PRESTO Guidance for Requesting PIs

The Project Requests Online (PRESTO) is the submission platform to request one or more of the NSF Lower Atmosphere Observing Facilities (LAOF) that are managed by NCAR's Earth Observing Laboratory.  These facilities are part of the Facilities for Atmospheric Research and Education (FARE) program.

Project Requests Online

PRESTO is managed and maintained by the EOL in collaboration with the ACCESS Resource Allocations Marketplace and Platform Services (RAMPS) (formerly XRAS). PRESTO guides investigators interested in requesting LAOF through a set of online forms to provide the required documentation. Listed below are step-by-step instructions to prepare the request information, access the online system, and submit the facility request forms.

Step-by-step request guidance

Step 1: Create an ACCESS (formerly XSEDE) user account
Step 2: Prepare PDFs to upload
Step 3: Access the LAOF Facility Request forms
Step 4: Provide form question responses
Step 5: Save and continue editing
Step 6: Submit the Facility Request form 

Step 1

Create an ACCESS (Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support) [formerly XSEDE] user account

Before accessing the PRESTO Facility Request forms, an ACCESS user account must be created (unless you already have an account). If you already have an ACCESS (XSEDE) account, go to the Existing User instructions. If not, go to the New User instructions.

Your ACCESS credentials are the same credentials you will use to log into PRESTO.

Step 2

Prepare the required and supplemental documents

Prepare the following required and supplemental documents for upload to PRESTO based on the NSF-determined Track. Please note that PRESTO only accepts documents for upload that are in PDF format.

Track 1 | Education & Outreach

None required

Track 2 | Single Facility Requests

  • Experiment Plan (no more than 10 pages)
  • Data Management Plan (no page limit)

Track 3 | Field Campaigns 

  • Experiment Plan (no more than 10 pages)
  • Data Management Plan (no page limit)
  • List of publications resulting from previous LAOF support (no page limit; last 5 years only)

Supplementary PDFs (not required but helpful)

Step 3

Access the LAOF Facility Request forms

  • Log in to PRESTO using your ACCESS credentials.
  • Select the appropriate facility request for which you are submitting a facility request, i.e., Track 1 Education & Outreach, Track 2 Single Facility Request, or Track 3 Field Campaigns.
  • You will then be directed to the LAOF Facility Request form page.

Step 4

Provide form question responses

  • Most responses are yes/no or short answers; the questions are very similar to past Facility Request forms.
  • For radio buttons, select one. 
  • For check boxes, select all that apply. 
  • Only PDFs are accepted where documents are uploaded.
  • You will have the opportunity to save work as you progress and come back to it at a later date by clicking the orange Save to Date button in the lower right corner.
  • You will be able to save and resume partially complete requests prior to its submission.
  • If you need to edit the request, you can do so until the opportunity is closed by clicking My Facility Requests in the upper left corner and selecting Edit for the appropriate request.
  • Questions with an icon of a red circle and an exclamation point inside indicate that the question is required.

Step 5

Save and continue editing

  • Be sure to click Save to Date frequently and before you want to exit the system.
  • After selecting Save to Date, you may continue to complete the form or edit your existing responses.
  • To continue editing at a later date, log into PRESTO with your credential and select My Facility Requests in the upper left and then click the Edit icon next to your Facility Request.

Step 6

Submit the Facility Request form

  • Once the form is completed to your satisfaction and all of the required fields have a response, click the green Submit button at the bottom of the page.
  • A notification will be sent to the provided email indicating the Facility Request has been submitted.

Go to the Projects Request Online (PRESTO) to complete the Facility Request form.

For further assistance, please contact the PRESTO Team: eol-presto@ucar.edu

1The ACCESS Resource Allocations Marketplace and Platform Services (RAMPS) is an NSF-funded program (Award Number: 2138259) to develop an unprecedented, comprehensive, advanced digital services cyberinfrastructure (CI) to enable transformative open science and engineering research and innovative training and educational programs. The RAMPS project is transforming the process of allocation for the ever-evolving range of NSF-funded resources in the Advanced Cyberinfrastructure Coordination Ecosystem: Services & Support (ACCESS) ecosystem. This ecosystem includes many of the most powerful computing, storage, and related cyberinfrastructure resources available to the U.S. research community. These resources provide essential capabilities for advancing science and education across all fields of science. The RAMPS allocation environment offers a welcoming gateway that inspires collaboration and participation in the pursuit of scientific discovery while continuing to provide an essential gatekeeping function when necessary to balance demand for resources with the available supply.