Project Reports

Annual, Final, and Interim Project Reports

On March 18, 2013, NSF transitioned all project reporting from FastLane to Research.gov. This means that PIs/Co-PIs will now use Research.gov to meet all NSF project reporting requirements, including submission of final, annual and interim project reports and the Project Outcomes Report.

 

The new project reporting service in Research.gov meets the federal government’s requirement that research agencies implement a reporting format for research and research-related projects called the Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR). The RPPR is the result of a government-wide effort to create greater consistency in the administration of federal research awards by streamlining and standardizing reporting formats.

 

Reminder - Project Reports are not Cumulative: Final reports are not cumulative; they are considered the last annual report of the project, and should be written specifically for the most recently completed budget period.

 

 

For more information about Project Reporting at NSF, click here

Accessing the Project Report Dashboard

Accessing Final, Annual, and Interim Project Reports

Access your annual, final, and interim project reports by logging into Research.gov. Additionally, you will receive email notifications of due and overdue reports that provide links to Research.gov.

To access the Project Report Dashboard, log into Research.gov:

1. Go to www.research.gov.
2. Click on Log In, located in the upper right-hand corner of the Research.gov homepage.

 
Figure 26 – NSF User Log In page

3. On the NSF Login page, enter your Last Name, NSF ID, and password and then click the “Log In” button.
    

Note: To use this tool and certain other tools on Research.gov, both the user and his/her institution must be registered in NSF’s FastLane. If your organization is not registered in FastLane, the Institution Administrator should register him or herself as the FastLane Contact at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a0/about/registration.htm. The institution registration information will be available on Research.gov the next day. Please refer to the “Get Started Now” page on Research.gov for more information on how to register.

Figure 27 – NSF User Log In page

4. Following login, you will see your Project Reporting Dashboard on the Research.gov Homepage. The Dashboard provides access to your annual, final, interim and Project Outcomes reports. You will also be able to view the number of POR reports you have Due, Overdue, Submitted, and Not Yet Due.

Figure 28 – Project Reporting Dashboard

 

How Do I Prepare and Submit a Project Report?

Once logged on to Research.gov, you will see the My Desktop page with the Project Reporting Dashboard. Now follow these steps to prepare and submit a report:

1. Click on the Annual, Final and Interim Project Report link provided on the Project Reporting Dashboard to prepare reports.

Note: Only PIs and co-PIs can prepare and submit a project report.

The tabs on the Project Report Page, as seen in the image below, will show you the status of your project reports that are due or overdue; reports that are due in less than 12 months; and all of your awards.

Figure 29 – Project Reports Landing Page

2. Click the Create/Edit link under the Action column for the award to create or edit an Annual or Final project report.

Figure 30 – Privacy Act and Public Burden Statement

3. Read the Privacy Act and Public Burden Statement, and then click Continue (Figure 30).

Figure 31 – Report Summary page

Next, you will be brought to the Report Summary page (Figure 31) which provides award information and progress/status of your report. Below the Report Summary page, you will see the Report Content.

Note: The default status of the Participants section will be ‘Started’ because the PI and co-PI (s) are included as project participants by default. You must visit the Participants tab and fill out the remaining required fields for each PI and co-PI(s) and include data for any additional project participants before the section is completed.

Figure 32 – Cover Tab

Note: Pre-populated information about your award can be found on the Cover tab.

4. Click Next Section or the Accomplishments tab to continue.

Figure 33 – Accomplishments tab

You will shift to the Accomplishments tab.

5. Fill out all required information and click Save/Next Section or the Products tab to continue. Within the Accomplishments tab, you will fill out text fields with information such as major goals, objectives, results, etc.

Note: If needed, you can save the report and come back to it at any time.

Note: The system session times out after 60 minutes so be sure to save frequently. A warning will be displayed 5 minutes before the timeout.

6. To complete the Accomplishments tab, you must either fill out all required text boxes or click Nothing to Report. You also have the option to upload PDF files in support of the Accomplishments section.

