CISE Research Resources (CISE-RR)Program SolicitationNSF 01-100
DIVISION OF EXPERIMENTAL AND INTEGRATIVE
ACTIVITIES
LETTER OF INTENT DUE DATE(S) (optional): June 6, 2001 FULL PROPOSAL DEADLINE(S) :
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
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 Web Site at: http://www.nsf.gov
SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTSGENERAL INFORMATIONProgram Title: CISE Research Resources (CISE-RR) Synopsis of Program: This program is designed to increase the capability and capacity to carry out basic research in information technology at U.S. institutions. The program supports the acquisition and/or development of advanced resources for research and integrated research/education activities. Resources may include research equipment, instrumentation, software, data repositories or services. Resources supported under this program are those generally not supported by other programs, because of cost, complexity, level of shared use or other reasons. The Program has three parts:
In each of these programs, interdisciplinary activities are strongly encouraged, but emphasis should be on advancing knowledge and increasing capacity for research in areas of science and engineering supported by CISE. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, minority institutions and researchers in EPSCoR jurisdictions are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. Cognizant Program Officer(s):
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION
AWARD INFORMATION
PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONSA. Proposal Preparation Instructions
B. Budgetary Information
C. Deadline/Target Dates
D. FastLane Requirements
PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION
AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTIONThe CISE Research Resources Program is designed to increase the capability and capacity to carry out basic research in information technology at U.S. institutions as measured by increased scientific activity and by increased participation in research and integrated research/education projects of both faculty and graduate students. One of the barriers to research and education is the unavailability of specialized resources. Often necessary resources cannot be provided under grants through other CISE programs due to their expense, because they can be justified only when used for multiple projects, or for other reasons. Resources may take the form of unique equipment, instruments, software systems, software libraries, data repositories or specialized research services that must be acquired or designed and developed. Some resources can be established and maintained by research groups, others require technical support during the development phase, and others, for example those shared nationally, require ongoing maintenance and/or technical and user support. Recognizing the range of needs, the CISE Research Resources Program has three components: CISE Instrumentation, Collaborative Research Resources, and Distributed Research Resources. The Instrumentation component addresses the need to support the acquisition of resources that can be justified by the resource requirements of 2 to 4 research projects. This component replaces the Instrumentation Grants for Research in CISE (NSF 98-132) Program. The Collaborative Research Resources component encourages the development of synergistic, multi-investigator research or integrated research/education projects by supporting the design, development, acquisition and technical support of major resources required for such projects. Typical projects may involve researchers from a single academic department, from several departments in a single institution or from several different institutions. This component is a companion to, but does not replace, CISE participation in the Major Research Instrumentation (NSF 01-7), the CISE Research Infrastructure (NSF 00-5), and the CISE Minority Institutions Infrastructure (NSF 96-15) programs. Please note that no Collaborative Research Resources awards will be made in FY2001. The Distributed Research Resources component supports the design, development, deployment and maintenance of resources that can be shared nationally, usually via the Internet. These are resources in support of CISE research and education, rather than self-contained research projects. The intent is not to support research into the technical problems of establishing such facilities, such as how to store and index massive amounts of data or how to provide high-bandwidth national connections. This component replaces the CISE Advanced Distributed Resources for Experiments (CADRE) component of the Experimental Activities (NSF 98-127) Program. In all three components of the CISE Research Resources Program, the CISE Directorate is particularly interested in increasing capacity and capability for information technology research and encourages proposals from researchers, groups, departments and institutions where such resources will have a substantial impact on the research and educational activities. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, minority institutions and researchers in EPSCoR jurisdictions are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. II. PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONThis program is designed to increase the capability and capacity to carry out information technology research at U.S. institutions. The program supports the acquisition and/or development of advanced resources for research and integrated research/education activities. Resources may include research equipment, instrumentation, software, data repositories or services. Resources supported under this program are those generally not supported by other programs. The Program has three parts:
A. CISE Instrumentation. The CISE Instrumentation component provides grants for the acquisition and purchase of shared research resources. CISE Instrumentation grants will be for one to three years and typically range from $30,000 to $200,000 total. In particular, requests should not be for resources that could be expected to be provided on existing research grants. Only costs associated with the acquisition of the resources will be supported. In all three components of the Research Resources, the CISE Directorate is particularly interested in increasing capacity and capability for information technology research and encourages proposals from researchers, groups, departments and institutions where such resources will have a substantial impact on the research and educational activities. Women, minorities, persons with disabilities, minority-serving institutions and researchers in EPSCoR jurisdictions are strongly encouraged to submit proposals. Minority-serving institutions are those with 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. III. ELIGIBILITY INFORMATIONProposals may be submitted by both U.S. graduate-degree-granting institutions and U.S. four-year institutions with departments or research programs in areas of science or engineering supported in the CISE Directorate. Proposals involving inter-departmental and inter-institutional sharing arrangements are eligible and encouraged. In addtion to this restriction, also see Grant Proposal Guide for general guidance. IV. AWARD INFORMATIONThe anticipated program budget is $4 million in FY2001 and $8 million annually in FY2002 and thereafter (subject to the availability of funds).:
