NSF AAPF
The NSF AAPF is a federally funded postdoc fellowship that allows you to take your research (almost) anywhere. It provides a stipend (75k) and research budget (35k) for three years.
I received this NSF fellowship in 2022. Part of what helped me to write my application was to read the successful applications of people in my network. While the Hubble Fellows maintain a repository of past successful applications (NHFP Anti-Racism Initiative), this does not exist for the NSF AAFP (to my knowledge!). So, here I share my materials and the comments that I received from my reviewers. You can download the files by clicking the buttons below.
P.S. There are a ton of forms that are also required as a part of the application. Give yourself a few days to fill these out as they are not trivial. There is a Fastlane call line, which I found useful when I got stuck on technical aspects. I also had success emailing the NSF AAPF program officer when I had specific questions about the details/contradictions in the solicitation/guidebook.
P.P.S. It’s not immediately apparent in the solicitation, but this position does not provide health insurance. Some institutional hosts may provide benefits, but it’s not required of them. Instead, the research budget can be used to cover health care costs (such as purchasing a plan off the public market or covering the cost of your institution’s healthcare plan). Sometimes this can be costly, so make sure to look into your options. At CU Boulder, they were able to hire me with zero salary so that they could provide me with benefits, but I know that this is not the case for all institutions.