‘Meet the Funder’��2023 NAEd/Spencer Spring Fellows Retreat

SARAH-KATHRYN MCDONALD, PHD, MBA

SENIOR ADVISOR

February2023

OFFICE OF THE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR

Considering NSF as a source of support for your research

Aligning goals

How well do the goals and objectives of your research align with the mission, goals, and objectives of…

… the funding agency?

… specific funding opportunities?

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Matching ideas to funding opportunities

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Preparing compelling proposals

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Fit with mission and goals

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NSF supports

• Discovery
• Research infrastructure
• Learning

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To learn more about NSF, and NSF-supported research and innovation, see…

• About NSF (https://beta.nsf.gov/about)
• NSF Strategic Plan for FY 2022 - FY 2026, NSF 22-068 (https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22068/nsf22068.pdf)

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Research areas

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• Biological sciences
• Computer and information science and engineering
• Engineering
• Geosciences
• Mathematical and physical sciences
• Social, behavioral and economic sciences
• STEM education
• Technology, innovation, and partnerships

https://www.nsf.gov/about/research_areas.jsp

NSF’s Directorate for STEM Education (EDU)

• Works to develop a well-informed citizenry and a diverse and capable workforce of scientists, technicians, engineers, mathematicians and educators.
• Funds cutting-edge research and evaluation projects across all STEM disciplines and STEM projects — through scholarships, fellowships, centers, alliances, networks, curriculum development and institutional capacity building.
• Invests in activities aimed to improve knowledge of accessibility, integration and adaptability in STEM education and beyond — ensuring that STEM education and career opportunities are accessible, inclusive and equitable for all Americans, including women, minorities, veterans and persons with disabilities.

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EDU's programs support STEM education at all educational levels and in a variety of settings.

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https://beta.nsf.gov/edu

EDU goals

1. Prepare the next generation of STEM professionals and attract and retain more Americans to STEM careers.
2. Develop a robust research community that can conduct rigorous research and evaluation that will support excellence in STEM education and that integrates research and education.
3. Increase the technological, scientific and quantitative literacy of all Americans so that they can exercise responsible citizenship and live productive lives in an increasingly technological society.
4. Broaden participation (individuals, geographic regions, types of institutions, STEM disciplines) and close achievement gaps in all STEM fields.

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https://www.nsf.gov/ehr/about.jsp

EDU investments

1. Identify effective ways to prepare and support teachers and faculty who can inspire and challenge students in the STEM disciplines and to provide them with effective materials and strategies to promote and assess learning;
2. Invest in research on learning, facilitating the translation of research into practice, and create supportive learning environments and STEM pathways by developing models of reform/systemic change at both institutional and multi-institutional levels through networking, partnerships, alliances and collaborations.
3. Ensure that the STEM community is broadly representative of the nation’s individuals, geographic regions, types of institutions and STEM disciplines; and,
4. Identify effective ways (formal and informal) to address the STEM knowledge requirements of adults so that they can be productive members of the workforce and informed and active citizens.

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https://www.nsf.gov/ehr/about.jsp

Matching ideas to funding opportunities

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https://beta.nsf.gov/edu

https://beta.nsf.gov/edu

https://beta.nsf.gov/edu

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ECR: Building Capacity in STEM Education Research

Supports activities that enable researchers to expand their areas of expertise and acquire requisite knowledge & skills to conduct rigorous research in STEM education.

