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Writing the Project Summary and Project Description

Project Summary

The project summary is a one page document that consists of separate overview, intellectual merits, and broader impacts sections. Each of these three sections is required to be present and must be clearly defined. All NSF proposals must have project summaries.

The project summary is one of the most important parts of the proposal. It is likely the first thing a reviewer will read, and is your best chance to grab their interest, and convince them of the importance, and quality, of your research before they even read the proposal.

Though it is the first proposal element in order, many applicants prefer to write the project summary last, after writing the project description. This allows the writer to better avoid any inconsistencies between the two.

Resources:

Suggested Project Summary Outline

Project Description

Applicants have considerable freedom in developing the format Project Descriptions. NSF requires that CAREER Project Descriptions contain" a well-argued and specific proposal for activities that will, over a 5-year period, build a firm foundation for a lifetime of contributions to research and education in the context of the PI's organization".

Project Descriptions must include:

  • A description of the proposed research project, including preliminary supporting data where appropriate, specific objectives, methods, and procedures to be used, and expected significance of the results

  • A description of the proposed educational activities, including plans to evaluate their impact on students and other participants

  • A description of how the research and education activities are integrated with one another

  • results of prior NSF support if applicable

Successful applicants will propose creative, effective, integrated research and education plans, and indicate how they will assess these components.

While excellence in both research and education is expected, activity of an intensity that would lead to an unreasonable workload is not. In other words, make sure that what you propose to do is reasonable given your time and resources, and make sure that the proposal convinces the reviewers of this.