AS OF 4/1/99, IT IS NOW A REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT PROPOSALS USING FASTLANE (http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov)
CONNECTIONS TO THE
INTERNET
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NOTE: If applying for Category "c" of this
announcement, please refer to the
June 8, 1999 Dear Colleague Letter .
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NSF 98-102
PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
DIRECTORATE FOR COMPUTER INFORMATION SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
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Connections to The
Internet |
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Program
Announcement |
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I. PURPOSE OF THIS Announcement
The purpose of this announcement is to
encourage U.S. research and education institutions and facilities to
connect to the Internet and to establish high performance connections to
support selected meritorious applications. It updates NSF 96-64
Connections to the Internet. This includes three connections
categories:
a) connections for K-12 institutions, libraries, and museums
that utilize innovative technologies for Internet access;
b) new connections for higher education institutions;
c) connections for research and education institutions and
facilities that have meritorious applications with special network
requirements (such as high bandwidth and/or bounded latency) that cannot
readily be met through commodity network service providers.
The NSF Division of Advanced Networking Infrastructure and Research
(ANIR) has advanced and supported inter-institutional computer networking
for research and education since 1986. With this support, the Internet has
become an essential infrastructure for that community and is used
extensively to facilitate communication and collaboration and to provide
access to information and computing resources. The number of Internet
users, the number of connected networks, and the amount of network traffic
continue to grow rapidly.
NSF supports the goals of the National Science and Technology Council
Committee on Information and Communications (CIC) "America in the Age
of Information: A Forum (July 1995)" http://www.hpcc.gov
This announcement is issued pursuant to the
National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 U.S.C. 1861 et
seq).
II. BACKGROUND
As of 1996 the Internet included more than
100,000 networks. These networks interconnect millions of computers and
tens of millions of users throughout the world. ANIR supports connections
to the Internet for research and education with the goal of establishing
and enhancing an advanced and ubiquitous computer networking infrastructure
for that community.
The domestic portion of the Internet includes national backbone
networks; regional and state networks; and networks at research, education,
government, and commercial institutions. Currently, research and education
institutions are usually connected to state or regional networks, which, in
turn, are connected to either a regional network of broader extent or to a
national backbone network. Backbone and other appropriate networks are
interconnected at NAPs (Network Access Points), FIXes (Federal Internet
eXchanges), the CIX (Commercial Internet eXchange), and various private
exchange points.
The Internet contains a number of NSF-supported networks and network
service organizations. Supported networks include network connections at
research and education institutions; regional networks; international
connections in support of the global activities of U.S. research and
education; and a very high performance Backbone Network Service called the
vBNS (see http://www.vbns.net), originally implemented to connect the NSF
Supercomputing Centers and the NSF-sponsored NAPs.
It is projected that the number of Internet users in the research and
education community will continue to grow, and that these users will
continue to require new levels of connectivity, performance, and services.
New applications involving distributed high performance computing, remote
visualization and imaging, and telecollaboration, together with growth in
aggregate traffic, make the provision of an increasingly high performance
network infrastructure necessary to achieve the overall goals of the
Committee on Information and Communications (CIC) "Strategic
Implementation Plan (March 1995)" http://www.hpcc.gov.ANIR will seek
to utilize services provided by interconnected network service
organizations operating in a competitive environment to deliver networking
services for research and education.
III. Project Requirements
For each of the connection categories
described below, it is anticipated that proposers will seek to connect
their local network infrastructure to the Internet by acquiring services
from one or more network service providers. Each such service provider
must route and carry all traffic originated at and/or destined for U.S.
research and education sites.
Proposing institutions must cost share, normally at least equal to NSF
funding, and must continue to support the proposed Internet access after
the period of NSF support.
Once an institution is connected to the Internet under this program, it
is required that appropriate access be made available to all qualified
users at the institution. Proposals must specify who are considered to be
qualified users and how Internet access is to be made available to those
users. For example, a proposal involving a K-12 school might specify that
all students and staff of the school will be qualified users and that
access will be provided by clusters of networked computers in a media
center. Alternatively, such a proposal might specify that Internet access
will be provided directly in the classrooms.