Note: If you have previously submitted an Annual Report for the award through Research.gov and it is Approved, then the major goals will be pre-populated with information from that previously approved Annual Report. Please review this information and edit the response as necessary.

Note: The text boxes have a maximum limit of 8000 characters. When more than 8000 characters are entered, the character counter turns red and shows a negative number to indicate that the maximum limit has been exceeded.

Note: If you have an image that you’d like to upload with your report, you will first need to convert it to PDF, save the file, and then upload it to this section of the report.

Note: Nothing to Report can only be selected as a response if you delete any existing information in the field. Conversely, you cannot enter information in a field if Nothing to Report is checked.

7. Next, you will shift to the Products tab. Fill out all required information and click Save/Next Section or the Participants/Organizations tab to continue. Also, within the Products tab, list any products resulting from the project during the reporting period. Once again, you have the option of uploading PDF files in support of this section.

For detailed instructions on entering products, refer to the section How to add Products to your Project Report.

Figure 35 – Products Tab

8. Next, you will shift to the Participants/Organizations tab. Fill out all required information and click Save/Next Section or the Impact tab to continue. You will now go to the Impact tab.

Figure 36 – Participants/Organizations tab

Remember to include additional participants or other collaborating organizations.

Note: Your name(s) (PI and co-PIs) will be pre-populated as a participant. You must select View/Edit for ALL pre-populated names and fill out all required information to complete this tab.

Figure 37 – Impact tab

9. To complete this tab, you must either fill out all required text boxes or click Nothing to Report. Then click Save/Continue. Remember to explain the impact of the project during the reporting period.

You now will go to the Changes/Problems tab.

Figure 38 – Changes/Problems Tab

10. To complete the tab, you must either fill out all required text boxes or click Nothing to Report. Within the Changes/Problems tab, describe any changes or problems that occurred on the project during the reporting period.

Note: If an award has a Special Reporting Requirement as described in the solicitation, a seventh tab will appear next to the Changes/Problems Tab. The Special Requirements tab allows the user to fill out text, and provides the ability to upload a PDF file.

When all sections are fully complete, the Progress Indicator will be full, and all sections will be marked Complete. At this point, a window will appear that will allow the report to be previewed or submitted. Also, when the report is Complete, the Submit Report link in the Available Actions box at the top of your page will be enabled. Either link can be used to submit the report.

Figure 39 – Preview Report links

If you would like to print the report, select Preview Report then print.

11. To complete the report, click submit.

Note: Requirements will vary for Interim Project Reports. There will also be no Progress Indicator included with interim reports.

12. Once you click to submit the report, review the checklist to ensure everything is complete. Then click Continue.

Figure 40 – Submission Checklist

13. Certify the report by checking the box, and click Submit Report. Upon submission of the report, the Program Officer (PO), PI and co-PI, and Sponsored Programs Officers will be notified via email of the report submission. Project participants, other than the PI and co-PI(s), will also receive an email with a request to provide their demographic information. Instructions will be included in the email.

Figure 41 – Report Certification page 

 

 

What are Special Reporting Requirements?

The Special Requirements tab displays on the report creation page only if the solicitation cited special reporting requirements. Below is an example of the Special Reporting Requirements tab you will see on your project report. For instructions on how to get to this screen, see the How to Submit a Final, Annual or Interim Project Report section of this online help.

Figure 42 – Special Requirements tab

Viewing Reporting Requirements for an Annual, Final, or Interim Project Report

1. Login to Research.gov. On the My Desktop page, click on the Annual, Final and Interim Report Link on the Project Reporting Dashboard.

Figure 43 – Project Reporting Dashboard

2. Click on the Award Number for which you want to see the Reporting Requirements. If you don’t see anything in the Reports Due tab, select the All Awards tab to get a listing of all of your awards.

Figure 44 – Project Reports Landing Page

You will now see the Reporting Requirements for the Award you selected.

  Figure 45 – Reporting Requirements

 

How Do I Attach a PDF to my Project Report?

You can attach files within three different tabs of your Project Report: the Accomplishments tab, the Products tab, and the Special Requirements tab.

 

Note: The Special Requirements tab will only be displayed if your award has a predetermined Special Reporting Requirement.

