Title : Joint NSF/Private Sector Research Opportunities Initiative Announcement (NSF 92-136) Type : Program Guideline NSF Org: SBE Date : March 10, 1993 File : nsf92136 ****************************************************************************** This File has been updated 10/31/96 to reflect the proper address of the: National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, VA 22230 For more information call: (703)306-1234 ****************************************************************************** Joint NSF/Private Sector Research Opportunities Initiative Announcement Directorate of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Joint NSF/Private Sector Research Opportunities Initiative Announcement DESCRIPTION The Decision, Risk, and Management Science (DRMS) Program in the Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research (SBER) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) is sponsoring a Joint NSF/Private Sector Research Opportunities Initiative. Under this initiative, DRMS will match private sector support for qualifying research projects for one or two years up to $75,000 per year. This initiative advances the mission of DRMS, to support research which is grounded in theory but has an operational component. It is designed to encourage theory building through applied studies in private sector settings. The private sector offers ideal settings for modeling operational and managerial processes, risk management, and decision-making in organizations. Interaction between the academic community and the private sector will benefit both parties. All participants will have an opportunity to develop new approaches to problems based on state- of-the-art methodologies and innovative research partnerships. University researchers and educators will benefit from exposure to the problems private sector organizations currently face. This initiative also advances the broad DRMS objective of supporting research for the purpose of increasing the understanding and effectiveness of problem solving, information processing, and decision-making by individuals, groups, and organizations. Proposals submitted under this initiative differ from proposals normally submitted to DRMS because the Principal Investigator (P.I.) will be supported by two sources of funding. One source will be DRMS/NSF and the second will be a Cooperating Organization. The Cooperating Organization will be required to name a key contact person who must actively participate in the development of the proposal and also in the conduct of the research. A letter of support from the Cooperating Organization for the proposed research must be submitted with the proposal. Problems to be studied include, but are not limited to, topics in the areas of operational control, management systems, and strategic planning. Topics can range from production, manufacturing, and marketing problems facing industrial firms and service organizations, to the role of decision analysis and decision support systems in improving the way individuals and groups make choices under conditions of risk and uncertainty. The topic should be of general interest to the research community, but still relate to a specific problem facing the Cooperating Organization. PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS Proposal Format The project description for proposals submitted under this initiative may not exceed 15 single-spaced pages and should follow the format specified in Grants for Research and Education in Science and Engineering (NSF 92-89). In addition, the following information is required to be submitted with the proposal under this initiative. A short section entitled "Relation of Proposed Research to the Private Sector" must explain how the proposed research relates to a specific problem and serves the specific needs of the Cooperating Organization. This information will be considered in evaluating the proposal's relevance to an operational problem; A short section entitled "Generalizability of Research Project" must explain how the proposed research can be generalized to other contexts to transcend the problem of interest to the Cooperating Organization; A brief history of the Principal Investigator's current and past involvement with the Cooperating Organization; and A letter of support from the Cooperating Organization indicating the name of the key contact person, the specific role (including time commitments) that the contact person will be playing in the research, and the projected availability of designated matching funds if the proposal is approved by NSF. Since the purpose of the initiative is to stimulate research grounded in a real operational context, this letter is particularly important in indicating the extent to which these operational criteria are met. Any further statements by the cooperating organization as to the importance of the work to the organization or about other staff and/or equipment resources made available for the project are encouraged and will be considered in NSF's evaluation of the proposal. This letter does not represent a legal commitment by the Cooperating Organization to provide any matching funds. Proposal Submission Target dates for the submission of proposals under this initiative are January 15th and August 15th. Eighteen (18) copies of the proposal should be sent to: Announcement No _______ National Science Foundation PPU 1800 G Street NW Room 233 Washington, D.C. 20550 PROPOSAL EVALUATION In Grants for Research and Education in Science and Engineering (NSF 92-89, Pp. 16-17), the National Science Foundation lists four general criteria for the selection of research projects: 1) research performance competence; 2) intrinsic merit of the research; 3) utility or relevance of the research; and 4) the effect of the research on the infrastructure of science and engineering. Research supported by DRMS should address social, behavioral, or organizational aspects of operational processes and decision making. Research should: (a) have relevance to an operational context, (b) be grounded in theory, (c) be based on empirical observation or be subject to empirical validation, and (d) be generalizable. Even though a single project may not satisfy all these characteristics, its contribution toward these ends must be clear. Research should be feasible given the likely level of funding. GRANT ADMINISTRATION Budgets If a grant is approved under this program, the grantee is given a base award of up to $25,000. NSF may then agree, upon evidence of contributions from the Cooperating Organization in the first year of the grant, to match the Cooperating Organization's contributions at a rate of $2 for every $3 contributed by the Cooperating Organization, up to a maximum of $50,000. Hence if the Cooperating Organization contributed $75,000 to the project for the first year of the grant, NSF may give the grantee an award of $50,000 in addition to the base award of $25,000. Thus the grantee could receive a maximum of $75,000 from NSF during the first year. If the Cooperating Organization contributed $30,000 for the first year, the grantee could receive a total of $45,000 from NSF, consisting of the base of $25,000 plus an additional $20,000. If the grant is awarded for two years, then during the second year of the grant, NSF may match the Cooperating Organization's contributions for the second year of the project at a rate of $1 for each $1 contributed by the Cooperating Organization, up to a maximum of $75,000. NSF reserves the right to award the grant for either one or two years. Two year awards must submit a progress report to DRMS at the end of the first year. Second year funding will be conditional upon satisfactory progress. The Principal Investigator must estimate how much money he/she hopes to get both from NSF and the Cooperating Organization in the form of matching funds. The PI should then present three budgets for year 1 of the grant: i. The first budget describes how the base award of NSF funds of up to $25,000 will be spent, using NSF Form 1030: Summary Proposal Budget. ii. The second budget describes