Preliminary Proposal Impacts on
IOS Workload and Workflow
Jane Silverthorne
BIO/IOS
Outline
•
•
•
•
Why were changes made?
What did we change?
What were the impacts?
Next steps?
Why Were Changes Made?
• At NSF
– The number of proposals being submitted was
increasing
– The funding rates were decreasing
– Workload was increasing
– It was harder to find panel and ad hoc reviewers
• In the Community
– PIs were writing more and more proposals to get
funded
– Reviewers were being asked to provide more
and more ad hoc and panel reviews
IOS Proposal Submissions and Awards
2250
ARRA
1750
1500
20
1250
Success Rate
1000
15
750
500
10
Awards
5
250
0
2001
25
2003
2005
2007
Year
2009
0
2011
Success Rate %
Number of Projects
30
Proposals
2000
Burden on the IOS Reviewer Community
Number of Reviews
10000
Total Reviews
8000
6000
Ad Hoc Reviews
4000
Panelist Reviews
2000
2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010
Year
FY 2012 IOS Core Program Solicitation
• IOS Solicitation: NSF 11-572
• Frequently Asked Questions: NSF 11-079
• Webinar
• Changes:
– Preliminary proposal deadline in January
– Binding Invite/Do Not Invite decision
– Full proposal deadline in August
– Funding decision in December
– Limit of two pre-proposals per PI as PI/co-PI
~ 2,000 15-page full proposals with budgets to write
and review: 14,000 ad hoc requests
O
L
D
Jan
Feb
Mar
Full-proposal
Submission
(~850)
Apr
review
panels
May
Resubmit?
Resubmit? (~20%)
Jun
Notification of
Award/Decline
Jul
Aug
Sep
Full-proposal
Submission
(~1050)
Oct
Nov
Dec
Notification of
Award/Decline
review
panels
Time to Revise
~ 2,000 4-page pre-proposals to
write and review (no budgets):
0 ad hoc requests
N
E
W
Jan
Pre-proposal
submissions
(1836)
Feb
Mar
~ 550 15-page full proposals to write and
review: 3500 ad hoc requests
Write full proposal
Apr
May
Jun
Pre-proposal review
panels
Notification of
Invite/Not Invite
Jul
Aug
Full-proposal
Submission
(547)
30% invite rate
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Notification of
Award/Decline
Full-proposal review
panels
Jan
Feb
Panelist
Assignment
Compliance
Mar
Apr
May
Review Panels
Debriefings
All Invites Sent
Pre-Proposals
Due
All Actions Finalized
Recruiting
Reviewers
Mail Merge and Automated Data Extraction from Outlook
Compliance
Checking
Automated Checker
Review
Assignment
COI Sheet (Cluster and Panel), CASL, Panelizer, Pars-Check
Panel Reviews
Excelectronic Board
Review &
Debriefing
Debriefing Template; Panel Query; RA Form
General Tools
RA Post, Diary Note Post, Jacket Grab, Vlookup!
Compliance
Checking
Assign
Reviewers
Review
Panels
Review
Analysis
Diary Note
Post
Jacket Grab
ToolBox
COI Sheet
Generator
Impacts on IOS Workload and Workflow
• The workload was higher in the first six months
and lower in the last six months of the year but
more manageable overall
• The changes promoted adoption of standard
operating procedures and templates across IOS
• The new workflow provided opportunities for
administrative staff to learn new skills
• Free time was created to allow planning
activities
Next Steps
• “Compliance Query” to avoid eJacket delays
– Automated data access through eJacket is inefficient and
should not be necessary.
– Goal: 100% of NSF proposals checked for basic compliance
automatically.
• Tools dissemination
– DEB, MCB already testing
– Centralized repository?
• Tools discovery?
– Other Divisions?
• Staff training programs: Advanced Office© features
Nov 2012
IOS
Front
Office
Staff
Division of
Integrative
Organismal
Systems
* on detail
Jane Silverthorne
DD
Anthony Cak
Pgm Analyst
Michelle Elekonich
Science Advisor
James Deshler
Acting DDD
Michael Simon
AAAS Fellow
Rosetta Johnson
PSM
Sheila Wilkinson
Mgmt Analyst
Bruce Cushing
PD
Steve Klein
PD
Physiological
& Structural
Systems
Cluster
Diane J.Okamuro
PD
Michael Mishkind
PD
Gary Gillis
Expert
Leslie Pick
PD
Nora Lapitan
PD
William Zamer
PD
Jacob Scholl
SA
Amy Litt
PD
Thomas Okita
PD
Steven Ellis
PD
Elizabeth Bell
PTA
Debra Watson
PA
VACANT
PS
Agnes Demianski
SA
Mary Beth Saffo
PD
JoAnn Alquisa
OS – PGRP &
EF
Behavioral
Systems
Cluster
Sean Liu
Staff Associate
Developmental
Systems Cluster
Plant
Genome
Research
Program
Lori Champion*
OS - IOS
Maya S. Anderson
PTA
Sarah Wyatt
PD
Shelly Ann Hanger
STEP PA (Student)
Scott Heckathorn
PD
Tanisha Bogans
STEP PA (Student)
David Stephens
PD
VACANT
PS
Neural
Systems
Cluster
Diane Witt
PD
Mary Ann
Asson-Batres
PD
Sylvia Osuchukwu
PS
Elizabeth Cropper
PD
Sarita Shephard
Pgm. Analyst
Shantae Caudle
PA