Proposal Preparation and Submission

About Proposal Preparation and Submission


The Research.gov Proposal Submission System modernizes proposal preparation and submission capabilities by improving the user experience while also reducing administrative burden through an intuitive interface and expanded automated proposal compliance checking. Effective January 30, 2023 with implementation of the revised Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 23-1), NSF has transitioned all preparation and submission functionality for new proposals from FastLane to Research.gov. Please see the FastLane Decommissioning page for additional information. Grants.gov continues to be an option for the preparation and submission of most types of NSF proposals.

Important FastLane Decommissioning Deadlines and Resources:

Access the Research.gov Proposal Submission System

Explore the Research.gov Proposal Preparation Demo Site (You will be prompted to sign in to Research.gov if you are not already signed in.)

Research.gov Proposal Preparation Benefits
  • Fast and easy proposal setup wizard to find funding opportunities and initiate a proposal
  • Quick process to share proposal access with administrative staff. Expanded compliance checking (View Research.gov compliance checks  )
  • Immediate compliance feedback in each proposal section
  • Unaltered PDF uploads
  • Minimized return without review of proposals due to compliance issues
  • On-screen references to relevant sections of the PAPPG
  • Better management of personnel and subawards
  • Improved performance and less system downtime
Help NSF Refine the Research.gov Proposal Submission System

NSF wants your feedback! Vital feedback from the community helps ensure the system is working as intended and to identify areas of improvement.

There are multiple ways to provide feedback and stay informed: