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Research Development & Grant Writing News

A c a d e m i c R e s e a r c h F u n d i n g S t r a t e g i e s , L L C

Volume 4, Issue 8: April 15, 2014

Table of Contents Topics of Interest URLs

NSF’s New Research Traineeship Program

Short Fuse or Wired Solicitation?

Opportunities for Social Science Funding at NSF

DARPA’s New Biological Technologies Office

Eliminate Ambiguity in the Research Narrative

Research Grant Writing Web Resources

Educational Grant Writing Web Resources

Agency Research News

Agency Reports, Workshops & Roadmaps

New Funding Opportunities

About Academic Research Funding Strategies

Our New eBook! Strategies for Planning, Developing, and

Writing Large Team Grants is a step by step “how-to” guide for faculty and research professionals facing the challenges of

transitioning to center-level grants.

Order Here

Our First eBook

New Faculty Guide to Competing for Research Funding is an invaluable tool for faculty writing

research grants and the research offices assisting them. Table of Contents

Contact Us For Grant Writing Workshops

Strategic Proposal Planning Help Red Teaming a Proposal

Editorial Review of Proposals and Articles

Research Development & Grant Writing News ©

Published monthly for faculty and research professionals by

Academic Research Funding Strategies, LLC Mike Cronan & Lucy Deckard, co-Publishers

Copyright 2014. All rights reserved. Subscribe Online (Hotlink)

Queries: [email protected]

©Please do not post to open websites©

About the co-publishers Mike Cronan, PE (Texas 063512, inactive) has 23 years of experience developing and writing successful proposals at Texas A&M University. He was named a Texas A&M University System Regents Fellow (2001-2010) for developing and writing A&M System-wide grants funded at over $100 million by NSF and other funding agencies. He developed and directed two research development and grant writing offices, one for Texas A&M’s VPR and the other for the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (15 research divisions state-wide). Lucy Deckard (BS/MS Materials) worked in research development and grant writing at Texas A&M University and across the A&M System for nine years. She directed A&M’s New Faculty Research Initiative (2004-09), helping junior faculty System-wide jumpstart their research careers with federal agency funding. She served as associate director of two research development and grant writing offices. She founded ARFS in 2010.

About the editor

Katherine E. Kelly, Ph.D., is a retired English professor from Texas A&M University. She is the author of several books and numerous articles and served as a contributing editor for an academic journal for five years. She provides editorial services to RD&GW News and to ARFS clients on proposals, journal articles, and manuscripts.

http://www.academicresearchgrants.com/new_e-book_strategies_for_planning_developing_and_writing_large_team_grants



http://www.academicresearchgrants.com/new_faculty_guide_to_competing_for_research_funding



http://academicresearchgrants.com/home

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Topics of Interest URLs (Back to Page 1)

The Impacts of Tenure Track Vs Non-Tenure Track Professors on Future Enrollment and Performance

Measuring Research: A Guide To Research Evaluation Frameworks and Tools for AAMC

New Data on Peer Review Across NIH

Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit

France A. Córdova Sworn in as NSF Director

Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program New Awards for FY 2014

Support for Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure and Research FY 2015-FY 2019

Federal Science and Engineering Obligations to Universities and Colleges Drop by 11% in FY 2011

Maintaining Confidentiality in NIH Peer Review

Health Resources and Services Administration Open Funding Opportunities

Science and Engineering Indicators 2014, National Science Board (Online version)

NSF Grants Conference - Denver, CO

IES Statistical and Research Methodology in Education New Awards for FY 2015

IES Research Training Programs in the Education Sciences New Awards for FY 2015

NSPIRES: Game Changing Opportunities In Technology Development

How to Conduct Rigorous Evaluations of Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP)

A Guide for Reporting on Rigorous Evaluation for the USDoED Mathematics and Science Partnerships

2014 EPA Greater Research Opportunities Fellowships For Undergraduate Environmental Study

http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/SingleStudyReview.aspx?sid=20008

http://cssip.org/docs/meeting/RAND_Full.pdf

http://nexus.od.nih.gov/all/2014/04/11/data-peer-review-across-nih/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=data-peer-review-across-nih

http://www.nsf.gov/events/event_summ.jsp?cntn_id=131094&WT.mc_id=USNSF_13&WT.mc_ev=click

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=130931

http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-04-09/pdf/2014-07975.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14054/nsf14054.jsp?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/infbrief/nsf14309/

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-14-073.html

http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/index.html

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/content/etc/nsb1401.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/digest?WT.mc_id=USNSF_124




http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/summary.do?method=init&solId=%7b15D0330B-C171-848F-7073-81DC5FBC826E%7d&path=init

http://coalition4evidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/MSP_Issue_Brief_on_conducting_rig_eval.pdf

http://www.ed-msp.net/public_documents/document/resource/Guide%20for%20Reporting%20on%20MSP%20Evaluations.pdf

http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2014/2014_gro_undergrad.html



NSF’s New Research Traineeship Program Copyright 2014 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved.

By Mike Cronan, co-publisher (Back to Page 1)

The optional but nonetheless recommended Letter of Intent for the new National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Program is due May 20, with the full proposal due June 24. If you are thinking of submitting an NRT proposal, focus on the word “recommended” rather than the word “optional”; in fact, focus on the reasons why it would be foolish not to submit an LOI. NSF notes that “LOI’s are not reviewed but are used to gauge the submission of proposals and the review requirements.” Knowing that NSF uses the LOI as a factor in constituting the appropriate team of reviewers may provide a sufficient reason to submit the LOI; however, an even more compelling reason is the knowledge that responding to the LOI will require a 200-word synopsis of your NRT proposal. The LOI asks that you provide a brief summary of the vision and goals of the proposed training program, including a brief description of the interdisciplinary theme, the main training elements, and the plan for extending training benefits beyond NRT trainees to a greater population of STEM graduate students on campus. Think of your LOI as the conceptual cornerstone of a successful NRT proposal. Start it now and hone it to perfection with your NRT team. The NRT will prove to be not only a challenging grant to plan, develop, and write but also a highly competitive grant to win, given that only eight to ten awards will be made under the current competition. If it is anything like the now defunct IGERT in terms of the large number of applicants and the very low success rate, you will need to enter the competition seeking every possible advantage over other applicants. One important step in gaining competitive advantage is to put in place a strategic plan to be used by the NRT team for planning, developing, and writing the proposal. This development plan will provide the framework for guiding your NRT application, particularly in terms of starting the narrative template based on the NRT solicitation and developing a schedule and task assignment table to serve as the blueprint for proposal production in terms of who does what and when as you advance the process through multiple narrative iterations in the pursuit of perfection (see Proposal Planning: The Key Role of the Schedule and Task Assignment Table, December, 2010, RD&GWN). Make no mistake about it—a successful NRT proposal will need to be transformative perfection in and of itself. Of course, if you have an NRT team strategic development plan that conceptualizes the future of STEM graduate education rather than replaying the past, you will gain a competitive advantage just from the “aggregate human nature of the applicant pool.” Under the “aggregate human nature of the applicant pool” theory of grant writing, you can count on competing against a large number of applicants who will have no plan and no strategy for the NRT; who will resurrect ideas from the graveyard of past projects rather than conceptualizing new ideas for a better future; and who will write an NRT narrative as a collection of siloed contributions by multiple authors assembled days before the due date. In other words, it is likely that a very large percentage of NRT proposals will be noncompetitive from the get-go,


http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14548/nsf14548.htm



although the aggregate number of submitted proposals makes any particular proposal’s odds of funding look slim. But count on the “aggregate human nature of the applicant pool,” the grant-writing equivalent of the law of large numbers, to ensure that a large number of submitted proposals will be poorly planned, poorly developed, and poorly written regurgitations of the past rather than a novel vision for the future to significantly increase your odds of funding. Under this scenario, you will be competing against the much smaller, genuinely competitive subset of grants. Moreover, as with any large-team grant (LTG), your capacity to present NSF with a transformative vision for the program will be essential to your success. Clearly describing your compelling team vision and goals will take extensive team discussions and many iterations of your project narrative if you are to have any chance of succeeding. Keep in mind that the most common reason for declining an LTG is the team’s inability to present a convincing vision for the proposed project. The difficulty facing those writing the vision and goals narrative for the NRT is that the expectation of NSF for successful applicants is somewhat like the predecessor IGERT program but now on “transformative steroids.” As NSF notes, the NRT program differs from the previous NSF training programs through an emphasis on training for multiple career pathways, rotating priority research themes, inclusion of both master’s and doctoral students, a broader definition of trainees, and greater budgetary and programmatic flexibility. So the NRT imposes another layer of “transformative complexity” to differentiate it from prior training programs, such as the IGERT. However, keep in mind that funding success, particularly at NSF, goes to the strategically prepared. If you are strategically prepared to submit an NRT, you will gain a significant competitive advantage over those who are not. Fortunately, as in the case of the IGERT, while a blizzard of hundreds of proposals may be submitted for one competition, a very much smaller subset of those is actually competitive for funding and forms the pool from which the final recipients are selected. Being strategically prepared will place you in that competitive pool. So this brings us back to the LOI—take this opportunity to strategically prepare by writing the vision and goals now. Write it, revise it, discuss it, and then re-write, revise it again, and discuss it again until, over many iterations, you converge on the perfect LOI 200-word summary of your vision and goals for an NRT. Keep in mind the LOI is not a pre-approval mechanism, nor will feedback will be provided on the LOI. Writing the summary will give you a competitive advantage by laying the conceptual foundation for a well-crafted and successful NRT narrative. Write the summary in a manner that will be informative to STEM professionals working in the same or related fields, and understandable to a scientifically literate lay reader, thereby using the LOI to practice how you should write for reviewers of the full NRT proposal. The NRT is a classic large-team grant. While the funding level is at the lower end of LTGs ($3 million over five years), the NRT solicitation is a litany of the characteristics common to large-team grants. For example, in the project narrative, you will be expected to describe the overarching theme, vision, and goals of the proposed NRT project with a focus on creating new approaches to STEM graduate education that are innovative, evidence-based, sustainable, and scalable within and across institutions.



These are not trivial expectations. Poorly conceptualized and poorly written vision and goals statements are a leading “cause of death” of large-team grants identified when autopsies are performed on declined grants. Moreover, the narrative specificity and detail required to describe how your proposed NRT project creates new approaches to STEM graduate education that are innovative, evidence-based, sustainable, and scalable within and across institutions is enormously challenging to write. First, you will need a clear and consistent definition of what these terms mean in the context of your proposed NRT, e.g., what exactly do you mean by scalable and how does it work, or does it work in whole or in part. Moreover, this presupposes you can succinctly explain and contrast the existing approaches to STEM education with what you envision to be the approach to STEM education under an NRT within a clear contextual framework that makes sense to reviewers. For example, can you explain and differentiate old graduate education models from your envisioned new and novel models? Why and how do the approaches presented in your NRT narrative significantly advance the current practices in STEM graduate education? These questions will need to be addressed using specifics and detail that reveal the proposed practices to be innovative, sustainable, and scalable, and to offer evidence-based approaches to their transformativity. Do you know what is meant by “evidence-based approaches,” both in your institutional and a national context? You can count on some number of reviewers understanding and looking for “evidence-based approaches” to graduate education when reviewing your NRT. Remember, too, that vision and goals statements are overarching narrative descriptions that need to be well grounded in specificity and detail that make clear and convincing to reviewers the operational and organizational frameworks that enable the vision and goals. Given that NSF recommends bringing on board an outside rather than internal consultant for assessment and evaluation of the NRT suggests that it would be wise to identify a person internally with equivalent expertise in assessment and evaluation to an outside consultant and make them part of the NRT development team. This inclusion will help you better structure the program and better write a successful narrative. Keep in mind that the arguments you put forth in the NRT narrative demonstrating new approaches for STEM graduate education must be evidence-based, typically a domain of expertise of experienced evaluators. The NRT solicitation makes clear that NSF places a high value on assessment and evaluation of the proposed graduate training. So while you are considering an outside consultant for evaluation, as NSF recommends, you will gain a competitive advantage by including an experienced internal evaluator on the NRT development team to better plan and write training goals and objectives in a way that presents a logical program structure for long-term assessment and evaluation. Too often those inexperienced in responding to large-team grant solicitations wait until the project narrative is more fully developed and the narrative more complete before asking an experienced evaluator to write an evaluation section. However, at this point, too much has been “cast in stone,” both in terms of program components and the narrative draft, to introduce a truly integrated evaluation component to the proposal rather than a siloed evaluation component. Integrating the evaluation into the narrative is just as important as including programmatic evaluation in a funded NRT.



Significant narrative and programmatic synergy can be achieved by bringing an experienced evaluator onto the project team at its earliest stages. This allows the NRT narrative to fully integrate the assessment and evaluation metrics into the project description, and encourages a definition of NRT activities that lend themselves to assessment by an outside evaluator. It is important to note in this context that NRT asks reviewers to note whether “ the evaluation plan include(s) outcomes, performance measures, benchmarks, and an evaluation timetable, as well as how formative evaluation will improve practice?” These metrics should not be viewed as appendage to the NRT narrative, but rather should be made organic to its development. Moreover, the NRT solicitation imposes some challenging additional requirements on applicants that call for thoughtful and well crafted narrative responses. For example, the requirement to clearly identify the potential of your NRT project to provide appreciable and meaningful added value to the current degree programs and methods of graduate training at your institution will require details through which you can compare and contrast the current institutional environment (what is there and what is lacking) to the envisioned environment for STEM graduate training under a funded NRT. Articulating how your proposed NRT will foster valuable interdisciplinary synergisms emerging from ongoing research activities and/or via NRT-funded initiatives is another challenging requirement. Clearly, the NRT will require you to have a vision for the future and not merely a plan to renovate the past. Do not build your NRT from spare narrative parts left over from old IGERT narratives, or similar programs, either funded or not funded. That will not work!! The focus of NRT, according to NSF, is on creating innovations in STEM graduate education to prepare the scientists and engineers of the future. Any potential NRT team is going to have to think about this—a lot. You will have to have an overarching NRT vision under which you describe the training elements, the rationale for their inclusion, and how they integrate with NRT research activities. NRT requires that you identify what is lacking in the current approaches to STEM graduate education institutionally and nationally and how your proposed NRT will help meet those needs, both within the participating departments and across the institution. This is not something that you will write “off the top of your head.” It will require extensive team discussion to credibly identify what is lacking in current STEM education and present a vision for what the future of STEM education should look like. NSF will expect that you describe a future wherein your proposed NRT will be novel, thereby enabling potentially transformative research that the NRT will catalyze through interdisciplinary synergies emerging from currently funded activities at your institution and/or via separate NRT-funded interdisciplinary initiatives. In future competitions, NSF anticipates that NRT research themes will be revisited periodically and will rotate every two to three years. In this current solicitation, the NRT program has one priority theme – Data-Enabled Science and Engineering (DESE); in addition, proposals are encouraged on any other crosscutting, interdisciplinary theme. In either case, proposals should identify the alignment of project research themes with national research priorities and the need for innovative approaches to train graduate students in those areas. Proposers should describe the importance of the NRT project’s thematic focus to the nation



and the particular need to train students for a variety of careers in that thematic area, whether within or outside academe. Finally, you will converge on narrative perfection through many draft iterations. Start the process by writing an LOI summary statement of vision and goals as if that 200-word summary were the only narrative to be used in making the funding decision. If you can clearly conceptualize your NRT in the summary, then much hard work will have been done as you then expand that core team vision with the specificity and detail of the full NRT narrative.



Short Fuse or Wired Solicitation? Copyright 2014 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved.


“Short fuse or wired?” is the grant-writer’s soliloquy much like “To be or not to be?” is Hamlet’s. Short fuse solicitations are those posted to Grants.gov with little time intervening between the announcement of the funding opportunity and the due date for the responding proposal. Of course, what constitutes a short fuse can be two months for a research center solicitation or two weeks for a small proposal. Without pointing fingers at specific agencies, suffice it to say that short fuse solicitations are more common at mission agencies than at agencies such as NSF and NIH. Short fuse proposals are an occasional fact of life and funding success in these cases favors the strategically prepared who are able to quickly respond with a competitive proposal on short notice. However, the short fuse solicitation also involves a level of frustration that applies equally to all possible applicants and not just a few or even one. Those who maintain strategic contact with agency program officers may get a heads up on a short fuse solicitation with a program officer’s equivalent of a “BOLO,” the ubiquitous acronym used in shows like NCIS, meaning “be on the lookout” for. This “Heard It Through the Grapevine" approach is great by Marvin Gaye but not so great in grant writing. In some cases, research agencies will post notices of upcoming funding opportunities to dampen the shock of a short fuse solicitation. This more “enlightened” process of posting a notice of intent (NOI) to publish a solicitation is often used by DOE, where it typically includes a statement such as “the purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy intends to issue an FOA sometime in late summer of 2014.” A few paragraphs will then typically provide information on the research focus areas and objectives of the FOA, concluding with a statement that “Prospective Applicants to this FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA.” Notices of Intent are typically posted to Grants.gov, but they are also published through agency-specific RSS feeds and agency email alerts that are often the more efficient way to track NOIs. However, “wired solicitations” are an altogether different matter. Wired solicitations are published typically when a funding agency already has a recipient in mind, but nevertheless continues the charade of an open competitive process on account of legal requirements placed on the solicitation process by federal agencies. Wired solicitations uphold the letter of the law but trample on its spirit. Of course, the question then becomes, how do you know when a solicitation is wired? Fortunately, in many cases, wiring is obvious. For example, when a solicitation notice appears on Grants.gov on Monday and the application due date is Tuesday, the next day, or a few days later in that same week, it’s reasonable to assume that it’s wired. At least in the case of solicitations posted with due dates close to the posting date, there is an attempt to signal that the solicitation is targeted only for one person and anyone else who submits a proposal likely just fell off the turnip truck.




The wired solicitation is simply an occasional part of life in the world of federal agency grants. For most it provides some bemusement, and for a few cynics it confirms their outlook on life. However, the real problem begins when wired grants have due dates that could be interpreted as short fuse grants--those with due dates falling within a few weeks of posting. In this case, the answer to the question--is this is a short fuse grant or actually a wired grant--requires a little more pondering and some sleuthing to answer. In most cases, wired grants are posted by mission agencies, and so some insight into the agency itself is helpful, particularly the program area and the history of funding under the program. Talking to colleagues who have funding from the agency can also provide some insight. Sometimes grants are obviously wired when very restrictive “eligible applicant” information applies, particularly when that is combined with the tell-tale notification that only one grant will be made under the solicitation. In other cases, it becomes clear when you look at the funding history of the grant and see the same PI has had continuous funding under the program for several years, or longer in many cases. However, in some instances, a solicitation is not necessarily wired but the agency weights the solicitation in favor of one or a few applicants. In these cases, it may be that potentially “favored” applicants helped to develop a particular solicitation through such mechanisms as conferences or workshops, or that certain favored applicants had promoted certain research directions at the agency that evolved into the issuing of a solicitation. If there is still uncertainty on your part about whether a solicitation is a short fuse or wired one, you can call a program officer and ask questions about the solicitation. If you get the sense that your questions to the program officer are answered with the clarity of a somewhat evasive teenager, or you feel like you have entered into a kabuki dance full of murky ambiguity, then the grant is most likely wired. However, it is not uncommon to find a straightforward program officer that will clearly signal verbally whether or not the grant is wired.



Increasing Opportunities for Social Science Funding at NSF Copyright 2014 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved.

By Lucy Deckard, co-publisher (Back to Page 1)

Funding for social and behavioral sciences at NSF has traditionally been a small fraction of

that for physical sciences and engineering, but NSF is starting to pay more attention to the

social sciences.

Many social scientists have long felt that NSF treated social science research like the proverbial “red-headed stepchild at the family reunion,” compared to the better funded physical, life, mathematical, and computer sciences and engineering, but things are changing. As NSF has waded into increasingly complex issues like sustainability, climate change, cybersecurity, renewable energy, and STEM education, it has become clear that the social sciences not only have a lot to contribute, but they are often central to some of the thorniest challenges related to these topics. For that reason, in addition to research funded by NSF’s Directorate of Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE), NSF has announced a number of funding opportunities where they explicitly encourage the participation of social scientists as part of an interdisciplinary team.

This development poses challenges and opportunities for researchers who are interested in pursuing this funding. One significant challenge is assembling a research team with the appropriate expertise. Engineers, physical/life/computer scientists, and social scientists often don’t even know how to find each other. Social scientists usually have entirely different professional networks from engineers and physical/life/computer scientists, and team leaders, who are engineers or physical/life/computer scientists, often don’t know what type of social science expertise they need for a particular project. On the other hand, if you figure out how to do this right, you have the opportunity to win significant new funding and to make important advances in a research topic by bringing unique perspectives and a new team dynamic to the problem. If the team works well together, the project can grow into an entirely new and exciting direction for your research.

Interdisciplinary Social Science Funding Opportunities at NSF

Below is a list of recent solicitations and Dear Colleague Letters from NSF that encourage collaborations with social scientists. Some of these are jointly supported with SBE.

Dear Colleague Letter: SaTC EAGERs Enabling New Collaborations Between Computer and Social Scientists (NSF 14-016): NSF announces its intention to accept additional EAGER proposals that encourage novel interdisciplinary research resulting from new collaborations between one or more Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) researchers and one or more Social, Behavioral and Economic Science (SBE) researchers. (Research teams with a history of collaborating together should instead submit directly to the SaTC solicitation.)

The various programs under the Cross-cutting Science and Engineering for Sustainability (SEES) initiative often encourage participation by social scientists since social factors are generally an important component of issues related to sustainability. For example, the Coastal SEES program funds research to “increase understanding of reciprocal feedbacks

https://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=SBE

https://www.nsf.gov/dir/index.jsp?org=SBE




http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504707





between humans and the natural environment; how people and organizations interpret, assess, and act upon scientific and other evidence; and how they weigh these interpretations against other interests to influence governance and decision-making.”

Dear Colleague Letter: Research on Privacy in Today's Networked World (NSF 14-021): “The directorates for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) invite investigators to submit proposals that address the need to develop new and deeper understandings of privacy in today’s networked world. Our interest spans both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research in an array of SBE sciences.”

Dear Colleague Letter: Stimulating Integrative Research in Computational Cognition (NSF 14-019): “Encourages active dialogue across the cognitive and computational communities, facilitating bidirectional cross-fertilization of ideas, and nurturing emerging areas of transdisciplinary research.” (This is more focused on cognitive sciences, but could have a social science component.)

Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM): Funds research projects that identify factors that are efficacious in the formation of ethical STEM researchers in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports.

Research Coordination Networks (RCN): Not only can the research networks formed as part of this project include social scientists, but the process of forming the network and developing collaborations can be strongly enhanced by including an expert in communication, team science, or other fields that contribute expertise and new models for developing collaborations across disciplines. (Our Nov. 2013 issue includes an entire article on RCNs.)

Critical Techniques and Technologies for Advancing Big Data Science & Engineering (BIGDATA): One of the aims of this initiative is to “Advance understanding of natural, human and social processes and interactions” impacted by Big Data.

Smart and Connected Health (CISE): The purpose of this program is to develop next generation health care solutions and encourage existing and new research communities to focus on breakthrough ideas in a variety of areas of value to health, such as sensor technology, networking, information and machine learning technology, decision support systems, modeling of behavioral and cognitive processes, as well as system and process modeling.

ADVANCE Institutional Transformation: This program funds universities to change their institutions in order to increase the participation and advancement of women in academic science (including social and behavioral science) and engineering careers. The institutional transformation strategy must be based on a strong social science foundation, and a 5-page social science research plan is required. These programs usually include a social science research team.

Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Transformation: This program aims to increase the diversity of the STEM professoriate and, similar to the ADVANCE, must be based on sound social science and/or education theory. A social science and/or education research plan is required.


http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14019/nsf14019.jsp

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14019/nsf14019.jsp

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=505027&org=ENG&from=home

https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=11691



https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504739


http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?WT.z_pims_id=5474&ods_key=nsf14505



Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR) : This cross-cutting program is part of NSF's Cyberinfrastructure Framework for 21st Century Science and Engineering (CIF21) activity. It seeks “to enable research communities to develop visions, teams, and capabilities dedicated to creating new, large-scale, next-generation data resources and relevant analytic techniques to advance fundamental research for the SBE and EHR areas of research.”

Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research (IBSS): A new Dear Colleague Letter outlines a range of options for pursuing support for interdisciplinary research that bridges the social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences.

Funding within SES

Funding for the Social and Behavioral Sciences Directorate has increased to $272M for FY 2014 compared to $247M in FY2011. As of FY2011, SBE funded approximately 58% of federally funded basic research in SBE fields in academic institutions. Within SBE, the Social and Economic Sciences (SES) division (FY2014 budget of $102M) manages the following core programs:

Decision, Risk and Management Sciences (DRMS)

Economics

Interdisciplinary Research Across the SBE Sciences (IBSS)

Law & Social Sciences (LSS)

Methodology, Measurement, and Statistics (MMS)

Political Science

Science of Organizations

Science, Technology, and Society (STS)

Sociology

Things to Keep in Mind When Teaming

If you plan to assemble a team that includes researchers from widely disparate fields such as computer science and sociology, remember that it will take your team members some time just to learn each others’ language. Give your team plenty of time to meet in person and discuss their ideas and research. This will not only allow you all to get on the same page regarding your proposed project, it will also allow time for the real synergy to happen as you start to gain new insights and look at your old problems in a new way.

For researchers from engineering or the physical/life/computer sciences who are looking for social scientist collaborators, remember that, just as not all computer scientists have the same expertise, social scientists have widely varying interests and research areas. Just because you happen to know a social scientist who works in the next building, that does not mean that they will be appropriate members of your team. Think about what kind of expertise you need to tackle a specific topic, read the social science literature in that area, and talk to colleagues in the social sciences to find the appropriate collaborator for your project.

http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504747&org=SES&from=home



https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504832&org=SES&from=home

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12123/nsf12123.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2012/nsf12123/nsf12123.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=SES

http://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?div=SES












And finally, as with all research teams, remember that everyone in the team should benefit from the research being done on the project. As the social scientist team member, you should not simply be servicing the project; the social science component should be exciting and contribute to your field and your research interests. In other words, the project should result in publications in your field that will build your CV as well as publications in other members’ fields.

Other Resources Presentation by SBE Program Director F. Chowdhury

https://www.udc.edu/docs/osp/training/NIH%20and%20NSF%20Social%20and%20Behavioral%20Sciences%20ResearchFahmida_Chowdhury.pdf



DARPA’s New Biological Technologies Office Copyright 2014 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved.


For researchers and university research offices, the time-honored advice for writing successful proposals is to first understand the mission, culture, and funding priorities of the funding agency. It is therefore wise to take the time to understand where your institutional research capacities best intersect with DARPA’s newly announced (April 1) Biological Technologies Office (BTO). BTO expands on the instrumental work undertaken by DARPA’s Defense Sciences (DSO) and Microsystems Technology Offices (MTO). Recent progress in such diverse disciplines as neuroscience, sensor design, microsystems, computer science, and other longstanding areas of DARPA investment has begun to converge. Understanding this new configuration at DARPA and your fit to BTO will be important to your competitiveness in this realm of interdisciplinarity that merges fundamental research in biology, medicine, computer science, engineering, and the physical sciences. The initial BTO portfolio includes programs transferred from DSO and MTO, but will also include new opportunities, beginning with the recently announced Hand Proprioception & Touch Interfaces (HAPTIX) program that expands on the work of DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics and Reliable Neural-Interface Technology programs. Future programs will be created from ideas brought to the agency by program managers and through conversations with the research community (see BTO Program Managers). For example, in his Testimony to the Subcommittee on Intelligence, Emerging Threats and Capabilities, U.S. House of Representatives, March 26, just days prior to the BTO announcement, DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar noted, “Biology is nature’s ultimate innovator, and any agency that hangs its hat on innovation would be foolish not to look to this master of networked complexity for inspiration and solutions.” To this end, this new DARPA office will consolidate and synthesize the work of biologists, neuroscientists, and engineers in what might be called a “transdisciplinary ecosystem” meant to attract researchers in emerging disciplines able to push the fundamental research boundaries of biology, engineering, and computer science. BTO’s first director Dr. Geoffrey Ling, M.D., Ph.D., was selected by DARPA to lead this new effort. Ling also serves as an attending neurocritical care physician at Johns Hopkins Hospital. According to Ling, before BTO, DARPA had a small number of biologists, neuroscientists, and engineers interested in synthesizing their work, but they were distributed across the agency. Therefore, to overcome this siloed structure, Ling is planning to attract a new community of scholars to BTO who contribute new ideas at the intersection of traditional and emerging disciplines. To accomplish this, BTO will establish and invest in new communities of scientific interest at the intersection of traditional and emerging disciplines. Its investment portfolio goes far beyond life sciences applications in medicine to include areas of research such as human-machine interfaces, microbes as production platforms, and deep exploration of the impact of evolving ecologies and environments on U.S. readiness and capabilities. BTO’s programs will operate across a wide range of scales, from individual cells to complex biological systems,


https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-14-27/listing.html

https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-SN-14-27/listing.html

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Revolutionizing_Prosthetics.aspx


http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Reliable_Neural-Interface_Technology_RE_NET.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Personnel/

http://www.darpa.mil/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147487679

http://www.darpa.mil/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=2147487679

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Personnel/DrGeoffreyLing.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Personnel/DrGeoffreyLing.aspx



including mammalian and nonmammalian organisms and the macro- and micro-environments in which they operate. BTO will focus on three core areas: Restore and Maintain Warfighter Abilities. A critical part of BTO’s mission is to cultivate

new discoveries that help maintain peak warfighter abilities and restore those abilities as quickly and fully as possible when they are degraded or lost. This focus area is grounded in the development of new techniques and therapeutic strategies, e.g., in areas such as advanced prosthetics and neural interfaces. The research portfolio includes neuroscience to drive a deeper understanding of the human brain, how it interfaces with the body and the external world, and how it directs and coordinates behavior, including decision making in demanding environs. BTO will extend work involving human participants and apply insights from physiology, biochemistry, psychology, sociology, and related sciences to such emerging-science domains as bioengineering, bioinformatics, and microbiomics.

Harness Biological Systems. The highly evolved functional and synthetic capabilities of biological systems can be harnessed to develop new products and systems in support of national security with advantages over what even the most advanced conventional chemistry and manufacturing technologies can achieve. This space and its opportunities are just becoming tangible due to the rapid, simultaneous development of genome-scale engineering tools, enormous genomic datasets, new analytical capabilities, and the convergence of several engineering and scientific disciplines with biology. BTO seeks to establish a fundamental understanding of natural processes and the underlying design rules that govern the behavior of biological systems, and apply that knowledge to forward-engineer new systems and products with novel functionality. To support this work, BTO will develop techniques at the intersection of automation, computer science, and biology to explore biological data at massive scales.

Apply Biological Complexity at Scale. Biological systems operate over an enormous range of spatial, physical, and temporal scales. Some organisms thrive as individual cells, while many others, including humans, are colonized by communities of foreign cells that greatly outnumber their own and have potentially significant but still largely mysterious impacts on metabolism, psychological state, performance, and health. Disease vectors migrate around the globe slowly and stealthily at times, and at other times in devastating waves of breathtaking speed—suggesting a poorly understood dynamics that can threaten national security. And because they are so difficult to parse from larger biological and ecological phenomena, population-level effects of relevance to agriculture and food security remain largely unplumbed. BTO looks to pursue new insights derived from biological complexity and living-system dynamics with the goal of developing applications to enhance global-scale stability and human wellbeing.

