Title : NSF 96-15 CISE Minority Institutions Infrastructure Program Type : Program Guideline NSF Org: CISE Date : December 5, 1995 File : nsf9615 *************************************************************************** PLEASE NOTE THE CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED SINCE PRINTING NSF9615 UNDER EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSALS 2-6-98 *************************************************************************** CISE MINORITY INSTITUTIONS INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM Announcement Five-Year Continuing Grants and One-Year Planning Grants DIRECTORATE FOR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING OFFICE OF CROSS-DISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES DEADLINE DATE: Second Tuesday in February of each year CISE MINORITY INSTITUTIONS INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM (FIVE-YEAR CONTINUING GRANTS AND ONE-YEAR PLANNING GRANTS) INTRODUCTION The National Science Foundation's mandate to promote and advance scientific progress in the United States includes an interest in the quality and effectiveness of the human resource base in science and engineering. Thus activities designed to increase the participation of individuals from underrepresented populations are of great importance to the Foundation. A pool of scientists and engineers with expertise in computer and information science and engineering is essential to the scientific health of our nation. Proper representation from all populations is necessary in order to provide the strongest possible collection of scientists and engineers in these areas. Therefore, the CISE Directorate has strong motivation to sponsor projects which seek to add to the numbers of computer scientists and engineers from traditionally underrepresented groups: persons with disabilities, minorities, and women. OBJECTIVES AND GOALS The CISE Minority Institutions Infrastructure Program provides awards to aid efforts to increase minority participation in the academic and research areas supported by the CISE Directorate. Particular emphasis will be placed upon projects which might significantly expand the numbers of minority students attracted to and retained in computer and information science and engineering disciplines. In this document, the Minority Institutions Infrastructure Program will be abbreviated as MI-I ; this designation includes the predecessor of this program, the Institutional Infrastructure Program for Minority Institutions (II-MI). Infrastructure which enhances or makes possible a variety of activities including (but not limited to) research programs involving minority students, curriculum development projects, mentoring, and outreach may be sought by proposers. Personnel costs as well as funds needed for equipment purchase are suitable budget items. Both one-year planning grants and continuing grants of up to five years are described in this program announcement in separate sections found below. The Foundation encourages proposers to consider the full participation of underrepresented groups (persons with disabilities, minorities, and women) in the activities of the project. The level, nature, and appropriateness of this participation will form an important portion of proposal evaluation. 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 subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from the National Science Foundation. The Foundation welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists and engineers, and strongly encourages persons with disabilities, minorities, and women to compete fully in any of the research related programs described here. Proposals involving inter-institutional sharing are also welcome. ELIGIBILITY Proposals will be accepted from all US institutions and consortia of institutions which have: - Student enrollments of more than 50 percent from the following minority groups which are underrepresented in advanced levels of science and engineering: African Americans, Alaskan Natives, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Native Pacific Islanders (Micronesian or Polynesian); or at least 20 percent from one of the preceding groups. - A presence in disciplinary areas of computer and information science and engineering supported by the CISE Directorate. Evidence of this might be computer science and engineering curricula or degree programs. Only one proposal(either planning or continuing) per institution will be accepted in any one year. However, consortia are considered as distinct from the institutions comprising them, but each institution involved should have an existing academic activity in at least one CISE area with a project Co-PI identified, as specified in the sections on Management Structure, following. Institutions may receive only one MI-I Planning Grant. PROPOSAL DEADLINE The deadline for proposals (for either continuing or planning grants) in this program is the second Tuesday in February by 5:00 p.m. Proposals received after this date will be returned unprocessed. EVALUATION OF THE PROPOSALS Because of the size and importance of the program, the proposal evaluation process is planned to be lengthy and thorough. It may include a combination of panel evaluations, mail reviews and site visits. General criteria for the evaluation of proposals are given in Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27). The following factors will also be considered as critical in evaluating MI-I proposals. (*ADDED 2-6-98) *- Prospects for substantially increasing the attainment of degrees and entry into research and educational careers in computer and information science and engineering by minorities. *- Potential to become a national model for the attraction and retention of minority students from the traditionally underrepresented minority populations. *- Involvement in and commitment to the project by faculty from the areas of computer and information science and engineering. *- Qualifications of the faculty and project personnel. - Significance and likely impact of proposed research and educational activities in the areas of computer and information science and engineering. - Level, nature, and appropriateness of participation by persons with disabilities, minorities, and women. - Institutional track record in graduating minority scientists and engineers and managing projects of similar scale. - Quality