Title: Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes (PREST) Date: 09/09/04 Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes (PREST) Program Solicitation NSF 04-557 [NSF Logo] National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Division of Astronomical Sciences Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): June 04, 2004 January 20, 2005 January 20, annually thereafter REVISIONS AND UPDATES Revisions have been made to clarify language in the solicitation, based on experience with the first competition. These changes primarily concern the nature of the requirements for research and facility access, and guidelines for proposal preparation. SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS General Information Program Title: Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes (PREST) Synopsis of Program: The Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes (PREST) is designed to address a spectrum of research and teaching needs for a large number of individuals at institutions without observatories or the resources needed to make their existing observing facilities reliable and productive tools for research and training. The PREST activity provides funding and modest operational support for modern, instrumented telescopes in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 meters aperture to organizations or consortia presenting an integrated program of research, student training, and educational programming. Cognizant Program Officer(s): * Craig B. Foltz, Program Manager, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Astronomical Sciences, 1045 S, telephone: (703) 292-4909, fax: (703) 292-9034, email: cfoltz@nsf.gov * Eileen D. Friel, Executive Officer, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Astronomical Sciences, 1045 S, telephone: (703) 292-4895, fax: (703) 292-9034, email: efriel@nsf.gov Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s): * 47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences Eligibility Information * Organization Limit: None Specified. * PI Eligibility Limit: None Specified. * Limit on Number of Proposals: None Specified. Award Information * Anticipated Type of Award: Standard or Continuing Grant * Estimated Number of Awards: 4 to 8 - depending on number and quality of proposals received * Anticipated Funding Amount: $1,200,000 in FY2004 pending the availability of funds. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions * Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: This solicitation contains information that supplements the standard Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) proposal preparation guidelines. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. B. Budgetary Information * Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required. * Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Not Applicable. * Other Budgetary Limitations: Other budgetary limitations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. C. Due Dates * Full Proposal Deadline Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): June 04, 2004 January 20, 2005 January 20, annually thereafter Proposal Review Information * Merit Review Criteria: National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. Award Administration Information * Award Conditions: Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information. * Reporting Requirements: Standard NSF reporting requirements apply. TABLE OF CONTENTS Summary of Program Requirements I. Introduction II. Program Description III. Eligibility Information IV. Award Information V. Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions A. Proposal Preparation Instructions B. Budgetary Information C. Due Dates D. FastLane Requirements VI. Proposal Review Information A. NSF Proposal Review Process B. Review Protocol and Associated Customer Service Standard VII. Award Administration Information A. Notification of the Award B. Award Conditions C. Reporting Requirements VIII.Contacts for Additional Information IX. Other Programs of Interest I. INTRODUCTION The Program for Research and Education with Small Telescopes (PREST) is designed to address a spectrum of research and teaching needs for a large number of individuals at organizations without observatories or the resources needed to make their existing observing facilities reliable and productive tools for research and training. For many years, the national observatories provided modest aperture telescopes equipped with current instrumentation for use by the astronomical community pursuing research activities in optical and infrared astronomy. Many of the users of these telescopes were faculty and their students at institutions that had no similar local resources. The move toward 8 and 10 meter aperture telescopes has led to the closure of many telescopes of modest aperture particularly at the northern hemisphere site of the U.S. national observatory. These closures have reduced the number of ‘astronomer nights’ available to the US optical/IR community, which has impacted most seriously those astronomers at institutions without their own facilities. Telescopes of modest aperture are still important research tools, not only for the science they enable on their own but because they allow preliminary or planning studies necessary for projects being developed for larger telescopes. In addition, many astronomers now without access to smaller telescopes are at primarily undergraduate institutions or in state university systems. A large number of students from underrepresented groups attend such institutions, and their inclusion in research activities is an important mechanism to diversify the scientific workforce. Even though many faculty are active in involving undergraduate students in their research, an undesirable repercussion of the closure of small telescopes has been that fewer undergraduate and graduate students are obtaining direct observational experience. A lack of direct experience with instruments and observing practices can severely limit an investigator’s ability to optimize and interpret the data and may have a significant deleterious impact on the next generation of instrument builders and observers. II. