NSF researchers at Kansas State University are invited to take advantage of the University's participation in the NSF FastLane project, a new initiative to streamline research administration through use of the World Wide Web.
The following functions are currently available to investigators and their administrative staff via FastLane:
Goals and Purpose of FastLane
FastLane is an experimental program using advanced information technology to explore methods to re-design and streamline the way NSF does business with the research and education communities. Doing business with NSF will be simpler, faster, more accurate, and less expensive.
FastLane is currently being reviewed by other federal agencies to help design a common interface to the government. New systems being considered include a federal-wide proposal status inquiry system and a universal organizational profile system (eliminating the need to submit such data as campus address, tax ID's audit information, indirect cost rates, certifications, etc., with each proposal.)
Other investigators who wish to submit to NSF should contact PreAward Services to arrange to be assigned a PIN. This number can, in most cases, be activated the same day. The PIN may be requested via phone call or via email, but the request must come directly from the investigator. For security reasons, requests via graduate students or administrative staff cannot be honored. Once a PIN number is assigned, the investigator may share it with departmental staff or others in their laboratory. This decision is at the discretion of the individual investigator.
If you forget your PIN number, or wish to have your Pin number changed at any time, contact PreAward Services at (785) 532-6804.
Information is updated nightly as the proposal is routed through the review process. The exception to this is declination of proposals; information about declined proposals is deferred to permit a PI to receive oral or written notification directly from NSF.
To Check The Status Of A Proposal
Electronic Proposal Preparation and Submission
Effective immediately, you may prepare your entire proposal electronically, using FastLane. You and your staff may complete all the NSF forms online, save the forms for revision, and then submit the completed proposal electronically for PreAward Services to review and transmit to NSF. Scientific text must be prepared in a word processing program such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or a text processing program that can be converted to a .pdf file using Adobe Acrobat.
To eliminate redundant data entry, you can prepare templates for future proposals.
Contact Paul Lowe in PreAwards at 532- 6804 for further information on how to proceed with an electronic submission.
Detailed instructions about using any of the following modules can be obtained from PreAward Services, or can be downloaded directly from the Research Web Site at http://www.ksu.edu/research
Final Project Report (Form 98A)
Principal Investigators may now complete their Final Technical report (Form 98A) on-line through FastLane. FastLane offers several advantages over hard copy submission: required basic data about the project (PI Name, Award Number, Project Dates, Program Officer contacts, etc.,) are filled in automatically by NSF. The transaction is recorded instantly, providing immediate evidence of submission (eliminating lost reports or time delays while the report is routed through the NSF system.).
PI's can use this feature to obtain the status of their next increment of funding from NSF.
Grant Administration
Re-budgeting requests, no-cost time extensions, changes in project scope, and percentage of investigator effort can all be requested by PreAward Services on behalf of P.I.s through FastLane.
Fastlane allows you to search for NSF awards by NSF program, institution, topic or state.
Submission of Proposal Reviews
For investigators serving as NSF reviewers, proposal reviews for selected programs may now be submitted on-line via FastLane. Programs using FastLane will include specific instructions in their proposal review packages.
Students submitting graduate research fellowships can now do so via FastLane, with no hard copy required. Students may contact Paul Lowe in PreAward Services, 532-6804, for assistance.
Contact the PreAward Services Grants & Contracts Specialist serving your department at 532-6804
| Lisa Duer | duer@ksu.edu |
| Anita Fahrny | afahrny@ksu.edu |
| Kathy Tilley | ktilley@ksu.edu |
| Paul Lowe, (Director of PreAward Services) | plowe@ksu.edu |