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FAQs

Submitting an IGERT Proposal

Submission Questions


Pre-submission Questions
  1. How many IGERT proposals can a single institution have? Is there a limit on the number of IGERT awards a single institution can have?
    There is currently a limit of one (1) letter of intent and proposal that may be submitted by an institution either as a single institution or as a lead institution in a multi-institution proposal. There is currently no limit on the total number of awards that can be made to any institution.

  2. How are institutions defined?
    For purposes of the IGERT solicitation, institutions are defined as having a separate Sponsored Projects Office (SPO).

  3. Can a PI ask the NSF IGERT Program Directors to comment on proposal ideas before submission?
    Because the IGERT Program Directors are involved at all parts of the review and recommendation process, their primary function is to respond to questions rather than to comment on a specific concept or program.

  4. Can the PI, Co-PIs, or title of the full proposal be different from those used in the letter of intent?
    As the letter of intent is a non-binding document, it is permitted to change the PI or co-PI(s). The PI may modify the title as they see fit. Note that the title should begin with "IGERT:" It is useful if the chosen title does not repeat any of the words represented by the IGERT acronym.

  5. Is a reference page required for the proposal or can the biographical sketches serve this purpose?
    References cited are described in section D and must be included.

  6. Should the PI upload a List of Recommended Reviewers?
    This section is optional. We have panelists for the proposal competition so such recommendations are always welcome.

  7. For multi-institution proposals, should only the lead institution submit a proposal or should both institutions submit and use "link collaborative proposals"?
    Only the lead institution submits a proposal. Collaborative proposals are specifically excluded in the IGERT solicitation.

  8. Is it possible for a PI to be granted an extension beyond the letter of intent or full proposal due dates for special situations where a PI cannot submit a proposal on time due to circumstances beyond their control?
    The IGERT due date is a deadline rather than a target date and unfortunately extensions cannot be granted for any reason.


Resubmitting Proposals
  1. Are resubmissions of rejected IGERT proposals encouraged
    IGERT often receives resubmissions and neither encourages nor discourages them. In the past, awards have been made to proposals that had gone through competitions more than once. Please keep in mind that major changes have been made to the solicitation in 2011.

  2. If an IGERT proposal was rejected does the PI need to request permission from the NSF IGERT Program Directors to resubmit it?
    No permission is needed to apply again.

  3. When an IGERT proposal is rejected does the PI need to submit a letter of intent at the next competition or simply resubmit the full proposal?
    A letter of submit must be resubmitted in the next competition - applicants cannot move directly to the full proposal stage since each competition is unique.

  4. How should a PI respond to the panel reviewers' comments from the previous competition when they resubmit their proposal?
    The PI does not need to respond to review comments, but may use the comments to their best advantage. Please keep in mind that the current solicitation includes significant changes compared to previous years.


Problems with FastLane Submission
  1. If a proposal has already been submitted but afterwards a mistake was found in the proposal, how can it be corrected?
    Use the update files request on FastLane to correct the section in question.

  2. What is the workaround in FastLane when the option to upload bio-sketches for some faculty participants does not appear?
    The PI, co-PIs and each faculty participant must be added in the "Non Co-PI Senior Personnel" category first; their names will appear automatically in the bio-sketch section and the option to upload their information will appear.

  3. Can the PI choose the NSF Unit Consideration for any given solicitation, or does it default to DGE - IGERT?
    All proposals go to the cognizant IGERT Program Officer. They are then sorted into interdisciplinary panels by the IGERT Coordinating Committee.

  4. When attempting to submit a renewal proposal with different PI than the original award FastLane will not permit the renewal box to be checked - the only way to submit the proposal is to uncheck the renewal box. Is this acceptable?
    Yes.

  5. Who should be contacting regarding FastLane error messages or any other problem arising from the FastLane submission process?
    Contact the FastLane help desk at 1-800-673-6188, open Monday-Friday 7am-9pm Eastern time, as soon as possible. Please do not contact the IGERT Program Directors!