On July 8th, the National Science Foundation issued �Important Notice No. 127.� In conjunction, the NSF director notified university presidents and chancellors by letter regarding implementation of requirements related to the importance of broader impacts in the preparation and review of their proposals. Please take note that this change will become effective for all proposals submitted to the NSF on/after October 1, 2002.

This change was originally announced on November 28, 2001 and can be found in Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 02-2. Our office also provided notification via the College/School Research Administrators and posted the same to RSP�s Bulletin Board on December 10, 2001.

The primary change, articulated in the Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 02-02 is:

"In the January 2002 GPG, NSF published revised proposal preparation guidelines related to completion of the Project Summary and Project Description (see http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/nsf0202_2.html). PIs were instructed that they must address both merit review criteria in the preparation of proposals submitted to NSF.  The GPG now reflects that proposers must clearly address, in separate statements within the one-page limitation, both of the NSF merit review criteria in the Project Summary. The GPG also reiterates that broader impacts resulting from the proposed project must be addressed in the Project Description and described as an integral part of the narrative.�

The two merit review criteria are:

1. What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?

How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer to conduct the project? To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources?
2. What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?

How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?

Should you require additional assistance exploring possible relevant resources please feel free to contact Associate Dean Dr. Terry Millar (Graduate School) millar@bascom.wisc.edu.