Other Support and Foreign Influences

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Below is a summary of specific NSF guidance for PIs and senior project personnel related to reporting “Current and Pending Support” as well as how to address the need for cooperative work with a foreign entity.

Current and Pending Support

Per PAPPG 24-1 effective May, 20, 2024, Current and pending (other) support information must be provided separately for each individual designated as a senior/key person through use of SciENcv (Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae). SciENcv will produce an NSF-compliant PDF version of current and pending (other) support. Senior/key personnel must prepare, save, certify, and submit these documents as part of their proposal via Research.gov or Grants.gov.

NSF requires all senior project personnel provide information on all current and pending support from both domestic and foreign sources be provided at the proposal stage for ongoing projects and proposals. The following must be reported:

  • All projects (including the current project) under consideration from whatever source, and all ongoing projects, irrespective of whether support is provided through the proposing organization, another organization or directly to the individual must be disclosed under Current and Pending Support.
  • In-kind contributions not intended for use on the project/proposal being proposed to NSF and which have an associated time commitment
  • Consulting activities must be disclosed under the proposals and active projects section of the common form when any of the following scenarios apply:
    • The consulting activity will require the senior/key person to perform research as part of the consulting activity;
  • The consulting activity does not involve performing research, but is related to the senior/key person’s research portfolio and may have the ability to impact funding, alter time or effort commitments, or otherwise impact scientific integrity;
  • The consulting entity has provided a contract that requires the senior/key person to conceal or withhold confidential financial or other ties between the senior/key person and the entity, irrespective of the duration of the engagement.
  • Travel supported/paid by an external entity to perform research activities with an associated time commitment
  • Startup company based on non-organization-licensed IP
  • Consistent with NSPM-33, senior/key personnel are required to disclose contracts associated with participation in programs sponsored by foreign governments, instrumentalities, or entities, including foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment programs. Further, if an individual receives direct or indirect support that is funded by a foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program, even where the support is provided through an intermediary and does not require membership in the foreign government-sponsored talent recruitment program, that support must be disclosed. Senior/key personnel must also report other foreign government-sponsored or affiliated activities. In accordance with 42 U.S.C. § 19232, individuals are prohibited from being a party in a malign foreign talent recruitment program.

    • Detailed information about the content is available in the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG), Chapter, II.D.2.ii.

    NSF has developed the NSPM-33 Implementation Guidance Pre- and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending (Other) Support table to provide helpful reference information regarding pre-award and post-award disclosure information in the biographical sketch and current and pending support proposal sections. The table identifies where these disclosures must be provided in proposals as well as in project reports.

    For more information, see the NSF Policy Office:

    Cooperative Work with Foreign Organizations

    NSF rarely provides direct funding support to foreign organizations. However, in cases where the proposer considers a foreign organization’s involvement to be essential to the project (e.g., through subawards or consultant arrangements), the proposer must explain why the foreign counterpart’s in-country resources are not feasible and why the foreign organization can carry out the activity more effectively than a domestic entity. The proposer must also justify what unique expertise, organizational capability, facilities, data resources, and/or access to a geographic location not generally available to U.S. investigators the foreign organization or foreign individual brings to the project.

    In addition, the proposed activity must demonstrate what significant science and engineering education, training, or research opportunities the foreign organization or foreign individual offers to the U.S.

    Such information must be included in the project description section of the proposal. The box for “Funding of a Foreign Organization, including through use of a subaward or consultant arrangement” must also be checked on the Cover Sheet if the proposal includes funding for a foreign organization.

    Return to the main Other Support and Foreign Influences page.

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