A. Connections utilizing innovative
technologies for Internet access
This is a highly competitive connections
category and is intended to support innovative technologies for Internet
access for K-12 education institutions (including vocational technical
schools), public libraries, and museums. Only highly innovative approaches
that have the potential to accelerate network development at similar
institutions will be considered for funding. Applicants are strongly
encouraged to contact an NSF/ANIR program officer to discuss the technology
and approach to see they are within the current scope of this program.
The supported costs of an institutional connection to the Internet may
include the acquisition and maintenance of hardware and software to
establish institutional access to the Internet as well as the installation
and recurring charges for a communication channel. Alternatively,
proposals may request funds for the acquisition of Internet connections and
services from an external service provider. Proposals must include a clear
cost breakdown of items to be supported by grant funds and items that
represent institutional cost sharing. A two year non-renewable grant of
approximately $15,000 will normally be awarded to successful proposers. If
the proposed innovative connection replaces an existing connection, only
the costs above those of the existing connection will be considered for
support.
Since Internet access should be available to all qualified users at the
proposing institution, proposals should explain how this will be
accomplished (local area network, terminal server, etc.). It is the
responsibility of the proposing institution to provide local access for
qualified users (e.g., personal computers, local area networks, terminal
servers, etc.) without ANIR assistance.
The Project Description section of the proposal should include
appropriate general information about the institution to enhance
understanding of the proposed Internet connection project. It should also
clearly address the topics specified in the evaluation criteria given in
Section IV.E of this announcement.
This connections category is also open to proposals from consortia of
institutions. In the case of consortia proposals, larger awards may be
negotiated on a case-by-case basis to support the development or
enhancement of multi-location networks using novel and cost-effective
interconnection technologies and/or techniques (e.g., interconnecting small
colleges, two year colleges, K-12 schools, public libraries, and/or museums
in a novel way). Each institution in a consortium must clearly address in
the Project Description section the evaluation criteria given in Section
IV.E that relate to the individual institution.
B. Connections for Higher Education
Institutions
This competitive connections category
supports initial access to the Internet for higher education institutions
(including community colleges and technical colleges) that are not already
connected.
The supported costs of an institutional connection to the Internet may
include the acquisition and maintenance of hardware and software to
establish institutional access to the Internet as well as the installation
and recurring charges for a communication channel. Alternatively,
proposals may request funds for the acquisition of Internet connections and
services from an external service provider. Proposals must include a clear
cost breakdown of items to be supported on grant funds and items that
represent institutional cost sharing. A two year non-renewable grant of
approximately $20,000 will normally be awarded to successful proposers.
Since Internet access should be available to all qualified users at the
proposing institution, proposals should explain how this will be
accomplished (local area network, terminal server, etc.). It is the
responsibility of the proposing institution to provide local access to
qualified users (e.g., personal computers, local area networks, terminal
servers, etc.) without ANIR assistance.
The Project Description section of the proposal should include
appropriate general information about the institution to enhance
understanding of the proposed Internet connection project. It should also
clearly address the topics specified in the evaluation criteria given in
Section IV.E of this announcement.
This connections category is also open to proposals from consortia of
institutions. In the case of consortia proposals, larger awards may be
negotiated (on a case-by-case basis) to support the development or
enhancement of multi-location networks using novel and cost-effective
interconnection technologies and/or techniques (e.g., interconnecting
small colleges, two year colleges, K-12 schools, public libraries, and/or
museums in a novel way). Each institution in a consortium should clearly
address in the Project Description section the evaluation criteria given in
Section IV.E that relate to the individual institution.
C. High Performance Connections for
Research and Education Institutions and Facilities
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NOTE: See the
June 8, 1999 Dear Colleague Letter for important information regarding
this category of proposals under this program announcement.
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This is a highly competitive connections
category that supports high performance access to special Internet
facilities (such as the vBNS) for research and education institutions and
facilities having meritorious applications with special network
requirements (such as high bandwidth and/or bounded latency) that cannot
readily be met through commodity network service providers.
