Introduction and NSF Overview

Adapted from an Official NSF presentation by

Anita Klein, former NSF Program Officer, Assoc. Prof. Biological Sciences

Main Topics

Origins of NSF The National Science Foundation The NSF FY 2009 Budget Request NSF Initiatives

Current Proposal, Award and Funding Trends The Proposal Application and Review Process

Origins of NSF

NSF Act of 1950

“To promote the progress of science…”

NSB (24) and 1 Director, appointed by the President

Encourage & develop a national policy for the promotion of basic research and education in the math, physical, medical, biological, engineering and other sciences

Initiate & support basic scientific research in the sciences

Evaluate the science research programs undertaken by agencies of the Federal government

Provide information for S&E policy formation

NSF Vision

Enabling the nation’s future through discovery, learning

and innovation.

NSF-3

NSF in a Nutshell

Independent Agency Supports basic research & education Uses grant mechanism Low overhead; highly automated

Discipline-based structure Cross-disciplinary mechanisms Use of Rotators/IPAs National Science Board

$$ $$ $$

Funding trends How the NSF budget is crafted: NSF & Executive Branch ask, Congress

funds

U.S. R&D, by source of funds: 1953–2002

1,070,146

486,004

4,614,709

1,216,740

322,345

834,017

747,852

172,245

169,608

382,543

01,000,0002,000,0003,000,0004,000,0005,000,000

0%

1%

9%

35%

36%

42%

44%

48%

59%

84%

0 20 40 60 80 100

Federal Obligations for Basic Research at Academic Institutions, FY 2002

Total Federal Distribution ($000) NSF Share of Total Federal

Computer sciences Mathematics Social sciences Environmental sciences Engineering Other Sciences Physical sciences Biological sciences (non-medical)

Psychology Medical sciences

NSF FY 2010 by Account ($ in Millions) Account FY2009 FY ARRA* FY2010

request

Research & Related Activities

$5183.1 $2500 5,733

Education & Human resources

$845.26 $100 $857

Major research equipment & facilities

$152.00 $400 $117.39

Agency Operations & Award management

$294.00 $318.37

National Science Board

$4.03 $4.34

Office of Inspector General

$12.00 $2.00 $14.10

Total $6490.40 $7,045.30

* American recovery and reinvestment act.

Presidential Initiatives and Major Investments

Potentially transformative research

Career Awards: (+11%) Faculty early career development

Graduate Research Fellowships (+6%) Advanced Technological Education (+24%) Green technology education in community colleges

and 4-year schools

Climate change education

Additional Initiatives Climate Change Science Program Climate Research Cyber-enable discovery and innovation Cybersecurity Experimental program to stimulate competitive research (NH qualifies) Homeland security Nanotechnology

Funding Opportunities Unsolicited Proposals in Disciplinary Programs Regular research grants- RUI CAREER program SGER and conference grants Supplements for broadening participation and for enhancing

research impacts

Solicited proposals for specific programs C-RUI grants Center grants - S&T centers, MRSEC, NSEC Training grants - IGERT, REU sites, GK12 Instrumentation grants Priority areas

Regular Research Grants

Unsolicited Any topic BIO Directorate does not consider disease

related research proposals. BIO Directorate does not consider

duplicate proposals unless you are a beginning investigator.

Research Programs and Clusters are described on the web page. http://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=BIO

CAREER Proposals

Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program Eligibility Untenured assistant professors

Features Plans for research and education for five years Minimum of $500,000 for five years Once a year Some CAREER awardees receive PECASE awards

Check the program announcement

Other Relevant Programs Transforming Undergraduate Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. TUES (formerly CCLI): May 27, 28 2010 (Phase I), January 2009 (Phase II & III) Intention to move beyond small-scale change The development of new educational materials (EMD

track) The adaptation and implementation of existing educational

materials (A&I track) Large-scale faculty professional development (ND track) The new development, adaptation or dissemination of

tools for assessment of student achievement (ASA track)

REU (Research Experiences for Undergraduates) Sites

To initiate and conduct projects that engage a number of undergraduate students in research A well-defined common focus that enables a cohort experience for students To involve students in research who might not otherwise have the opportunity, particularly those from academic institutions where research programs are limited Typically for summer research

UMEB Undergraduate Mentoring in Biology

Institutional awards to give students research experience - broadly defined Proposals should emphasize factors that enable underrepresented groups to enter and remain in environmental biology Major emphasis on direct student participation in research during the academic year and summer, with students remaining in program for >1 year

Major Research Instrumentation Program MRI

NSF wide program Designed to improve the condition of scientific and engineering equipment and facilities for research and research training Awards for instrumentation will range from $100,000 to $2 million Deadline: 4th Thursday in January, annually Program Announcement: NSF-07-510

RIG CAA: Research Initiation Grants and Career Advancement Awards For Broadening Participation

