The National Science Foundation (NSF) is making major changes to the way the research community registers for NSF accounts and maintains account and user profile information in FastLane and Research.gov. Effective March 26, 2018, NSF is introducing a new centralized and streamlined account registration process in Research.gov for the research community that will provide each new user with a single profile and unique identifier (i.e., NSF ID) for signing in to FastLane and Research.gov for proposal and award activities.
Existing NSF Accounts
Existing NSF account holders will migrate to the new account management system through a simple, one-time operation when initially signing in to FastLane or Research.gov after release of the new functionality. Account holders must verify information to transfer it to the new system.
- Each individual user of NSF systems (e.g., FastLane and Research.gov) will have one NSF ID per the Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (NSF 18-1), Chapter I.G.4.
- Users with existing NSF accounts can access the NSF ID Lookup page for their NSF ID.
New Users
New users can register directly with NSF through Research.gov on or after March 26, 2018.
Planned Releases
The new centralized account management functionality is being released first to the Administrator, PI, AOR, Sponsored Project Officer (SPO), Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) Coordinating Official and Financial Official, and Award Cash Management Service (ACM$) groups. NSF plans include expansion of the new functionality to additional groups including proposal reviewers, GRFP applicants, and NSF staff.
Training Resources
NSF is finalizing new account management training resources such as job aids, Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and instructional videos. These materials will soon be available on an “About Account Management” page accessible on the Research.gov homepage.
- Direct IT system-related questions to the NSF Help Desk at 1-800-381-1532 or rgov@nsf.gov.
- Direct Policy-related questions to policy@nsf.gov.