V. PROPOSAL PREPARATION AND SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONSA. Proposal Preparation Instructions Letters of Intent: Optional letters of intent are due June 6, 2001, and one month in advance of the due date thereafter. These may be sent via e-mail to the program officer (CISE-RR@nsf.gov) and should include: the program component (Instrumentation, Collaborative Research Resources, Distributed Research Resoources); a title; the Principal and Co-Principal Investigators; participating institutions (when there is more than one); a one paragraph description. Suggestions for reviewers may also be included. Full Proposal: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 Web Site at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf012. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (301) 947-2722 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov. In addition to the standard proposal instructions, proposals under the CISE Research Resources Program:
Proposers are reminded to identify the program solicitation number (NSF 01-100) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the proposal Cover Sheet (NSF Form 1207). Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing. For Ph.D.-granting institutions, cost sharing in the amount of 33.3% of total Project Cost is required. The proposed cost sharing must be shown on Line M on the proposal budget. Documentation of the availability of cost sharing must be included in the proposal. Only items which would be allowable under the applicable cost principles, if charged to the project, may be included as the awardee's contribution to cost sharing. Contributions may be made from any non-Federal source, including non-Federal grants or contracts, and may be cash or in-kind (see OMB Circular A-110, Section 23). It should be noted that contributions counted as cost-sharing toward projects of another Federal agency may not be counted towards meeting the specific cost-sharing requirements of the NSF award. All cost-sharing amounts are subject to audit. Failure to provide the level of cost-sharing reflected in the approved award budget may result in termination of the NSF award, disallowance of award costs and/or refund of award funds to NSF. Indirect Cost (F&A;) Limitations: None Proposals must be submitted by the following date(s): Letters of Intent (optional): June 6, 2001Full Proposals by 5:00 PM local time:
Proposers are required to prepare and submit all proposals
for this Program Solicitation through the FastLane system. Detailed instructions
for proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm.
For FastLane user support, call 1-800-673-6188.
Submission of Signed Cover Sheets. The signed copy of the proposal
Cover Sheet (NSF Form 1207) must be postmarked (or contain a legible proof
of mailing date assigned by the carrier) within five working days following
proposal submission and be forwarded to the following address: 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. Proposals will be reviewed against the following general review criteria established by the National Science Board. Following each criterion are potential considerations that the reviewer may employ in the evaluation. These are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. Each reviewer will be asked to address only those that are relevant to the proposal and for which he/she is qualified to make judgements.
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?
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? Principal Investigators should address the following elements in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both of the above-described NSF merit review criteria. NSF staff will give these elements careful consideration in making funding decisions.
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.
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 A summary rating and accompanying narrative will be completed and signed 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. 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 Mail 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. NSF will be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months for 95 percent of proposals. The time interval begins on the proposal deadline or target date or from the date of receipt, if deadlines or target dates are not used by the program. 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 its own risk. VII. AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATIONA. Notification of the AwardNotification 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 ConditionsAn 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 Web site at http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_gac.htm. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (301) 947-2722 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 Web site 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 Web site at http://www.gpo.gov. 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. Approximately 30 days before expiration, NSF will send a notice to remind the PI of the requirement to file the final project report. Failure to provide final technical reports delays NSF review and processing of pending proposals for that PI. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data. NSF has implemented an electronic project reporting system, available through FastLane. 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 INFORMATIONGeneral inquiries regarding CISE Research Resources should be made to:
For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact:
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 web site 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. Other related programs of interest (additional information may be found at http://www.cise.nsf.gov/eia/index.html): CISE
Educational Innovation (EI) (NSF 00-33) This program replaces the following programs: Instrumentation Grants for Research in CISE (NSF
98-132) ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATIONThe 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 (unless otherwise specified in the eligibility requirements for a particular program). 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 program announcement/solicitation for further information. The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 292-5090, FIRS at 1-800-877-8339. The National Science Foundation is committed to making all of the information we publish easy to understand. If you have a suggestion about how to improve the clarity of this document or other NSF-published materials, please contact us at plainlanguage@nsf.gov. PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENTSThe 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. Pursuant to 5 CFR 1320.5(b), 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, Information Dissemination Branch, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230, or to Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: Desk Officer for National Science Foundation (3145-0058), 725 17th Street, N.W. Room 10235, Washington, D.C. 20503.
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