BTO in program solicitations in these areas include:

o Autonomous Diagnostics to Enable Prevention and Therapeutics (ADEPT) o Battlefield Medicine o Biochronicity

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Autonomous_Diagnostics_to_Enable_Prevention_and_Therapeutics_ADEPT.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Battlefield_Medicine.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/biochronicity.aspx



o Chronicle of Lineage Indicative of Origins (CLIO) o Enabling Stress Resistance o Fracture Putty o Living Foundries o Microphysiological Systems o Narrative Networks o Neuro Function, Activity, Structure, and Technology (Neuro-FAST) o Preventing Violent Explosive Neurologic Trauma (PREVENT) o Prophecy (Pathogen Defeat) o Rapid Threat Assessment o Reliable Neural-Interface Technology (RE-NET) o Reorganization and Plasticity to Accelerate Injury Recovery (REPAIR) o Restorative Encoding Memory Integration Neural Device (REMIND) o Restoring Active Memory (RAM) o Revolutionizing Prosthetics o Strategic Social Interaction Modules (SSIM) o Surviving Blood Loss (SBL) o Systems-Based Neurotechnology for Emerging Therapies (SUBNETS) o Warrior Web o Wound Stasis System (WSS)

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Chronicle_of_Lineage_Indicative_of_Origins_CLIO.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Enabling_Stress_Resistance.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Fracture_Putty.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Living_Foundries.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/MicrophysiologicalSystems.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Narrative_Networks.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Neuro_Function_Activity_Structure_and_Technology_NeuroFAST.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Preventing_Violent_Explosive_Neurologic_Trauma_PREVENT.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Prophecy_Pathogen_Defeat.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Rapid_Threat_Assessment.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Reliable_Neural-Interface_Technology_RE_NET.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Reorganization_and_Plasticity_to_Accelerate_Injury_Recovery_REPAIR.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Restorative_Encoding_Memory_Integration_Neural_Device_REMIND6.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Restoring_Active_Memory_RAM.aspx


http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Strategic_Social_Interaction_Modules_SSIM.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Surviving_Blood_Loss_SBL.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Systems-Based_Neurotechnology_for_Emerging_Therapies_SUBNETS.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Warrior_Web.aspx

http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/BTO/Programs/Wound_Stasis_System_WSS.aspx



Eliminating Ambiguity In the Research Narrative Copyright 2014 Academic Research Funding Strategies. All rights reserved.


If there is one certainty in grant writing, it’s that reviewers have a zero tolerance for ambiguity in the research narrative and will always punish its presence with poor reviews and the occasional snarky comment. Don’t count on program officers and reviewers caring one bit about Sigmund Freud’s claim that “neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity.” Rather, in grant writing, it is best to consider the views of the Scottish philosopher Thomas Reid, founder of the Scottish School of Common Sense (1764), who famously observed “there is no greater impediment to the advancement of knowledge than the ambiguity of words.” Rest assured that program officers and reviewers reading your research narrative will be channeling Reid and not Freud. Make no mistake about it, ambiguity in the research narrative is a Hydra-headed monster that must be slain if your narrative is to have any chance of funding success. And a thorough search for ambiguity will be essential. Remember that Heracles could only defeat the many-headed Hydra of Lerna by cutting off all its heads. Fortunately, in grant writing, the sources of ambiguity are not as numerous as the Hydra’s heads of Greek mythology. Most often, ambiguity in the research narrative originates from a poorly analyzed funding solicitation, poor communications about the solicitation among the research team, and a poorly organized and poorly written proposal. Unfortunately, the authors of the research narrative typically are the least able to identify ambiguity in the project description. To do so is somewhat like being asked to identify, list, and correct your own personal failings—a capacity few seem to possess. It is important that the authors of the research narrative don’t seem to be channeling Muhammad Ali, who claimed “my only fault is that I don't realize how great I really am.” Remember, by nature, reviewers pounce on ambiguities like a cat on a mouse. Make sure that doesn’t happen to your proposal. So the first step in eliminating ambiguity in the research narrative is to find a scientifically literate, grant-savvy colleague willing to read your narrative draft with the sole purpose of identifying ambiguity. In this context, ambiguity in the narrative imposes several highly annoying burdens on the reviewer by requiring them to guess at your meaning, something that seldom, if ever, leads to strong reviews. Ambiguity requires the reviewer to choose from several possible interpretations of the meaning of your text—you are rolling the dice and waiting to see which meaning your reviewers will take away from the narrative. Introducing chance into the review process is not good. By contrast, unambiguous text presents a single meaning. An accumulation of clear narrative building blocks and their unambiguous relational framework is what makes for a successful proposal. In research narratives, ambiguity typically occurs in the writing of the vision, goals, objectives, and rationale of the proposed project. The main culprit here is most often conceptual and argumentative ambiguity rather than the more specific syntactic ambiguity often belabored in a writing composition course (Groucho Marx's classic example: "Last night I




shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got in my pajamas, I'll never know"). Of course, when “ambiguity” is conjoined to its evil twin “vagueness,” no meaning whatsoever can be drawn from the narrative text, and the reviewers are left confused and cannot even guess at your intent. The first place to begin the process of eliminating ambiguity is to start with a clear understanding of the funding solicitation. No doubt, some solicitations are poorly written documents to begin with, thereby making it all the more challenging to eliminate ambiguity from the process of planning, developing, and writing a proposal. However, in most cases, ambiguity arises when members of the research team either give the solicitation a cursory review, or, in some cases, some team members don’t read it at all. The solicitation needs to be read closely and repeatedly to determine its finely grained meaning. This is what judges, theologians, and scholars might refer to as the “explication of text.” Ambiguity in the research narrative cannot be eliminated if the authors do not clearly understand the expectations of the funding agency. The failure to fully understand the funding solicitation before starting to draft narrative text would be like a builder making a bid to construct your new home while ignoring the architectural plans. Moreover, one of the most common shortcomings of asking a colleague to review a proposal is to omit also asking them to read the funding solicitation. If you ask someone to review a draft of your proposal and that person does not agree to explicate a copy of the funding solicitation as the cornerstone of the review, then it might be best to find another reviewer. A clear understanding of the funding solicitation sets the context for determining whether or not ambiguity exists in the narrative and serves as the core guide for redrafting narrative text in a way that eliminates ambiguity. The typical next key step after explicating the funding solicitation is to hold a discussion among team members about the research to be proposed in response to the solicitation. These initial verbal discussions can introduce ambiguity into the process if the team is insufficiently alert. The best place to identify and eliminate ambiguities occurs at the point where verbal discussions are translated into written narrative. But this is not a trivial task. At the initial writing stages of the narrative, the authors continue to explore and refine the project’s vision, goals, objectives, and rationale, typically going through a process of iterative convergence on the final narrative. Somewhere in this process, ambiguities in the narrative often become invisible to the authors. This may be an effect of becoming lulled by familiarity with the ideas proposed and consequently unable to distinguish between the narrative intention in their own “mind’s eye” and the actual words selected to convey that intention. At this point, you might keep in mind the observation that “we don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are” and ask for a “fresh set of eyes,” i.e., a colleague, to review your narrative to identify any discrepancies between what she thinks your narrative says and what you think it says. Finally, ambiguity most commonly arises in the research narrative as a consequence of a narrative that is poorly organized and poorly written. In this situation, you will need both a generous colleague to review your narrative and an experienced editor to put the writing right. The graveyard of declined grants is well populated by poorly organized and poorly written proposals that disguise fundable ideas.



Research Grant Writing Web Resources (Back to Page 1)

Measuring Research: A Guide To Research Evaluation Frameworks and Tools for AAMC Document Introduction: The AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) asked RAND Europe to conduct a detailed synthesis of existing and previously proposed frameworks and indicators used to evaluate research. The purpose of this review is to stimulate debate among US policymakers and the leadership of US medical schools and teaching hospitals on how best to measure the outcomes of research and ultimately account to US taxpayers and others for the returns on their investment in research. The review also aims to provide a guide to the key considerations that need to be taken into account when developing approaches to research evaluation, to be used as a resource by research funders, managers and policymakers. The work builds on a previous RAND Europe review commissioned by the Canadian Academy of Health Research in 2008 (Brutscher, Wooding & Grant, 2008); see also CAHS (2009a). The aim of this current report is to update and develop the CAHS review. Specifically the objectives of the project are to:

€ Identify frameworks.

€ Provide an overview and assessment of frameworks in use for research evaluation.

€ Identify the research evaluation tools applied to those frameworks.

€ Outline the considerations that need to be taken into account when developing a research evaluation approach, and the trade-offs that need to be made between different characteristics.

€ Provide a guide to developing a research evaluation framework that can be used in a range of circumstances.

€ Stimulate a wider debate on research evaluation in the US and internationally. Establishing Transdisciplinary Professionalism for Improving Health Outcomes: Workshop Summary Establishing Transdisciplinary Professionalism for Improving Health Outcomes is a summary of a workshop convened by the Institute of Medicine Global Forum on Innovation in Health Professional Education to explore the possibility of whether different professions can come together and whether a dialogue with society on professionalism is possible. Most of the 59 members making up the Global Forum were present at the workshop and engaged with outside participants in active dialogue around issues related to professionalism and how the different professions might work effectively together and with society in creating a social contract. The structure of the workshop involved large plenary discussions, facilitated table conversations, and small-group breakout sessions. In this way, the members - representing multiple sectors, countries, health professions, and educational associations - had numerous opportunities to share their own perspectives on transdisciplinary professionalism as well as hear the opinions of subject matter experts and the general public.

http://cssip.org/docs/meeting/RAND_Full.pdf

http://feeds.nap.edu/~r/nap/new/~3/57nfrS3ShsI/catalog.php

http://feeds.nap.edu/~r/nap/new/~3/57nfrS3ShsI/catalog.php



Efforts to improve patient care and population health are traditional tenets of all the health professions, as is a focus on professionalism. But in a time of rapidly changing environments and evolving technologies, health professionals and those who train them are being challenged to work beyond their traditional comfort zones, often in teams. A new professionalism might be a mechanism for achieving improved health outcomes by applying a transdisciplinary professionalism throughout health care and wellness that emphasizes crossdisciplinary responsibilities and accountability. Establishing Transdisciplinary Professionalism for Improving Health Outcomes discusses how shared understanding can be integrated into education and practice, ethical implications of and barriers to transdisciplinary professionalism, and the impact of an evolving professional context on patients, students, and others working within the health care system. The Nexus of Biofuels, Climate Change, and Human Health: Workshop Summary Liquid fuels are a major part of modern life. They supply energy for ground, water, and air transportation as well as power for industrial and farming machinery. But fossil fuels - the dominant liquid fuel in use for well over a century - have many disadvantages. The use of fossil fuels has obvious health downsides, such as emissions of pollutants that are directly harmful to health. The burning of fossil fuels produces greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, itself a long-term threat to human health. There have also been health concerns related to insecurity of liquid fuel supplies and the potential of international conflicts being caused by fuel scarcity. Furthermore, there are concerns that the world's large but still limited supply of fossil fuels could be strained by the increasing demand that results from societies around the world achieving greater prosperity. In the face of these concerns, new policies have been created that encourage the development of renewable sources of energy in general and biofuels in particular. In January 2013, the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine of the Institute of Medicine held a 2- day, interactive, public workshop on the intersection of biofuels, climate change, and human health. Workshop attendees explored public health issues related to the composition of traditional and alternative fuels and fuel additives, and they discussed the known and potential health impacts associated with the use of these fuels and fuel additives. The Nexus of Biofuels, Climate Change, and Human Health is the summary of that workshop. This report examines air, water, land use, food, and social impacts of biomass feedstock as an energy resource, and the state of the science and health policy implications of using different types (and generations) of biofuels as an energy source.

http://feeds.nap.edu/~r/nap/new/~3/wfMqRtJ_pYo/catalog.php



Educational Grant Writing Web Resources (Back to Page 1)

Science and Engineering Indicators 2014, National Science Board (Online version)

The Indicators series was designed to provide a broad base of quantitative information about U.S. science, engineering, and technology for use by policymakers, researchers, and the general public. Science and Engineering Indicators 2014 contains analyses of key aspects of the scope, quality, and vitality of the Nation's science and engineering enterprise in the context of global science and technology. The report presents information on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics education at all levels; the scientific and engineering workforce; U.S. and international research and development performance; U.S. competitiveness in high technology; and public attitudes and understanding of science and engineering. A chapter on state-level science and engineering enables state comparisons on selected indicators. An Overview chapter synthesizes selected key themes emerging from the report. Projections of Education Statistics to 2022 This publication provides projections for key education statistics. It includes statistics on enrollment, graduates, teachers, and expenditures in elementary and secondary schools, and enrollment and earned degrees conferred expenditures of degree-granting institutions. For the Nation, the tables, figures, and text contain data on enrollment, teachers, graduates, and expenditures for the past 14 years and projections to the year 2022. For the 50 States and the District of Columbia, the tables, figures, and text contain data on projections of public elementary and secondary enrollment and public high school graduates to the year 2022. In addition, the report includes a methodology section describing models and assumptions used to develop national and state-level projections. Summary of Research on the Effectiveness of Math Professional Development Approaches This study used a systematic process modeled after the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) study review process to answer the question: What does the causal research say are effective math professional development interventions for K-12 teachers aimed at improving student achievement? The study identified and screened 910 research studies in a comprehensive literature search for effectiveness studies of math professional development approaches. (See appendix A for details of the search, screening, and review process.) Of these 910 studies, 643 examined professional development approaches related to math in grades K-12 and were conducted in the United States. Of the 643 studies, 32 focused primarily on math professional development provided to teachers and used a research design for examining effectiveness (see appendix B for a list of the 32 studies). Five of those were determined to have met WWC evidence standards (version 2.1) either with or without reservations (appendix C). And of those five, only two found positive effects on students' math proficiency. Thus, there is very limited causal evidence to guide districts and schools in selecting a math professional development approach or to support developers' claims about their approaches. The limited research on effectiveness means that schools and districts cannot use evidence of effectiveness alone to

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/content/etc/nsb1401.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind14/index.cfm/digest?WT.mc_id=USNSF_124

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf

http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED544681.pdf



narrow their choice. Instead, they must use their best judgment until more causal evidence becomes available. The Effects of Parent's SES and Education Level on Students' Mathematics Achievement: Examining the Mediation Effects of Parental Expectations and Parental Communication Although there has been prior research concerning parental involvement effects on students' mathematics achievement, little attention has been placed on the reasons for the mathematics achievement gap between low-and middle-income students, and how to reduce this gap associated usually attributed to students' SES. The present study's focus is specifically on parent-child communication and parental expectations mainly because these two variables can increase students' mathematics achievement despite parental income and education level. The correlation matrix was derived from a national, cross-sectional study of children. The 1997 Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID-CDS) data set was used to analyze the hypothesized model using SEM. The goodness-of-fit indices for the hypothesized model fit well to the data. How to Conduct Rigorous Evaluations of Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP) Projects: A User-Friendly Guide for MSP Project Officials and Evaluators Purpose: To provide MSP project officials and evaluators with clear, practical advice on how to conduct rigorous evaluations of MSP projects at a low cost. Specifically, this is a how-to guide designed to enable MSP grantees and evaluators of MSP projects to answer questions about the projects' impact. Overview: This guide provides concrete, step-by-step advice, as follows:

Step 1: Find a researcher with expertise in conducting rigorous impact evaluations to include on the study team. Step 2: Decide what research question(s) the study seeks to answer. Step 3: Decide on the study design. Step 4: Gain the cooperation of teachers and school officials. Step 5: Allocate teachers to the program and control (or matched comparison) groups. Step 6: Collect the data needed to measure the MSP project's effectiveness. Step 7: Analyze and report the study's results.