of the project management, evaluation, and dissemination plans. - Institutional cost-sharing, commitment, and related support to the project. I. MI-I FIVE-YEAR CONTINUING GRANTS MI-I Five-Year Continuing Grants provide support for up to a five-year period to aid minority institutions in the establishment, enhancement and operation of facilities to support research activities and educational programs in any one or a combination of the areas supported in the CISE Directorate. The MI-I Five-Year Grants range from approximately $800,000 to $1,500,000 over the five year period and a limited number of awards are planned for every fiscal year. An average of three or four awards are made each year. Support may be provided for faculty and curriculum development, equipment, maintenance, support staff, expert consultants, network membership dues, and other appropriate costs to stimulate education and research. Only fully developed five-year project proposals should be submitted, and only one proposal per institution will be accepted in any one year. Institutions should be prepared to make a substantial financial commitment to the project, (usually at least one quarter of the total cost), including providing an increasing~share of the costs during the five-year period, as well as assuming full support for the provided infrastructure and personnel on termination of the continuing grant. In addition to the criteria listed in the previous section, important considerations in evaluation of MI-I proposals include: - Whether a five year award will provide an infrastructure that is likely to enable the development of excellence in research and educational programs that otherwise would not be possible; and - Whether the provided infrastructure will likely result in more or better results than would separate support for the individual projects at the same total funding level. PROPOSAL FORMAT Proposals should be submitted in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27). Because typical proposals involve multiple investigators, the standard limit of 15 pages does not apply. However, to preclude an information overload during the evaluation process, a strict format and page limit is imposed on proposals to this program. As specified in the GPG, Appendices may not be included. Twenty copies of the proposal are to be submitted, with at least space and a half line spacing and font size no smaller than 12 point. To accommodate the proposal filing system that is used at NSF, the original signed copy must not be bound but rather it must be stapled in the upper-left corner, and it must be printed on one side of the page. The remaining copies can be bound if desired. Except as indicated, all copies must contain the following sections and subsections. Additional subsections may be defined as appropriate. The major sections (A, B,...) are to be separated with labeled tabs. Pages must be numbered. A. INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL 1. Cover page. The standard NSF cover page (Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27) must be used and it must be the first page of the proposal. It should clearly identify the proposal as submitted to the CISE MI-I Program. The original copy of each proposal must be signed by the Principal Investigator(s) and the Authorized Organizational Representative. 2. The National Science Foundation has an obligation to monitor the operation of its award process to assess patterns of gender, race, ethnicity, or disability among proposed Principal Investigators and Project Directors. To provide the NSF with the information it needs for this important task, Principal Investigators and Project Directors are requested to complete Form 1225 (Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27) and attach a single copy of this form following the cover page of the original copy of the proposal. It is important that this form not be included with the remaining copies of the proposal. Further, it is NSF policy that proposals that are not accompanied by a copy of this form cannot be processed. 3. Table of Contents with page numbers keyed to major sections of the proposal. B. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Three-page limit) A summary of the remaining sections in the proposal. C. INFRASTRUCTURE DESCRIPTION (Five-page limit) Include a summary description of the requested infrastructure and an indication of how the infrastructure will be developed over the five year period of the grant. D. RESOURCE ALLOCATION (Five-page limit) Describe the way in which the requested funds will be used to develop the infrastructure needed to support the research projects, including: 1. The equipment and computing facilities currently in the department or available to it for research and education. 2. A description of the equipment, software, and accessories requested for each year, including a representative manufacturer and model number if possible, with itemized costs and total cost. 3. Rationale for the requested equipment and software. 4. Equipment and software maintenance costs per year, with method of computation. 5. A description of how the equipment will be accessed by the users, including details of the network/communication system for remote users. 6. A description of any space renovation needed to accommodate the requested equipment. Indicate the source of funds for the renovation, as MI-I funding is not normally granted for this purpose. E. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 1. A proposed management structure for managing the infrastructure is to be included here. The plan should indicate not only how the proposed infrastructure would be managed but also how this infrastructure would fit into and interact with the existing structure in the unit. (one-page limit) 2. Proposals involving inter-institutional sharing arrangements must include a copy of the arrangement including identification of a Co-PI from each institution and specification of the responsibilities of each of those persons. This section must also detail the administrative and financial responsibility of each institution, and it must be formally approved by appropriate scientific and administrative officers of each institution. (one-page limit) F. BUDGET 1. For each year of the grant and for all five years, give the total project costs including the amounts requested from NSF, the institutional cost-sharing and other support. (one-page limit) 2. Using six appropriately labeled copies of NSF Form 1030 (Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27), one for each year of the grant and one for the total for all five years, give the requested NSF budget. 