MULTILINGUAL INFORMATION ACCESS AND MANAGEMENT: CALL FOR INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH CO-OPERATION

Program Announcement
NSF 99-102

DIRECTORATE FOR COMPUTER AND INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

DIVISION OF INFORMATION AND INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS

DEADLINE DATE: July 5, 1999

  NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants 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

Location: 4201 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA 22230

For General Information (NSF Information Center): (703) 306-1234

TDD (for the hearing-impaired): (703) 306-0090

To Order Publications or Forms:

Send an e-mail to: pubs@nsf.gov
or telephone: (301) 947-2722

To Locate NSF Employees: (703) 306-1234

 

SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

 

GENERAL INFORMATION

Program Name: Multilingual Information Access and Management

Short Description/Synopsis of Program:

This Multilingual Information Access and Management effort is intended to further the knowledge required to build information systems that operate in multiple languages; to provide the technologies required for their application in a number of social and organizational contexts; and to demonstrate the validity of the approaches chosen. The ultimate goal of all these activities is to accelerate the development of new applications required by citizens and businesses in the global information society and enable their uptake in various contexts.

Cognizant Program Officer(s): Dr. Gary W. Strong, Program Officer, Room 1115, Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, telephone 703.306.1928, e-mail: gstrong@nsf.gov.

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 47.070 — Computer and Information Science and Engineering; 84.017 — International Research and Studies; 84.229 — Language Resource Centers.

ELIGIBILITY

 

AWARD INFORMATION

 

PROPOSAL PREPARATION & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

Proposal Preparation Instructions Budgetary Information FastLane Requirements Deadline/Target Dates

 

PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

 

AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION

INTRODUCTION

Information technology, by influencing the ways in we live and work, learn about the world and interact with each other, is having profound effects on the global society and economy. New opportunities are emerging for people and businesses worldwide that can only be fully realized by providing universal access for all. There are challenges that need to be addressed in order to achieve such access:

Language technologies are already showing promising capabilities in addressing these challenges. The future potential is even greater, but requires a substantial research and technology development effort in order to benefit our societies. In order to improve the cost-effectiveness of such efforts, and accelerate the availability and uptake of new results, a joint, multidisciplinary, international effort addressing global challenges is opportune and timely.

Now that the European Union – United States Science Cooperation Agreement
( http://www.state.gov/www/regions/eur/eu/971205_eu_science_agree.html ) and the EU Fifth Framework Program (http://www.cordis.lu/ ) are in place, multi-party, multinational proposals on Multilingual Information Management may be submitted both to the NSF and to the European Commission. It is expected that several teams will be selected for funding for international cooperative research, and several more planning grants will be awarded to facilitate the creation of new international collaborations. This is an invitation for EU-US, multi-partner, multi-national project proposals in Multilingual Information Access and Management.


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 The activities described herein will be supported by the Human Language Technologies line of European Union’s Information Society Technologies program for EU partners (more specifically, the ‘Multilinguality in Digital Content and Services’ and ‘Natural Interactivity’ action lines in the 1999 Fifth Framework Program), and the Human Computer Interaction Program of the National Science Foundation for US partners. They will build on and extend, by undertaking multidisciplinary research, prior efforts undertaken separately in multilingual information access and management and related areas.

This joint Multilingual Information Access and Management effort is intended to further the knowledge required to build information systems that operate in multiple languages; to create the enabling technologies required for their application in a number of social and organizational contexts; and to demonstrate the validity of the approaches chosen. The ultimate goal of these activities is to accelerate the creation and development of new applications required by citizens and businesses in the global information society and enable their uptake in various contexts.

This research in Multilingual Information Access and Management is expected to:

In order to undertake these activities, work is also necessary in areas such as standards for the encoding of multilingual domain and language knowledge and multilingual language data centers that support research.

This cooperative research aims at avoiding duplication of effort, encouraging a productive interchange of scientific and technical knowledge and data, and accelerating the timely uptake of best practices and standards.

Proposals should have the overall goal of enlarging, through new research, the available technology base, providing platforms and infrastructure for such research and its deployment, and assessing and demonstrating the benefits and added value thus achieved.

Details on specific research themes falling under the terms of this announcement are given below.

1. Research Agenda

 Desired research activities include:

Addressing realistic and diverse conditions for interaction with information systems is a pivotal issue in research. In particular, the enhancement of human-computer interfaces capable of supporting citizens and workers with special needs is an important dimension of this call.

2. Research Infrastructure Agenda

 3. Planning of new International Collaborations in Multilingual Information and Cross-cultural Communication

 Activities include planning for future research activities geared towards the development of innovative and advanced language technology in the area of multilingual information and cross-cultural communication. Included here are the identification of suitable partners, the specification of the purpose of future co-operative activities, the envisaged time frame, the research and technology baseline, the minimal goals for determination of a successful completion of the proposed work, the expected outcome and added value of international cooperation. Funding in these cases is expected to be largely for travel or workshop related activities.