 

 

1. To upload a PDF, click the Browse button and select a file. You may upload up to four PDFs with a maximum size of 5 MB each for the Accomplishments or Products tab. The Special Requirements tab will accept four PDF files with a maximum size of 10 MB each.

2. Enter a PDF description and click the Upload File button to attach the PDF.

 

Figure 47 – Remove supporting files

 

To remove your PDF file, click the Remove link shown above.

How Do I View a PDF attachment?

To view a PDF attachment within a project report, complete the following steps:

1. Click Preview Report in the Available Actions box at the top of your page. Scroll to the section where the PDF was uploaded.

2. Click the Download link, and a dialog box will be displayed.

3. Select Open to view the PDF.

Note: The instructions in this section only apply for viewing uploaded PDFs of reports that were submitted through Research.gov. For reports submitted through FastLane, all attachments will be viewable when you click Preview Report in the Available Actions box.

Figure 48 – Download supporting files

How Do I Check the Completeness of a Report?

To check the completeness of your project report, you can click the Check Report Completeness link in the Available Actions box at the top of your page.

Figure 49 – Available Actions box

You can also view the Progress Indicator bar located in the Report Summary of your report. The list of tabs next to the progress indicator shows what sections are complete, started, and not started.

Below is example of the Progress Indicator Bar for a completed project report.

Note: When the report is complete, the Check Report Completeness link in the Available Actions box will be disabled, and the Submit Report link will be enabled. The Check Report Completeness link is only available for Annual and Final Project Reports. It is not available for Interim Project Reports.

 

Figure 50 – Progress Summary

After clicking the Check Report Completeness link in the Available Actions box, you will see a detailed list of information that is required to complete and submit the report.

Figure 51 – Check Report Completeness Page

How Do I Recall a Submitted Report?

If you need to recall a submitted report, follow these directions:

1. Go to the Project Reports Due tab (or Reports Due < 12 Months tab if your report is not in the Due tab), and locate the award for which you want to recall a report. Then click the Recall link located under the Action column.

Figure 52 – Recall a report

2. Next, click the Recall Report button to completely recall your report. Once you recall the report, the co-PI(s) and PO will be notified that the report has been recalled.

How Do I Review Past Report Submissions?

To review project reports previously submitted in FastLane or in Research.gov complete the following:

1. Go to the Reports Due, Reports Due < 12 Months, or the All Awards tab.

2. Click the Award Number link. 

3. To view a specific award, click the Award Number.

4. Then click the View link under the Action column to view the report.

Figure 53 – View a Report

 

 

How Do I View Comments on a Report Returned to PI?

If your Program Office returns a submitted report to you, you will see your report in the Reports Due tab of the Project Report Dashboard with a status of Returned. To view the Program Officer’s comments to your report, follow these steps:

1. Click on the Review Comments link under the Action column.

Figure 54 – Returned Report

2. You will now be able to review your report comments.

Figure 55 – Review the comments

How Do I Add a New Participant?

To add a participant to your project report, complete the following steps:

1. Click the Participants/Organizations tab and then click the Add a New Participant button.

Figure 56 – Add new Participant button on Participants/Organizations tab

2. Next you will fill out the participant’s information. Note: All fields are mandatory.

Figure 57 – Save a new participant

On the participant screen you will need to provide information about project participants who have worked at least one month per year during the reporting period, regardless of the source of compensation.

3. Once you have completed providing the participant information, click the Save Entry button at the bottom of your screen.

How Do I Delete a Participant?

To delete a participant, complete the following steps:

 

1. Click the Delete link located in the Action column next to the participant you want to delete.

 

 

Figure 58 – Delete a participant

 

Note: Participants with the PI or co-PI role cannot be added or deleted in Research.gov. They must be added or deleted using FastLane’s What People Have Worked on the Project screen.

2. Click the Save button.

 

How Do I Add Demographic Information for a Participant?

