The majority of your application will be entered directly into a web form; therefore, it is highly recommended that you collect this information in a document that you can easily copy 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.
The majority of your application will be entered directly into a web form, therefore, it is highly recommended that you collect this information in a document that you can easily copy 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.
After a successful logon, registered users will be redirected to the Sustainability Portal Home Page. The menu bar at the top of all screens provides quick access to the home screen (house icon), Organizations, Contacts, Start Application (drop down menu) and Dashboard (Figure 1).
1. Create an Eligibility Quiz
To start the submission process, you must first create an Eligibility Quiz by going to drop down menu in Start Application and select Sustainability. Select the grant that you wish to apply for: Early Career Postdoctoral-Faculty Bridge Grants or Principal Investigator Development Grants.
A new eligibility quiz will appear on screen (Figure 2, in this case for the Early Career Postdoctoral-Faculty Bridge Grants). Answer the eligibility quiz questions and click the blue Save button.
If you are eligible to apply, the complete quiz will be shown, and a new Create Application button will appear at the top right (Figure 3, Item #1).
2. Create an Application
When the Create Application button is clicked, a pop-up window will appear. Select the Next button on the Selected Application Type and a new pop-up window will appear that will allow you to populate all the information for your application (Figure 4).
Click the Save button to save your information. Once an application is created, it is assigned a unique ID (e.g., 71122), which is in the upper left side of application detail screen (Figure 5, Item #1). Please include this ID in your email if you need assistance in completing the application from PRFSupport@acs.org.
There are buttons (e.g., Upload Files) (Figure 5, Item #2) and a pull-down menu to perform specific operations on the application form (Figure 5, Item #3). For the Early Career Postdoctoral-Faculty Bridge Grants, there is a separate section at the bottom of the application detail screen to enter experience history (required).
3. File Uploads
Click on Upload Files button at upper right of screen (Figure 5, Item #2) and a new pop-up window will appear to allow you to upload your two-page technical research proposal, CV, and Signature Sheet.
A 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 (to be uploaded as part of your application), with the text body double-spaced, in 12-point font (Times Roman, Arial, or Courier) with 1-inch margins, and pages numbered in the footer. You may include references and figures within the 2 pages. Figure text and caption can be 9-point font. Your application will be rejected if you exceed the 2-page limit and/or do not conform to font and page formatting requirements. Make sure the technical research proposal is uploaded with the correct document type (Figure 6). Upload your CV under the “All Other Documents” document type.
IMPORTANT: Instructions for Submitting Signature Sheet
1. Download Signature Sheet by clicking on the “Sus Download Signature Sheet” (Figure 5, Item #3). If you have not completed the required fields for the Signature Sheet, an error message will appear at the top of the screen (Figure 7, in this case the Applicant Supervisor Last Name was not added).
2. Print the PDF, obtain the required signatures and scan the document.
3. Use the "Upload Files" button and select "Signature Sheet" as the document type to upload the signed Signature Sheet to your application. The Signature Status will now indicate Completed.
4. If you need to Delete your uploaded Signature Sheet, click the red Cancel Signature button.
4. Experience History (Early Career Postdoctoral-Faculty Bridge Grants Only):
For the Early Career Postdoctoral-Faculty Bridge Grants, click on the New button located in the Experience History panel at the bottom of the application page (Figure 8) to add doctoral, postdoctoral, or academic appointment records; a subset of experience is viewable in the section and hyperlinks are available to edit existing experience records.
5. Review, Validate and Submit the Application:
Under the dropdown menu at the top right of the screen (Figure 5, Item #3), you can download a copy of your application for review by clicking the Download Application button.
After uploading all the required documents (i.e. 2-page technical research proposal, CV, signed Signature Sheet), you must perform a validation of your application by clicking the Sus Validate Application button under the dropdown menu. You will see a “Success” green pop-up window at the top of the screen if the application is ready for submission. Click on the Sus Summit Application” button under the dropdown menu to officially submit your application. You will then see a “Success” green pop-up window at the top of the screen if the application is successfully submitted with a Status of “Proposal: Received”. You will receive a confirmation email after submitting.
You can access your application from the Dashboard (Figure 9).
Should you need to make corrections to your proposal prior to the submission deadline, you can recall your application by going back into your application and then click on the Sus Recall Application button. Remember to Validate and Summit your application again otherwise it will not be officially submitted for funding consideration!
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DC 20036, USA