ELIGIBILITY

Two different levels of effort will be funded as a result of this solicitation: collaborating partners and planning grants. Since EU funding must be for collaboration partnerships, planning grant proposals are expected to build on existing international relationships, with the goal of building toward a collaboration partnership proposal in a later competition.

This announcement is for proposals, which are simultaneously considered by both the NSF and the corresponding EU programs. Proposals are accepted from European Union-United States multi-partner projects with teams from at least two countries participating in the EU Fifth Framework Program and at least one team from the US. Proposals from US teams must be submitted by US academic or non-profit institutions. To be eligible, proposals must identify specific partners and must be sent to the EU counterpart program for joint consideration. Collaborating partners are expected to be balanced in terms of level of efforts and expertise, and demonstrate the mutual benefits obtainable from complementary international research.

Proposals must meet the terms and conditions of the EU Information Society Technologies Program within the Fifth Framework Program, in particular the Human Language Technologies action lines
( http://www.linglink.lu/hlt/call-for-proposals/) and for the NSF (GC-1: http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_gac.htm or FDPIII: http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_fdp.htm). Proposals that only include partners on one side or do not meet the terms and conditions of both sides will not be funded under this solicitation.


AWARD INFORMATION

 The anticipated duration of collaboration partnership projects is 24 to 36 months. Planning grants are expected to have a duration of 6 to 12 months.

Under this announcement, collaboration partnership proposals may request up to $500,000 per year for up to three years. NSF expects to make grants at a wide variety of award sizes and duration, funding approximately 2 three-year collaboration partnership research awards depending on the quality of submissions and the availability of funds. NSF also expects to fund 3-4 planning efforts at up to $100,000 for one year. Approximately $2 million will be available for this initiative in FY 2000 from NSF for the US side, with similar level of funding from the European Commission Fifth Framework Program for the European side. Anticipated date of awards: December 1999. It is expected that there will be calls for proposals in succeeding years depending upon the availability of funds.


PROPOSAL PREPARATION & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

 A. Proposal Preparation Instructions.

 Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 99-2. The complete text of the GPG (including electronic forms) is available electronically on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/. 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.

Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement number (NSF 99-102) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the NSF Form 1207, "Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation." Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

Proposals should have a single, jointly developed workplan involving all partners, which clearly sets out the division of labor, the expected results, synergies and added value, and budgets for each side. This workplan will be the core of the proposal narrative and will be the same plan for the separate proposals sent to each side, EU and NSF.

B. Budgetary Information

Proposal budgets on NSF Form 1030 must show the costs for only the US side. The budget justification pages must, however, include, for reference, the budgets for the EU side in the format specified for EU proposals.

C. Proposal Due Dates.

 For paper submission of proposals, the paper copies of the proposal MUST be received by 5:00 PM, ET, July 5, 1999. Copies of the proposal must be made and submitted to NSF according to the normal procedures for paper proposals identified in the GPG.

For electronic submission of proposals, the proposal MUST be submitted by 5:00 PM, ET, July 5, 1999. Copies of the signed proposal cover sheet must be submitted in accordance with the instructions identified below.

Submission of Signed Cover Sheets. For proposals submitted electronically via the NSF FastLane Project, the signed proposal Cover Sheet (NSF Form 1207) should be forwarded to the following address and received by NSF by July 12, 1999:

National Science Foundation
Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, Suite 1115
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
Attn: MLIAM

A proposal may not be processed until the complete proposal (including signed Cover Sheet) has been received by NSF.

D. FastLane Requirements.

 The NSF FastLane system is available for electronic preparation and submission of a proposal through the Web at the FastLane Web site at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. The Sponsored Research Office (SRO or equivalent) must provide a FastLane Personal Identification Number (PIN) to each Principal Investigator (PI) to gain access to the FastLane "Proposal Preparation" application. PIs that have not submitted a proposal to NSF in the past must contact their SRO to be added to the NSF PI database. This should be done as soon as the decision to prepare a proposal is made.

In order to use NSF FastLane to prepare and submit a proposal, the following are required:

Browser (must support multiple buttons and file upload)
PDF Reader (needed to view/print forms)

PDF Generator (needed to create project description)

A list of registered institutions and the FastLane registration form are located on the FastLane Web page.

For paper submission of proposals, the delivery address must clearly identify the NSF announcement or solicitation number under which the proposal is being submitted.


PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

A. Merit Review Criteria.

 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, adjacent disciplines to that principally addressed in the proposal, etc.