3. On a separate page, the following statement, signed by both the Principal Investigator(s) and the Authorized Administrative Officer of the institution: We certify that the Institution will assume an increasing portion of the salaries and maintenance costs throughout the five-year period of the proposed grant, and we will ensure the continued effective operation of the facility for its useful research lifetime following the end of the grant. G. PROPOSAL NARRATIVE (Fifteen page limit) Describe and explain the proposed activities and projects with appropriate justification and literature references. This should demonstrate how the projects depend upon both the equipment and facility proposed and the requested level of support with particular emphasis given to identifying new directions, expansions and extensions not possible without such support. Since increasing the amount of minority participation in computer and information science and engineering fields is such an important selection criterion, this section should include explanation of how this will take place as a result of the proposed activities. Specific goals of the project with respect to increases in the number of majors in CISE disciplines and increases in the number of CISE majors who go on to graduate school should be included here. The section should also include a description of the evaluation plan for assessing the impact of the proposed changes, a plan for dissemination of the results, and a mechanism to measure the increased number of minority personnel participation. The intention is that this section of the proposal be structured by the proposing institution so as to present its case in the best possible light. Therefore, the structure and sub-sections within this section are not specified. H. STAFF CREDENTIALS 1. In no more than two pages each, include the current curriculum vitae and a brief summary of the research accomplishments and creative educational activities over the past five years, for each faculty member who will be directly involved in the projects. 2. Supply the information requested in the Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27), NSF Form 1239, i.e., indicate all current and pending research support for each investigator listed in 1. above. 3. In no more than one page each, include the names and recent accomplishments of the senior individuals (if different than above) who will be responsible for the new equipment, and proposed activities. I. RESULTS FROM PRIOR MI-I (II-MI) AWARD(s) (Five-page limit) If an institution has had an MI-I (II-MI) award in any previous year, a summary of that project including a compilation of the significant results, with a listing of pertinent publications and other documents, is to be included. The summary should include a one-page fact sheet of the most significant accomplishments. ADDENDUM (Ten-page limit) Certain of the proposing institutions will be invited to submit 10 copies of an Addendum addressing the issues raised by the Initial Evaluation Panel comments, issues discussed during the site visit, and issues included in the Site Visitors reports. The Addendum may optionally include modified budget sheets and equipment requests as well as revised research and educational activities. The Addendum must not be a substitute proposal and should not duplicate material in the Proposal. II. MI-I PLANNING GRANTS Institutions that are eligible for MI-I five-year continuing awards, as described above in this announcement, may apply for an MI-I Planning Grant to prepare a proposal for an MI-I continuing award. One to five awards are given per year. MI-I Planning Grants are intended to strengthen the proposal writing and planning capabilities for developing five-year MI-I projects. MI-I Planning Grants are expected to provide up to $50,000 for approximately one year. It is expected that recipient institutions will demonstrate support of the planning project in various ways, such as release time for the Principal Investigator or indirect costs contributions. Principal Investigators are welcome to confer with the NSF CISE Minority Institutions Infrastructure Program Director prior to proposal submission. PROPOSAL FORMAT Proposals should be submitted in accordance with the guidelines set forth in Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27). To accommodate proposals with a broad range of activities, the standard limit of 15 pages will not apply. However a strict limit on individual sections will be applied. Twenty copies of the proposal are to be submitted with at least space and a half line spacing and font size no smaller than 12 point. To accommodate the proposal filing system that is used at NSF the original signed copy must not be bound but rather it must be stapled in the upper-left corner, and it must be printed on one side of the page. The remaining copies can be bound if desired. Except as indicated, all copies must contain the following sections and subsections. Additional subsections may be defined as appropriate. The major sections (A, B,...) are to be separated with labeled tabs. A. INTRODUCTORY MATERIAL 1. Cover page. The standard NSF cover page (Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27) must be used and it must be the first page of the proposal. It should clearly identify the proposal as submitted to the CISE MI-I Program. The original copy of each proposal must be signed by the Principal Investigator(s) and the Authorized Organizational Representative(s). 2. The National Science Foundation has an obligation to monitor the operation of its award process to assess patterns of gender, race, ethnicity, or disability among proposed Principal Investigators and Project Directors. To provide the NSF with the information it needs for this important task, Principal Investigators and Project Directors are requested to complete Form 1225 (Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27) and attach a single copy of this form following the cover page of the original copy of the proposal. It is important that this form not be included with the remaining copies of the proposal. Further, it is NSF policy that proposals that are not accompanied by a copy of this form cannot be processed. 