how NSF's portion of the anticipated year 1 matching funds will be spent, using a separate Form 1030. iii. The third budget describes how the Cooperating Organization's portion of the anticipated year 1 matching funds will be spent, on a separate page. Please call the DRMS program office for further details on the construction of program budgets. If the proposal is for two years, then a budget for NSF's portion of the anticipated year 2 matching funds (on a separate Form 1030) and a second budget for the Cooperating Organization's portion of the anticipated year 2 matching funds must be provided. The letter of support provided by the Cooperating Organization will not be construed as implying the Cooperating Organization's commitment to providing the funds anticipated in these budgets. Eligible Matching Sources Obtaining matching funds from private sector organizations is consistent with NSF's goal for fostering industry-academic cooperation. Cooperating organizations may include privately-owned businesses, publicly held corporations, non-profit institutions or combinations thereof. Cooperating Organizations cannot be affiliated with, or be subunits of, the Principal Investigator's academic institution. The determination of eligibility will be made by NSF program officers on a case-by-case basis. Eligible Matching Funds Funds from the Cooperating Organization must be specifically designated for the Principal Investigator's research project. Scientific/technical and budgetary control of the research activities and funds must be vested in the Principal Investigator. Examples of contributions which are not eligible as matching funds are: (a) Funds for unrestricted purposes donated by a Cooperating Organization to a university. (b) Non-cash contributions (such as the donation of working space, institutional cost-sharing, or support staff). Examples of contributions which are eligible as matching funds are: (a) Funds awarded to the grantee explicitly targeted for the support of the proposed research, (b) Funds used to support the scientific personnel forming part of the PI's research team. But these personnel must be explicitly listed in the proposed budget as consultants and the usual DRMS program guidelines will apply to the amount of matched money (from either NSF funds or the Cooperating Organization's funds) which can be `counted' in support of these consultants. As noted in NSF 92- 89, biographical information must be provided on each consultant. NSF 92-89 also specifies the procedures for changing the personnel on the PI's research team during the course of the grant. (c) Funds used to provide equipment or other resources to the Principal Investigator. However these equipment expenses must be specified on the proposal budget and there must be reasonable ways, agreeable to the DRMS Program Directors, for determining their value based on marginal cost. NSF reserves the right to determine what will be construed as matching funds. Changes in project personnel or in the Cooperating Organization over the course of the project must receive prior approval from the Program Directors. PUBLICATION, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND PROPRIETARY MATERIAL Unrestricted dissemination of research findings is an essential DRMS and NSF policy. Principal rights to intellectual property produced under this initiative shall remain with the grantee institution. It is recognized that in some circumstances the recipient of an award under this initiative may accept and use data or material which has been designated as proprietary by the Cooperating Organization. It will be the responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure that any member of the research team who is not allowed access to proprietary data can participate in all intellectually significant portions of the research. The final research results of the project should not be subject to restrictions on publication beyond those relating to accepted scientific practice, such as the coding of information and anonymity of subjects. The Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research has a data archiving policy for data sets produced under its awards. The policy requires researchers who accept DRMS funds to commit themselves to placing the data collected under DRMS awards in a fully cleansed and documented form in a data archive or library within one year of the expiration of the award. The purpose of this policy is to advance the social sciences and promote openness in science through an organized mechanism of data sharing. OTHER INFORMATION DRMS welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists and engineers at academic institutions and strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in the research programs described in this document. Investigators at small colleges or predominantly undergraduate institutions are encouraged to apply. Research participation by undergraduate and graduate students will be supported to the extent possible. Facilitation Awards for Handicapped Scientists and Engineers (FAH) funds are available for special assistance or equipment to enable physically disabled scientists or students to participate in NSF research. See FAH Announcement NSF 84-62 or contact the DRMS Program Officers for more information. In accordance with Federal statutes and regulations and NSF policies, no person shall be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from the National Science Foundation on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability. NSF has TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf) capability which enables individuals with hearing impairment to communicate with the Division of Personnel and Management for information on NSF programs, employment, or general information. This number is (202) 357-7492. NSF awardees are wholly responsible for the preparation of the results of their research for publication. The Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings nor for their interpretation. PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN Information requested on NSF application material is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. It will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals and may be used and disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process and to other government agencies. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records" and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposals File and Associated Records" 56 Federal Register 54907 (October 23, 1991). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of your receiving an award. 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 or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Herman G. Fleming, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of Human Resource Management, NSF, Washington, DC 20550; and to Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3145-0058), Washington, DC 20503. DRMS PROGRAM INFORMATION Decision, Risk, and Management Science Program Division of Social, Behavioral, and Economic Research National Science Foundation 1800 G Street, N.W., Room 336 Washington D.C. 20550 Phone: (202) 357-7417 or (202) 357-7569 FAX: (202) 357-0357 Please call the DRMS Program Office for information on current DRMS Program Officers. Publications referenced in this brochure may be obtained by contacting: NSF Forms and Publications Room 232 1800 G Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20550 (202) 357-3619 Please request publications by their NSF number whenever possible. Copies of most program announcements are available electronically using the Science and Technology Information System (STIS). The full text can be searched online, and copied from the system. Instructions for use of the system are in NSF 91-10 "STIS Flyer." The printed copy is available from the Forms and Publications Unit. An electronic copy may be requested by sending a message to "stis@nsf" (Bitnet) or "stis@nsf.gov" (Internet). Catalog of "Federal Domestic Assistant Number 47.075, Social, Behavioral, & Economic Sciences