Proposal Resources - August 2008
A list of useful resources for writing proposals that we've recently found on the web.
What’s New in Federal Research Budget: R&D Budget & Policy Updates
http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/new.htm
by Kei Koizumi, Director, R&D Budget and Policy Program
American Association for the Advancement of Science
FY09 Budget Presentation Slides, Downloadable
http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/present.htm
Evidence for the Efficacy of Student-active Learning Pedagogies
Jeffrey E. Froyd, Research Professor & Director of Faculty and Organizational Development at Texas A&M University
How to Become a Grant Reviewer
By Karen M. Markin, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Chronicle Careers
http://chronicle.com:80/jobs/news/2008/06/2008060201c/careers.html
The University of the Future
In a world where economies are increasingly dependent upon high-level knowledge, higher education is a key national resource. But a Forward Look initiated by the European Science Foundation (ESF) shows that we need to know more about how universities, and other higher education institutions, are changing in the 21st century.
Homeland Security Research Funding
http://research.unc.edu/grantsource/counterterrorism.php#fed
GrantSource Library, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
National Graduate Fellowships, Grants, Scholarships & other support
http://ase.tufts.edu/GradStudy/research/
Office of Graduate and Professional Studies, Tufts University
Research Funding Opportunities in the Humanities
The Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research
Texas A&M University
http://glasscockcenter.blogspot.com/ (funding blog)
ACLS Competitions and Deadlines, 2008-09
http://www.acls.org/grants/Single.aspx?id=352
American Philosophical Society Fellowships & Research Grants
http://www.amphilsoc.org:80/grants/
Hall Center for the Humanities Grant Development Links
The University of Kansas
http://www.hallcenter.ku.edu/~hallcenter/grants/development/links.shtml
FAQs for Science and Technology Centers (STC): Integrative Partnerships Program
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08059/nsf08059.jsp?govDel=USNSF_25
Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT)
2006-2007 Annual Report
http://www.nsf.gov:80/pubs/2008/nsf0840/index.jsp?govDel=USNSF_124
Target Date For Proposal Submissions: Division of Physics
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08053/nsf08053.jsp?govDel=USNSF_25
For proposals competing for FY 2009 (which begins October 1, 2008) funds, the target date for unsolicited proposals submitted to most programs is September 24, 2008 (except as noted at above URL).
NSF Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Department of Defense for National Security Research
http://www.nsf.gov:80/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=111829&govDel=USNSF_51
NSF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Defense that will allow researchers to apply for grants to study subjects that may be of interest to U.S. national security. Officials anticipate the MOU will fund work leading to new knowledge about topics such as religious fundamentalism, terrorism and cultural change.
Six Merit Review Facts from NSF
http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/meritreview/facts.jsp
FACT 1: NSF Program Officers make recommendations to fund or decline a proposal. DISCUSSION: External review panels do not make funding decisions. The analysis and evaluation of proposals by external reviewers provide information to NSF Program Officers in making their recommendations to award or decline a proposal.
What Does NSF Mean by “Transformative Research” Under the Intellectual Merit Review Criterion?
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2007/in130/in130.jsp
The term "transformative research" is being used to describe a range of endeavors which promise extraordinary outcomes, such as: revolutionizing entire disciplines; creating entirely new fields; or disrupting accepted theories and perspectives — in other words, those endeavors which have the potential to change the way we address challenges in science, engineering, and innovation.
Using Statistics Effectively In Mathematics Education Research
http://www.amstat.org/research_grants/pdfs/SMERReport.pdf
A report from a series of workshops organized by the American Statistical Association with funding from the National Science Foundation.
Building Evaluation Capacity Guide 1: Designing a Cross-Project Evaluation: http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/15841
by Beatriz Chu Clewell and Patricia B. Campbell, The Urban Institute, January 2008.
"Designing a Cross-Project Evaluation is the first of a two-guide set for evaluators and others interested in evaluation grew out of a National Science Foundation funded effort to improve cross project evaluations. It focuses on evaluation design, including identification and operationalization of program goals, building of logic models, and indicator setting. This guide also covers the selection of indicators to be measured and appropriate measures for these indicators. It concludes with a discussion of measurement strategies: the selection of appropriate measures for different indicators and the role of demographic variables."