Proposals will be reviewed against the following general merit 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 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 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?

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 learner perspectives. PIs should address this issue in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria. NSF staff will give it careful consideration in making funding decisions.

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 -- are 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. PIs should address this issue in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria. NSF staff will give it careful consideration in making funding decisions.

B. Merit Review Process.

Most of the proposals submitted to NSF are reviewed by mail review, panel review, or some combination of mail and panel review. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement will be reviewed by panel review only. Funding decisions on proposals submitted in response to this announcement will be made jointly by NSF and the appropriate European Union Program Management.

All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the proposal. Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. A program officer assigned to manage the proposal’s review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation. In most cases, proposers will be contacted by the program officer after his or her recommendation to award or decline funding has been approved by his or her supervisor, the division director. This informal notification is not a guarantee of an eventual award. 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 in this category. 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 final programmatic approval has been obtained, award recommendations are then 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 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 an 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 Officer does so at its own risk.


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 (DGA). 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.

B. Grant Award Conditions.

An NSF grant consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the grant 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 grant conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (NSF GC-1)* or Federal Demonstration Partnership Phase III (FDP) Terms and Conditions* and (5) any NSF brochure, program guide, announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Electronic mail notification is the preferred way to transmit NSF grants 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/. 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, (NSF 95-26) available electronically on the NSF Web site. The GPM also is available in paper copy by subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The GPM may be ordered through the GPO Web site at: http://www.gpo.gov.

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 expiration of a grant, 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 a new electronic project reporting system, available through FastLane, which 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. Reports will continue to be required annually and after the expiration of the grant, but PIs will not need to re-enter information previously provided, either with the proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system.

Effective October 1, 1998, PIs are required to use the new reporting format for annual and final project reports. PIs are strongly encouraged to submit reports electronically via FastLane. For those PIs who cannot access FastLane, paper copies of the new report formats may be obtained from the NSF Clearinghouse as specified above. NSF expects to require electronic submission of all annual and final project reports via FastLane beginning in October 1999.

D. New Awardee Information.

If the submitting organization has never received an NSF award, it is recommended that the organization’s appropriate administrative officials become familiar with the policies and procedures in the NSF Grant Policy Manual which are applicable to most NSF awards. The "Prospective New Awardee Guide" (NSF 97-100) includes information on: Administration and Management Information; Accounting System Requirements and Auditing Information; and Payments to Organizations with Awards. This information will assist an organization in preparing documents that NSF requires to conduct administrative and financial reviews of an organization. The guide also serves as a means of highlighting the accountability requirements associated with Federal awards. This document is available electronically on NSF’s Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf97100.


CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

General inquiries should be made to the Human Computer Interaction Program, Dr. Gary W. Strong, Program Officer, Room 1115, Division of Information and Intelligent Systems, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230, telephone 703. 306.1928, e-mail: gstrong@nsf.gov. For questions related to use of FastLane, contact, Nicola Bell, Program Assistant, Information and Intelligent Systems, 703. 306.1928, e-mail: nbell@nsf.gov.


OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST

 The NSF Guide to Programs is a compilation of funding opportunities for research and education in science, mathematics, and engineering. General descriptions of NSF programs, research areas, and eligibility information for proposal submission are provided in each chapter. Beginning in fiscal year 1999, the NSF Guide to Programs only will be available electronically, at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gp. Many NSF programs offer announcements concerning specific proposal requirements. To obtain additional information about these requirements, contact the appropriate NSF program offices listed in Appendix A of the GPG.

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, available electronically on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin/. The direct URL for recent issues of the Bulletin is Subscribers can also sign up for NSF's Custom News Service to find out what funding opportunities are available.

 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

 The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Grantees 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 or contact the program coordinator at (703) 306-1636.

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 regarding NSF programs, employment, or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 306-0090 or through FIRS on 1-800-877-8339.

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 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.

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: Reports Clearance Officer; Information Dissemination Branch, DAS; National Science Foundation; Arlington, VA 22230.

YEAR 2000 REMINDER

 In accordance with Important Notice No. 120 dated June 27, 1997, Subject: Year 2000 Computer Problem, NSF awardees are reminded of their responsibility to take appropriate actions to ensure that the NSF activity being supported is not adversely affected by the Year 2000 problem. Potentially affected items include: computer systems, databases, and equipment. The National Science Foundation should be notified if an awardee concludes that the Year 2000 will have a significant impact on its ability to carry out an NSF funded activity. Information concerning Year 2000 activities can be found on the NSF web site at http://www.nsf.gov/oirm/y2k/start.htm.

Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 47.070 — Computer and Information Science and Engineering; 84.017 — International Research and Studies; 84.229 — Language Resource Centers

OMB No.: 3145-0058
NSF 99-102