CAREER PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
Note: This checklist is intended to be a supplementary aid in the preparation of CAREER proposals,
and is not intended as an all-inclusive repetition of the requirements specified in the Grant Proposal
Guide (GPG – NSF 09-29 June 2007) and the CAREER Program solicitation (NSF 08-557). Those
documents describe the required proposal contents and associated proposal preparation guidelines.
This document is meant to highlight certain critical items so they will not be overlooked when the
proposal is prepared. Please refer to the GPG, the CAREER Program solicitation, and the CAREER
FAQs (NSF 05-027) for complete instructions.
9 PROPOSAL PREPARATION ORDER
Prepare (and save) the proposal cover sheet first. Entering the CAREER Program Solicitation
Number (NSF 08-557) on the cover sheet will ensure that you have the correct forms for CAREER
proposals, and that your proposal will be considered in the CAREER competition.
9 PROPOSAL MARGIN AND SPACING REQUIREMENTS (see Chapter II of the GPG)
2. Proposal Margin and Spacing Requirements
• The proposal must be clear, readily legible, and conform to the following four requirements:
o An Arial, Helvetica, Palatino (for Macintosh), Palatino Linotype (for Windows), Computer
Modern (TeX only), or Georgia typeface, a black font color, and a font size of 10 points or larger
must be used. (A Symbol font may be used to insert Greek letters or special characters; however,
the font size requirement still applies.)
o No more than 6 lines of type within a vertical space of 1 inch; and
o Margins, in all directions, must be at least an inch.
9 REMINDER
DO NOT INCLUDE APPENDICES. Without prior written approval from the appropriate NSF Assistant
Director, proposals with appendices will be returned without review. Note that such approvals are rarely
granted (see Chapter II.A of the GPG).
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