A two year non-renewable grant of approximately $350,000 will be awarded
to each selected institution to help support the cost of establishing a
high performance network connection, normally at, or above, the OC-3c
level. Proposers from EPSCoR states should coordinate with the NSF
EPSCoR
(http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/EPSCOR/start.htm) office regarding the possibility of additional support for
extraordinary costs.
If the high performance connection replaces an existing connection,
only the costs above those of the existing connection will be considered
for support. This connection category will be considered only for
institutions that have demonstrated experience and success with existing
Internet connections.
In addition to the support described above for establishing a high
performance connection, NSF will also support the use of an NSF-approved
high performance network (such as the vBNS). High performance connections
proposers/awardees may request supplemental support for network usage
and/or subscription charges as follows: for connections at OC-3c rates NSF
will support up to $130,000 per year; for connections at DS-3 rates, up to
$43,000 per year. Other connection rates may be considered on an
individual basis. Network usage/subscription supplements will be awarded
upon connection. Subject to availability of funding, this arrangement will
provide for support through March 31, 2000. It is anticipated that NSF
will announce (during 1998) plans for new initiatives to support the
development and use of high performance networks by the research and
education community after that time.
Meritorious applications may include research and education in science
and engineering involving a combination of tools, applications, and
technologies of high performance networking. Application areas may
include, but are not limited to, distributed high performance computing,
remote visualization and imaging, and telecollaboration. NSF intends to
use a mix of disciplinary and networking reviewers to review proposals.
A high performance connection to the Internet should be interconnected
with an appropriate high performance local network infrastructure, and the
proposing institution will be responsible for funding that local
infrastructure without ANIR assistance. The high performance local network
infrastructure must be made available as appropriate to all qualified users
(initially or in the near future) and not be restricted to just those
proposed applications that require the high performance network. The
proposal must indicate clearly what Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees are
required by the proposed applications and indicate how these guarantees
will be implemented end to end.
As an example, a proposed OC-3c connection to the Internet might be
interconnected with an ATM-based local network infrastructure that
initially served the proposed application areas and that would be extended
to general campus availability in the near future.
Techniques to guarantee QoS might initially rely on some combination of
separate networks for different classes of applications. For example,
on-campus traffic from applications requiring special QoS might be
segregated from commodity traffic on separate links to avoid congestion.
Similarly, separate paths could be established (where economically
feasible) for commodity connections from a campus to a commercial network
service provider and for "high-performance" connections leading
to the vBNS (or other providers of special QoS).
Sharing of high-cost access circuits between campus networks and network service providers might also be achieved with switching devices on either end of
the access circuit to provide multiple virtual circuits over the single
physical circuit. Frame relay or ATM switches, for example, could offer
appropriate service assurances for the high performance traffic. Routers
at either end of the shared link could view the shared link as multiple
logical interfaces, each with its own set of supported routes. One or more
logical interfaces would have routes to the vBNS, and others to the
commodity Internet.
It is anticipated, however, that there
may be rapid evolution toward the provision of different classes of service
on common, shared networks in response to dynamic requests from
applications. In particular, a scheme such as RSVP
( See, for example, Braden, R., Zhang, L., Berson, S.,
Wroclawski, J., Resource ReSerVation Protocol (RSVP)--Version 1 Functional
Specification, Internet Draft, or http://www.isi.edu/div7/rsvp/rsvp.html)
could be used with appropriate scheduling to reserve and guarantee one or
more "high performance" qualities of service from end to end as
required by a meritorious application.
In such a scenario, traffic requiring guaranteed QoS could be mixed with
commodity traffic on a single, high-bandwidth connection from the campus to
a network service provider, for example, and be routed there, if
appropriate, to the vBNS (possibly through an aggregation point and so on
to another campus with QoS guaranteed end-to-end. If successful, such new
approaches may demonstrate significant advantages in both economics and
management.
