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NSF Fastlane Updates
NCURA Region VI & VII ConferenceChandler, Arizona
April 17 – April 20, 2005
What is NSF FastLane?What is NSF FastLane?
• FastLane (www.fastlane.nsf.gov) is over 40 externally facing interactive web-based systems used by scientists, engineers, educators, research and financial administrators to conduct business with NSF electronically.
• Began ten years ago as experimental project with first modules released in 1995.
• Electronic Proposal Submission through FastLane became required in October 2000.
• In 2003, NSF won the President’s Award for Management Excellence for FastLane and other initiatives.
FastLane: An eGovernment Success StoryFY 04 Stats
• Over 43,500 Electronic Proposals (over 99.9% of all proposals submitted)• 195,000 Electronic Reviews• 9,000 Electronic Graduate Research
Fellowships• 25,000 Electronic Grantee Progress
Reports• 14,000 Electronic Cash Requests
Electronic Proposal PercentBy Fiscal Year (FY 97-02)
417
4481
99.8
99.9
FY97
FY98
FY99
FY00
FY01 FY02
FastLane GoalsFastLane Goals
• Reduce administrative burden on external customers and NSF.
• Provide greater access to information.• Decrease Award Decision time.
FastLane CustomersFastLane Customers
Public Reviewers Researchers/Educators (Principal
Investigators) Sponsored Projects Offices Financial Offices NSF Staff
Who Uses FastLane?Who Uses FastLane?
7,000 registered FastLane organizations– Universities and Colleges including Community
Colleges and Minority Serving Institutions– Large and Small Businesses– Non-profits– State and Local Governments
• 270,000 registered FastLane users– Principal Investigators (PIs) & Co-PIs– Reviewers– Sponsored Projects Offices (SPO)– Financial Offices
FastLane
• Proposals, Awards and Status– Proposal Preparation, – Proposal Status Inquiry, – Letter of Intent– Project Reports – And much more!
• Research Administration• Financial Administration• Proposal Review• Panelist Functions
FastLane FunctionsFastLane Functions
• Awards Search (public)• Medal of Science Nominations (public)• NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Applications
(public)• Postdoctoral Fellowships• Proposal Review (reviewers)• Panel Review (panelists)• Print Proposals on Demand and CD on Demand
(reviewers and panelists)• Panelist Banking and Travel System (panelists)• Interactive Panel System (panelists)
FastLane Functions – Principal FastLane Functions – Principal Investigators (PIs)Investigators (PIs)
• Prepare Proposals• Edit PI Information• Proposal Status Inquiry
– Includes release of feedback from reviewers.• Revised Proposal Budgets• Proposal File Update• Electronic Proposal Withdrawal• View Award Letters• Prepare Supplements• Project Reporting • Post Award Notifications and Requests • Continuing Grant Increment Status• Letter of Intent
FastLane Functions – Sponsored Projects FastLane Functions – Sponsored Projects Office (SPO)Office (SPO)
• Submit Proposals/Supplements/Revised Proposal Budgets (includes Edit capability)
• Add/Modify/Delete Users/Passwords/Permissions• View and Download Reports
– Proposals– Awards– Final Project Reports– Continuation Funding– Organization Permissions
• View Project Reports/Award Letters• Change Organizational Information• Prepare and Submit Post-Award Notifications & Requests• Electronic Signatures (Password and Permissions-based)
FastLane Functions - FinancialFastLane Functions - Financial
• Cash Requests• Quarterly Federal Cash Transaction Report• EFT Verification and Submission
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
• Created Letter of Intent Module
• Changes to Submitted Proposals– Allow PI Transfers– Allow Change of PI/Co-PI– Allow Insertion of New Files
(not previously uploaded as pdf, cover sheet & budget)
• Enhance Proposal File Update Module– Ability to change proposal data.– Ability to add files where none exist
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
• Proposal File Update enhancements are consistent with the new guidance on Proposal File Updates contained in the most recent issuance of the Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 04-23 )
• A request for a proposal file update automatically will be accepted if submitted prior to:– the deadline date specified in a program solicitation
– initiation of external peer review in cases when a target date is utilized
– initiation of external peer review in the case of an
unsolicited proposal.
