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Organization is a NSF organization responsible for the
proposal. NSF is divided into directorates and administrative
offices. The directorates
correspond to a Budget Activity in
the Research and Related Appropriation or to the Education and
Human Resources Appropriation. Each directorate is divided into
Divisions, corresponding to a budget sub-activity.
Divisions are divided into programs which
correspond to a Budget Execution Plan.
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FY is the fiscal year of action. For awards, this is
based upon the award date. For all others, it is the date the
Division Director concurred with the decline or withdrawal.
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Number of
Proposals is the number of
competitive award and decline decisions within a year.
Competitive proposals are inititated through the normal NSF
review process in a specific fiscal year. They include proposals
reviewed but not amendments to existing grants such as
supplements or continuing increments. These proposals are new
projects, renewals, and fellowships not in EHR. Contracts are
also not included.
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Number of
Awards is the number of award
decisions for competitive proposals within a year. Competitive
proposals are inititated through the normal NSF review process in
a specific fiscal year. They include proposals reviewed but not
amendments to existing grants such as supplements or continuing
increments. These proposals are new projects, renewals, and
fellowships not in EHR. Cancelled awards and contracts are also
not included.
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Funding Rate is the number of awards divided by the number of
proposals as a percentage. It is also known as success rate. The
number differs from proposals received in a year because
proposals are often received in a particular fiscal year and
decided upon in a subsequent fiscal year.
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Average
Decision Time (months) shows
the average amount of time to make a final decision. The time is
measured from when the proposal was received at NSF through when
the Division Director concurred on the decision. The Foundation's
policy is to process all proposals as expeditiously as possible,
allowing for a through review. The review should be completed in
6 months. The 6-month period includes final Directorate action
(decline, withdrawn, returned, or recommended for award) but does
not include the time after a proposal has been approved for award
by a Directorate or Staff Office and sent to the Division of
Grants and Contracts.
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Median
Award Duration, expressed in
years, is shown for competitive awards. It is the mean of the sum
of the duration associated with each funding action plus twelve
months for each future year commitment. Supplements do not
contribute to the duration of the award. However, if more than 3
supplements in a year or the supplement is greater than a million
dollars, the duration is calculated based on the beginning and
ending fiscal year and assumes a 12-month duration for each year.
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Award Size is calculated by summing the funded amounts and
dividing the sum of the duration from each funding action on an
award to obtain the annualized dollars. The mean is the sum of
the annualized amounts divided by the number of awards.
Example: A 3-year continuing award funded
at $70,000 in the first year, $50,000 in the second year and
$60,000 in the third year, is funded at an annual rate of $60,000
for three years.
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Directorate correspond to a Budget Activity in the Research and
Related Appropriation or to the Education and Human Resources
Appropriation. The following table shows the Directorate
abbreviations and names.
| BFA |
Budget, Finance & Award
Management |
| BIO |
Biological Sciences |
| CSE |
Computer & Info Science &
Engineering |
| EHR |
Education & Human Resources |
| ENG |
Engineering |
| GEO |
Geoscience |
| MPS |
Mathematical & Physical
Science |
| NCO |
National Coordination Office |
| O/D |
Office of the Director |
| SBE |
Social, Behavioral & Economic
Science |
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