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Frequently Asked Questions - Agency: NSF

Missing NSF Forms?

I’m looking for one of these NSF-only forms:

  • Biological Sciences (BIO) Classification Form
  • Division of Undergraduate Education (DUE) Project Data Form

I've started work on a proposal in Cayuse, but that form isn’t there.

These forms can be added using the file update module once your proposal is loaded into FastLane. For more info see the NSF guide: http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/manuals/grantsgovguide606.pdf

Why is there only one CFDA number?

I'm only seeing one CFDA for my NSF opportunity, but I believe there should be more. Why is this?

NSF does not use CFDA numbers to identify what division will receive your application. So, opportunities which list multiple CFDA#’s are properly distributed within NSF using the NSF Cover Page Block #2 – Division Code & Program Code. Ensuring these match your field of research when submitting will then deliver the proposal to the proper group. For an example see: Opportunity #09-598. Only one CDFA out of the 10 available can be retrieved since NSF strictly uses the Cover Page form as the true identifier.

NSF has bounced my proposal back to me because the budget period totals don't match.

When I submitted my proposal to the NSF, I received the following email in return: "The cumulative totals for all budget periods: $(x) does not equal the cumulative totals: $(y) Submitted for field: Section F, Other Direct Costs"

This email is sent to you due to a validation error in Fastlane. In Fastlane, if a proposal is submitted with any "skipped" user-defined Costs in Section F (specifically, field 8 or 9), then the agency system does not properly validate the cost data in the adjacent fields. We have learned a work-around within Cayuse 424 which will allow you to properly resubmit.

If you return to the proposal in question within Cayuse 424, and refer to page 3 of the RR Budget, you will need to look at the data in Section F for each budget period. If you see any instances in which rows 8 or 9 of that section were skipped in order to fill data in the following row, then you will need to move the data in the following rows up one row. So if you have data in rows 9 and 10 but none in row 8, you will need to move the data from row 9 into row 8, and then from row 10 into row 9.

This will still calculate correctly in Cayuse 424, and will allow the NSF systems to properly validate the budget.