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
• A request for a proposal file update after the timeframes specified deadline date will require acceptance by the cognizant NSF Program Officer
• Such requests may be submitted only to correct a technical problem with the proposal (i.e., formatting or print problems)
• Changes in the content of the proposal should not be requested after the timeframes specified deadline date
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
Changes supported by the new PFU include the ability to:
Add or delete sections of the proposal, even sections that are not
uploaded as PDF filesModify all sections of the proposal, even those that are
created as forms within FastLaneChange the PIAdd or delete coPIsModify the proposed budget, including addition of subaward
budgets, correct coding on the cover sheet for SGERs, Human Subjects, & international pre-proposals
Modify several sections of the proposal as part of one Proposal File
Update
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
The following attributes remain unavailable for change:
Programs/NSF Unit of Consideration• Awardee Organization (if the proposer is an unaffiliated individual)• Performing Organization• Due Date• Funding Opportunity number Letter of Reference Writers (Post Doc
Proposals)
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
• SPO Return Proposal to PI• Enhance Spreadsheet Upload Process• Redesigned Financial Login • Update Organizational EFT Information• Organizational Permissions Report
Recent Enhancements to FastLane• Redesign Research Administration modules
– Streamline navigation.
– Improved search and sort functionalities.
– Ability to extract search results into an Excel file.
– Research Administration InBox is back!
• CD on Demand for Reviewers
• Created modules to support National Science Board Office (NSBO) Honorary Awards
Recent Enhancements to FastLane
• Created modules to better support Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
• Reporting period for Project Reporting will be set by NSF.
• E-Mail reminders to AORs who have proposals not signed within 5 working days of submission.
• Port new look and feel to rest of FastLane.
Planned Enhancements
• Revised Award Budgets
• EDI Award Notice
• Enhance Spreadsheet Upload Process
• Redesign of Project Reports System
Planned Enhancements to FastLane
• Implement Sophisticated Help Functionality and Training Materials
• Integrate with Government-wide E-Grants System so that proposals submitted to NSF via E-Grants System can be processed electronically by NSF.
Continuous ImprovementContinuous Improvement
• System Reliability• Quality Control of Software• User Focus• Smooth Integration Inside NSF• Improved Help, Communication, and Outreach• Look to the Future
FastLane Customer Service and Outreach
• FastLane User Support– 1.800.673.6188– 703.292.8042– New hours (7:00 am – 9:00 pm)
• Workshops andPresentations at Organizations• Video
Conferences/Training
The Grants.gov Initiative
• Mandate - President’s Management Agenda and PL106-107
• Originally called the E-Grants Initiative• Eleven Partner Agencies
– HHS (managing partner), NSF, Defense, Education, HUD, Justice, Transportation, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, and Homeland Security/FEMA
• Produce a simple, unified “storefront” for all customers of Federal grants to electronically – Find grant opportunities – Launched in February 2003– Apply for grants – Launched in October 2003 with
SF424 forms
Grants.gov Solution – One place to go to find opportunities and submit proposals
.….
.….
Benefits Both Grant Applicants and Agencies
Applicant 2 Applicant 3 Applicant N
Agency 1 Agency 2 Agency 3 Agency N
Applicant 1
Grants.gov
• The extensive experience that NSF has with electronic grants and electronic business is being leveraged in the development and implementation of Grants.gov.
• NSF will be making changes to NSF systems to ensure that the integration to Government-wide Grants.gov is successful
• NSF is continuing to develop Fastlane to seamlessly integrate with Grants.gov
Integration with E-Apply capability of Grants.gov
• NSF will integrate with Government-wide Grants.gov so that proposals can be submitted to NSF via Grants.gov and then processed electronically by NSF.– Soon NSF will be able to accept proposals
through Grants.gov– If your university wants to pilot our integration
with Grants.gov please contact us
Grants.gov Current Status and Next Steps• All 26 grant-making agencies posting funding
opportunities to the FIND mechanism.
• Deployed APPLY functionality. – Additional Forms Development for agencies not
using the SF424 to collect additional data– Build Functionality to support the Research &
Related Application Data Set – NSF is one of the agencies leading in the design and development
– Agency System to System Interface – Successfully tested with several agencies including NSF
– Applicant System to System Interface – Gathering requirements, piloting in Summer 2004
NSF FastLane and Grants.gov
• NSF plans to begin to accept proposals through Grants.gov after the R&R forms are finalized.
• Over 50 institutions to date have already expressed interest in submitting an application to NSF through Grants.gov!
Questions:
