Division of Institution and Award Support

MISSION To provide sustained excellence in stewardship across the grants life-cycle through state-of-the-art business practices and exemplary business assistance to key stakeholders within NSF and across the research community. To demonstrate organizational excellence, agility, and innovation in ensuring NSF leadership within the federal R&D enterprise. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES DIAS staff: experts in policy development, business system design, and cost analysis: serve the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics research and education communities, NSF awarding divisions and program offices, and NSF Senior Management. They also represent the Foundation on federal administrative initiatives. DIAS plays a key role in the oversight of NSF investments carrying out functions ranging from assessing financial capabilities of new performers, to pre-award review of large-scale budgets, to post-award activities (e.g., advanced monitoring), and audit resolution. DIAS staff also provide expert assistance in matters related to NSF policies and procedures, business assistance to awardee organizations, and advice on issues of federal compliance for financial assistance awards. DIAS organizational units include: - Policy Office: responsible for developing, implementing, and issuing proposal and award policy for NSF programs; reviewing and providing official clearance for NSF funding opportunities and related documents; and coordinating outreach programs for external stakeholders and NSF staff. - Cost Analysis & Pre-Award (CAP) Branch: responsible for ensuring that awardee organizations can manage federal funds and that budgeted amounts and/or expenditures comply with federal regulations and NSF guidance. - Resolution & Advanced Monitoring (RAM) Branch: responsible for compliance with federal requirements for audit resolution and follow-up, advanced monitoring, as well as allowance of major expenditure adjustments to financially closed awards. - Systems Office: responsible for the administration, oversight, and interpretation of business rules for assistance awards across NSF corporate systems, as well as systems analysis and requirements development. - BFA Research.gov Business Office: situated in the DIAS Front Office, responsible for defining and advocating functionality for externally-facing NSF proposal and award systems, as well as coordinating bi-annual webinars to gather opinions from the research community on NSF IT modernization efforts.