BIO BUZZ

Invoking Bob Dylan lyrics seems like the best way to transmit the new view of BIO – it is time to awaken, the world is changing. I’ve been immersed in scientific research my entire life, upon taking on the mantel of researcher and educator, moving into academic leadership positions, and finally leading the Directorate for Biological Sciences. Through these experiences, I have witnessed a common thread; scientists want to address questions that are more and more complex. Those complex questions require collaboration and interdisciplinary research, and BIO must be in a position to respond to our communities’ demands.

BIO’s first response is to change how we do business. We are going to move to a no-deadline, full proposal submission mechanism for receiving and reviewing proposals submitted to most core programs in all four divisions in BIO, the Division of Environmental Biology (DEB), the Division of Integrative Organismal Systems (IOS), the Division of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences (MCB), and in the programs in the Research Resources Cluster of the Division of Biological Infrastructure (DBI). Our goal in taking this step is to create an environment where program officers can work collaboratively among the divisions in BIO – uninhibited by varying deadlines across BIO and overwhelming workloads.   Our experience (and others’) suggests this change will alleviate the demands on institutions, reviewers, applicants, and NSF staff caused by steadily increasing numbers of proposals submitted to BIO.

We also hope, and preliminary evidence suggests this is the case, that eliminating deadlines increases the quality of proposals. Under a “no-deadline” review system, a proposal can be submitted on any day, at any time. Investigators are free to submit a proposal when it is as well-developed and competitive as possible, and when it is convenient for them. Submitting proposals at any time allows investigators to have more time to prepare proposals, build collaborations, think more creatively without the pressure of a deadline, and it supports better career-life balance for our investigators. All of these benefits improve the science because they contribute to the best final product for submission.

More information on this change can be found in the DCL, associated FAQs, and upcoming webinars and outreach events. Each Division (DEB, IOS, DBI, and MCB ) has produced a blog about this change, addressed specifically to their communities; I encourage you to check these out. Program officers are standing by for questions about the transition to this change, and I encourage you to call your program officers with specific questions. Additionally, if you have comments or questions about the change to no-deadlines, I would like to hear about them, so please direct them to BIOnodeadline@nsf.gov.