In Research.gov you do not need to enter demographic information for your project’s participants; instead, Research.gov will send an automated email to each participant and ask that they complete their own demographic information. The system will send an email to each participant who has contributed more than 160 hours to the project and is listed on the project report. This email will have instructions on how to provide/update their demographic information.

 

What Is Demographic Information?

 

If you are a participant who has worked more than 160 hours on a project we ask that you also supply demographic information. Individuals will receive an email with instructions on how to supply the demographic information.

 

Demographic information includes:

• Gender Values:

– Male

– Female

• Ethnicity definition

– Hispanic or Latino, for a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture of origin, regardless of race

– Not-Hispanic or not-Latino

• Race definition

– American Indian or Alaska Native. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment

– Asian. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippine Islands, Thailand, and Vietnam

– Black or African-American. A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa.

– Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands

– White. A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa

• Disability Status values:

– Yes (check any of the following that apply)

·         Deaf or serious difficulty hearing

·         Blind or serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses

·         Serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs

·         Other serious disability related to a physical, mental, or emotional condition

– No 

 

Submitting demographic information is voluntary. You will suffer no adverse consequences if you choose not to submit it.

Why Does NSF Need Demographic Information?

We use the demographic information to generate statistics that help us:

• Evaluate outputs and outcomes of the programs that taxpayers support through NSF

• Report to Congress as required on NSF programs and their results and outcomes

• Gauge whether our programs and other opportunities in science and technology are fairly reaching and benefiting everyone regardless of demographic category

• Ensure that those in under-represented groups have the same knowledge of and access to programs, meetings, vacancies, and other research and educational opportunities as everyone else

• Assess involvement of international investigators or students in work we support

 

Your information helps assure the statistical validity of our data.

How Do I Add a Partner Organization?

To add a partner organization to your Project Report, complete the following steps:

1. Go to the Participants/Organizations tab.

2. Click the Add New Organization button.

3. Next, fill out the required fields and describe the partner organization that has been involved with the project

4. Click the Save Entry button to add the partner organization to your report.

Figure 59 – Add a new organization

What Are Partner Organizations?

A partner organization is one that is outside your own organization that contributes to your project. Partner organizations could be academic institutions, nonprofits, industrial or commercial firms, state or local governments, schools or school systems, or other organizations.

 

Activities of partner organizations might be:

• Providing financial or in-kind support

• Supplying facilities or equipment

• Collaborating in the research

• Exchanging personnel

 

Listing your partner organizations helps us gauge and report our performance in promoting partnerships. NSF’s ambitious goals for the country’s science and technology base cannot be met with NSF resources alone. That is why we strongly encourage working in partnership with other public and private organizations engaged in science, engineering, and education. We also seek partnerships across national boundaries, working with comparable organizations in other countries wherever possible.

 

How to add Products to your Project Report

To add a Product to your project report, complete the following steps

1. Go to the Product tab within your report.

2. Click on the Add Product button if you wish to add a product or select Nothing to Report.

Figure 60 – Add a product

3. If you wish to add a supporting file, use the Browse button to locate a PDF file, enter a required product description

4. Click the Upload File button.

How to Add a Product via BibTeX file upload

1. Go to the Product tab within your report.

2. Click on Add Product(s) button.

3. Click the Upload Products link.

4. Use the Browse button to locate a BibTeX file.

5. Click the Upload File button.

6. Once the products have been uploaded, they will be displayed in a table format.

 

Note: This list of products is for your review. The products have not yet been added to the report at this point.

7. Review the list of uploaded products from your file and uncheck any products that you do not want added to the project report. By default, all products that contain required fields and are supported by Research.gov are checked.

 

Note: NSF currently supports the following BibTeX Entry Types: Article, Book, Booklet, InBook, InCollection, Mastersthesis, PHDThesis, Conference, Proceedings, and InProceedings. For detailed information on which fields NSF requires, please review the table below.