Building Evaluation Capacity Guide 2: Collecting and Using Data in Cross-Project Evaluations: http://hub.mspnet.org/index.cfm/15842
by Beatriz Chu Clewell and Patricia B. Campbell, The Urban Institute, January 2008
Collecting and Using Data in Cross-Project Evaluations is the second of a two-guide set for evaluators and others interested in evaluation grew out of a National Science Foundation funded effort to improve cross project evaluations. It concerns data--its collection, reporting, and use. The first section lays out the multiple issues involved in data collection: the strengths and weaknesses of formats that can be used in data collection; data-collection scheduling; data quality and methods of ensuring it; data unique to individual projects; and confidentiality and the protection of human subjects in data collection. Other sections of this report concern ways of building data-collection capacity among projects; rationales, sources, and measures of comparison data; issues inherent in the reporting and displaying of data; and the uses to which cross-project data might be put.
Learning to Teach: Alternatives to Trial by Fire
by Nancy M. Trautmann
http://www.changemag.org:80/May-June%202008/full-learning-to-teach.html
Effect of STEM Faculty Engagement in MSP—A Longitudinal Perspective
http://hub.mspnet.org/media/data/MSPSTEMYear4Report_05_28_08.pdf?media_000000002761.pdf
Prepared for the National Science Foundation by Westat
[NSF SBE] Guidelines for Writing Grant Proposals
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/bcs/ling/guidelines.jsp
By Ann M. Peters, University of Hawaii & Lise Menn, University of Colorado
Written to help linguists, especially younger scholars, produce higher quality (and therefore more fundable) proposals for grants from NSF, this essay is an excellent overall introduction to writing proposals to NSF’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economics Sciences.
NIST Releases Preview of Online Mathematics Reference
The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a five-chapter preview of the much-anticipated online Digital Library of Mathematical Functions. In development for over a decade, the DLMF is designed to be a modern successor to the 1964 “Handbook of Mathematical Functions,” a reference work that is the most widely distributed NIST publication (with over a million copies in print) and one of the most cited works in the mathematical literature (still receiving over 1,600 yearly citations in the research literature). The preview of the new DLMF is a fully functional beta-level release of five of the 36 chapters.
Research Grants and Fellowships
The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation invites scholars and students to apply for support of their research and use of the archival, manuscript, and audiovisual holdings of the Library under the following programs.
Biofuels Central
http://www.wilsoncenter.org:80/index.cfm?fuseaction=news.item&news_id=228810
Current news, publications and resources exploring the future of biofuels. The forum is an independent reference source offering diverse analysis and information regarding the potential impacts of alternative energy.
Wow NIH Reviewers with Your Public Health Relevance Statement
http://report.nih.gov/crisp/index.aspx
NIH requires applicants to submit public health relevance statements in grant applications in order to clearly explain the project's potential to improve public health. The public health relevance statement should be written in plain language that can be understood by a general, lay audience, as well as by your reviewers and colleagues. NIH uses these public health relevance statements for portfolio analyses, to identify research highlights to Congress, and to make the importance of the research clear to the public. Statements of public health relevance are highlighted in a new field, separate from the project abstract, on the NIH CRISP (Computer Retrieval of Information Scientific Projects) tool found on the new NIH Report Web site.
(Source: http://nexus.od.nih.gov/nexus/nexus.aspx?ID=66&Month=5&Year=2008 )
NIH Video & Pod Casting
http://videocast.nih.gov/default.asp
http://videocast.nih.gov:80/FutureEvents.asp
Schedule of upcoming video and pod-cast research topics and related events at the National Institutes of Health, along with archived videos on demand.
NIH Director Announces Enhancements to Peer Review
http://www.nih.gov/news/health/jun2008/od-06.htm
NIH Will Commit $1 Billion over Next Five Years to Investigator-Initiated High Risk, High Impact Transformative Research
Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-190.html
NIH and CDC hereby notify Principal Investigators holding specific types of NIH research grants, listed in the full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) that funds are available for administrative supplements to improve the diversity of the research workforce by supporting and recruiting students, postdoctorates, and eligible investigators from groups that have been shown to be underrepresented.
NIGMS Will Consider Support of More Than One Position by Research Supplements to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-GM-08-127.html
Resources for the Development of Early-Career Scientists
http://www.hhmi.org/resources/labmanagement/index.html
Beginning scientists face a variety of challenges in launching their careers. The publications and links on this Web site can help new investigators "make the right moves" and assist those who take on the important task of providing early-career researchers with scientific management training.
