| Office of Sponsored Programs |
Like many other institutions across the country, MIT has had some proposals rejected because of non-compliance with sponsor guidelines. Notably, rejections have occurred from the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy (DOE).
The National Science Foundation has revised their Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 03-041 replaces NSF 03-2) that is effective for proposals submitted on or after June 1, 2003. NSF again reminds us that if both broader impact statements are not addressed separately within the one page Project Summary and the Project Description, the proposal will not be reviewed. The broader impact items are:
1. What is the intellectual merit of the project?
2. What are the broader impacts of the project, i.e. how does the project advance the science while promoting teaching, training and/or learning?
More information and examples of "broader impact" statements can be found in the FASTLANE Home Page Advisory for June 17, 2002. Please consult the new NSF Guide for more information.
We recently had two NIH proposals rejected because they did not meet the format specifications as detailed on page 3 of the PHS 398 instructions. Below is the message from the NIH Division of Receipt, Center for Scientific Review that was sent to the PI for one of these proposals. Please be careful to follow the format requirements or the proposal will not be reviewed.
... The Division of Receipt and Referral, Center for Scientific Review has received your grant application. This application does not comply with one or more of the format specifications described below. Before we can consider your application, you must fix this problem and provide us with six corrected sets of your application as soon as possible.
The instructions with NIH grant application forms specify that the height of the letters must be no smaller than 10 point (at least 10/72 of an inch tall) and that there should be no more than 6 lines of type in a vertical inch. The type density must be no more than 15 characters and spaces per inch if constant spacing is used. If proportional spacing is used, the average number of characters and spaces should not exceed 15 per inch. Margins must be at least one-half inch on all sides. Page limits are specified within the application kits or within the Request for Applications or Program Announcement.
The specific problems identified with your application are font size more than 10 points, more than 15 characters per inch and more than 6 lines per vertical inch .
With respect to the DOE, which now uses the IIPS interactive system totally, we had a proposal rejected for being 2:31 minutes late in the official electronic submission time.
To give OSP staff time to review proposals for these (primarily) non-scientific items, it is important to provide enough time for review in the OSP office. Remember, there is a written requirement for 5 working days. If there is difficulty meeting this time frame, it is highly recommended that you give your OSP officer advanced notice.
Last updated 6/25/03