ACS PRF Proposal Submission Information

Note: For proposal submission help, contact prfsupport@acs.org

Submitting an ACS PRF Proposal by the Deadline

All DocuSign electronic signatures must be completed, and the application must be validated before submitting the proposal. The validated proposal package is submitted using the {3. Submit Application} option on the pull-down menu (Figure 2, #6).  All proposals must be received in complete and final form by the deadline.

Note: No late submissions, additions, or document substitutions are allowed after the deadline.

ACS PRF Online Proposal Application Process Overview

Start the ACS proposal submission process at the ACS PRF portal. The process for submission of an application for a Petroleum Research Fund (PRF) Grant requires:

1.  American Chemical Society (ACS) ID:  Log in with your existing ACS ID. If you do not have an ACS ID, you can obtain one by visiting the registration site and clicking “Create one today” (Figure 1).  View online help for registration here. 

Note: You do not need to be an ACS member to obtain an ACS ID.  The ACS ID system assigns you an ACS Customer/Member number. You will need both, your ACS ID and the ACS Customer/Member number to access the ACS PRF portal.  Also, make sure you can access the system well before you plan to submit your proposal.  

2.  PRF Portal Registration:   After creating your ACS ID,  you must submit a PRF Pre-Registration Form (Figure 2).  This form will create a contact record and role--either as a Principal Investigator (PI) or Grant Officer--in the PRF System.  This form must be reviewed before access is granted; you will receive a confirmation email after review is complete (1 or 2 days unless verification cannot be completed).   If you are submitting on the behalf of a PI or submitting multiple applications for different PIs, you should choose the Grant Officer option.  The email address that you provide on the PRF Pre-Registration form must be your institutional email address; non-insitutional emails will be rejected.

3.  Information Needed for Web Form:  It is recommended that the following information is collected in a document that can be used to copy from and paste into the web form. 

a.    Contact Information for:

i.          Principal Investigator

ii.        Grant Officer and Institutional Endorsing Official (if applicable)

iii.      Co-Principal Investigator (if applicable)

iv.      Suggested Reviewers (at least six)

b.    Title of Proposed Research

c.    Abstract:  The abstract must be 250 words or less.  The abstract must also be included at the beginning of the uploaded technical proposal PDF (See Item 4).

d.    Petroleum Relevance Statement (up to 100 words)

e.    Requested Start Date: For proposals submitted in the February/March proposal submission window (considered at the PRF Committee Meeting of that year), January 1 of the following year isthe earliest start date. (For example, proposals submitted in February/March 2024 proposal submission window (considered at the PRF Committee Meeting in October 2024), January 1, 2025 is the earliest start date.)  

f.    Institutional Reference Number:  If provided by your grants office.  This is for your use only.  Enter "NA" or "N/A" if you do not have one.

g.    Resubmission (only): If a research topic was previously submitted to PRF, reviewed, and denied, a statement of modifications/changes is required.

h.    Demographic Information for PI and Co-PI (incl. ORCID)

i.    Budget Amount by Year and Justification: Budget years are created by clicking the [New] button on the Budget Section Header at the bottom of the application form. Amounts for approved budget categories for each grant year will be validated upon saving. Each budget period must end on August 31 and be at least twelve months in duration. A starting date earlier than September 1 will result in a first budget period (year) longer than twelve months. Fringe benefits should be included with salaries and stipends. A validated budget is included with the DocuSign Electronic Signature transmission (See Figure 4). As the budget is entered, a summary of the budget can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on the {View Budget} menu option (Figure 2, #3).

j.    Education and Experience: Provide information on the following for the PI and Co-PI (if applicable):

i.          All academic degrees, when and where received

ii.        Ph.D. thesis title and supervisor

iii.      List postdoctoral appointment(s) and supervisor(s), if appropriate

iv.      List current and previous positions in reverse chronological order

v.        Significant honors and awards

vi.      and other pertinent biographical information

k.    Current and Pending Research Support:

For the PI and Co-PI (if applicable):

i.          List any active research grants or other current financial support received for research. Give titles, amounts (annual direct costs; if more than one PI, indicate only your share of the granted amount), sources, time periods of awards, and relationship to this proposal. Indicate “none” if applicable.

ii.        List any other research grant applications that are pending. Give titles, amounts requested (annual direct costs), sources, and relationship to this proposal. Indicate “none” if applicable.

iii.      Describe any active start-up support or funding, including the amount and time frame.  Indicate “none” if applicable.

l.    Publications: List all research publications and presentations for the PI and Co-PI (if applicable). Include titles, co-authors, and literature references.

m.    Safety: Principal Investigators must describe any significant risks or hazards that may be encountered in the proposed work and how these risks or hazards would be mitigated.

n.    Suggested Reviewers:  Names of at least six suggested reviewers are entered by clicking the [Add Suggested Reviewers] button at the top right corner of the application form (Figure 2, #2). Entered reviewers will be displayed in a separate section at the bottom of the application form. Former mentors, colleagues, and individuals from institutions with whom the PI is or has been associated are not eligible to be reviewers. Further, a PI may not suggest a reviewer whom the PI has suggested to PRF in the last 4 years.

o.    Collaborations: If you will be collaborating with other scientists to perform the research described in the proposal, identify the collaborators and briefly indicate the nature of the collaboration. If any of these collaborators are current ACS PRF grantees or applicants, discuss the relationship between this proposal and the collaborator’s ACS PRF project. A letter from each collaborator confirming the extent and nature of the collaboration should be added to the application.

4.  Signature Sheet and Budget:  After entering the budget and other application information, a Signature Sheet is processed via DocuSign from the system using option {1. Send for Signature - DocuSign} on the pull-down menu (Figure 2, #4) on the upper right of the application detail screen.  The signatures of the PI and Co-PI, if applicable, and an authorized official of your institution are required on the Signature Sheet. The institutional official is the submitting institution's AOR (Authorized Organizational Representative). The DocuSign status is displayed at the top of the application form (Figure 2, #7) and must be completed to submit the application.

5.  Technical Proposal: The technical proposal is uploaded as a single PDF, including the title, abstract, scientific text of the narrative, references cited, figures, and tables, using the [Upload Files] button at the top right corner of the application form. The text body may not exceed 4,000 words, double-spaced, in 12-point font (Times Roman, Arial, or Courier), with 1-inch margins, and a word count entered at the end of the proposal narrative.

Note: The word count does not include the title, 250-word abstract, figures, and references.

6.  For ND Proposals: A statement (no longer than 1 page) must be included that describes how the proposed research significantly differs from the PI’s previous research and represents a new research direction for the PI.

7.  For UR Proposals: A statement (no longer than 1 page) must be included on prior research accomplishments and how the proposed research differs from the PI’s previous research. An educational impact statement is also needed, including data regarding the undergraduates pursuing advanced degrees. Use a table to indicate the number of undergraduate majors that have completed work in your department and have received bachelor’s degrees in each of the last seven years. Please indicate how many of these students went on to graduate study and which institutions they entered.

8.  For UNI Proposals: A summary of information on (i) the highest academic degree awarded in the PI’s department, (ii) available facilities, (iii) teaching duties, (iv) percentage of time devoted to research, and (v) percentage of time devoted to research during the summer is required.

 9.  For UNI and UR Proposals: A statement (no longer than 1 page) must be included that briefly describes how the PI’s mentoring of students will impact scientific education at their institution and department.