Tips for using Fastlane

ACTIVATING A PASSWORD

In order to begin using FastLane, faculty and staff must activate a password. To do so, a new user must first contact Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) and provide the following information:

  • Social Security Number
  • Department and campus address
  • E-mail address
  • Campus phone and fax numbers
  • Highest degree and the year in which is was conferred

The new FastLane user will be provided with a temporary password that can be used to log on to FastLane. The first time the user logs on to FastLane, he/she will be prompted to change the temporary password to a permanent one of his/her own choosing. The selected password must be 6 to 20 characters in length and contain at least one number and one letter. The password will expire after 365 days, at which time the user will prompted to change it.

Please contact your cognizant SPS Grant and Contract Administrator to initiate this process.

LOGGING IN TO FASTLANE

The FastLane Home Page is pictured below. The first step in preparing your proposal is to go to the FastLane Home Page http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov and log in to FastLane. To do this, click on "Proposal, Awards and Status."

The next screen that you will see is the Login Screen, pictured below. Enter your Last Name, Social Security Number and Password, then click on "Login."  A screen asking what you want to work on will appear.  Select "Proposal Functions" then "Proposal Preparation."

A PI Information page containing your demographic and personal information will follow. This information is extracted from NSF’s PI database and will be used in your proposal. You may updated or correct this information by clicking on the "Edit PI Info" button.

To work on a proposal, click on "Prepare Proposal". You will then see the "Proposal Actions" screen, with several options:

  • Click on "Edit" to work on an existing proposal,
  • Click on "Create Blank Proposal" to start a new proposal, or
  • Click on "Use Template" to use an existing proposal as a model for your new proposal.

PREPARING A PROPOSAL

NSF's step-by-step instructions for preparing a proposal in FastLane are available at on the FastLane website. Additional tips follow below.

After you have logged into FastLane as described above, and clicked on one of the options on the "Proposal Actions" screen, a screen entitled "Form Preparation" will appear, containing all of the forms and sections necessary for creating the proposal. You will notice that the proposal in progress has been assigned a temporary proposal ID number.

Cover Sheet:

Begin your proposal by completing the Cover Sheet and entering the organizational unit (i.e. program and/or division) to which you want the proposal directed. Select the “GO” button for the remainder of the cover sheet and enter your project title in the appropriate box. This way, if you have more than one proposal in progress at any given time, the proposal you wish to work on will be easily identifiable by title in the "Temp. Proposals in Progress" list on the "Proposal Actions" screen.

Project Description:

The 15-page project description can be uploaded into FastLane in a variety of formats including Word, WordPerfect, PostScript, TeX, and PDF For a list of document formats that may be directly uploaded, go to https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/A1AcceptableFileExtensions.html.

Other Sections:

Other sections of the proposal requiring text--Project Summary; References Cited; Biographical Sketches; Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources; Current and Pending Support--may be uploaded as PDF files as well, but these forms may also be completed online in FastLane by cutting and pasting from other documents or typing directly into the text boxes provided. If you type or cut and paste into the text boxes you cannot format the text. If you use PDF files, the formatting of your original file will be maintained. If you choose to upload PDF files for these sections of the proposal in addition to the project description, create separate files for each section (i.e. - one file containing the project summary, one file containing the project description, one file containing biographical sketches, etc.)

Budget:

SPS has created Excel NSF budget forms that may be uploaded into FastLane. It is advisable that you work with your cognizant Grant Specialist in SPS when developing the budget.

GIVING OTHER PEOPLE ACCESS TO YOUR PROPOSAL

On the "Proposal Actions" page of FastLane you may also assign a special PIN to your proposal to enable other people to work on the proposal. Click on the "Proposal PIN" button. The next screen will prompt you to enter a 4-character PIN that will be assigned to the specific proposal. This action will allow other individuals who have FastLane passwords to work on the proposal by entering their own password, the proposal PIN, and the temporary proposal ID number that is assigned automatically by FastLane to the proposal.

