NSF 13-041
NSF Dear Colleague Letter - Implementing All Project Reporting in Research.gov
Date: January 10, 2013
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is currently planning to implement a significant change in the way Principal Investigators (PIs) (and co-PIs) report on their NSF-funded projects. Beginning on March 18, 2013, PIs will be required to submit their annual, final and interim project reports in Research.gov, NSF’s modernization of FastLane.
This change is result of the Foundation's implementation of the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The RPPR is the product of the Research Business Models (RBM) Subcommittee of the Committee on Science, a committee of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). One of the goals of the subcommittee was to create greater consistency in the administration of federal research awards through streamlining and standardization of forms and reporting formats.
This new format will result in benefits to grantees and NSF staff including:
- A consolidated project reporting dashboard that includes the Annual, Final, Interim, and Project Outcomes Reports;
- A more structured collection of the project reports data for enhanced NSF use; and
- The adoption of a federal-wide data dictionary to increase the consistency of implementation across federal research agencies.
In order to prepare for the migration to Research.gov, we are requesting that PIs stop submitting new project reports through FastLane on February 1, 2013. We also urge submission to NSF of any due or overdue project reports prior to this date. Any reports that are prepared in FastLane prior to the February 1st, but are not submitted, may need to be re-entered into Research.gov.
Beginning March 15, 2013, PIs will no longer be able to access the FastLane Project Reporting System. Instead, they will be re-directed to Research.gov where they will be able to log-in with their NSF ID and password in order to prepare and submit reports.
NSF understands that switching to a new system for project reporting may cause some confusion within the grantee community. NSF will therefore be extending overdue dates for project reports that are currently scheduled to become overdue between January 31 and April 30, 2013 to allow for a smooth transition to Research.gov.
Please take some time to familiarize yourself with Research.gov - log-in with your NSF ID and password. Visit Research.gov Project Reports for additional information including fact sheets, frequently asked questions, and a Getting Started Guide. Please direct any questions about this transition to feedback@research.gov. For technical assistance, please contact the Research.gov Help Desk 7 AM - 9 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except for federal holidays) at rgov@nsf.gov or 1-800-381-1532.
Sincerely,
Martha A. Rubenstein
Chief Financial Officer and Head
Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management