A Guide for Reporting on Rigorous Evaluation for the US Department of Education Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP): A User-Friendly Guide for MSP Project Officials and Evaluators Document introduction: This is primarily a "how-to" guide for MSP state coordinators, project staff, and evaluators who are seeking clear, practical advice on how to report on evaluations they conduct. Before describing our recommendations for reporting on rigorous designs, in this section we 1) describe the evaluation requirements and recommendations of the MSP Program; 2) define criteria the MSP Program uses to determine whether an evaluation is considered "rigorous" and thus could yield scientifically valid results; and 3) explain the process for reviewing evaluations annually to see if they meet these criteria. We recommend grantees and evaluators review this guide before conducting their evaluations in order to familiarize

http://hub.mspnet.org/media/data/The_Effects_of_Parent_s_SES_and_Education_Level_BicerCapraro.pdf?media_000000008223.pdf

http://hub.mspnet.org/media/data/The_Effects_of_Parent_s_SES_and_Education_Level_BicerCapraro.pdf?media_000000008223.pdf

http://coalition4evidence.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/MSP_Issue_Brief_on_conducting_rig_eval.pdf






themselves with the process by which the evaluation will be reviewed, as well as to understand its logic and motivation. We expect this guide to also serve as a resource during the evaluation and while assembling the information to include in the annual performance reports (APRs) and evaluation reports. Lastly, we hope this guide will be useful for projects who are not yet ready to conduct a fully rigorous evaluation, but who would like to learn more about what such an evaluation requires or increase the rigor of their evaluation. The criteria identify four key elements for assessing whether the MSP evaluations were conducted in a rigorous manner:

€ Attrition

€ Baseline Equivalence of Groups

€ Quality of Measurement Instruments

€ Relevant Statistics Reported Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development A Report from the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, and the National Science Foundation. The Common Guidelines for Education Research and Development can assist MSP evaluators to conduct relevant project evaluations by providing a detailed understanding of various research types and their possible and intended impacts. The following six types of research are presented: 1. Foundational Research 2. Early-Stage or Exploratory Research 3. Design and Development Research 4. Efficacy Research 5. Effectiveness 6. Scale-up Research In an easily accessible table format, details related to the six research types are discussed, including the: € Purpose of the research type and when they are most commonly used € Justification guidelines for using a specified research type € Guidelines for evidence to be produced by studies based on research type € Guidelines for external feedback plans

http://ies.ed.gov/pdf/CommonGuidelines.pdf



Agency Research News (Back to Page 1)

Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit As a result of greater emphasis placed on broader impacts by the U.S. Congress, the National Science Board (NSB), and the National Science Foundation (NSF), a national community of practice has emerged to provide high-quality broader impacts (BI) support for researchers submitting proposals to the NSF. The community is meeting in Arlington, Va., at the Westin Arlington Gateway April 16-18, 2014 to: 1. bring BI professionals together to share best practices, ideas, and challenges; 2. set potential courses for the future of BI infrastructure support; and 3. increase interaction between NSF and the BI community. Speakers include NSF Director France Córdova, NSB member and Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Executive Publisher of the journal Science Alan Leshner, Chancellor Nancy Cantor of Rutgers University-Newark, President Freeman Hrabwoski III of the University of Maryland Baltimore County, NSF personnel, and members of the BI community. For more information on the Broader Impacts Infrastructure Summit, go to broaderimpacts.net. Dear Colleague Letter - New Science and Engineering Indicators for K-12 STEM Education This Dear Colleague Letter is to announce that the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources is interested in research and development activities around K-12 Indicators that address issues of monitoring “schooling” rather than “schools.” In 2013 the National Research Council released the report Monitoring Progress Toward Successful K-12 Education: A Nation Advancing? calling for a national indicator system that could be used by both policymakers and practitioners to improve STEM education. The report lists 14 Indicators that, if measured regularly, could catalyze such improvement. The indicators can be found at HERE. While there are measures of some of these 14 indicators, others are far more complex and difficult and there are not valid and reliable measures for them. The purpose of this DCL is to invite EAGER proposals to conduct exploratory work in its early stages on untested but potentially transformative research ideas of approaches necessary to move forward to design and develop measures of one or more of these indicators for use in monitoring and improving the STEM education system. Proposers should consult the NSF Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide for guidance on how to submit an EAGER proposal HERE. Since measures and the associated data for many of these indicators are not yet available, it is anticipated that many of the submitted EAGER projects may consist of:

1. Research that would lead to the development of consensus among STEM educators about the nature and operational definitions of some of these indicators;

2. A review and synthesis of the current state of the evidence base as they might map the development of measures of these indicators; and/or

3. Recommendations for how to best move forward to create measures of the indicator of interest.



http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13509

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/policydocs/pappguide/nsf14001/gpg_2.jsp#IID2



Before submitting an EAGER project, proposers should contact one of the program officers listed below. EAGER proposals should be submitted by May 15. Dear Colleague Letter - Support for Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure and Research during FY 2015-FY 2019 The purpose of this Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) is to inform the natural hazards engineering research community of two forthcoming program solicitations anticipated to be issued by the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Engineering, Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation, between April and June 2014, for the following: (1) operations of natural hazards engineering research infrastructure for FY 2015-FY 2019 and (2) research on multi-hazard resilient and sustainable civil infrastructure. NSF does not intend to provide additional information beyond this DCL until the program solicitations and any accompanying Frequently Asked Questions are issued, as those will be the official issuances for these competitions and take precedence over the information in this DCL. The anticipated due dates for full proposals submitted to these solicitations will be 90 days following the publication date. NHERI will be an NSF-supported multi-user facility operating earthquake engineering and wind engineering research infrastructure. The NHERI solicitation will replace solicitation NSF 13-537, George E. Brown, Jr. Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation Operations FY 2015-FY 2019 (NEES2 Ops), to broaden support for natural hazards research infrastructure. NEES2 will now be recompleted as part of the larger NHERI.

DE-FOA-0001103 Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement titled 'MHK R&D University Consortium Golden Field Office The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind & Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Research and Development University Consortium. This anticipated FOA is to support a university consortium to leverage existing in-situ Research and Development expertise to advance U.S. MHK technology, while developing intellectual capital for a globally-competitive workforce. The individual consortium-defined Research and Development activities pursued in the overall university consortium project will address strategic opportunities in DOE’s MHK technology development portfolio. In applying, an eligible university consortium must demonstrate capabilities and expertise in Research and Development to fill strategic opportunities within the Program’s portfolio including: Logistics development for operations and maintenance of devices and arrays in energetic marine environments. Development and validation of efficient high-fidelity resource characterization and/or modeling techniques. Development and techno-economic studies of devices for distributed applications. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this notice. Prospective Applicants to this FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that the FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange in the first half of 2014.



http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=252865




DE-FOA-0001066 Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement No. DE-FOA-0001006 Water Power Manufacturing Golden Field Office The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) intends to issue, on behalf of the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled Water Power Manufacturing. This FOA supports the application of advanced materials and advanced manufacturing techniques to the development of new hydropower technologies. With the significant advancements realized over the last decade, the application of advanced materials, and Computer Aided Design (CAD) driven, additive manufacturing technologies can effectively push the performance and speed the adoption of new hydropower technologies. The ability to leverage existing water resource infrastructure makes these sites particularly attractive from an economic and permitting perspective. The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office, on behalf of EERE intends to issue a FOA titled, Water Power Manufacturing. NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange no later than April 2014. DE-FOA-0001080 Notice of Intent to Issue Funding Opportunity Announcement titled Competitive Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Demonstrations at the Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) Golden Field Office The purpose of this Notice is to provide potential applicants advance notice that the Wind & Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO), on behalf of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), intends to issue a FOA titled, ?Competitive Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Demonstrations at the Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS)?. Testing, evaluation, and comparison of multiple close to full-scale wave energy conversion (WEC) systems will help industry identify and focus on the most promising device archetypes. This FOA intends to support the deployment of two WEC systems for a period of approximately one year at water depths of approximately 60 and 80 meters at the Navy’s WETS in Kaneohe, HI, for comparison of performance, reliability, and levelized cost of energy (LCOE). NO APPLICATIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED THROUGH THIS NOTICE. Please do not submit questions or respond to this Notice of Intent. EERE will not respond to questions concerning this Notice. Once the FOA has been released, EERE will provide an avenue for potential Applicants to submit questions. Prospective applicants to the FOA should begin developing partnerships, formulating ideas, and gathering data in anticipation of the issuance of this FOA. It is anticipated that this FOA will be posted to EERE Exchange in the second quarter of calendar year 2014. All of the information contained in this Notice is subject to change. Dear Colleague Letter: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Supplemental Funding The NSF Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) invites its grantees who do not already have Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) supplemental funding to submit requests for such funding pursuant to the guidelines specified in the NSF REU solicitation (see Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU): Sites and









Supplements; NSF 13-542). Grantees are encouraged to submit these requests by April 30, 2014. For single investigator projects, CISE REU supplemental funding requests should typically be for no more than two students for one year. Research teams funded through multi-investigator projects may request support for a larger number of students, commensurate with the size and nature of their projects. For example, for projects involving two principal investigators, REU supplemental funding is typically requested for about four undergraduates for one year. Requests for larger numbers of students should be accompanied by detailed justifications. CISE expects to provide up to $8,000 per student per year through the REU supplemental support mechanism. Dear Colleague Letter: Submission of I/UCRC Proposals in Response to NSF 13-594 in Areas Related to Engineering Biology and Cellular Biomanufacturing In emerging areas of technology at the interface between fields such as the engineering of biology and cellular biomanufacturing, including the field of synthetic biology, there is an even greater need for collaborative precompetitive research that will ensure the success of these nascent technology areas. In particular, research that contributes to the establishment of standards for production; provides tools for the assessment of quality, robustness and stability of the process and product; and develops metrics that will facilitate risk assessment associated with a regulatory framework, will be essential for the eventual commercialization of products from the engineering of biology. The I/UCRC model in which industry members pool and apply their funds to center projects that address shared research challenges can be enabling to such nascent fields by leveraging the investment and reducing the risk for each participating member organization. To foster collaborations between industry and academe in the fields of engineering biology and cellular biomanufacturing, including synthetic biology, NSF welcomes and encourages proposals in response to NSF 13-594 in these areas. Dear Colleague Letter - Youth Violence: Opportunity for Breakthroughs in Fundamental Basic Research This letter is to alert all basic social and behavioral science research communities of the National Science Foundation's interest in receipt of proposals that will enable a better understanding of the contributing factors, causes, and consequences of violence perpetrated by and against youth. This will advance the Foundation's goal to provide scientific evidence in support of important social issues. The interest spans both disciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Background: Although the incidence of youth violence is at a historic low, the continuing loss of life is tragic and the long term consequences of youth violence are of ongoing public concern. In 2013, the National Science Foundation sponsored a workshop on "Youth Violence: What We Need to Know." This two-day workshop brought together researchers from sociology, anthropology, psychology, communications, computer science, information systems, and public policy. The resulting report summarized much of the existing scientific evidence regarding the precursors and causes of violence perpetrated by children and adolescents. It underscored the need for additional study to enhance our understanding of the dynamics of, contributors to, and impact of violent ideology and violent acts. NSF's mission includes support for basic research, in this case research with the goal of elucidating the causes, correlates, and



http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf13594





consequences of youth violence. For this reason, projects focused on developing or evaluating specific interventions would lie outside NSF's purview.



Agency Reports, Workshops & Research Roadmaps (Back to Page 1)

Undergraduate Chemistry Education: A Workshop Summary Undergraduate Chemistry Education is the summary of a workshop convened in May 2013 by the Chemical Science Roundtable of the National Research Council to explore the current state of undergraduate chemistry education. Research and innovation in undergraduate chemistry education has been done for many years, and one goal of this workshop was to assist in the transfer of lessons learned from the education research community to faculty members whose expertise lies in the field of chemistry rather than in education. Through formal presentations and panel discussions, participants from academia, industry, and funding organizations explored drivers of change in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education; innovations in chemistry education; and challenges and opportunities in chemistry education reform. Undergraduate Chemistry Education discusses large-scale innovations that are transferable, widely applicable, and/or proven successful, with specific consideration of drivers and metrics of change, barriers to implementation of changes, and examples of innovation in the classroom. Science of Science and Innovation Policy: Principal Investigators' Conference Summary The National Science Foundation developed the Science of Science and Innovation Policy program (SciSIP) in 2006 to fund basic and applied research that bears on and can help guide public- and private-sector policy making for science and innovation. By design, SciSIP has engaged researchers from many domains in the development of a community of practice who work together to continually develop frameworks, tools, and datasets for implementing science and innovation policy. Since its inception, the SciSIP program has funded more than 150 researchers and their graduate students. The program also contributed to the initiation of the STAR METRICS (Science and Technology for America's Reinvestment: Measuring the Effect of Research on Innovation, Competitiveness and Science) program, a collaborative effort between the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. The STAR METRICS program develops tools and mechanisms for measuring federal expenditures on scientific activities, with particular focus on quantifying productivity and employment outcomes. Science of Science and Innovation Policy summarizes a public conference convened by the Committee on National Statistics of the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council to present research funded by SciSIP and foster intellectual exchange among funded researchers, science, technology, and innovation policy practitioners, and other members of the science community. The conference highlighted advances in the emerging field of the science of science and innovation policy, in particular, models, frameworks, tools, and datasets comprising the evidentiary basis for science and innovation policy. This report focuses on return on investment models; organizational structures that foster accelerated scientific productivity; linkages between commercialized scientific knowledge and job creation; the roles of universities and government in technology transfer and innovation; technology diffusion and economic growth; non-economic impacts of science and innovation expenditures; regional and

http://feeds.nap.edu/~r/nap/new/~3/7Kd7_9nE1Fg/catalog.php

http://feeds.nap.edu/~r/nap/new/~3/XZA7do1E_gY/catalog.php



global networks of knowledge generation and innovation; mechanisms for encouraging creativity and measuring outputs and outcomes from transformative research; and development, manipulation and visualization of data representing scientific activities.



New Funding Opportunities (Back to Page 1)

Content Order New Funding Posted Since March 15 Newsletter URL Links to New & Open Funding Solicitations

Solicitations Remaining Open from Prior Issues of the Newsletter Open Solicitations and BAAs

[User Note: URL links are active on date of publication, but if a URL link breaks or changes a Google

search on the key words will typically take you to a working link.]