Proposals should address on-campus as well as off-campus connections,
and long-term as well as interim solutions. A network engineering plan
prepared jointly by a planning group including persons from the proposed
application areas, from campus and/or local network provider organizations,
and from involved wide area network service providers should be included in
the Project Description section of the proposal. This plan should indicate
how the proposed connections will deliver appropriate high-performance QoS
initially and later, how it will be extended (possibly at a later time) to
all qualified users, how it relates to commodity networking at the campus,
region, etc., and how it will be managed and operated. The evaluation of
the proposed network engineering plan will include consideration of its
contribution to the emerging national/global high performance computing and
communications infrastructure in addition to more narrow issues of
technical merit.
Network service providers were apprised of the anticipated need to
support high performance institutional connections in the NSF Program
Announcement "Network Access Point Manager, Routing Arbiter, Regional
Network Providers, and Very High Speed Backbone Network Service Provider
for NSFNET and the NREN Program" (NSF 93-52). They may, therefore,
be prepared to support new high performance connections proposed. Other
appropriate methods to obtain high performance connections will also be
considered. Institutions proposing a connection or interconnection with
the vBNS should familiarize themselves with the NSFNET Backbone Network
Service Acceptable Use Policy
(www.cise.nsf.gov/anir/vbnsaup.html)The Project Description
section of the proposal should include appropriate general information
about the institution to enhance understanding of the proposed Internet
connection project. It should also clearly address the evaluation criteria
given in Section IV.E of this announcement.
IV. Proposal Submission Information
Proposals should be prepared in accordance
with the guidelines established in the Grant Proposal Guide
(GPG), NSF 98-2 (http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/co/gpg.start.htm)with the
exception that the 15 page limitation will be waived forconsortium
proposals (see GPG Section II.D.12.b). The Proposal Forms Kit, NSF 98-3
is also available on the Web.
The remainder of this section describes who may submit proposals in
response to this announcement; principal investigator requirements;
proposal submission address and proposal processing dates; public access
rights to proposals that result in an award; and evaluation criteria that
will be applied to submitted proposals.
All NSF publications referred to in this announcement can be accessed
through the NSF World Wide Web page (at www.nsf.gov) as well as from the
sources indicated below.
A. Who May Submit
Proposals may be submitted by any U.S.
research and/or education institution or consortium of such organizations
as appropriate for connections categories I.a, b, and
c. Proposals for consortia should be submitted by a lead
organization having administrative and negotiation authority for the group
and must be signed by an authorized official from each member organization.
Should an award be made to a consortium in response to this announcement,
that consortium must have a written consortium agreement with a single lead
organization, and the principal investigator must be an employee of that
organization.
It is recommended that appropriate administrative officials of proposing
organizations be familiar with the policies and procedures stated in the
NSF grant policy manual (GPM)
(http://www.nsf.gov:80/bfa/cpo/gpm95/start.htm) which are applicable to NSF
awards. If a proposal is recommended for an award and if the proposing
organization has not previously received an NSF award, the NSF Division of
Grants and Agreements will request certain organizational, management, and
financial information from the submitting organization. This information
must be submitted before any award is made. These requirements are
described in Chapter V of the GPM.
B. Principal Investigator
The individual designated as principal
investigator will be responsible for the planning, acquisition, management,
and maintenance of the Internet connection and any related equipment, and
also for liaison with associated network and network service providers.
C. Proposal Submission and Due Date
Proposers for the Connections to the
Internet Program are strongly encouraged to submit proposals via FastLane,
NSF’s system for electronic proposal submission and review, available
through the World Wide Web.
In order to use NSF FastLane to prepare and submit full proposals to the
Connections to the Internet Program, applicants must use a browser that
supports multiple buttons, radio buttons within tables, and file upload
(e.g., Netscape 2.0 and above.) In addition, Adobe Acrobat Reader is needed
to view and print forms. Instructions for downloading these software
packages can be found in the "How to use FastLane" on the NSF
FastLane Home Page (http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov). Detailed instructions on
how to prepare and submit a standard proposal using FastLane are available
under the "Information About FastLane".
