, the prime

organization with subawards can edit the subaward personnel.

32.

At what point in the process can the SPO see the collaborative

screens that the PI sees?

Once the PI grants access to the SPO by clicking the "Share with

SPO/AOR" button, the SPO can access the proposal, has the

ability to link non-lead proposals, and can view what the PI can

view.

33.

Will non-lead proposal submitter(s) see warning information

about related proposals not yet submitted?

NSF is determining how to provide this functionality. Currently,

the lead organization can see the non-lead organization's

warming information.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

34.

Who initiates the request to link proposals? How will the linking

process work?

The lead organization enters the Temporary ID Number of the

non-lead organization proposal to initiate the link request. The

non-lead organization proposal PI and co-PI(s) receive an email

message saying a link request exists in Research.gov. The non-

lead organization proposal PI or co-PI(s) logs in to Research.gov

and the In-Progress Proposals screen shows “Link request

pending." Upon accepting the request in the non-lead

organization proposal, linking is complete. Research.gov

eliminates the need for a PIN. Whether OAUs should also

receive the link requests and be able to accept them is being

reviewed and is a feature which may be included in a future

release.

NSF is also considering including the SPO/AOR on link-related

email notifications.

35.

Once collaborative proposals have been unlinked, can

proposals be relinked?

The lead organization proposal PI or co-PI can initiate another

link request and the proposals can be relinked.

36.

Does the PI at the non-lead organization still need to initiate

the proposal and request for SPO/AOR access before it can be

linked?

Once the PI initiates a proposal it can immediately be linked,

regardless whether the SPO/AOR has been granted access.

37.

Can a non-lead organization unlink a collaborative proposal if it

is decided that there is no longer interest in collaborating? Is a

non-lead organization able to unlink a proposal?

For the initial release, the lead organization can execute

unlinking when needed. The ability for the non-lead

organization to unlink a proposal and notify the lead

organization (and other non-lead organizations, if any) is

planned for a future release.

38.

Can PIs link proposals after the proposal has been shared with

the SPO/AOR?

Yes, proposals can be linked after being shared with the

SPO/AOR.

39.

What happens if the PI gives SPO/SPO access before linking?

Linking and unlinking are available until submission of a

collaborative proposal.

40.

When adding a subaward organization, do senior personnel

also have to be added for the subaward?

Senior personnel who are funded on the subaward budget must

be added to the subaward.

April 2019 ERA Forum Webinar – Q&A

Research.gov Business Office, DIAS, NSF

Question

Answer

41.

If a collaborative proposal is created with one other

organization but the organizations are unlinked prior to

submission, can one organization still submit?

Each lead organization in a separately submitted proposal must

have at least one linked non-lead organization proposal in order

to submit.

Future Enhancements

Question

Answer

42.

Can the Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan be opened in

the non-lead organization proposal if the non-lead organization

is the only institution that has a postdoctoral researcher?

NSF is looking at how best to address this. This process has not

yet been defined.

43.

Will separately submitted collaborative proposals flow into

Cayuse 424 proposals?

Integration with Cayuse 424 is not in the current development

plans but can be considered in the future.