New Funding Solicitations Posted Since March 15 Newsletter Research and Development in Forensic Science for Criminal Justice Purposes Eligibility With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for basic or applied research and development projects that will: (1) increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice or (2) result in the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods that have the potential for forensic application. The intent of this program is to direct the findings of basic scientific research, research and development in broader scientific fields applicable to forensic science, and ongoing forensic science research toward the development of highly discriminating, accurate, reliable, cost-effective, and rapid methods for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes. Due April 21. DE-FOA-0000978 Technology Incubator for Wind Energy Innovations Golden Field Office The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)’s Wind & Water Power Technologies Office (WWPTO) seeks to fund R&D in technology approaches and solutions that are not currently represented in the Office’s Multi-Year Program Plan and/or existing project portfolio in a meaningful or significant way (Informational Webinar April 17). This Incubator Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) represents an opportunity to support novel and non-incremental technology approaches and to ultimately facilitate identification and future inclusion of highly promising, emerging technology approaches into the Office’s Multi-Year Program Plans and future program portfolios. The FOA will accept applications for any and all ideas that have a significant potential to advance the mission of the Wind Program. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov . Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere- exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl001082.pdf


https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/929870320

https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/



posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website. Concept Paper Submission Deadline April 28; Full Application Submission Deadline May 30. FOA-RQKM-2014-0016 Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III Silicon Carbide (Sic) Fiber Production for Ceramic Matrix Composites (CMCs) Project This Defense Production Act Title III project shall establish and advance the domestic capability for producing silicon carbide (SiC) fiber capable of withstanding temperatures of 2400°F or higher to be used in the manufacturing of ceramic matrix composites (CMCs). Emphasis will be placed on developing affordable production processes and effectively utilizing industrial manufacturing capabilities to meet Department of Defense (DoD) requirements. The recipient will be a viable, world-class domestic manufacturer who is responsive to customer requirements with respect to quality, delivery and price. Attention will be paid to enhancing merchant supplier capabilities to effectively serve the broad DoD and commercial communities. Due May 8. Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative (OREI) The OREI seeks to solve critical organic agriculture issues, priorities, or problems through the integration of research, education, and extension activities. The purpose of this program is to fund projects that will enhance the ability of producers and processors who have already adopted organic standards to grow and market high quality organic agricultural products. Priority concerns include biological, physical, and social sciences, including economics. The OREI is particularly interested in projects that emphasize research, education and outreach that assist farmers and ranchers with whole farm planning by delivering practical research-based information. Projects should plan to deliver applied production information to producers. Fieldwork must be done on certified organic land or on land in transition to organic certification, as appropriate to project goals and objectives. Refer to the USDA National Organic Program (http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop ) for organic production standards. Due May 8. NOAA Institutional Research Forums on Atmospheric, Climate, and Ocean Sciences he National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) invites applications from research institutions to establish or continue Research Forums on atmospheric, climate, and ocean sciences. Applicants should provide a five-year grant proposal to support independent panels of multidisciplinary scientists in the atmospheric, climate, and ocean sciences. These panels are to be composed of the nation’s top experts and provide impartial research assessments, discussion forums (such as workshops), lecture series, and related education and outreach activities. NOAA is interested in supporting a recipient to routinely enlist the nation’s top experts in critical areas, including as atmospheric and climate science, as well as ocean studies, and undertake activities to disseminate information and share ideas, including convening experts to share their individual views in meetings and workshops and providing reports that represent the most authoritative source of scientific and technical information. Due May 12.

2015 EHP External Research Support Geological Survey



http://www.csrees.usda.gov/fo/organicagricultureresearchandextensioninitiative.cfm

http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop





USGS Earthquake Hazards Program issues this annual Announcement for assistance to support research in earthquake hazards, the physics of earthquakes, earthquake occurrence, and earthquake safety policy. This activity is authorized by the Earthquake Hazards Reduction Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-124, 42 U.S.C. 7701 et. seq.), as amended by Public Laws 101-614, 105-47, 106-503, and 108-360. Due May 22. NIH Blueprint Program for Enhancing Neuroscience Diversity through Undergraduate Research Education Experiences (R25) The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The goal of this NIH Blueprint R25 program is to support educational activities that enhance the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral and clinical research workforce. To this end, this funding opportunity announcement encourages the development of creative educational activities with a primary focus on Research Experiences, Courses for Skills Development, and Mentoring Activities. The fully integrated research experiences, courses for skills development, and mentoring activities should prepare undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds nationally underrepresented in biomedical and behavioral sciences to enter Ph.D. degree programs in the neurosciences. LOI April 28. Due May 28. BJS-2014-3867 2014 Visiting Fellows: Criminal Justice Statistics Programs The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) is pleased to announce that it is seeking applications for funding for one or more BJS Visiting Fellows to work in its Criminal Justice Statistics Programs. The overall purpose of this program is to address substantive, methodological, and analytic issues to enhance or inform BJS statistical programs; to support the scholarly use of BJS data collections, expand the body of policy-relevant research that uses these data, in order to further knowledge about and understanding of the operation of the criminal justice system. Due May 28. DE-FOA-0001098 Marine and Hydrokinetic Research and Development University Consortium The objective of the Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Research and Development University Consortium FOA is to leverage the field Research and Development expertise and intellectual capital of domestic universities to advance MHK technology in the U.S. in the following strategic opportunity areas: Device and/or array operation and maintenance logistics development; High-fidelity resource characterization and/or modeling technique development and validation; Distributed application device development and techno-economic studies; Array-specific component technology development (e.g. moorings and foundations, transmission, and other offshore grid components); Array performance testing and evaluation; Novel cost-effective environmental monitoring techniques and instrumentation testing and evaluation. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov . Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere- exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-14-010.html

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/RFA-NS-14-010.html






and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website. Due May 30. DE-FOA-0000984 Wind Forecasting Improvement Project in Complex Terrain This Funding Opportunity Announcement is aimed at improving the physical understanding of atmospheric processes which directly impact the wind industry forecasts and incorporate the new understanding into the foundational weather forecasting models. The awardee, in partnership with Department of Energy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and a Balancing Authority, will conduct a field campaign in an area of complex terrain to assess how physical processes alter wind speeds at hub heights. From this research, the team will work to develop physical modeling schemes or atmospheric theories that can be incorporated in foundational weather models to improve wind forecasting. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement is posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov . Applications must be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE eXCHANGE website. A User Guide for the EERE eXCHANGE can be found on the EERE website https://eere- exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx after logging in to the system. Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE eXCHANGE website. Due June 5. Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) (R25) The NIH Research Education Program (R25) supports research education activities in the mission areas of the NIH. The Innovative Programs to Enhance Research Training (IPERT) R25 funding opportunity announcement from NIGMS seeks applications that propose creative and innovative educational activities to complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. The goal of this NIGMS R25 program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nation’s biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs. To this end, this funding opportunity announcement encourages activities with a primary focus on courses for skills development, structured mentoring activities, and outreach programs. Due June 9. Social Science Research on Implementation, Dissemination, and Translation FY 2014 NIJ seeks proposals for funding for research and a research fellowship to examine how scholarly research influences criminal justice implementation practices through dissemination and translation. NIJ proposes two distinct research activities under this solicitation: 1) Incorporating the Use of Research in Policy Decisions: NIJ seeks to support up to five case studies on incorporating the use of research evidence into criminal justice practice and policy decisions. 2) A Translational Criminology Research Fellowship: NIJ seeks a Research Fellow to examine the dissemination of NIJ-funded research. Applicants may apply to one or both sections of the solicitation; however, proposal titles should clearly identify the section of the solicitation for which the proposal is being submitted. Due June 9.



http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-14-170.html

https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl001098.pdf



NEH Digital Projects for the Public NEH’s Division of Public Programs supports activities that engage millions of Americans in understanding significant humanities works and ideas. At the center of every NEH-funded public humanities project is a core set of humanities ideas developed by scholars, matched to imaginative formats that bring humanities ideas alive for people of all ages and all walks of life. The Digital Projects for the Public program supports projects such as websites, mobile applications, games, and virtual environments that significantly contribute to the public’s engagement with humanities ideas. Projects must be analytical and deeply grounded in humanities scholarship in a discipline such as history, religion, anthropology, jurisprudence, or art history. Due June 11. NEH Bridging Cultures through Film: International Topics NEH’s Division of Public Programs supports activities that engage millions of Americans in understanding significant humanities works and ideas. The Bridging Cultures through Film: International Topics program supports films that examine international themes and subjects in the humanities. The films are meant to spark Americans’ engagement with the broader world by exploring countries and cultures outside of the United States. The Division of Public Programs encourages innovative nonfiction storytelling that presents multiple points of view in creative formats. At the center of every NEH-funded film is a core set of humanities ideas developed by scholars, matched to imaginative formats that bring the humanities alive for people of all ages and all walks of life. The proposed film must be analytical and deeply grounded in humanities scholarship. It may be as short as thirty minutes or as long as a feature-length film. Due June 11. Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM) Cultivating Cultures for Ethical STEM (CCE STEM) funds research projects that identify factors that are efficacious in the formation of ethical STEM researchers in all the fields of science and engineering that NSF supports. CCE STEM solicits proposals for research that explores the following: ‘What constitutes ethical STEM research and practice? Which cultural and institutional contexts promote ethical STEM research and practice and why?' Factors one might consider include: honor codes, professional ethics codes and licensing requirements, an ethic of service and/or service learning, life-long learning requirements, curricula or memberships in organizations (e.g. Engineers without Borders) that stress social responsibility and humanitarian goals, institutions that serve under-represented groups, institutions where academic and research integrity are cultivated at multiple levels, institutions that cultivate ethics across the curriculum, or programs that promote group work, or do not grade. Do certain labs have a ‘culture of academic integrity'? What practices contribute to the establishment and maintenance of ethical cultures and how can these practices be transferred, extended to, and integrated into other research and learning settings? Successful proposals will include a comparative dimension, either between or within institutional settings that differ along these or other factors. Due June 17. DOJ-2014-3797 National Center for Building Community Trust and Justice

http://www.neh.gov/grants/public/digital-projects-the-public

http://www.neh.gov/grants/public/bridging-cultures-through-film-international-topics

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14546/nsf14546.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click

http://www.ojjdp.gov/grants/solicitations/FY2014/NCBCTJ.pdf



The Department of Justice, through its components the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), the Community Oriented Policing Services Office (COPS), the Office on Violence against Women (OVW), and the Community Relations Service (CRS), is seeking applications for funding under this National Center for Building Community Trust and Justice grant announcement. The purpose of this initiative is to enhance procedural justice, reduce bias, and support racial reconciliation. This initiative furthers the Department’s mission to ensure public safety and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans. Due June 18. Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) The purpose of the SCRI program is to address the critical needs of the specialty crop industry by awarding grants to support research and extension that address key challenges of national, regional, and multi-state importance in sustaining all components of food and agriculture, including conventional and organic food production systems. Projects must address at least one of five focus areas: Research in plant breeding, genetics, genomics, and other methods to improve crop characteristics; Efforts to identify and address threats from pests and diseases, including threats to specialty crop pollinators; Efforts to improve production efficiency, handling and processing, productivity, and profitability over the long term (including specialty crop policy and marketing); new innovations and technology, including improved mechanization and technologies that delay or inhibit ripening; and methods to prevent, detect, monitor, control, and respond to potential food safety hazards in the production efficiency, handling and processing of specialty crops. Due June 20. Innovation Corps Sites Program (I-Corps Sites) The National Science Foundation (NSF) seeks to develop and nurture a national innovation ecosystem that builds upon research to guide the output of scientific discoveries closer to the development of technologies, products and processes that benefit society. In order to contribute to a national innovation ecosystem, NSF established the NSF Innovation Corps Sites Program (NSF I-Corps Sites). Due June 27. Coupling, Energetics, and Dynamics of Atmospheric Regions (CEDAR) CEDAR is a broad-based, community-guided, upper atmospheric research program. The goal is to understand the behavior of atmospheric regions from the middle atmosphere upward through the thermosphere and ionosphere into the exosphere in terms of coupling, energetics, chemistry, and dynamics on regional and global scales. These processes are related to the sources of perturbations that propagate upward from the lower atmosphere as well as to solar radiation and particle inputs from above. The activities within this program combine observations, theory and modeling. Due July 17. Jan S. Bashinski Criminalistics Graduate Thesis Assistance Grant The Jan Grant Award is to provide Graduate Students with financial assistance to complete their thesis or independent research project as required for a graduate degree in Criminalistics/Forensic Sciences. The thesis or research project must be in the field of Criminalistics/Forensic Sciences. Due July 31.

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/fo/specialtycropresearchinitiative.cfm



http://fsf.aafs.org/grants_scholarships/research-grant-jan-s-bashinski-grant



DoD Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapeutic Development Award The Therapeutic Development Award supports the preclinical assessment of therapeutics for ALS. The proposed studies are expected to be empirical in nature and product-driven but may have a hypothesis-driven approach, provided the focus is on therapeutics. It is anticipated that the agents and/or data generated from these awards will lead to the advancement of new therapies for ALS. Due August 20. DoD Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Therapeutic Idea Award The Therapeutic Idea Award is designed to promote new ideas that are still in the early stages of development with the potential to yield highly impactful data and new avenues of investigation for novel therapeutics for ALS treatment. This mechanism supports conceptually innovative, high-risk/high-reward research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancement in ALS therapeutics. Proposed research projects should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale that holds translational potential to improve ALS treatment and/or advances a novel treatment modality. Projects that focus primarily on investigating the pathophysiology of ALS are outside the scientific scope of this mechanism. Due August 20. NEH/DFG Bilateral Digital Humanities Program The National Endowment for the Humanities in the United States and the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft e.V., DFG) are working together to offer support for projects that contribute to developing and implementing digital infrastructures and services for humanities research. Due September 25.

URL Links to New & Open Funding Solicitations Links verified: Wednesday, February 19, 2014

HHS Grants Forecast

American Cancer Society Index of Grants

SAMHSA FY 2014 Grant Announcements and Awards

DARPA Microsystems Technology Office Solicitations

Open Solicitations from IARPA (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity)

Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Open Solicitations, DOS

ARPA-E Funding Opportunity Exchange

DOE Funding Opportunity Exchange

NIAID Funding Opportunities List

NPS Broad Agency Announcements (BAAs)

NIJ Current Funding Opportunities

NIJ Forthcoming Funding Opportunities

Engineering Information Foundation Grant Program

Comprehensive List of Collaborative Funding Mechanisms, NORDP

ARL Funding Opportunities — Open Broad Agency Announcements (BAA)



http://www.neh.gov/grants/odh/nehdfg-bilateral-digital-humanities-program

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/hhsgrantsforecast/

http://www.cancer.org/research/researchprogramsfunding/fundingopportunities/indexofgrants/index

http://www.cancer.org/research/researchprogramsfunding/fundingopportunities/indexofgrants/index

http://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/MTO_Solicitations.aspx

http://www.iarpa.gov/open_solicitations.html

http://exchanges.state.gov/grants/open2.html

https://arpa-e-foa.energy.gov/


http://www.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/ann/pages/opps.aspx

http://www.nps.edu/Research/WorkingWithNPS.html

http://www.nij.gov/nij/funding/current.htm

http://www.nij.gov/nij/funding/forthcoming.htm

http://www.eifgrants.org/info/index.html

http://www.nordp.org/funding-opportunities

http://www.arl.army.mil/www/default.cfm?page=8




HHS Grants Forecast American Psychological Association, Scholarships, Grants and Awards

EPA 2014 Science To Achieve Results (STAR) Research Grants

NASA Open Solicitations

Defense Sciences Office Solicitations

The Mathematics Education Trust

EPA Open Funding Opportunities

CDMRP FY 2014 Funding Announcements

Office of Minority Health

Department of Justice Open Solicitations

DOE/EERE Funding Opportunity Exchange

New Funding Opportunities at NIEHS (NIH)

National Human Genome Research Institute Funding Opportunities

Army Research Laboratory Open Broad Agency Announcements (BAA)

SBIR Gateway to Funding

Water Research Funding

Fellowship and Grant Opportunities for Faculty Humanities and Social Sciences

DARPA Current Solicitations

Office of Naval Research Currently Active BAAs

HRSA Health Professions Open Opportunities

NIH Funding Opportunities Relevant to NIAID

National Institute of Justice Current Funding Opportunities

Funding Opportunities by the Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs

EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) Open Solicitations

NETL Open Solicitations

DoED List of Currently Open Grant Competitions

Foundation Center RFP Weekly Funding Bulletin

Solicitations Remaining Open from Prior Issues of the Newsletter

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: Water for Agriculture Challenge Area NIFA initiates a new challenge area to address critical water resources issues such as drought, excess soil moisture, flooding, quality and others in an agricultural context. Funding will be used to develop management practices, technologies, and tools for farmers, ranchers, forest owners and managers, public decision makers, public and private managers, and citizens to improve water resource quantity and quality. NIFA's approach will link social, economic, and behavioral sciences with traditional biophysical sciences and engineering to address regional-scale issues with shared hydrological processes and meteorological and basin characteristics. LOI Required April 17; full August 13. Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Composite Materials and Structures



http://epa.gov/ncer/rfa/

http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external/solicitations/solicitations.do?method=open&stack=push

http://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/DSO_Solicitations.aspx

http://www.nctm.org/resources/content.aspx?id=198&LangType=1033#prospective

http://www.epa.gov/ogd/competition/open_awards.htm

http://cdmrp.army.mil/funding/prgdefault.shtml

http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=1&lvlID=1

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/funding/solicitations.htm


http://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/supported/whatsnew/index.cfm

http://www.genome.gov/10000884


http://www.zyn.com/sbir/

http://water.oregonstate.edu/funding-opportunities

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/cas/supportservices/grantopportunities/faculty/grantsfortravel.php

http://www.darpa.mil/Opportunities/Solicitations/DARPA_Solicitations.aspx

http://www.onr.navy.mil/en/Contracts-Grants/Funding-Opportunities/Broad-Agency-Announcements.aspx

http://www.hrsa.gov/grants/index.html

http://funding.niaid.nih.gov/researchfunding/ann/pages/opps.aspx

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/funding/current.htm

http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html

http://www.epa.gov/air/grants_funding.html

http://www.netl.doe.gov/business/solicitations/index.html#00446

http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html

http://foundationcenter.org/newsletters/

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/afri.html




Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) The Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) of EERE seeks to establish a Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Composites Materials and Structures that will support U.S. prosperity and security; and contribute to the creation of the pilot National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The vision for the Institute is to revitalize American manufacturing and support domestic manufacturing competitiveness. The technical topic area for this Institute is low cost, energy efficient manufacturing of fiber reinforced polymer composites. The Institute will target continuous or discontinuous, primarily carbon and glass fiber systems, with thermoset or thermoplastic resin materials. These types of composites are foundational technologies that are broadly applicable and pervasive in multiple industries and markets with potentially transformational technical and economic impact. The full Funding Opportunity Announcement is posted on the EERE Exchange website at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov . Applications must be submitted through the EERE Exchange website to be considered for award. The applicant must first register and create an account on the EERE Exchange website. The Users' guide for applying to Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s Funding Opportunity Announcements through the Exchange website can be found at https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx . Information on where to submit questions regarding the content of the announcement and where to submit questions regarding submission of applications is found in the full FOA posted on the EERE Exchange website. A mandatory Concept Paper is due April 22. Full Proposal June 19. NIJ-2014-3758 NIJ FY 14 Testing Geospatial Predictive Policing Strategies NIJ is seeking applications for funding for research that explores the relationship between theory (of any discipline) to geospatial predictive policing strategies. In particular, NIJ is seeking proposals that focus on linking theories to current policing strategies, discerning potential disconnects in the levels of analysis between theory and practice, explicating what effects this may have on findings, and, finally, addressing means of adapting theory and practice based on the results. Due April 25. Women and Minorities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Fields Program (WAMS) USDA-NIFA-WAMS-004491 This program supports research and extension projects that have robust collaborations to increase the participation of women and underrepresented minorities from rural areas in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields that are relevant to USDA priorities identified by the Secretary: (i) Promotion of a safe, sufficient, and nutritious food supply for all Americans and for people around the world; (ii) Sustainable agricultural policies that foster economic viability for small and mid-sized farms and rural businesses, protect natural resources, and promote value-added agriculture; (iii) national leadership in climate change mitigation and adaptation; (iv) Building a modern workplace with a modern workforce; and (v) Support for 21st century rural communities. Due April 28. Microgrid Research, Development, and System Design National Energy Technology Laboratory DE-FOA-0000997


https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx

https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/Manuals.aspx

https://ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl001097.pdf

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/wams.html

http://www.nifa.usda.gov/funding/rfas/wams.html





The objective of this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is to solicit applications for financial assistance awards to enable microgrid development. This FOA is responsive to addressing high-priority research, development and demonstration activities, identified jointly with key stakeholders, to overcome key challenges facing broad adoption of microgrids for key commercial applications. Due April 28. NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship Program in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics NIJ-2014-3734 The NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship program in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics provides awards for research on crime, violence, and other criminal justice-related topics to accredited academic universities that support graduate study leading to research-based doctoral degrees. NIJ invests in doctoral education by supporting universities that sponsor students who demonstrate the potential to successfully complete doctoral degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of NIJ and who are in the final stages of graduate study. Applicants sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only if the doctoral research dissertation has direct relevance to providing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to better prevent and control crime and ensure the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Doctoral students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, or mathematics are encouraged to apply. Due April 28. NIJ FY 14 New Approaches to Digital Evidence Processing and Storage NIJ-2014-3727 With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals for funding for technology research and development to develop: New, innovative means to speed the processing of large-capacity digital media in a forensically sound manner that preserves the probative value of the evidence that the media may contain; More efficient means to store the large volumes of information seized as digital evidence while preserving the probative value of that evidence. Due April 28. NIJ FY 14 Optimizing the Use of Video Technology to Improve Criminal Justice Outcomes NIJ-2014-3723 With this solicitation, NIJ seeks proposals from research organizations partnered with state, local, or tribal criminal justice agencies for funding for research to identify, implement, and evaluate those applications of video cameras and advanced video analysis software that provide optimum crime control and prevention outcomes. NIJ is most interested in receiving proposals involving the integration of video technology into policing strategies, most particularly those involving quantitative data analysis methods. NIJ will also consider proposals dealing with criminal courts and correctional environments. Due April 28. Sustainability Research Networks Competition (SRN), 2014 Focus: Urban Sustainability The goal of the Sustainability Research Networks (SRN) competition is to bring together multidisciplinary teams of researchers, educators, managers, policymakers and other stakeholders to conduct collaborative research that addresses fundamental challenges in sustainability. The 2014 SRN competition will fund research networks with a focus on urban sustainability. Proposals should identify an ambitious and nationally important theme in urban









sustainability, present a creative and innovative research agenda that builds upon existing work in this area, and describe how a network of researchers and other stakeholders will be supported that integrates a variety of disciplines, sectors and backgrounds in order to create new perspectives and yield significant new understanding and knowledge. The Sustainability Research Networks competition is part of the growing NSF investment in its Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability (SEES) portfolio (www.nsf.gov/sees/). Challenges associated with broadly based SEES goals will be met by supporting fundamental science and engineering research and education needed to understand and overcome the barriers to sustainable human and environmental wellbeing and to forge reasoned pathways to a sustainable future. NSF aims to support members of the academic research community for projects which produce discoveries and knowledge that will inform decisions leading to environmental, energy, social and cultural sustainability. NSF support will advance the frontiers of conceptual, empirical and computational research in science, engineering and education so that the nation has the knowledge base to inform policies on sustainability. Due April 29. NOAA-NMFS-FHQ-2014-2004007 2014 BREP The mission of the National Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP) is to develop technological solutions and investigate changes in fishing practices designed to minimize bycatch of fish (including sponges, deep–sea corals, and shallow (tropical) corals) and protected species (including marine mammals, sturgeon, seabirds, and sea turtles) as well as minimize bycatch injury and mortality (including post-release injury and mortality). For FY2014, NMFS anticipates that approximately $2,500,000 could be made available for projects that address by-catch research as identified in the Program Priority Section (I.B.1 - I.B.3). Due April 30. Integrated Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Research and Development Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA), the Geothermal Technologies Office's (GTO) Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) Subprogram seeks to advance subsurface characterization via an integrated technical approach to EGS R&D. GTO encourages the community to integrate technologies to address the challenges associated with quantifying reservoir complexity. GTO is interested in increasing the precision and accuracy of directly measured parameters and improving the ability to constrain calculated or inferred reservoir properties from these direct measurements. Critical parameters that GTO is interested in constraining include, but are not limited to: matrix to fracture heat transfer area; fluid mean residence time; in-situ stresses; fracture spacing; fracture aperture distribution; porosity; and reservoir volume. GTO seeks research projects that will facilitate a better understanding of physicochemical conditions to optimize subsurface engineering and stimulation methods, as well as assess and better understand the evolution and sustainability of a reservoir during long-term operations. Due April 30. 20140501-PE NEH Preservation and Access Education and Training The Preservation and Access Education and Training program is central to NEH¿s efforts to preserve and establish access to cultural heritage collections. Thousands of libraries, archives, museums, and historical organizations across the country maintain important collections of

http://www.nsf.gov/sees/


http://www1.eere.energy.gov/financing/solicitations_detail.html?sol_id=759&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+EereFinancialOpportunities+%28EERE+Financial+Opportunities%29

http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation-and-access-education-and-training



books and manuscripts, photographs, sound recordings and moving images, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, art and material culture collections, electronic records, and digital objects. The challenge of preserving and making accessible such large and diverse holdings is enormous, and the need for knowledgeable staff is significant and ongoing. Preservation and Access Education and Training grants are awarded to organizations that offer national or regional (multistate) education and training programs. Grants aim to help the staff of cultural institutions, large and small, obtain the knowledge and skills needed to serve as effective stewards of humanities collections. Grants also support educational programs that prepare the next generation of conservators and preservation professionals, as well as projects that introduce the staff of cultural institutions to new information and advances in preservation and access practices. Due May 1. 20140501-PR NEH Preservation and Assistance Research and Development Preservation and Access Research and Development grants support projects that address major challenges in preserving or providing access to humanities collections and resources. These challenges include the need to find better ways to preserve materials of critical importance to the nation’s cultural heritage from fragile artifacts and manuscripts to analog recordings and digital assets subject to technological obsolescence and to develop advanced modes of searching, discovering, and using such materials. Applicants should define a specific problem, devise procedures and potential solutions, and explain how they would evaluate their projects and disseminate their findings. Project results must serve the needs of a significant number of humanists. Due May 1. 20140501-PG NEH Preservation Assistance Grants for Smaller Institutions Preservation Assistance Grants help small and mid-sized institutions such as libraries, museums, historical societies, archival repositories, cultural organizations, town and county records offices, and colleges and universities improve their ability to preserve and care for their significant humanities collections. These may include special collections of books and journals, archives and manuscripts, prints and photographs, moving images, sound recordings, architectural and cartographic records, decorative and fine art objects, textiles, archaeological and ethnographic artifacts, furniture, historical objects, and digital materials. Due May 1. 20140501-CH Challenge Grants National Endowment for the Humanities NEH challenge grants are capacity-building grants, intended to help institutions and organizations secure long-term support for their humanities programs and resources. Through these awards, many organizations and institutions have been able to increase their humanities capacity and secure the permanent support of an endowment. Grants may be used to establish or enhance endowments or spend-down funds that generate expendable earnings to support and enhance ongoing program activities. Challenge grants may also provide capital directly supporting the procurement of long-lasting objects, such as acquisitions for archives and collections, the purchase of equipment, and the construction or renovation of facilities needed for humanities activities. Funds spent directly must be shown to bring long-term benefits to the institution and to the humanities more broadly. Grantee institutions may also expend up to 10

http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation-and-access-research-and-development

http://www.neh.gov/grants/preservation/preservation-assistance-grants-smaller-institutions

http://www.neh.gov/grants/challenge/challenge-grants



percent of total grant funds (federal funds plus matching funds) to defray costs of fundraising to meet the NEH challenge. Because of the matching requirement, these NEH grants also strengthen the humanities by encouraging nonfederal sources of support. Due May 1. Scientific Discovery through Advanced Computing (SciDAC): Multiscale Integrated Modeling for Fusion Energy Science DE-FOA-0001096 The Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) and the Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research (ASCR), Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), announce their interest in receiving applications from collaborative groups of investigators for developing an integrated simulation capability for fusion energy science. More specifically, applications are solicited for the development of advanced multiphysics and multiscale integrated simulation capabilities for magnetically confined plasmas addressing problems of direct relevance to burning plasma science and ITER. While developing a full Whole Device Modeling (WDM) simulation capability is beyond the scope of this FOA, this is intended to be a first step toward this goal. Responsive applications are expected to integrate the most critical physical processes across all relevant regions and on all relevant temporal and spatial scales, using an appropriately justified combination of fir st principles models and high physics fidelity reduced models. Simulation codes should be able to exploit the massive concurrency of the SC leadership class computing facilities and not merely their high capacity. Applications focused solely on the development of computational frameworks are not responsive to this FOA. However, since advanced computational frameworks are essential for enabling and facilitating the coupling and integration of component modules, allocation of resources to adapt, maintain, upgrade, and extend existing frameworks, including those developed by the Fusion Simulation Prototype Centers, is permissible provided they satisfy the above stated requirement of exploiting the capabilities of the SC leadership computing facilities A companion Program Announcement to DOE Laboratories (LAB 14-1096) will be posted on the SC Grants and Contracts web site at: http://science.energy.gov/grants/ The full text of the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is located on FedConnect. Instructions for completing the Grant Application Package are contained in the full text of the FOA which can be obtained at: https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/?doc=DE-FOA-0001096&agency=DOE. Due May 2. Low Temperature Geothermal Mineral Recovery Program Golden Field Office DE-FOA-0001016 The Energy Department seeks up to ten 1-2 year feasibility and/or applied R&D projects that will lead to commercialized technologies. Geothermal mining of rare earth and near-critical metals are the focus of this research, with the intent to effectively lower the cost of geothermal energy production while diversifying and stabilizing the supply of critical materials for domestic industries. To learn more about the `Low-Temperature Mineral Recovery Program funding opportunity, click here. Register for an informative webinar to learn more about the strategic material extraction and this opportunity. The Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) accelerates development and facilitates deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions that strengthen U.S. energy security, environmental quality, and economic vitality. EERE supports innovative



http://science.energy.gov/grants/

https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/?doc=DE-FOA-0001096&agency=DOE





technologies that reduce both risk and costs of bringing geothermal power online. Learn more about the Department's efforts to develop geothermal energy. Due May 2. 2014 DHS Scientific Leadership Awards for Minority Serving Institutions (MSI) The DHS Scientific Leadership Awards (SLA) program is one of several educational research programs administered by the S&T Office of University Programs. The SLA program will develop homeland security educational and research capabilities within the MSI communities. OUP invites applications from minority serving intuitions to establish HS-related scientific leadership awards programs. OUP expects to fund these programs for several years to ensure a lasting capability at recipient MSIs. Critical elements of a successful SLA proposal will address the following: 1) Coordinated teaching and DHS relevant research projects or initiatives with significant involvement of an early career faculty 2) Establishment of collaborative relationships with the DHS research Centers of Excellence (COEs), DHS / DOE and other federal labs 3) HS-STEM (Homeland Security- Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) curriculum development and course content 4) Financial support for undergraduate students in the form of scholarships and other direct student support 5) Student internships and other experiential learning opportunities 6) Best practices for successful student mentoring and career guidance 7) Processes with the potential for highly successful transition of supported students to HS-STEM related careers, or admission to graduate school 8) Student success tracking, measurement, and reporting methodology The proposal must contain a subproject that allows collaboration or faculty exchange between early career faculty and a researcher at one of the COE Research lead universities, a DHS / DOE laboratory or other related federal research center. Additional requirements may apply, see full description in Funding Announcement. Due May 5. NIJ FY 14 Research on Offender Decision-Making and Desistance From Crime The study of adult offender decision-making and desistance to commit crime typically has been approached from a rational choice perspective and a life-course perspective, respectively. With this solicitation NIJ seeks to expand the existing research by examining the process of adult offender decision-making. NIJ requests proposals that either expand the rational choice model and/or life-course model, use other theories to explain either the choice to commit crime or to desist from committing crime (e.g., behavioral economics, business models, psychology, or cognitive models), or any combination of these. Proposed research also should consider issues such as social context, emotions, default choices, or possibly environmental context to gain a better understanding of the overall decision-making process to commit or desist from committing crimes. Due May 5. NIJ FY 14 Graduate Research Fellowship Program in the Social and Behavioral Sciences NIJ is seeking proposals for funding innovative dissertation research under the NIJ Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) Program that provides awards for research on crime, violence, and other criminal justice-related topics to accredited academic institutions that offer research-based doctoral degrees in social and behavioral academic disciplines relevant to NIJ’s mission. NIJ invests in doctoral education by supporting universities that sponsor students who