SUBMITTING YOUR PROPOSAL

You may allow Sponsored Projects Services access to your proposal any time after you begin by clicking on "Allow SRO Access" button on the "Proposal Actions" screen. You may provide SPS one of 3 levels of access:

  • Allow SRO to only view proposal but not submit
  • Allow SRO to view and edit but not submit proposal
  • Allow SRO to view, edit, and submit proposal

It is advisable that you choose the view, edit, and submit option. This will allow Sponsored Programs to assist with creation of your proposal in progress. The proposal can be submitted to NSF ONLY by Sponsored Projects Services.

Sponsored Programs WILL NOT submit your proposal until you indicate that it is ready for submission and you have provided a fully-signed Request for Approval of Sponsored Program form (aka "Green Form") (available here).

GENERAL TIPS FOR CREATING A PDF DOCUMENT

Though FastLane now accepts documents in a variety of formats, you may prefer to create PDF files. If so, NSF recommends using Adobe Distiller versions 3.01 or 3.02. If you are using Adobe Distiller version 4.0, use the NSF Acrobat 4.0 Profile.

Instructions for loading the NSF Acrobat 4.0 Profile are at
www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/Adobe4WinDwnld/Adobe4WinDwnld.htm.

Instructions for creating PDF documents are at
www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/pdfcreat.htm.

Adobe Distiller may be installed in Windows so that MSWord, and other programs, can call it a printer. When you choose a printer in Windows, print to "Distiller Assistant." This will automatically create a PDF file for you. Do not print to PDFWriter as your printer device. PDFWriter does not work well on documents containing figures, images, non-Adobe Type 1 fonts, TrueType fonts and multiple master fonts. In particular, PDFWriter output from Macs can result in a document with poor resolution.

Before creating a PDF document with Adobe, open “Distiller” and select “Job Options” then follow the steps below:

  1. (General Tab) Set Compatibility Setting to Acrobat 3.0 (this is the default for version 3; but this must be set for version 4)
  2. (General Tab) Do not select ASCII format (default)
  3. (Compression Tab) Select downsampling resolution sizes appropriate for your images. Do not use subsampling. For monochrome bitmap images:
  4. deselect "downsample to", select "manual compression" and choose "CCITT Group 4" from the pop-up menu.
  5. (Font Embedding Tab) Select "Embed All Fonts" (default is to not embed all fonts)
  6. (Font Embedding Tab) Select "Subset Fonts" and specify a value of 100% (default is 35%)

To create a PDF file using Adobe Distiller, do the following:

  1. Click on the "Print" function from your "File" menu.
  2. Click on the arrow for the pull down menu containing printer selection options.
  3. Select "Distiller Assistant" and click on the "Print to File" box.
  4. Click on "OK," then, in the "Print to File" dialog box, select the file to which you want to save the document and name the document in the appropriate boxes.
  5. Click "OK". This will create a postscript document in the file you selected. Double click on this document from your file manager (Windows Explorer). This will engage the Distiller and create a PDF file. You will now have 2 documents, one with a postscript icon and the other with the Acrobat icon. Select the Acrobat document for uploading into FastLane.

To combine separate PDF files into one document, do the following:

  1. From your file manager (Windows Explorer) double click on one of the PDF files with which you desire to merge others. This will open the PDF document in Acrobat Exchange.
  2. From the top tool bar, click on "Document".
  3. Click on "Insert Pages".
  4. From the "Select File to Insert" dialog box, open the file that contains the PDF document you wish to add, click on the document, and click on the "Select" button.
  5. From the "Insert" dialog box, select the location in which the second document should be placed (i..e. - before or after the first document) then click on "OK".
  6. Select either "Save" (which will save the newly created multiple document PDF file with the name of the last added document) or "Save As" (which will allow you to rename the file).
  7. This file may now be uploaded to FastLane.

WHEN YOUR PROPOSAL INVOLVES ANOTHER ORGANIZATION

If your project involves another organization, you may submit a Collaborative Proposal to NSF in one of 2 ways: a) submission of a single proposal by a lead organization with other organizations designated as subcontractors, or b) simultaneous submission of proposals from different organizations (see pgs. 22 -23 in the Grant Proposal Guide). FastLane supports both methods.