Users may send technical questions and comments to the FastLane staff
using the "Send Comments to NSF" feature at the bottom of the
FastLane Home Page. In addition, specific technical questions concerning
the use of FastLane may be directed to:
Telephone: (703) 306-1142
Email: fastlane@nsf.gov
Mail Submissions:
Proposals should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the
NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) NSF 98-2 and the Proposal Forms Kit NSF
98-3. These documents can be accessed through the NSF Home Page
(http://www.nsf.gov/) or you may request hard copies at no cost from:
NSF Clearinghouse
P.O. Box 218
Jessup, MD 20794-0218
TEL: 301-947-2722
e-mail: pubs@nsf.gov
Proposals will be subjected to initial screening for the requirements in
the GPG and will be returned without review or advance notification if
deficiencies are found.
Group and collaborative proposals involving more than one institution
MUST be submitted as a single administrative package from one of the
institutions involved. Multiple submissions will not be accepted. The
package should include one project summary, one table of contents, one
project description, one section for references, and one copy of special
information and appendices as specified in GPG section II.D.10-11.
Additionally, the package should include, for each university and its
PIs/co-PIs, a signed cover sheet, budget pages and explanation, results
from prior NSF support (up to 2 pages per person), biographic sketches (up
to 2 pages per person), current and pending support for each PI/co-PI, and
facilities and other resources unique to each institution.
An original and 9 copies of the proposals should be sent to:
Announcement No. NSF 98-
Proposal Processing Unit
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd., Room P-60
Arlington, VA 22230
Only one (1) combined budget Form 1030
covering both years of the proposal need be included.
Only one (1) copy of NSF Form 1225, Information About PI/PD, should be
sent, attached to the original signed proposal.
The Connections to the Internet Program has two review cycles per year.
The deadline dates are January 31 and July 31. Proposals must be
postmarked on or before the aforementioned deadline dates. Proposals
received after the deadline dates will be returned to the principal
investigator who might want to resubmit for a subsequent review cycle. In
order to prevent unnecessarily long evaluation periods, proposals received
more than two months in advance of a deadline date will also be returned
for later submission.
D. Rights to Proposal Information
A proposal that results in an NSF award
will become part of the record of the transaction and will be available to
the public on specific request. Information or material that NSF, after
consultation with the awardee, determines to be of a privileged nature will
be held in confidence to the extent permitted by law, including the Freedom
of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552). Without assuming any liability for
inadvertent disclosure, NSF will seek to limit dissemination of such
information to its employees and, for purposes of evaluation of the
proposal, to outside reviewers.
Accordingly, any privileged information contained in the proposal should
be clearly marked or indicated (such as with an asterisk or highlighter)
and identified by a legend similar to the following: "Following is
((proprietary) or (specify)) information that (name of proposing
organization) requests not be released to persons outside the Government,
except for purposes of evaluation."
E. Evaluation of Proposals
Evaluation of proposals will be
administered by the ANIR. Evaluation will be provided by review panels
with possible use of individual reviewers as appropriate. In accordance
with established Foundation procedures, proposals will be reviewed with
respect to the two NSF review criteria, and with respect to the special
evaluation criteria listed below. (The two NSF review criteria are
described in Section III of the NSF brochure Grant Proposal Guide
(GPG) and deal with the intellectual merit of the proposal activity and the
broader impacts of the proposed activity). The general criteria and the
special criteria are of equal importance. The special criteria are of
approximately equal importance.
