Note NSF policy revisions

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has recently revised its policies for new grants concerning cost-sharing and the requirement for data management plans which have resulted in some confusion.

Voluntary non-committed cost-share with respect to effort is still acceptable as long as it is handled appropriately in a proposal. Requested salary must be included on the budget page without any other effort listed. If a principal investigator wishes to show effort beyond the requested salary, it must be listed on the facility and resources page of a proposal without any indication of the dollar amount. Data management plans are not meant to solely describe how data will be protected in a research project. While this can be part of a data management plan, the plan should also discuss how results will be disseminated with other interested parties, keeping in mind that one of the missions of the NSF is to educate the nation concerning science.

Please note that future proposals must include the nine digit zip code for the location. The following website can be used to obtain the required zip code: http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp. If you have any questions, please check the NSF web site www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf11001/gpg_sigchanges.jsp or contact Barry Milavetz at barry.milavetz@email.und.edu or 777-4280.

— Research.