Submission of a Single Proposal

To begin the budget for the subcontractor, the subcontractor's principal investigator must be entered one of two ways. If the subcontractor is a registered FastLane institution and the subcontractor's PI has an authorized password, the individual's social security number may be entered in one of the boxes provided in the Co-PI section of the cover sheet of your proposal. If both of the above conditions do not exist, the individual may be added by clicking on the GO button for the "Add/Delete Non-CoPI Senior Personnel" option on the Form Preparation menu. You may type in the name of the individual in the boxes provided on the "Edit List of Senior Persons on Proposal" page and click on the "Add" button.

To add the subcontract organization, click on the GO button for Budgets in the Form Preparation menu. In the "Budget Organization Selector Screen", click on "Add New Org." A search screen will appear which allows you to type in as much as you know of the name of the organization. Click the "Locate" button and a list of organizations will appear. Highlight the proper organization and click on "Select."

In the "Budget Organization Selector" screen, highlight the subcontract organization and click on "Use". In the "Budget Year Selector Screen" for the subcontractor, click on "Edit" for the Year 1 budget. Click on the GO button for Senior Personnel. Click on "Add Senior Person". Highlight the correct name that will appear in the Senior Personnel menu that appears and click on "Add". The name will now appear in the Senior Personnel section of the subcontractor's budget, and you may enter the individual's title if it does not already appear.

Individuals of the subcontract organization may work on your proposal if you assign a PIN to the proposal (as described above) and supply the PIN and Temporary Proposal Number to the organization's representatives.

Simultaneous Submission of Proposals from Different Organizations

If UB is to be the lead organization, you construct a complete proposal including all required forms and sections and the project description. The non-lead organizations will create their own proposals which will include all required forms and sections EXCEPT the Project Summary, Project Description, and References Cited.

Before UB submits the lead proposal, each non-lead organization must supply its Temporary Proposal ID number which you will enter by clicking on the GO button for "Link Collaborative Proposals" in the Form Preparation menu. Enter the Temporary Proposal ID number in the box provided then click on "Add Collaborative TPI to Proposal" for each organization.

The lead proposal, when complete, may be submitted to NSF, along with the completed proposals from the collaborator(s), and all will be electronically linked.

RECENT IMPROVEMENTS TO FASTLANE

The National Science Foundation continues to make improvements to FastLane. Some recent developments follow.

Electronic Signature Process

Effective June 1, 2001, all proposals submitted to NSF will be electronically signed by Authorized Organizational Representatives (SPS Grant and Contract Administrators). NSF will no longer require the submission of a hardcopy of the Certification Form containing original signatures of the PIs and organizational representative. 

Login

FastLane users are no longer required to login each time they wish to perform a different function. A new login procedure allows PIs/Co-PIs and other users to login one time to access any of the proposal or award functions. The login functions are labeled “PI/Co-PI Login” and “Other User Login” and are located under “PI/Co-PI Functions” on the FastLane homepage. The direct link to the PI/Co-PI login page is https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/servlet/FastLane.A0Start

Supplemental Funding Request

Proposals for supplemental funds to active grants may be prepared using the “Supplemental Funding Request” option under “PI/Co-PI Functions”. After logging-in, the user will be provided a list of active NSF awards for which supplemental funds may be requested. After selecting the appropriate award, a menu containing only the forms required for a standard supplemental proposal will appear. A face page containing all required organizational information will be automatically created. Sections to be completed include a justification, a summary of proposed work, and a budget. After transmitting the supplemental proposal electronically, a hardcopy of the budget form must signed by the PI and by a SPS representative and mailed to NSF.

View/Print Award Letters

The “View/Print Award Letters” option under “PI/Co-PI Functions” allows a PI or Co-PI to access and print award letters. After logging in, a PI is presented with a list of his/her active NSF grants, any of which may be selected for viewing/printing.

Revise Submitted Proposal Budget

The “Revise Submitted Proposal Budget” option under “PI/Co-PI Functions” allows a PI to view the budget that was included with a previously submitted proposal and create a revised budget when requested to do so by an NSF program official. A signed hardcopy of the revised budget is no longer required by NSF. The login procedure for this function includes entering the appropriate proposal number.

Password Change

A PI may easily change his/her password by selecting this option located under “User Functions”

Continuation Funding Status

A PI may easily check the status of a pending continuation of a multiple year award by clicking on the “Continuation Funding Status” option under “PI/Co-PI Functions” and logging in with the award number.

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