What are the main components of NSF grant proposals?

The main components of NSF grant proposals center around intellectual merit, broader impacts, and project description. Intellectual merit refers to the potential of the project to advance knowledge and understanding in its field. This is a crucial assessment criterion for NSF because it highlights the significance and innovation of the research being proposed.

The broader impacts criterion emphasizes the potential benefits of the research to society and contributes to the achievement of specific societal goals. This includes considerations like how the project may promote diversity, engage community stakeholders, or contribute to economic productivity.

The project description is essentially the narrative that outlines the research objectives, methodology, and how the project will be executed, providing a comprehensive overview to reviewers.

While aspects like project title, budget, and timeline are important for organizing and managing a proposal, they do not capture the essence of what NSF prioritizes when evaluating proposals. Thus, focusing on intellectual merit, broader impacts, and project description are the core elements that need to be effectively addressed in an NSF grant proposal.