Objective To provide starter funding so that the minority PIs can

obtain competitive research funding Eligibility Faculty from underrepresented groups Minority serving institutions Others with plans to increase minority participation as PIs

with research funding Types RIG – New Investigators; January & July each year CAA – May have previous or current research funding

Budget Includes $150k - 24 months, $25k equipment Carter Kimsey rig-caabp@nsf.gov

RUI: Research in Undergraduate Institution

Objectives To support high-quality research by faculty members of

predominantly undergraduate institutions To strengthen the research environment in academic departments

that are oriented primarily toward undergraduate instruction To promote the integration of research and education

Eligibility Institution: NSF-supported fields, more undergrads than grads,

<10 doctoral degrees/year, Department: No Doctoral program or participation in such program Investigator: Does not advise doctoral students

RUI Impact Statement Describes the expected effects of the proposed research on the

research and educational environment of the institution

Award Supplement Opportunities

Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Research Opportunity Awards (ROA) Research Assistantships for Minority High School Students (RAMHSS) Informal Science Education Supplements International Research and Education Supplements

Submitting an Application to NSF through Grants.gov

* Applicant or Researcher

1. Applicant* navigates to Grants.gov website

2. Applicant searches for program announcements

3. Applicant finds a program announcement and downloads application package (PureEdge forms) and instructions

4. Applicant completes application package

5. AOR submits application package to Grants.gov

7. NSF downloads submitted application packages and validates and inserts the information into FastLane

6,8. Confirmations are sent by both Grants.gov and NSF

Allow extra time for steps 5-8!

NSF Grants.gov Application Guide

Intended to serve as the primary document for use in preparation of NSF applications via Grants.gov Includes step-by-step instructions for completion of each of the SF 424 (R&R) forms as well as the NSF specific forms Provides specific instructions for inclusion and conversion of pdf files

Research & Education Communities

Proposal Preparation and Submission

Organization submits

via: FastLane Grants.gov

NSF

Program Director

Program Director Analysis

& Recom.

Division Director Concur

Via DGA

Organization

Minimum of 3

Reviews Required

DGA Review and Processing of Award

Proposal Review and Decisions

NSF

Proposal Generating Document

Returned As Inappropriate/Withdrawn

Mail

Panel

Both

Award

NSF Proposal & Award Process & Timeline

Decline

90 Days 6 Months 30Days

Proposal Receipt at NSF DD Concur Award

Proposal Processing

Unit

NSF

Merit Review Criteria: NSF invests in the best ideas from the most capable people, determined by competitive merit review.

The intellectual merit of the proposed activity Creativity and originality Potential to advancing knowledge and understanding within and across

fields Conceptualization and organization Qualifications of investigators Access to resources (equipment and expertise)

The broader impacts of the proposed activity Discovery while promoting teaching, training and learning Participation of underrepresented groups Enhancement of infrastructure for research and education Dissemination of results to enhance scientific and technological

understanding Benefits to society

Commandments for Writing Competitive NSF Proposals

“Thou shalt propose a brilliant idea.”

“Thou shalt read Grant Proposal Guide and Program Announcement.”

“Thou shalt discuss the broader impacts.”

“Thou shalt get help with proposal writing.”

“Thou shalt write for the right audience.”

“Thou shalt not irritate the reviewers.”

"Thou shalt not kill (with some exceptions).“

"Thou shalt not steal."

NSF on the web - An indispensable resource

www.nsf.gov

References

Grant Proposal Guide http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg

Science and Engineering Indicators http://nsf.gov/statistics/ When in doubt – http://www.nsf.gov/

Current Proposal, Award and Funding Trends

Distribution of Average Reviewer RatingsFY 2005

1 46

3,060

590

8,522

1,323 1,798

3,564

5,141

1,124

15,415

1,174

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

No Score Poor to Fair Fair to Good Good to VeryGood

Very Good toExcellent

Excellent

Num

ber o

f Pro

posa

ls

Awards Declines

Number of Proposals: 31,966 Declines, 9,792 Awards

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Caveats: Agency wide and includes programs such as Graduate Fellowships which have a high success rate (25) and high #. Unsolicited proposals: 10-15%)

Research Grant Proposals by PI Type

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,000

12,000

14,000

16,000

18,000

20,000

Num

ber

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Perc

enta

ge

Proposals - Prior PI 11,203 11,635 12,026 11,693 12,172 12,885 14,013 14,965 16,944 18,700Proposals - New PI 7,446 8,013 7,910 7,526 7,951 8,561 9,084 10,286 11,752 12,941Funding Rate - Prior PI 36% 34% 36% 36% 36% 36% 32% 32% 29% 25%Funding Rate - New PI 19% 17% 20% 21% 20% 22% 19% 19% 16% 14%

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