demonstrate the potential to successfully complete doctoral degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of NIJ and who are in the final stages of graduate study. Applicants sponsoring doctoral students are eligible to apply only if the doctoral research dissertation has direct relevance to providing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics to better prevent and control crime and ensure the fair and impartial administration of criminal justice in the United States. Due May 12. NIJ FY 14 W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Race, Gender, Culture, and Crime NIJ seeks applications for the W.E.B. Du Bois Fellowship for Research on Race, Gender, Culture, and Crime FY 2014. The Fellowship program seeks to advance knowledge regarding the confluence of crime, justice, and culture in various societal contexts. The Fellowship places particular emphasis on crime, violence, and the administration of criminal justice in diverse cultural contexts within the United States. Due May 12. DE-FOA-0001084 Commercial Building Technology Demonstrations Advanced building technologies and systems can contribute to the cost-effective delivery of new buildings and retrofits that significantly lower building energy consumption. DOE seeks to fund demonstration and deployment activities for technologies that are ready for market adoption but that may be underutilized due to market barriers including perception of risk, gaps in information and data on performance as well as cost. These technologies will offer a high degree of differentiation between current industry solutions, be widely replicable across the building size, sector and application and provide significant energy savings potential (as determined by market opportunity, site savings, and total potential savings at 100% penetration). Funding through this opportunity will enhance and accelerate the deployment and adoption of a broad range of competitively-solicited high impact energy saving technologies as well as new technology integration approaches. The technical and/or non-technical products of this funding should be deployed for scale up as a part of the award agreement and will enable investment-level decision-making by building owners, investors and operators in order to produce energy savings. Due May 19. DHS-14-DNDO-106-001 Securing the Cities (STC) Program The Securing the Cities (STC) Program seeks to reduce the risk of a successful deployment of a nuclear terrorist weapon against a major metropolitan regions in the United States by establishing sustainable capability among state, local, and tribal agencies to detect and report unauthorized radiological/nuclear (rad/nuc) materials within their jurisdictions supporting the Global Nuclear Detection Architecture (GNDA). The STC Program has three primary goals: (1) to enhance regional capabilities to detect, identify and interdict nuclear materials that are out of regulatory control; (2) to guide the coordination of Federal, State, local and tribal entities in their roles defined by the GNDA; and (3) to encourage participants to sustain base nuclear detection program over time. Due May 20. Bioengineering Research Partnerships (BRP) R01




http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-14-092.html



This FOA encourages bioengineering applications that will accelerate the development and adoption of promising tools and technologies that can address important biomedical research problems. The objectives are to establish these tools and technologies as robust, well-characterized solutions that fulfill an unmet need and are capable of enhancing our understanding of life science processes or the practice of medicine. Awards will focus on supporting multidisciplinary teams that apply an integrative, quantitative bioengineering approach to developing these technologies and engage biomedical researchers or clinicians throughout the project. The goal of the program is to support projects that can realize meaningful solutions within 5-10 years. Due Dates May 20, 2014, September 18, 2014, May 20, 2015, September 18, 2015. Bioenergy Technologies Incubator The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) will issue, on behalf of the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO), a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled "Bioenergy Technologies Incubator." BETO's mission is to engage in research and development (R&D) and demonstration at increasing scale activities to transform renewable biomass resources into commercially viable, high-performance biofuels, and bioproducts and biopower that enable biofuel production. To accomplish this mission, BETO develops a strategic plan, or multi-year program plan, to identify the technical challenges and barriers that need to be overcome. However, BETO recognizes that there may be novel and potentially disruptive ideas that do not necessarily align well with BETO's current multi-year program plan yet still meet the goals and mission of BETO. The Bioenergy Incubator Program is intended to identify these potentially impactful technologies and solutions that are not meaningfully addressed in BETO's strategic plan or project portfolio. It is NOT intended to fund projects that are incremental improvements to current products or processes or for established work in BETO's strategic plan or cur rent portfolio. The Bioenergy Technologies Incubator FOA will be 'open' to any and all impactful proposals which significantly advance the mission of the BETO. It is expected that proposals will be at early Technology Readiness Levels (TRL) ranging from 2 (Technology concept and/or application formulated) to 4 (Component and/or breadboard validation in laboratory environment). Successful incubator projects will reduce the risk associated with potentially breakthrough approaches and technologies so that they could be viable candidates in future program roadmaps. EERE envisions awarding multiple financial assistance awards in the form of cooperative agreements. The total amount of funding for the FOA is $10 million. The estimated period of performance for each award will be approximately 12-24 months, with an award size from $0.5 million to $2.0 million, with 20% cost-share. Due May 23.

NOAA Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Program 2014 NOAA-OAR-SG-2014-2003987 NOAA Sea Grant expects to have up to $3,000,000 available for a national competition to fund new FY 2014 marine aquaculture research projects. This is part of the overall plan to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable ocean, coastal, or Great Lakes aquaculture. Topical priorities for this FY 2014 competition are, briefly: 1) Research to inform pending, regulatory decisions on the local, state, or federal level leading to an information product-- such as a tool, technology, template, or model-- needed to make final





decisions on a specific question regarding impacts of aquaculture; 2) Public-private research partnerships that address specific, current problems that limit a steady supply of marine or Great Lakes fingerlings; and 3) Social and/or economic research targeted to understand aquaculture issues in a larger context. Applicants must describe how their proposed work will rapidly and significantly advance U.S. marine aquaculture development in the short-term (1-2 years after project completion). This Federal Funding Opportunity includes information on application and criteria for aquaculture research proposals requesting a maximum of $500,000 in total federal funding for up to a two-year period. Matching funds are required. Awards are anticipated to start no later than September 1, 2014. Additional proposals from this competition may be selected for funding in the next fiscal year, subject to the availability of funds. Due May 30. 2014-NIST-MSE-01 Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grant Programs NIST is soliciting applications for financial assistance for Fiscal Year 2014 (FY14) under the following programs: (1) the Material Measurement Laboratory (MML); (2) the Physical Measurement Laboratory (PML); (3) the Engineering Laboratory (EL); (4) Fire Research (FR); (5) the Information Technology Laboratory (ITL); (6) the NIST Center for Neutron Research (NCNR); (7) the Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology (CNST); (8) the Office of Special Programs (OSP), and (9) the Associate Director for Laboratory Programs (ADLP). Specifics of these programs are detailed in the Full Announcement/FFO document. This funding opportunity will result in the award of grants or cooperative agreements. A grant or cooperative agreement is not the correct funding vehicle if the principal purpose is to provide products or services for the direct benefit or use of the federal government. Considered on rolling basis until June 2. NSF Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase I Solicitation (SBIR) The SBIR program solicits proposals from the small business sector consistent with NSF's mission. The program is governed by Public Law 112-81 (SBIR/STTR Reauthorization Act of 2011). A main purpose of the legislation is to stimulate technological innovation and increase private sector commercialization. The NSF SBIR program is therefore in a unique position to meet both the goals of NSF and the purpose of the SBIR legislation by transforming scientific discovery into both social and economic benefit, and by emphasizing private sector commercialization. Accordingly, NSF has formulated broad solicitation topics for SBIR that conform to the high-technology investment sector's interests. The topics are detailed on the SBIR/STTR topics homepage. Window: May 10 to June 10. NSF Small Business Technology Transfer Program Phase I Solicitation (STTR) The Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program stimulates technological innovation in the private sector by strengthening the role of small business concerns in meeting Federal research and development needs, increasing the commercial application of federally supported research results, and fostering and encouraging participation by socially and economically disadvantaged and women-owned small businesses. Window: May 11 to June 11. Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Composite Materials and Structures

http://www.nist.gov/director/ocfo/grants/upload/2014-mse-ffo.pdf

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14539/nsf14539.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_e

http://www.nsf.gov/eng/iip/sbir/topicshome.jsp





Through this Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) The Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) of EERE seeks to establish a Clean Energy Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Composites Materials and Structures that will support U.S. prosperity and security; and contribute to the creation of the pilot National Network for Manufacturing Innovation. The vision for the Institute is to revitalize American manufacturing and support domestic manufacturing competitiveness. The technical topic area for this Institute is low cost, energy efficient manufacturing of fiber reinforced polymer composites. The Institute will target continuous or discontinuous, primarily carbon and glass fiber systems, with thermoset or thermoplastic resin materials. These types of composites are foundational technologies that are broadly applicable and pervasive in multiple industries and markets with potentially transformational technical and economic impact. Due June 19. DARPA-BAA-13-32: Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-Wide BAA, Response Date 06/25/2014 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals of interest to the Information Innovation Office (I2O). Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art. I2O seeks unconventional approaches that are outside the mainstream, undertaking directions that challenge assumptions and have the potential to radically change established practice. Due June 26. ONRBAA14-007 FY 15 Communications and Networking Discovery and Invention Proposals for potential FY15 Exploratory Development/Applied Research (Budget Activity 6.2) projects are sought under the following focus areas. Highly innovative ideas in other general communications and networking areas that are not within the designated focus areas below, but nonetheless are important to the Navy/Marine Corps, as determined under the synopsis section above may also be considered: 1. Interference cancellation and tunable high-Q band-pass/band-reject filtering technologies, as well as electronic protection techniques, for bent pipe SATCOM. 2. Algorithms for multi-commodity flow optimization, with multiple priorities, and inclusive of channelized frequency allocation/management (e.g., HF-IP) for robust, automated, and dynamic traffic engineering and routing. 3. Flow control smoothing and latency/jitter reduction for networked disruption-prone directional links (e.g., airborne CDL) using predictive algorithms. 4. IP multicast techniques that work efficiently with link-state routing and strict-priority oriented automated traffic engineering (Link to all ONR Funding Announcements). Refer to the BAA or application instructions for White Paper due date. Due June 30. Geography and Spatial Sciences Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Awards The Geography and Spatial Sciences Program sponsors research on the geographic distributions and interactions of human, physical, and biotic systems on Earth. Investigators are encouraged to propose plans for research about the nature, causes, and consequences of human activity and natural environmental processes across a range of scales. Projects on a variety of topics

http://www.darpa.mil/external_link.aspx?url=https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-BAA-13-32/listing.html

http://www.darpa.mil/external_link.aspx?url=https://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/DARPA-BAA-13-32/listing.html


http://http;/www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/Funding-Opportunities

http://http;/www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/Funding-Opportunities




qualify for support if they offer promise of contributing to scholarship by enhancing geographical knowledge, concepts, theories, methods, and their application to societal problems and concerns. Due August 14.

Geography and Spatial Sciences Program (GSS) This solicitation provides instructions for preparation of a set of different kinds of proposals to the Geography and Spatial Sciences (GSS) Program, including regular research awards; proposals for awards for conferences, workshops, group-travel support, and community-development or community-serving activities; proposals for research coordination network (RCN) awards; and proposals for rapid-response research (RAPID) awards. This solicitation replaces instructions that had been included in the general GSS solicitation (previously NSF 12-570). The Geography and Spatial Sciences Program sponsors research on the geographic distributions and interactions of human, physical, and biotic systems on Earth. Investigators are encouraged to propose plans for research about the nature, causes, and consequences of human activity and natural environmental processes across a range of scales. Projects on a variety of topics qualify for support if they offer promise of contributing to scholarship by enhancing geographical knowledge, concepts, theories, methods, and their application to societal problems and concerns. Due September 4. NPS-BAA-14-001 FY14 Masint Emerging Technologies Research Program

Research Areas: Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) is an intelligence discipline that employs a broad range of scientific developments to gather foreign intelligence. In our efforts to enhance this intelligence competency we are interested in stimulating and supporting research that creates new knowledge and capabilities, or the transition of current capabilities, that have the potential to enhance the following areas: Remote assessment and detection of weapons of mass destruction, specifically nuclear and radiological weapons, as well as chemical and biological weapons. Remote assessment and detection of directed energy weapons. This would include all lasers that are primarily designed as weapons as well as high-powered microwave (HPM) and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) weapons. Bioinformatics, the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes, has become an important part of many areas of biology. Research should focus on how this science promotes the extraction of useful results from large amounts of raw data as well as how its intrinsic characteristics are applicable to many related research topics. Telematics typically is any integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT (Information and Communications Technology). Possible telematics applications can track vehicles, trailers, and shipping containers. Telematics is also used for relaying environmental conditions within vehicles, trailers or shipping containers, fleet management, mobile data and mobile television, wireless vehicle safety communications allowing vehicles to communicate with those around it and emergency warning system for vehicles. Navy seeks White Papers only from the most knowledgeable experts and universities in the field, with submissions briefly describing expertise. Note: Proposals for workshops, conferences, and symposia, or for acquisition of technical, engineering and other types of support services will not be considered (Link to all NPS BAA's). Due September 30.

http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14537/nsf14537.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_e




http://www.nps.edu/Research/workingwithnps.html



Open Solicitations and BAAs Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research AFOSR plans, coordinates, and executes the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) basic research program in response to technical guidance from AFRL and requirements of the Air Force; fosters, supports, and conducts research within Air Force, university, and industry laboratories; and ensures transition of research results to support USAF needs. The focus of AFOSR is on research areas that offer significant and comprehensive benefits to our national warfighting and peacekeeping capabilities. These areas are organized and managed in three scientific directorates: Aerospace, Chemical and Material Sciences, Physics and Electronics, and Mathematics, Information and Life Sciences. Open until superseded.

Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research AFOSR solicits proposals for basic research through this general Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This BAA outlines the Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program. AFOSR invites proposals for research in many broad areas. These areas are described in detail in Section I, Funding Opportunity Description. AFOSR is seeking unclassified, white papers and proposals that do not contain proprietary information. We expect our research to be fundamental. Open until superseded.

DARPA Defense Sciences Research and Technology DARPA is soliciting innovative research proposals of interest to the Defense Sciences Office. Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science and technology. Specifically excluded is research that results primarily in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art. Open to May 22, 2014.

Climate Change Adaptation Program (GPAP) One important effect of global climate change is the reduction in naturally stored water resources which, for Peru, means melting glaciers and a decrease in the size of highland wetlands (paramos). The loss of these areas decreases water availability for upland and lowland communities and increases the potential for Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). This APS seeks to stimulate adaptation projects that assist indigenous mountain communities, rural and urban areas, and local and regional governments potentially affected by GLOFs or changes in water availability. General project outcomes will be long-term, sustainable approaches that help reduce the impact of climate change on glaciated and highland wetland ecosystems and on those that depend on these ecosystems' services. Open to June 6, 2014.

DARPA Strategic Technology Office (STO) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) DARPA is seeking innovative ideas and disruptive technologies that offer the potential for significant capability improvement across the Strategic Technology Office (STO) focus areas. This includes system and technology development related to Battle Management (BM), Command and Control (C2), Communications, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=1pRXP02YP5Qy881LskPq1p9CyQpGp2DlTHHxhbTn8Vx6W7Jq1R1J!-889918338?oppId=158973&mode=VIEW

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=7KLkNy1f3sRpTh6zVchRqwTQCKLC1LJVsJ3p2kZjvKTvj91FnhTR!773961164?oppId=88213&mode=VIEW

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=PSpxRCnRbjVQrL6n1zQ21DtTTr4Db71xfxQTTGNp9p5zz3MsnfhL!-1898900577?oppId=232795&mode=VIEW

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=yJXhRzBh15nngHK1Qd8n3Gf2nLvTGph6LkWk7zvxW5pjGWJr0hq7!35997878?oppId=236105&mode=VIEW

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=1DTRRFqRCQxBrGhbGLFsB1BXJqcxnzyfKT7q6VRpZccPLS4vQlBS!-1603384280?oppId=236609&mode=VIEW



(ISR), Electronic Warfare (EW), and Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT). Technologies of particular interest would address challenges of operating in contested, denied, and/or austere environments. Open until June 18, 2014. DARPA-BAA-13-32: Information Innovation Office (I2O) Office-Wide BAA The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is soliciting innovative research proposals of interest to the Information Innovation Office (I2O). Proposed research should investigate innovative approaches that enable revolutionary advances in science, devices, or systems. Specifically excluded is research that primarily results in evolutionary improvements to the existing state of the art. I2O seeks unconventional approaches that are outside the mainstream, undertaking directions that challenge assumptions and have the potential to radically change established practice. See Full Announcement, DARPA-BAA-13-32 (I2O Office Wide) pdf for further details. Open until June 25, 2014.

