In this article we compare two different perspectives on the National Science Foundation(NSF) grant proposal and funding process: that depicted by the genre-dominant
NSF Web site and that articulated by several successful NSF-funded researchers.
Using genre theory and play theory to map the respective processes, we found
that a systems-based refocusing of audience analysis—namely, genre field analysis—
allows researchers a more accurate understanding of their roles as agents within
the system.