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION The PREST activity will provide funding and modest operational support for modern, instrumented telescopes in the range of 0.5 to 2.5 meters aperture to organizations or consortia presenting an integrated program of research, student training, and educational programming. All organizations or consortia receiving funds under this program must be willing to make some observing time on the facility available to the larger professional astronomical community. Partnerships among research institutions, two- and four- year institutions and local schools or community science centers are encouraged. Consortia of educational and research institutions or organizations are eligible to apply. Eligible projects include acquisition of telescope systems or instrumentation or the refurbishment or enhancement of existing facilities. If proposing to upgrade existing facilities, the proposers must demonstrate that the resulting facility will provide a robust, modern observing environment for its users. A small amount of funding is available to help defray the operating costs of these facilities. Proposals must meet the 15-page limitation on the Project Description. A. Eligible projects Eligible projects include the following: * Acquisition of telescopes or necessary facility infrastructure, such as domes. * Instrumentation for new or existing telescopes. * Refurbishment, improvements or enhancements of existing telescopes, instrument systems, telescope operations systems or other improvements that increase the telescope and instrument capabilities, including enhanced ease of visitor use. Major construction such as the creation of lab space is not an allowable cost. Proposals must describe clearly what improvements in capability will result from the requested funding and how these support the scientific and educational goals. While the primary intent of this activity is to provide funds for facilities, the NSF recognizes that many organizations or consortia may be unable to secure immediate funding for the full operational costs for such facilities. As a result, proposers may also request support for up to $50,000 per year in operating costs for facilities being constructed or enhanced through this program. If such requests are made, the proposers must indicate clearly how such funds will be used, to what extent and how other sources will supplement the requested funds, and how long-term sustainability will be achieved. Requests for funding that are simply substitutes for existing operations funds for telescopes are not appropriate for this program. B. Description of facility programs In all cases, PI’s must present a scientific research program that will be undertaken with the facility that includes both faculty and student involvement. Research is expected to be of professional quality, of a nature suitable for publication in peer-reviewed professional astronomical journals. It is understood that the proposers are not likely to be able to describe fully all possible research projects that will be conducted over the proposal period, but proposers must provide a description of sample research topics or projects, the scope of the research to be conducted, and the special capabilities the telescope facility will provide to users in sufficient detail for the reviewers and NSF to judge the scientific merit of the activities and their relevance to and impact on the field of astronomy. If the proposal comes from a consortium of users, each organization or institution involved must present a plan for use of the facility as part of the Project Description and demonstrate an intention to participate in the program. PI’s must also present a coherent educational program that will take advantage of the telescope facility and broaden its use. The nature of this educational program is not constrained to any particular educational or public group, and not every group need be involved in the proposed activity. It is expected that much, if not all, of the research carried out with the observational facility will be done in conjunction with students (see subsection C below). Consistent with NSF’s goal to broaden participation by under-represented groups in science and engineering, proposers are urged to consider ways in which their proposed activities can work toward this goal. Collaborations with local organizations (community colleges, K-12 schools, community science centers, etc) are encouraged, but not required. Proposers may want to consider joining programs and activities already established, for example those at national centers or sponsored by professional organizations. If collaborations with such organizations are proposed, each organization must describe clearly its role in the facility programming or operation and demonstrate its intent to participate in the project. C. Role of students and student training The participation of students is an integral and essential part of this program. The funded facilities are seen as providing training opportunities in instrumentation and observational techniques and observing programs. Proposals must describe the role of undergraduate or graduate students as appropriate in any instrumentation projects, improvement projects and, ultimately, the research and educational programs that the facilities will enable. Examples of areas in which student participation is expected and encouraged, as appropriate, are listed below. Proposed projects are not expected to include activities in all of these areas. * Student research, independently or in conjunction with faculty * Design, fabrication, and testing of instrumentation and data processing software * Operating the telescopes, carrying out observing programs or supporting users of the facilities * Classroom activities, such as undergraduate or graduate labs for science majors or non-majors * Activities in collaboration with regional 2-year institutions. * Participation in public or K-12 school programs. D. Access to a Broader Professional Community All organizations or consortia receiving funds under this program must be willing to make a fraction of the observing time on the facility enabled by this program available to qualified users for integrated scientific research and educational