Resources for Addressing NSF's Postdoctoral Mentoring Requirement

Background

Effective January 1, 2009, NSF required all proposals that include a postdoctoral researcher on the budget to include a description of mentoring activities that are planned for that postdoc.  This mentoring plan must be included in the "Supplementary Documents" section and will not be counted against the page limit for the Project Description (this is a change that became effective in April 2009.  Below is an excerpt from the April NSF Grant Proposal Guide: 

"Mentoring Requirement for Postdoctoral Research Fellows

Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan. Each proposal that requests funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include, as a supplementary document, a description of the mentoring activities that will be provided for such individuals. In no more than one page, the mentoring plan must describe the mentoring that will be provided to all postdoctoral researchers supported by the project, irrespective of whether they reside at the submitting organization, any subawardee organization, or at any organization participating in a simultaneously submitted collaborative project."  

Example Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan for an NSF Proposal

[click here]

Literature and Resources on Mentoring of Postdocs

Articles and Reports on the Web:

• National Academy of Sciences Report, "Enhancing the Postdoctoral Experience for Scientists and Engineers: A Guide for Postdoctoral Scholars, Advisers, Institutions, Funding Organizations, and Disciplinary Societies," 2000. (available to read free online ) - see particularly Chapter 8.
• "Learning to Mentor, " by Virginia Gewin, on naturejobs.com
• The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Individual Development Plan for Postdoctoral Fellows and Policy Statement (pdfs).
• Another presentation of FASEB's Individual Development Plan (IDP) process by the Case Western Reserve University Office of Postdoctoral Affairs in a different format (pdf).

Other Resources at Texas A&M University

•  NSF-funded Center for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL)
• Center for Teaching Excellence
• Workshops and seminars offered by OPD that may be of special interest to postdoctoral researchers
• For a one-on-one consultation regarding addressing the mentoring requirement in an NSF proposal, contact OPD personnel to make an appointment

Other Resources

• National Postdoctoral Association
• MinorityPostdoc.org -  website of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS) Postdoc Committee