 

BibTeX Entry Type	BibTeX Required Fields	Project Report Product Type	Project Report Required Fields
Article	·   author ·   title ·   journal ·   year	Journals	·   Author(s) ·   Title ·   Journal ·   Year, if Status of Publication is “Published”
Book	·   author ·   title ·   year	Books	·   Author(s) ·   Title ·   Year, if Status of Publication is “Published”
Booklet	·   author ·   title ·   year	Books	·   Author(s) ·   Title ·   Year, if Status of Publication is “Published”
InBook	·   title ·   author ·   booktitle ·   year	Book Chapters	·   Chapter Title ·   Author(s) ·   Book Title ·   Year, if Status of Publication is “Published”
InCollection	·   title ·   author ·   booktitle ·   year	Book Chapters	·   Chapter Title ·   Author(s) ·   Book Title ·   Year, if Status of Publication is “Published”
Mastersthesis	·   title ·   author ·   school ·   year	Thesis/Dissertation	·   Title ·   Author(s) ·   Institution ·   Year
PHDThesis	·   title ·   author ·   school ·   year	Thesis/Dissertation	·   Title ·   Author(s) ·   Institution ·   Year
Conference	·   author ·   title ·   booktitle or journal ·   address ·   year	Conference Papers and Presentations	·   Author(s) ·   Paper Title ·   Conference Name ·   Conference Location ·   Year (if Status of Publication is “Published”
Proceedings	·   author ·   title ·   booktitle or journal ·   address ·   year	Conference Papers and Presentations	·   Author(s) ·   Paper Title ·   Conference Name ·   Conference Location ·   Year (if Status of Publication is “Published”
InProceedings	·   author ·   title ·   booktitle or journal ·   address ·   year	Conference Papers and Presentations	·   Author(s) ·   Paper Title ·   Conference Name ·   Conference Location ·   Year (if Status of Publication is “Published”

 

 

Note: Products that have a red X in the “Add to Report” column, cannot be added to the project report because either the required information is missing or the product type is not yet supported by Research.gov

 

Note: The list of products on this page is temporary and you will not be able to return to this list after products have been added to the Project Report.  If the import function must be used again to import additional products, you should only add to the report products that were not previously added, to avoid duplicate entries.

8. You are required to confirm the publication status and acknowledge federal support. Optionally, enter publication identification information and whether or not the product was peer reviewed,

9. Click the “Add to Report” button to save these products into the Project Report. The main products screen will be displayed.

10. To view the added products in detail and further edit them, click the Add/Edit link for the corresponding product type. 

 

Adding Publications/Products 

List the major publications resulting from the project in articles or papers in scientific, technical, or professional journals.

Only list the major publications of your work. We are looking to evaluate not the number of publications, but rather what the publications demonstrate about the excellence and significance of the research.

How to Add a Publication/Product Manually

If you choose to manually add the publication, you will have the option to choose from the following publication categories:

• Book
• Book Chapters
• Conference Paper and Presentation
• Invention
• Journal
• License
• Other Product
• Other Publications
• Technologies and Techniques
• Thesis/Dissertations
• Website

To add a Publication to your project report manually, complete the following steps:

1. Go to the Products tab within your report.

2. Click the Add Product(s) link.

3. Select the product type you want to add and click on Go

4. Fill out the required fields

5. Then click Save Entry to complete this task.

How to Edit Products in your Project Report

To edit a product in your project report, complete the following steps:

1. Go to the Products tab within your report.
2. Click the Edit Details link for the appropriate Product option.
   

 Figure 61 – Edit a product

3. Edit the appropriate Product fields.   
4. Then click Save Entry to complete this task.

How Do I View a Project Report as an SPO?

As a Sponsored Project Officer, or SPO, you will need to view project reports submitted by your PIs. To view awards, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Project Report Dashboard.

2. Click the award number of the report you would like to review.

3. Click the View link next to the project report you would like to review.

 

Figure 62 – View a project report as a SPO

 

After clicking View, the report will open up as an HTML or PDF File.

 

How Do I Search for a Report as an SPO?

As a Sponsored Project Officer, you will need to view project reports submitted by your PIs. To search for awards, complete the following steps:

1. Navigate to the Report Search tab.

2. Enter relevant criteria for the report(s) that you would like to review.

3. Click the Search button on the bottom of the page.

 

 

Figure 63 - Report Search