DARPA Microsystems Technology Office-Wide The Microsystems Technology Office (MTO) supports DARPA’s mission of maintaining technological superiority and preventing technological surprise by investing in areas such as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), electronics, system architecture, photonics, and biotechnology. In recent years, the proliferation of commercial components and manufacturing processes has allowed our adversaries to achieve capabilities that were previously not possible. Open to September 1, 2014. NINDS SBIR Technology Transfer (SBIR-TT [R43/R44]) This Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) encourages Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant applications from small business concerns (SBCs) for projects to transfer technology out of the NIH intramural research labs into the private sector. If selected for SBIR funding, the SBC will be granted a royalty-free, non-exclusive internal research-use license for the term of and within the field of use of the SBIR award to technologies held by NIH with the intent that the SBC will develop the invention into a commercial product to benefit the public. Open November 5, 2011, to September 8, 2014.

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: Foundational Program National Institute of Food and Agriculture USDA-NIFA-AFRI-004412 The AFRI Foundational Program is offered to support research grants in the six AFRI priority areas to continue building a foundation of knowledge critical for solving current and future societal challenges. The six priority areas are: Plant Health and Production and Plant Products; Animal Health and Production and Animal Products; Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health; Renewable Energy, Natural Resources, and Environment; Agriculture Systems and Technology; and Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities. Single-function Research Projects, multi-function Integrated Projects and Food and Agricultural Science Enhancement (FASE) Grants are expected to address one of the Program Area Priorities (see Foundational Program RFA for details). Open until September 29.

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=9a7be9413972ca4b3096971dae99db09&tab=core&_cview=0

https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=8b538eccd259f65d6aa259be3f667bbe&tab=core&tabmode=list&=

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-11-347.html





Long Range Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology 14-001 ONRBAA14-001 This BAA is intended for proposals related to basic research, applied research, or advanced technology development. For NAVY and Marine Corps Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) programs, refer to ONRBAA13-007, which may be found at the ONR Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) webpage- http://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/Funding-Opportunities/Broad-Agency-Announcements.aspx . A brief description of the ONR Program Codes and the science and technology thrusts that ONR is pursuing is provided below. Additional information can be found at the ONR website at http://www.onr.navy.mil/Science-Technology/Departments.aspx . Open to September 30, 2014.

NOAA-NFA-NFAPO-2014-2003949 FY 2014 - 2015 Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) The purpose of this notice is to request applications for special projects and programs associated with NOAA's strategic plan and mission goals, as well as to provide the general public with information and guidelines on how NOAA will select proposals and administer discretionary Federal assistance under this Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This BAA is a mechanism to encourage research, education and outreach, innovative projects, or sponsorships that are not addressed through our competitive discretionary programs. It is not a mechanism for awarding congressionally directed funds or existing funded awards. Funding for potential projects in this notice is contingent upon the availability of Fiscal Year 2014 and Fiscal Year 2015 appropriations. Applicants are hereby given notice that funds have not yet been appropriated for any potential activities in this notice. Publication of this announcement does not oblige NOAA to review an application, or to award any specific project, or to obligate any available funds. Open to September 30, 2014.

W912HZ-14-BAA-01 2014 BAA Engineer Research and Development Center — DOD The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has issued a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for various research and development topic areas. The ERDC consists of the Coastal and Hydraulics Lab (CHL), the Geotechnical and Structures Lab (GSL), the Environmental Lab (EL) and the Information Technology Lab (ITL) in Vicksburg, Mississippi; the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab (CRREL) in Hanover, New Hampshire; the Construction Engineering Research Lab (CERL) in Champaign, Illinois; and the Topographic Engineering Center (TEC) in Alexandria, Virginia. The ERDC is responsible for conducting research in the broad fields of hydraulics, dredging, coastal engineering, instrumentation, oceanography, remote sensing, geotechnical engineering, earthquake engineering, soil effects, vehicle mobility, self-contained munitions, military engineering, geophysics, pavements, protective structures, aquatic plants, water quality, dredged material, treatment of hazardous waste, wetlands, physical/mechanical/ chemical properties of snow and other frozen precipitation, infrastructure and environmental issues for installations, computer science, telecommunications management, energy, facilities maintenance, materials and structures, engineering processes, environmental processes, land and heritage conservation, and ecological processes. The BAA is available at http://erdc.usace.army.mil/ and is open until superseded. Proposals may be accepted at any time. For questions regarding proposals to CHL,

http://www.onr.navy.mil/Contracts-Grants/Funding-Opportunities/Broad-Agency-Announcements.aspx


http://www.onr.navy.mil/~/media/Files/Funding-Announcements/BAA/2014/14-001.ashx



http://www.onr.navy.mil/Science-Technology/Departments.aspx

http://www.grants.gov/view-opportunity.html?oppId=249066


http://erdc.usace.army.mil/



EL, GSL, TEC & ITL, contact Derek Howard at 601-634-3310 or via email at [email protected] . For questions concerning proposals to CERL, contact Wanda Huber at 217-373-6730 or via email at [email protected] or Andrea Krouse at 217-373-6746 or via email at [email protected] . For questions concerning proposals to CRREL, contact Wendy Adams at 603-646-4323 or via email at [email protected] . Contact the technical personnel listed at the end of each topic area for questions concerning the topic areas themselves. Open to January 31, 2015.

Small University Grants Open 5-Year Broad Agency Announcement Open to August 26, 2015

DHS-2014-OHA-BIOWATCH BioWatch Program: 2014-2015 The BioWatch Program is a cornerstone of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) comprehensive strategy for countering biological terrorism. The BioWatch Program is an early warning system that is designed to detect the intentional release of select aerosolized biological agents. The BioWatch Program’s mission is to provide and maintain a continuous bio-terrorism air monitoring system in metropolitan areas and coordinate with state and local public health communities to prepare for and respond to a bioterrorist event. This mission is accomplished by serving as an early warning system which enhances the security of jurisdictions by providing the needed time to execute their comprehensive concept of operations plans to counter biological terrorism. The Biowatch Program is a critical part of an ongoing national effort to build and sustain preparedness which helps the United States to maintain momentum through targeted jurisdictional planning that highlights preventative actions necessary to allow for a proper and timely response and begin the process to recovery from a biological agent release. The BioWatch Evaluation Program (BWEP) will be conducted under the BioWatch Quality Assurance Program effective April 1, 2013. This program will consist of independent external audits (Quality Assurance) by Signature Science and internal audits (Quality Control) by BioWatch Systems Program Office field personnel. This approach will initially be conducted with a focus on adherence to the BioWatch Field Operations Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), Version 1.3 and will eventually evolve to encompass the Field Operations Quality Assurance Program Plan (QAPP). In order to ensure a robust QA / QC program the jurisdictions may be subject to a QA external audit and a QC internal audit during the same cooperative agreement cycle (year). Closes September 30, 2015.

Nuclear Energy University Programs - Fellowship and Scholarship This program supports education and training for future nuclear scientists, engineers and policy-makers who are attending U.S. universities and colleges in nuclear-related graduate, undergraduate and two-year study programs. These are zero-dollar awards that will be funded as students apply through the Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Energy. Open until November 30, 2015. FY2011 – 2016 Basic Research for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction (C-WMD) Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)





http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do?&mode=VIEW&oppId=56950


http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=RDTJQCmQL2Hsh0r8DHGs7dqwsQ2mMVKvz41psRLrvJ6hxfxp1pm6!1358363001?oppId=209433&mode=VIEW

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=PxKmNnLXGBQHVT5W3bVGkWWfybXRGzn8kyHKhcNx8v4tBvG1jGbh!623925744?oppId=75633&mode=VIEW

http://www07.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=PxKmNnLXGBQHVT5W3bVGkWWfybXRGzn8kyHKhcNx8v4tBvG1jGbh!623925744?oppId=75633&mode=VIEW



This BAA is focused on soliciting basic research projects that support the DTRA mission to safeguard America and its allies from WMD (e.g., chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and high-yield explosives) by providing capabilities to reduce, eliminate, and counter the threat and mitigate its effects.

Open Solicitations from IARPA (Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity) Army Research Laboratory Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which sets forth research areas of interest to the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Directorates and Army Research Office (ARO), is issued under the paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which provides for the competitive selection of basic research proposals. Proposals submitted in response to this BAA and selected for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provision of Public Law 98-369, "The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984" and subsequent amendments. Open June 1, 2012 to March 31, 2017. ARL Core Broad Agency Announcement for Basic and Applied Scientific Research for Fiscal Years 2012 through 2017 Air Force Research Laboratory, Directed Energy Directorate University Small Grants Broad Agency Announcement This is a five-year, open-ended Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to solicit research proposals for the United States Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy (RD) Directorate. This BAA is a university grant vehicle that can provide small grants of $100k or less to students/professors in a timely manner for the purpose of engaging U.S./U.S. territories’ colleges and universities in directed energy-related basic, applied, and advanced research projects that are of interest to the Department of Defense. Open to April 1, 2017. AFRL Research Collaboration Program The objective of the AFRL Research Collaboration program is to enable collaborative research partnerships between AFRL and Academia and Industry in areas including but not limited to Materials and Manufacturing and Aerospace Sensors that engage a diverse pool of domestic businesses that employ scientists and engineers in technical areas required to develop critical war-fighting technologies for the nation’s air, space and cyberspace forces through specific AFRL Core Technical Competencies (CTCs). Open until December 20, 2017. United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences Broad Agency Announcement for Basic, Applied, and Advanced Scientific Research (FY13-18) Announcement for Basic, Applied, and Advanced Scientific Research. This Broad Agency Announcement (BAA), which sets forth research areas of interest to the United States Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, is issued under the provisions of paragraph 6.102(d)(2) of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), which provides for the competitive selection of proposals. Proposals submitted in response to this BAA and selected

http://www.iarpa.gov/open_solicitations.html

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=410hPJZQn0py0JGl5JqXC2LQMhvNfSypZqPh5NgyrZ1hPLr1FZHv!1995549337?oppId=173578&mode=VIEW

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=410hPJZQn0py0JGl5JqXC2LQMhvNfSypZqPh5NgyrZ1hPLr1FZHv!1995549337?oppId=173578&mode=VIEW






http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=T2jtRXhPQywfZ0jBngVpyFhBk29yJ6BBQvJTv9vN0fv7Z4223Tmy!-1413871233?oppId=219293&mode=VIEW

http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=T2jtRXhPQywfZ0jBngVpyFhBk29yJ6BBQvJTv9vN0fv7Z4223Tmy!-1413871233?oppId=219293&mode=VIEW



for award are considered to be the result of full and open competition and in full compliance with the provisions of Public Law 98-369 (The Competition in Contracting Act of 1984)and subsequent amendments. The US Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences is the Army’s lead agency for the conduct of research, development, and analyses for the improvement of Army readiness and performance via research advances and applications of the behavioral and social sciences that address personnel, organization, training, and leader development issues. Programs funded under this BAA include basic research, applied research, and advanced technology development that can improve human performance and Army readiness. The funding opportunity is divided into two sections- (1) Basic Research and (2) Applied Research and Advanced Technology Development. The four major topic areas of research interest include the following: (1) Training; (2) Leader Development; (3) Team and Inter-Organizational Performance in Complex Environments; and (4) Solider/Personnel Issues. Funding of research and development (R&D) within ARI areas of interest will be determined by funding constraints and priorities set during each budget cycle. Open to February 5, 2018.

BAA-HPW-RHX-2014-0001 Human-Centered Intelligence, Surveillance Air Force Research Lab This effort is an open-ended BAA soliciting innovative research concepts for the overall mission of the Human-Centered Intelligence, Surveillance, & Reconnaissance (ISR) Division (711 HPW/RHX). It is intended to generate research concepts not already defined and planned by RHX as part of its core S&T portfolio. The core RHX mission is to develop human-centered S&T that (1) enables the Air Force to better identify, locate and track humans within the ISR environment and (2) enhance the performance of ISR analysts. To accomplish this mission, the RHX core S&T portfolio is structured into three major research areas: (1) Human Signatures - develop technologies to sense and exploit human bio-signatures at the molecular and macro (anthropometric) level, (2) Human Trust and Interaction – develop technologies to improve human-to-human interactions as well as human-to-machine interactions, and (3) Human Analyst Augmentation – develop technologies to enhance ISR analyst performance and to test the efficacy of newly developed ISR technologies within a simulated operational environment. The RHX mission also includes research carried over from the Airman Biosciences and Performance Program. While not directly linked to the core S&T strategic plan, there exists a unique capability resident within RHX to address critical Air Force operational and sustainment needs resulting from chemical and biological hazards. Research areas include contamination detection, hazard assessment and management, individual and collective protection, and restoration and reconstitution of operational capability. Open to Feb. 12, 2018. Research Interests of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research The Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) manages the basic research investment for the U.S. Air Force (USAF). To accomplish this task, AFOSR solicits proposals for basic research through this general Broad Agency Announcement (BAA). This BAA outlines the Air Force Defense Research Sciences Program. AFOSR invites proposals for research in many broad areas. These areas are described in detail in Section I of the BAA, Funding Opportunity Description. AFOSR plans, coordinates, and executes the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) basic research program in response to technical guidance from AFRL and requirements of the Air


http://www.grants.gov/search/search.do;jsessionid=8rJrRTbLkpsQcvNxRXQPsypnzk4ylFdhSw4vHr4QZLmHcVWvv4M1!-802028924?oppId=218055&mode=VIEW



Force; fosters, supports, and conducts research within Air Force, university, and industry laboratories; and ensures transition of research results to support USAF needs. The focus of AFOSR is on research areas that offer significant and comprehensive benefits to our national warfighting and peacekeeping capabilities. These areas are organized and managed in five scientific directorates: Dynamical Systems and Control (RTA), Quantum & Non-Equilibrium Processes (RTB), Information, Decision, and Complex Networks (RTC), Complex materials and Devices (RTD), and Energy, Power, and Propulsion (RTE). The research activities managed within each directorate are summarized in Section I of the BAA. Open until superseded. Air Force BAA - Innovative Techniques and Tools for the Automated Processing and Exploitation (APEX) Center The AFRL/RIEA branch performs Research and Development (R&D) across a broad area of Air Force Command, Control, Communications, Computers/Cyber, and Intelligence (C4I). All applicable "INTs" are investigated with emphasis on Ground Moving Target Indication (GMTI), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), Image Intelligence (IMINT), Non Traditional Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (NTISR), and Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT). The APEX Center is used to perform analysis for seedling efforts, provide baseline tool development for major programs, and to provide realistic operational systems/networks/databases for integration efforts. The APEX Center resources will be used by the Government to perform the necessary research, development, experimentation, demonstration, and conduct objective evaluations in support of emerging capabilities within the Processing and Exploitation (PEX) area. Software tools, data sets, metrics (Measures of Performance/Measures of Effectiveness), and analysis are needed for the Government to perform the vetting, maturing, and analysis of efforts related to PEX, e.g. Automatic Tracking, Activity Based Intelligence, Entity, Event & Relationship (EER) Extraction, Association & Resolution (A&R), Analysis & Visualization (A&V), Social Network Analysis, Network Analytics, Pattern Discovery, Scalable Algorithms, and Novelty Detection. The AFRL APEX Center is the AFRL/RI gateway into the cross-directorate PCPAD-X (Planning & Direction, Collection, Processing & Exploitation, Analysis & Production, and Dissemination eXperimentation) initiative. Open to FY 2018.

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=aaac5367cd551eb17afacdf4a7aa22be&tab=core&_cview=0

https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=aaac5367cd551eb17afacdf4a7aa22be&tab=core&_cview=0



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