Deadlines: FIRST WEDNESDAY IN FEBRUARY OF EACH YEAR
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
The National Science Foundation (NSF) of the United States and the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) of Mexico announce the continuation of a five year pilot activity to support new efforts in international cooperative research and research infrastructure in computer science, information systems, and computer engineering in areas where the efforts are likely to produce complementary and synergistic effects. The objective of this initiative was extended in FY 1996 to engineering research, including environment and manufacturing, civil, chemical, electrical, mechanical and biomedical systems. Proposals from Mexican researchers and research institutions are selected and administered by CONACyT's DAIC Directorate (Direccion Adjunta de Investigacion Cientifica) and are subject to the regulations of the Program for the Support of Science (PACIME) in Mexico. Proposals to NSF from researchers at U.S. institutions will be subject to standard NSF review procedures outlined in the Grant Proposal Guide, (GPG), (NSF 95-27) and will be processed by the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), and the Directorate for Engineering (ENG).
The purpose of the initiative is to advance scientific and engineering knowledge through joint research efforts of investigators from the United States of America and Mexico having complementary talents and interests, and capitalizing on the international character of modern scientific research and its support by computer network infrastructures. This initiative complements and enhances prior collaborative efforts between CONACyT and NSF in CISE and ENG.
Proposals are accepted in all areas usually covered by CISE and ENG. A complete list of programs is available in the Appendix A of the Grant Proposal Guide (NSF-95-27), and on WWW (http://www.nsf.gov/CISE and http://www.nsf.gov/ENG).
Projects supported in this collaborative initiative must include researchers and educators in institutions from both countries in areas relating to either CISE (computer science, information science, and computer engineering, and can involve computer-related infrastructure and learning in areas such as networking and supercomputing), and/or ENG (all areas of engineering). In all cases, corresponding proposals are required from submitters in both countries for binational awards. It is expected that, in general, the Mexican and U.S. projects will have the same duration.
Funding from this initiative is intended to support international collaborative activity; it is not meant to exclusively provide support to US investigators for individual on going research efforts. In general, NSF under this initiative will administer and support U.S. investigators only, while CONACyT will administer and cover costs incurred by the Mexican researchers. Exceptions to this rule may include per diem for travel by visitors within the host country.
Projects may range in scope from supplements to an existing award through joint efforts to a new joint-effort proposal up to $100,000 with a duration from one to three years; larger grants may be awarded under special circumstances if appropriate. NSF customarily does not pay indirect cost for grants awarded primarily for the support of travel or equipment. Medical insurance during travel is fundable according to the guidelines of each supporting agency.
Research proposals submitted to NSF under this collaborative initiative should avoid requests for equipment. Nonetheless, under special circumstances, the latter may be requested with appropriate justification. CONACyT has its own guidelines with respect to equipment.
CISE & ENG estimate around 20 awards per year for both directorates.
Cooperative proposals considered under this announcement may include initial requests or supplements for ongoing research involving:
In order to increase accessibility and the computational connectivity to further research and education in computer science and related scientific disciplines, visitors may include research faculty and personnel associated with computer networking infrastructure and its development in each country. As in other cases, the host institution and the visitor's institution will each submit a proposal to the respective supporting agency on behalf of the visitor or host. The host institution may request reasonable expenses for facilities provided to the visitor.
NSF and CONACyT will identify respective program officers who will form a Joint Working Group for U.S/Mexico Cooperation to conduct oversight, evaluation and assessment of proposals. The Joint Working Group will meet at least once a year and provide periodic recommendations for improving the cooperation. Individual proposals are reviewed within the corresponding disciplinary research/education area in CISE and ENG.
Scientists and engineers from universities and other non-profit research institutions in the United States of America and Mexico conducting research in areas relating to either CISE or ENG may submit proposals for support under this initiative. All research proposals submitted under this initiative must be bilateral, collaborative, and related to a corresponding proposal from the other country.
Proposals must be addressed with the proper announcement Number (NSF 96-145) directly to the relevant disciplinary program in CISE or ENG. The GPG, Appendix A, provides a list of programs and phone numbers. An information copy must be mailed to the corresponding NSF-CONACyT coordinator within CISE or ENG.
Proposals should describe the project in sufficient detail to enable evaluation by experts in the technical areas involved, provide a rationale for the international-team-research mode, and identify clearly the role of the participants from the United States of America and Mexico and their mutually-beneficial contributions to the project. Corresponding collaborative proposals should show strong bilateral interactions; they need not match in size of financial request but are usually expected to be of the same duration.
A page should be included after the cover page identifying clearly the other country's counterparts. This page should include: Project Title, PI Name and Institution of U.S.A. PI; PI Name and Institution of Mexican PI, a brief single paragraph abstract describing the project, a brief single paragraph stating the goals, a plan of bilateral interactions, a statement of the benefits expected from the collaboration, a brief description of previous interactions with the Mexican partner, and a short biographical note of the latter.
For NSF submissions, the number of copies, the cover forms, the signatures, etc. and the instructions of where to submit the proposals follow the same general guidelines of the Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27). Questions should be directed to the appropriate coordinator in CISE (703-306-1980), or, in ENG (703-306-1371), email should be sent to nsf-mex@nsf.gov. The proposal to NSF must be addressed as follows:
Each agency will carry out a pre-evaluation and ranking of proposals within the appropriate divisions within CISE and/or ENG. These will be subjected to merit review following the corresponding agency guidelines and reporting process. Those proposals in the competitive categories will in turn be considered for funding by program officers of both countries. Final decision for funding will be made jointly by NSF and CONACyT.
Proposals to this initiative submitted under this announcement must be received by NSF no later than the First Wednesday in February.
NSF's Division of International Programs (INT) supports planning visits in order to allow US investigators to consult with potential counterparts to finalize plans for cooperative research, the preliminary phases of cooperative projects, and workshops. Additional information may be obtained from the INT Program Offices, (703) 306-1706 or by obtaining publications NSF 95-88, International Opportunities for Scientists and Engineers.
OMB 3145-0058
P.T. 34
K.W. 100400, 0112089
NSF 96-145
(Replaces NSF 96-4)