New NSF PAPPG Requirement: Proposals that May Impact Tribal Resources or Interests

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has published a new version of the NSF PAPPG (NSF 24-1) including an additional section, Seeking and Obtaining Tribal Nation Approval for Proposals that May Impact Tribal Resources or Interests, which requires that relevant proposals include a copy of a written request to any impacted Tribal Nation(s).

At proposal time, only the request is required, however, if the project is selected for funding, NSF will require documentation of written approval from all impacted Tribal Nations before issuing an award. Per NSF “Projects that do not have prior written approval from the official(s) designated by the relevant Tribal Nation(s) will not be awarded by NSF”.

ASU Process for NSF Proposals that May Impact Tribal Resources or Interests:

1. Principal Investigator (PI)/Unit will review the Tribal Partnerships page, as well as the ‘Research on tribal lands or with tribal populations’ section on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Special Considerations page (including Guidance: Native American Tribal Consultation).
   1. If the PI/Unit has an existing relationship with the tribal community they seek to work with, skip to step 3 below.
2. Well in advance of proposal development, PI/Unit will reach out to [email protected], to communicate a desire to work with a tribe and the reasons why.  From there, if appropriate, the PI/Unit can build an authentic relationship with a tribe that is interested. Building this relationship will take time, and it will not take into account funding due dates. The reasons for working with a tribe ought to extend beyond any particular funding opportunity and be rooted in the tribe’s interests.
3. At proposal time, PI/Unit will reach out to [email protected] to communicate plans to submit an NSF proposal that may impact tribal resources or interests. Guidance and support for sending a written request to a tribe (or tribes) may be provided. In order to ensure these services can be supplied, please provide as much advanced notice as possible ahead of any sponsor deadlines.
4. PI/Unit will provide a copy of the written request(s) to any Tribal Nation(s) to the unit Research Advancement Administrator (RA) for upload to Research.gov as part of the NSF proposal package.
5. If the proposal is recommended for funding, the PI/Unit will be required to submit documentation of Tribal Nation approval to NSF.
   1. PI/Unit will reach out to [email protected] if assistance is needed to obtain written approval prior to award.