Two types of individual investigator development projects supported, for investigators

• New to STEM education research
• Experienced in STEM education research

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https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/ehr-core-research-building-capacity-stem-education

Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)

• Foundation-wide activity
• NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education, and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization
• Next submission deadline: July 26, 2023

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https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/faculty-early-career-development-program-career

Preparing compelling proposals

Understanding NSF’s proposal preparation requirements and how your proposals will be reviewed

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Critically review the funding opportunity announcement

Start with the program page on the NSF website

• Scan the synopsis
• View/download the submission guidelines
• Check updates & announcements for webinars, office hours
• Consider looking into what has been funded recently on topic(s) of interest to you
• Identify program contacts for any additional Qs

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https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/improving-undergraduate-stem-education-directorate

Considering how your ideas ‘fit’

Contact a program officer

• Email a (1-page) prospectus
• Some programs specify individual points of contact, some use an email alias; some do both

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https://beta.nsf.gov/funding/opportunities/improving-undergraduate-stem-education-directorate

General proposal requirements

Consult the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (NSF 23-1)

• Sections of the proposal e.g.,
• Cover sheet
• Project summary
• Project description
• References cited
• Budget & budget justification
• Facilities, equipment, & other resources
• Senior personnel documents (e.g., biographical sketches, current & pending support)
• Special information & supplementary documentation (e.g., Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan; plans for data management and sharing products of research; documentation of collaborative arrangements of significance to the proposal through letters of collaboration)
• Format of the proposal (e.g., pagination; font, spacing & margin requirements; page formatting)

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General proposal requirements

Consult the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (NSF 23-1)

Other types of proposals; e.g.,

• Planning proposal
• Rapid Response Research (RAPID)
• EArly-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER)
• Research Advanced by Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering (RAISE)
• Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)
• Ideas Lab Proposal
• Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED)
• Career Life Balance (CLB) Supplemental Funding Requests
• Conference proposal

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Solicitation-specific requirements

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Consult solicitations for any solicitation-specific requirements

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e.g., the NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) program’s current solicitation (NSF 21-536)

• Page limit differs from PAPPG
• Required sections & subsections

Is this the right time to submit your proposal?

Some things to consider…

• Fit with current research expertise and career development plans
• Ability to devise a strategy that includes benchmarks, timelines, and metrics
• Adequate resources to accomplish your project
• Assessment plan (defining, measuring ‘success’)
• Partners, collaborators
• Local requirements (e.g., touching base with your organization’s sponsored projects office; Institutional Review Board approvals)
• Anticipated contributions

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Understand how your proposal will be reviewed

NSF’s merit review process

• Designed to ensure proposals submitted are reviewed in a fair, competitive, transparent, & in-depth manner
• Described in detail in Part 1 of the PAPPG (NSF 23-1)
• Wealth of resources available online

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https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/

Understand how your proposal will be reviewed

NSF’s merit review process

• Designed to ensure proposals submitted are reviewed in a fair, competitive, transparent, & in-depth manner
• Described in detail in Part 1 of the PAPPG (NSF 23-1)
• Wealth of resources available online

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https://www.nsf.gov/discoveries/disc_videos.jsp?cntn_id=135088&media_id=78526&org=NSF

Understand how your proposal will be reviewed

NSF’s merit review criteria

• Intellectual merit 🡪 encompasses the potential to advance knowledge
• Broader impact 🡪 encompasses the potential to benefit society and contribute to the achievement of specific, desired societal outcomes

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See PAPPG, NSF 23-1, p. III-2

Reviewers are asked to consider

• What the proposers want to do
• Why they want to do it
• How they plan to do it
• How they will know if they succeed
• What benefits could accrue if the project is successful

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Consider any solicitation-specific review criteria

E.g., for the NRT program mentioned earlier (NSF 21-536)

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Proposal preparation checklist

See the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG, NSF 23-1), pp. II-59 to II-62

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Also available online (https://beta.nsf.gov/policies/pappg/23-1/ch-2-exhibit-1)

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Consider volunteering to serve as an NSF reviewer

Reviewers…

• Provide a great service—to NSF and the science & engineering community
• Gain first-hand knowledge of the peer review process
• Learn about common problems with proposals
• Discover strategies to write strong proposals
• Meet colleagues and NSF program officers managing programs related to your interests

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https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/reviewer.jsp

Volunteering to serve as an NSF reviewer

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https://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/merit_review/reviewer.jsp

https://beta.nsf.gov/funding

Questions?

Please join the Thursday March 9^th

discussion session

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