3. Table of Contents with page numbers keyed to major sections of the proposal. B. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (Three-page limit) A summary of the remaining sections in the proposal. C.PROPOSAL NARRATIVE (ten-page limit) Describe the planning tasks to be accomplished, indicating how these will contribute to the development of a five-year plan for improving the institution's research and educational capability. Also include: 1. A description of the current research and educational activities that have the potential to benefit from a five-year plan. 2. An indication of new activities that are anticipated to be the subject of development in a five-year plan. 3. The duties and responsibilities of the staff that will develop the plan. 4. If appropriate, a description of cooperative plans with institutions having outstanding graduate education and research programs in computer science, information science, and computer engineering. The description of current activities should include sufficient scientific justification and literature references to permit an assessment of their scientific merit. This section should also indicate how current and new activities could benefit from an infrastructure to be developed over the five year period. D. MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE 1. A proposed management structure for the planning project is to be included here. 2. Proposals involving inter-institutional sharing arrangements must include a copy of the arrangement including identification of a Co-PI from each institution and specification of the responsibilities of each of those persons. This section must also detail the administrative and financial responsibility of each institution, and it must be formally approved by appropriate scientific and administrative officers of each institution. (one page limit) E. BUDGET The budget should not exceed $50,000. It should include a listing of the total project costs including the amounts requested from NSF, the institutional cost-sharing and other support. Use NSF Form 1030 (Grant Proposal Guide, NSF 95-27). The budget may include provisions for release time, up to two months summer salary, consultants, professional travel that would enhance the quality of the planning activities, and other support such as secretarial, clerical or computer services. F. STAFF CREDENTIALS 1. In no more than two pages each, include the current curriculum vitae and a brief summary of the research accomplishments and creative educational activities over the past five years, for each faculty member who will be directly involved in the projects. 2. Supply the information requested in the Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27), NSF Form 1239, i.e., indicate all current and pending research support for each investigator listed in 1. above. PROPOSAL SUBMISSION The deadline for both the MI-I Planning and MI-I Five Year Continuing Grant proposals is the second Tuesday in February of each year. Twenty copies of the proposal, including the copy bearing the original signatures, should be mailed to: Announcement No. 96-15 National Science Foundation PPU 4201 Wilson Boulevard Arlington, VA 22230 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION The brochure Grant Proposal Guide (NSF 95-27) and NSF Guide to Programs (NSF 95-138) are available at no cost from: Forms and Publications Unit Room P15 National Science Foundation Arlington, VA 22230 Telephone number: (703) 306-1130 or Fax number (703) 644-4278. Publications may also be ordered electronically. See the flyer Getting NSF Information and Publications (NSF-95-64) in this document for instructions. For more information on this component of the Institutional Infrastructure Program, contact: Program Director CISE Minority Institutions Infrastructure Program (MI-I) Office of Cross Disciplinary Activities, Room 1160 Arlington, VA 22230 Telephone number: (703) 306-1980 The Foundation provides awards for research in the sciences and engineering. The awardee is wholly responsible for the conduct of such research and preparation of the results for publication. The Foundation, therefore, does not assume responsibility for the research findings or their interpretation. 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 subject to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from the National Science Foundation. The Foundation welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists and engineers and strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in any of the research related programs described in this document. NSF has TDD (Telephone Device for the Deaf) capability which enables individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment, or general information. To access NSF TDD dial(703)306-0090; for FIRS, 1-800-877-8339. 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 an NSF project. See the program announcement or contact the program coordinator (703) 306-1636. Privacy Act and Public Burden. The information requested on proposal forms 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 disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process; to applicant institutions/grantees; to provide or obtain data regarding the application review process, award decisions, or the administration or awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers, and researchers as necessary to complete assigned work; and to other government agencies in order to coordinate programs. See System of Records, NSF 50, Principal Investigators/Proposal File and Associated Records, and NSF-51, 60 Federal Register 4449 (January 23, 1995). Reviewer/Proposal File Associated Records, 59 Federal Register 8031 (February 17, 1994). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of your receiving an award. Programs described in this publication are in Category 47.070 (Computer and Information Science and Engineering) in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. The 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 Contracts, Policy, and Oversight National Science Foundation Arlington, VA 22230 and to: Office of Management and Budget Paperwork Reduction Project (3145-0058) Washington, DC 20503 OMB 3145-0058 P.T. 36, 38, 18 K.W. 1004000 NSF 96-15 (replaces NSF 94-170)