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An Update From Cayuse on NSF's Transition to Research.gov

  • 1.  An Update From Cayuse on NSF's Transition to Research.gov

    TEAM CAYUSE
    Posted 02-16-2023 11:19
    Edited by Simon Helton 02-16-2023 11:24

    Hello,

    My name is Andrew Stewart and I am the Product Manager for Proposals S2S at Cayuse. I wanted to take an opportunity to address NSF's recent transition from Fastlane to Research.gov and the resulting effects it may have on you, our customers.

    In anticipation of the transition, the Proposals S2S team took preventative actions to minimize its overall impact. Most notably, we updated our real-time validations to be consistent with the latest automated compliance checks used by Research.gov. In doing so, we have maximized the likelihood that your NSF proposals will pass through the Research.gov pre-check validation phase error-free.

    Nonetheless, several issues have been reported since the official implementation of the Research.gov-Grants.gov integration on November 21, 2022. Most notably:  

    1. The inability to amend NSF submissions using Grants.gov if that submission is in the post-check phase.

    2. The requirement that non-PI/PD key personnel be added to proposals directly within Research.gov.

    3. Budget funds for Equipment and Indirect Costs not transferring correctly into Research.gov.

    We understand these issues place a significant burden on research institutions. The good news is, plans to resolve them are ongoing. During the FDP-JAD meeting on February 8th, 2023, I was informed by NSF that the fix for the non-PI/PD key personnel issue (#2 above) is currently being developed and will be released as part of NSF's updated Senior Key Person Profile (v3.1) form on Grants.gov this coming May. Even more good news is that the issues with budget funds incorrectly transferring from Grants.gov into Research.gov (#3 above) have already been resolved as part of NSF's January 23rd release.

    Regarding #1, the requirement to submit changed/corrected proposals directly to Research.gov instead of through Grants.gov, due to core technical differences between the two applications, resolving this issue is not currently on NSF's roadmap. However, NSF has been forthright in their intention to work both with Grants.gov and S2S vendors to look at this issue more closely and identify any feasible solutions.

    While waiting for the coming fixes to these issues, it is important to note that these limitations exist for all S2S vendors and are not unique to Cayuse Proposals, and they do not prevent the use of Cayuse Proposals in creating and submitting NSF grant applications. We still offer the same opportunity coverage for NSF as we have before, and you can continue to use Cayuse to submit NSF proposals as Research.gov works to improve the integration on their end.

    Additionally, know that we at Cayuse will continue to do our part and advocate for you wherever necessary. We wholeheartedly believe that providing institutions with a centralized grant application system is key to having an efficient and empowered class of researchers, and will always make our voice heard to advance that mission.

    In the coming months keep your eye out for an NSF announcement on the S2S listserv concerning these fixes. I will also keep the community updated as I learn more. Please feel free to reach out to me directly with any questions or additional concerns, or even just to introduce yourself if we haven't met. Thank you.

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    Andrew Stewart
    Product Manager
    Cayuse, LLC
    andrew.stewart@cayuse.com
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