Entry of most application information directly into a web form: It is highly recommended that you collect this information in a document that you can easily copy from and paste into the web form. We do not require a budget or letters of recommendation. You will need the following:
Do not combine your Research Technical Proposal and CV into one document, as your application will be rejected.
Entry of most application information directly into a web form: It is highly recommended that you collect this information in a document that you can easily copy from and paste into the web form. We do not require a budget or a letter of recommendation. You will need the following:
Do not combine your Research Technical Proposal and CV into one document, as your application will be rejected.
After a successful logon, registered users will be redirected to the PRF Portal Home Page as shown in Figure 1. The menu bar at the top of all screens provides quick access to the home screen (house icon), organization, contacts, eligibility quizzes, applications, and grant requirements. To start the submission process (i.e., create an application), you must first create an Eligibility Quiz for the grant, fellowship, or award by accessing this menu option (Figure 1, Item #2). Once an application is created, it can be accessed using the {Applications} menu option (Figure 1, Item #3). There are separate information tabs for Grants (e.g., Petroleum Research Fund), Fellowships (e.g., Sigal Fellowship), and Sustainability Awards (Figure 1, Item #1). Within a tab, there are links to useful information such as application instructions and eligibility. The registered contact name is shown on the upper right side of the Portal Home screen.
After selecting the {Eligibility Quiz} menu option and suboption (e.g.,Sustainability), available quizzes will be displayed. Click on appropriate Quiz type to start the eligibility qualification process (Figure 2, Item #1). There are links to Useful Information for the particular quiz type on the right side of the screen (Figure 2, Items #3). Deadlines for the Submission Window are shown in the upper right corner (Figure 2, Items #2); all deadlines are Eastern Standard Time (EST).
After selecting the appropriate type (Figure 2, Item #1), the quiz form will be displayed as shown in Figure 3. Provide answers to each question by clicking on the pull-down below the question. Use the slider bar on the right side of the form to scroll through the questions. After answering all of the questions click the [Save] button (Figure 3, Item #2).
Applications can only be created from within a successful Eligibility Quiz record for a Sustainability Award type. When a Quiz record is created, it is assigned an ID (e.g., Q-4652) and is accessible from the My Quiz list view. Click on the [Create Application] from within the Eligible Quiz record (Figure 4, Item #1) to create respective grant application. A pop-up screen will be displayed confirming the application type; click the [Next] button (Figure 5, Item #1) to continue and create the application. The application detail screen will be displayed; enter a draft title (Figure 6, Item #1) and click [Save] button (Figure 6, Item #2) to enter full-screen mode as shown in Figure 7.
After an application is created it can be accessed by selecting {Applications} from the menu bar at the top of the screen. Once an application is created it is assigned a unique ID (e.g., 70169) which is located in the upper left side of the application detail screen. Please include this ID in your email if you need assistance in completing the application from PRFSupport@acs.org. Sections on the application form (Figure 7, Item #1) can collapsed or expanded by clicking on the ">" or "\/" in the section header, respectively. The system will retain the most recent expand or collapsed setting. To enhance workflow, it is recommended that you collapse a section after completing it. There are buttons (e.g., [Upload Files]) (Figure 7, Item #4) and a pull-down menu to perform specific operations on the application form (Figure 7, Item #5). For the Early Career Postdoctoral (ECP) Award, there is a separate section at the bottom of the application detail screen to enter experience history. The Signature Status is displayed at the top of application detail screen (Figure 7, Item #6). Click on the grey pencil to provide entries for the form data fields (Figure 7, Item #3), and hover over information bubble next to data fields to display help (Figure 7, Item #2). You can save your data by hitting the Save button that will appear at the bottom of the screen.
Click on [Upload Files] button at upper right of screen (Figure 7, Item #4) to Technical Proposal, Signature Sheet, and other application related documents (ie. your CV); uploaded files will appear in the File Uploads section if process is successful (Figure 8, Item #1).
Make sure the technical proposal is uploaded with the correct document type (Figure 9, Item #1). The 2-page research technical proposal describes: (a) your research contributions to-date; (b) your research plan as an independent investigator and (c) a statement that clearly describes how your independent research plan is distinct from your prior research experience. It is a single PDF file, with text body double-spaced, in 12-point font (Times Roman, Arial, or Courier) with 1-inch margins, and pages numbered in the footer.
IMPORTANT: Instructions for Submitting Signature Sheet Manually
For the ECP Sustainability Award, click on the [New] button (Figure 11, Item #2) to add doctoral, postdoctoral, or academic appointment records; a subset of experience is viewable in the section and hyperlink is available to edit existing experience records (Figure 11, Item #1).
After uploading all documents (2-page research technical proposal, CV, and the completed Signature Sheet), you must perform the validation {2. Validate Application} and then submit {3. Submit Application} from the pull-down menu (Figure 10, Item #1) prior to the deadline in order for your proposal to be received. Should you need to make corrections to your proposal prior to the deadline, you can perform a {Recall}. You will receive a confirmation email after submitting.
From the {Applications} option on the main menu bar (Figure 12, Item #1), you can access an existing application by selecting “Applications - In Progress” (Figure 12, Item #2) and clicking on the hyperlink for the application (Figure 12, Item #3).
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