Joint DMS/NIGMS Initiative to Support Research in the Area of Mathematical Biology, Issues July 3
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-GM-08-131.html
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) and the Division of Mathematical Sciences in the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences at the National Science Foundation (DMS) plan to support research in mathematics and statistics related to mathematical biology research. Both agencies recognize the need for additional research at the boundary between the mathematical sciences and the life sciences. This competition is designed to encourage new collaborations at this interface, as well as to support existing ones. NIGMS and DMS anticipate making 15 to 20 awards totaling about $5 million, in fiscal year 2009. It is expected that each award will be between $100,000 to $400,000 (total costs) per year and will be for three to five years. Specific information concerning the application and review process is available at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2006/nsf06607/nsf06607.pdf
Rapid Assessment Post-Impact of Disaster (R21)
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-06-253.html
The purpose of this FOA is to provide a rapid funding mechanism for research on the post-impact of disasters, in order to permit access to a disaster area in the immediate aftermath of the event. The regular grant submission, review, and funding process is lengthy, such that it requires investigators who would conduct such studies to wait a minimum of nine months after the submission of the application to obtain the research funds, during which time important data may be lost.
NIH Bioengineering Consortium (BECON)
http://www.becon.nih.gov/becon.htm
The Bioengineering Consortium (BECON) is the focus of bioengineering activities at the NIH. The Consortium consists of senior-level representatives from all of the NIH institutes, centers, and divisions plus representatives of other Federal agencies concerned with biomedical research and development. The BECON is administered by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering.
Grants 101: Navigating the EPA Grant Process
http://www.epa.gov/solar/documents/webcasts/epa_grants101.pdf
by Asher Weinberg, EPA Grants Coordinator, February 2008
EPA Research Topics URL List
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/topics.html
Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study, 2007-2008
http://www.si.edu/ofg/intern.htm
This URL includes descriptions of fellowships, internships and other programs available at the Institution. Please take note of specialized fellowships and their respective places of contact. Guidelines on How to Write a Proposal to The Smithsonian Institution: http://www.si.edu/osp/submittingaproposal.htm
U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences News Flash
http://ies.ed.gov/newsflash/index.asp
An e-mail-based alert service designed to inform you about all new content posted to the IES website including news from its four Centers and programs within Centers such as the Regional Educational Laboratory Program.
Grantmaking at ED, Answers to Your Questions About the Discretionary Grants Process
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/about/grantmaking/index.html
Grant Application Guide, U.S. Department of Energy
http://www.sc.doe.gov/grants/guide.html
Grant applications submitted to the Office of Science must fit within these program areas and follow this application guide.
DoD Reaffirms Openness in Results of Fundamental Research
http://www.aau.edu/research/Stmt_DOD_NSDD-189_06-26-08.pdf
The Department of Defense has issued clarifying guidance (pdf) emphasizing the importance of free scientific exchange and reaffirming openness with the products of fundamental research, except where explicitly deemed classified.
Office of Naval Research Currently Active BAAs
http://www.onr.navy.mil/02/baa/
U.S. Army Research Laboratory Open BAAs
http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?Action=6&Page=8
Defense Sciences Office Current Solicitations
http://www.darpa.mil/dso/solicitations/solicit.htm
Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research: AFOSR-BAA-2008-1
http://www.wpafb.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-080212-048.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Open Funding Opportunities
http://www.sc.doe.gov/grants/grants.html
NASA Open and Future Research Solicitations
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/solicitations.do?method=init
Center for Disease Control & Prevention Open FOAs
http://www.cdc.gov/od/pgo/funding/FOAs.htm
Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs for FY08
http://cdmrp.army.mil:80/funding/reftable.htm
Synopsis of Current Program Announcements
Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Open Opportunities
http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/default.htm
Science Education Resource Center (SERC)
http://serc.carleton.edu/serc/about.html
SERC, with support from NSF, works to improve education through projects that support educators, particularly for undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, across a broad range of disciplines and at all educational levels.
Engineering Education
http://free.ed.gov:80/resource.cfm?resource_id=1985
Provides video clips and interactive resources for learning about the design process, history and impact of technology, innovation and invention, what engineering is, materials and tools, biotechnology, information technology, construction technology, energy and power technology, manufacturing technology, and transportation technology.
Pedagogy in Action
http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/index.html
http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/news/new_pedagogic_modules.html
Documents more than 25 pedagogic techniques for teaching sciences to undergraduates: case-based learning, game-based learning, making and testing conjectures, peer review, quantitative writing, role playing, using spreadsheets, and others. Find more than 600 learning activities in biology, environmental science, geography, geoscience, math, and physics. (SERC, National Science Foundation).
NSF Future Challenges for the Science and Engineering of Learning
http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/SLCWorkshopReportjan08.pdf
Rodney Douglas - E. T. H. and University of Zurich
Terry Sejnowski - Salk Institute and University of California at San Diego
The goal of the workshop was to explore research opportunities in the broad
domain of the Science and Engineering of Learning, and to provide NSF with this Report identifying important open questions, particularly in the context of the NSF Science of Learning Centers, and also to spur new technological developments.
