The slides are available here.
The Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS) held a Virtual Office Hour on July 21st, 2022 providing information on current solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters of potential interest to the community as well as tips and pitfalls to keep in mind when preparing a proposal for NSF.
Some important tips to remember when preparing proposals:
- Be sure you have a current copy of the solicitation for the opportunity you are applying to and read it carefully.
- Be sure you have a current copy of NSF’s Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG, NSF 22-1).
- Know that your audience, in this case reviewers and Program Officers, will include both experts in your particular topic and generalists in your broader field of inquiry assessing your proposal – you need to speak to both!
- Tell the reader about your compelling question and how the findings from your work will impact that question and beyond.
- Make sure you outline logical, feasible, impactful activities in both the Intellectual Merit and the Broader Impacts.
- Remember Broader Impacts are important and can be incredibly varied. Propose activities you are enthusiastic about and that you have commitment to completing.
One last very important tip: never feel shy about contacting a Program Officer with questions about the fit of your work for a division/cluster/program. Contact us to discuss review outcomes, or to navigate questions you have on the preparation process – a big part of a Program Officer’s job is to help!
Please join us on August 18th, 2022 for our next IOS Virtual Office Hour. In August we will be joined by representatives from our new Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate and program officers active in the Building Synthetic Microbial Communities for Biology, Mitigating Climate Change, Sustainability, and Biotechnology (Synthetic Communities) solicitation (NSF 22-607).
IOS in Focus 