programs. Proposers must provide a letter stating their plan for making time available on the facility to scientists and their students from the professional astronomical community. This letter should be provided as a supplemental document to the proposal. The PI's must propose a scheme for assessing the value or justifying the fraction of observing time made available based on the amount of NSF support received. Proposals must contain a description of the amount, the scheduling, and the nature of observing time and facilities made available to the community, including the duration of commitment and any conditions of use imposed. Proposals must present a plan for making such time available and describe the level and type of training and technical, operational, and logistical support available for outside users. It is understood that the amount and extent of user support provided will vary with the resources available to the proposing institutions or organizations; in particular, it is not expected that the level of support provided would be comparable to that at major facilities or national centers. Proposers must also discuss how they would evaluate the intellectual merit and broader impact of requests for observing time and how they would accommodate the scheduling of outside users. Proposers are encouraged to consider and describe the benefit of potential interactions between visiting observers and the faculty and students of the observatory’s host institution or organization. E. Program Evaluation Proposals should describe plans for assessing progress toward and success in achieving the proposed program goals. Proposals should also define metrics by which program effectiveness will be measured over the duration of the proposal period. It is expected that, in the event of an award, annual and final reports to NSF will provide evaluations of the program based on these metrics. Any projects awarded more than three years of funding will be reviewed in their 3rd year and a decision on continued funding will rest on how well the proposal goals have been met using, in part, the metrics established in the proposal. III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION The categories of proposers identified in the Grant Proposal Guide are eligible to submit proposals under this program announcement/solicitation. IV. AWARD INFORMATION * Anticipated Type of Award: Standard or Continuing Grant * Estimated Number of Awards: 4 to 8 - depending on number and quality of proposals received * Anticipated Funding Amount: $1,200,000 in FY2004 pending the availability of funds. Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds. Awards may be for up to 5 years duration. Any project awarded more than three years of funding will be reviewed in its 3rd year with possible site visits or reverse site visits, following which a decision will be made on the award of the 4th and/or 5th years of funding. V. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS A. Proposal Preparation Instructions Full Proposal Instructions: Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement/solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF Website at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov. The following instructions supplement the GPG guidelines and the information in Section II. Proposals must have identifiable sections within the 15-page Project Description that address the scientific, educational, technical, and managerial aspects of the proposed program. Proposals that do not address fully the required items may be judged unresponsive to the solicitation and returned without review. * Issues to address with regard to the proposed scientific and educational programs related to the description of facility programs, the role of students and student training, access to the broader professional community, and program evaluation are described above in Section II. Program Description. * A section on the technical aspects of the proposed activity must present a discussion of technical issues and concerns and provide strategies for addressing them. It should include an overview of the instrument or improvement program proposed, including optical, mechanical, electronics, and software components, as appropriate. PI’s should provide evidence that the proposed technical approach is viable and that the project has the technical capability, expertise, and resources to carry it out. The proposal should also provide evidence that the proposed facility will enable the planned scientific research and educational program. * A section on management must include a discussion of the procedures and processes that will be used to manage the project, including procedures to plan and organize the work, major tasks and milestones, and metrics to monitor and assess progress. This section should discuss any risks and challenges the project faces and present plans for addressing these. The proposal should describe personnel involved in the project as well as subcontractors or vendors used, as appropriate. The interrelation and organization of various groups involved in the project must be described and show clear project and management responsibility. Should the proposal come from a consortium, all organizations or institutions involved must provide letters of their intention to participate in the project, included in the proposal as supplementary documentation. * Within the management section, the proposers should discuss their plans for providing access to professional users from other institutions as discussed above. A letter from the proposing organization stating the amount and nature of observing time and facilities made available must be included with the proposal as supplementary documentation. Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement/solicitation number (04-557) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the proposal Cover Sheet. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing. B. Budgetary Information Cost Sharing: Cost sharing is not required in proposals submitted under this Program Solicitation. Other Budgetary Limitations: No more than $50,000 can be requested per year for operations costs associated with the proposed facility. C. Due Dates Proposals must be submitted by the following date(s): Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time): June 04, 2004 January 20, 2005 January 20, annually thereafter For fiscal year 2005 and following, the deadline will be 20 January, annually. D. FastLane Requirements Proposers are required to prepare and submit all proposals for this announcement/solicitation through the FastLane system. Detailed instructions for proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm. For FastLane user support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail fastlane@nsf.gov. The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions related to this program announcement/solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this announcement/solicitation. Submission of Electronically Signed Cover Sheets. The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must electronically sign the proposal Cover Sheet to submit the required proposal certifications (see Chapter II, Section C of the Grant Proposal Guide for a listing of the certifications). The AOR must provide the required electronic certifications within five working days following the electronic submission of the proposal. Proposers are no longer required to provide a paper copy of the signed Proposal Cover Sheet to NSF. Further instructions regarding this process are available on the FastLane Website at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov VI. PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION A. NSF Proposal Review Process Reviews of proposals submitted to NSF are solicited from peers with expertise in the substantive area of the proposed research or education project. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the oversight of the review process. NSF invites the proposer to suggest, at the time of submission, the names of appropriate or inappropriate reviewers. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts with the proposer. Special efforts are made to recruit reviewers from non-academic institutions, minority-serving institutions, or adjacent disciplines to that principally addressed in the proposal. The National Science Board approved revised criteria for evaluating proposals at its meeting on March 28, 1997 (NSB 97-72). All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two merit review criteria. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities. On July 8, 2002, the NSF Director issued Important Notice 127, Implementation of new Grant Proposal Guide Requirements Related to the Broader Impacts Criterion. This Important Notice reinforces the importance of addressing both criteria in the preparation and review of all proposals submitted to NSF. NSF continues to strengthen its internal processes to ensure that both of the merit review criteria are addressed when making funding decisions. In an effort to increase compliance with these requirements, the January 2002 issuance of the GPG incorporated revised proposal preparation guidelines relating to the development of the Project Summary and Project Description. Chapter II of the GPG specifies that Principal Investigators (PIs) must address both merit review criteria in separate statements within the one-page Project Summary. This chapter also reiterates that broader impacts resulting from the proposed project must be addressed in the Project Description and described as an integral part of the narrative. Effective October 1, 2002, NSF will return without review proposals that do not separately address both merit review criteria within the Project Summary. It is believed that these changes to NSF proposal preparation and processing guidelines will more clearly articulate the importance of broader impacts to NSF-funded projects. The two National Science Board approved merit review criteria are listed below (see the Grant Proposal Guide Chapter III.A for further information). The criteria include considerations that help define them. These considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. While proposers must address both merit review criteria, reviewers will be asked to address only those considerations that are relevant to the proposal being considered and for which he/she is qualified to make judgments. What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity? How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of the prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources? What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity? How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society? NSF staff will give careful consideration to the following in making funding decisions: Integration of Research and Education One of the principal strategies in support of NSF's goals is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators, and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learning perspectives. Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports. Additional Review Criteria: In addition to the above merit review criteria, each proposal will be evaluated on the basis of: * Overall quality of the management and technical plans * Overall value of the observing time and facility resources made available for professional community use * Thoroughness in addressing the required proposal elements described in Sections II. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION and Section V. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS. B. Review Protocol and Associated Customer Service Standard All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the proposal. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement/solicitation will be reviewed by Ad Hoc and/or panel review. Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation. A summary rating and accompanying narrative will be completed and submitted by each reviewer. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the Program Director. In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of the decision to award or decline funding. NSF is striving to be able to tell proposers whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time interval begins on the closing date of an announcement/solicitation, or the date of proposal receipt, whichever is later. The interval ends when the Division Director accepts the Program Officer's recommendation. In all cases, after programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review of business, financial, and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their own risk. VII. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION A. Notification of the Award Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program Division administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See section VI.A. for additional information on the review process.) B. Award Conditions An NSF award consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award letter; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (NSF-GC-1); * or Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) Terms and Conditions * and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Cooperative agreement awards also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions (CA-1). Electronic mail notification is the preferred way to transmit NSF awards to organizations that have electronic mail capabilities and have requested such notification from the Division of Grants and Agreements. *These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_gac.htm. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov. More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) Chapter II, available electronically on the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpm. The GPM is also for sale through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402. The telephone number at GPO for subscription information is (202) 512-1800. The GPM may be ordered through the GPO Website at http://www.gpo.gov. Special Award Conditions: Awards may be for up to 5 years. All projects are required to submit annual progress reports in accordance with NSF reporting requirements. Any projects awarded more than three years of funding will undergo additional review in their 3rd year, including possible site visits or reverse site visits, following which a decision will be made on the award of 4th and/or 5th years of funding. C. Reporting Requirements For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the PI must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period. Within 90 days after the expiration of an award, the PI also is required to submit a final project report. Failure to provide final technical reports delays NSF review and processing of pending proposals for the PI and all Co-PIs. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data. PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project reporting system, available through FastLane, for preparation and submission of annual and final project reports. This system permits electronic submission and updating of project reports, including information on project participants (individual and organizational), activities and findings, publications, and other specific products and contributions. PIs will not be required to re-enter information previously provided, either with a proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system. VIII. CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION General inquiries regarding this program should be made to: * Craig B. Foltz, Program Manager, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Astronomical Sciences, 1045 S, telephone: (703) 292-4909, fax: (703) 292-9034, email: cfoltz@nsf.gov * Eileen D. Friel, Executive Officer, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Astronomical Sciences, 1045 S, telephone: (703) 292-4895, fax: (703) 292-9034, email: efriel@nsf.gov For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact: * Kim S. Elliott, Computer Specialist, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Astronomical Sciences, 1053 S, telephone: (703) 292-4894, email: kelliott@nsf.gov IX. OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST The NSF Guide to Programs is a compilation of funding for research and education in science, mathematics, and engineering. The NSF Guide to Programs is available electronically at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gp. General descriptions of NSF programs, research areas, and eligibility information for proposal submission are provided in each chapter. Many NSF programs offer announcements or solicitations concerning specific proposal requirements. To obtain additional information about these requirements, contact the appropriate NSF program offices. Any changes in NSF's fiscal year programs occurring after press time for the Guide to Programs will be announced in the NSF E-Bulletin, which is updated daily on the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin, and in individual program announcements/solicitations. Subscribers can also sign up for NSF's Custom News Service (http://www.nsf.gov/home/cns/start.htm) to be notified of new funding opportunities that become available. ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Awardees are wholly responsible for conducting their project activities and preparing the results for publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation. NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and educators. The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with Federal statutes, regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF, although some programs may have special requirements that limit eligibility. Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the GPG Chapter II, Section D.2 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals. The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov * Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22230 * For General Information (703) 292-5111 (NSF Information Center): * TDD (for the hearing-impaired): (703) 292-5090 * To Order Publications or Forms: Send an e-mail to: pubs@nsf.gov or telephone: (703) 292-7827 * To Locate NSF Employees: (703) 292-5111 PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENTS The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies needing information as part of the review process or in order to coordinate programs; and to another Federal agency, court or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230. OMB control number: 3145-0058.