a. Special Criteria for
Connections Utilizing Innovative Technologies for Internet Access
1. Technological innovations involved in
providing low-cost Internet access
2. Plans for education and research use of the Internet
3. Definition of qualified Internet users; plan to provide Internet
access to all qualified users
4. Contribution to the emerging national network infrastructure
5. Quality of proposed user support services
6. Technical expertise in computer networking (especially Internet
networking) or plans to utilize such expertise from associated network
service providers; coordination procedures with proposed network service
providers
7. Plan for the institution to provide for the future continuing
support of the network connection
8. Cost-effectiveness of the proposed network connection; proposed cost
sharing (normally at least equal to NSF funding)
9. Plans to disseminate results relating to the technological
innovations associated with providing Internet access
b. Special Criteria for
Connections for Higher Education Institutions
1. Plans for education and research use of
the Internet
2. Definition of qualified Internet users; plan to provide Internet
access to all qualified users
3. Contribution to the emerging national network infrastructure
4. Quality of proposed user support services
5. Technical expertise in computer networking (especially Internet
networking) or plans to utilize such expertise from associated network
service providers; coordination procedures with proposed network service
providers
6. Plan for the institution to provide for the future continuing
support of the network connection
7. Cost-effectiveness of the proposed network connection; proposed cost
sharing (normally at least equal to NSF funding)
c. Special Criteria for High
Performance Connections for Research and Education Institutions and
Facilities
1. Quality of proposed application(s)
that require the high performance connection
2. Contribution to the emerging national/global high performance
network infrastructure
3. Network engineering planning process, planning participants, and
resulting plan
4. Quality of proposed local network infrastructure
5. Quality of Service (QoS) guarantees and their implementation methods
for the proposed high performance applications (the QoS guarantees and
implementation methods should pertain to relevant local and wide area
network environments)
6. Technical expertise in computer networking (especially Internet
networking); coordination procedures with proposed network service
providers
7. Plan for the institution to make the service broadly available and
provide for the future continuing support of the proposed network
connections
8. Cost-effectiveness of the proposed network connection; evidence of
thoroughness of effort to obtain cost-effective connection; proposed cost
sharing (normally at least equal to NSF funding)
9. Plans to evaluate and disseminate results relating to the technology
associated with the high performance connection
V. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Awards resulting from this announcement
are administered in accordance with the terms and conditions of GC-1,
"Grant General Conditions", and CA-1, "Cooperative Agreement
General Conditions". Copies of these documents are available at no
cost from the NSF Information and Publications Unit, via phone
(703-306-1130), electronic mail (pubs@nsf.gov), or the World Wide Web (at
www.nsf.gov). More comprehensive information is contained in the Grant
Policy Manual.
For purposes of computing indirect costs on these awards, leased lines,
service provider fees, equipment and the like will be treated as equipment
costs and are exempt from indirect cost computation.
Cost sharing proposed will be included as a condition of award under
this program.
Frequently asked questions are maintained on the web page:
http://www.cise.nsf.gov/anir/connect.html
Successful applicants will be asked to provide a web page over the life
of the award which will explain the award, the experiences and provide
contact information and other such information as required within this
announcement.
General inquiries should be made
to
Division of Advanced Networking Infrastructure
and Research, Room 1175
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
(703) 306-1949 or anir-info@nsf.gov
Upon completion of the project, a Final Project Report (NSF Form
98A), including the Part IV Summary, will be required. The NSF Form 98A
can be submitted through FastLane. (
http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov)
Proposers should review this form prior to proposal submission so that
appropriate tracking mechanisms are included in the proposal plan to ensure
that required information will be available at the completion of the
project.
Support for this program is contingent on the availability of funds.
This announcement does not obligate the NSF to make awards.
VI. OTHER
PROGRAMS OF INTEREST
NSF Guide to Programs (NSF 95-138),
available from the NSF Forms and Publications Unit, briefly describes
Foundation activities.
Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure (PACI) (NSF
96-31). Contact paci@nsf.gov; phone (703) 306-1963;
orhttp://www.cise.nsf.gov/asc/paci.html.
The Telecommunications and Information Infrastructure Assistance Program
(TIIAP) of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration
of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Contact TIIAP Program Director; email:
tiiap@ntia.doc.gov; phone: (202) 482-2048.
VII. GENERAL INFORMATION
The Foundation provides awards for
research and education 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.
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 and education related
programs described here. 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.
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 projects. See the program announcement
or contact the program coordinator at (703) 306-1636.
The National Science Foundation has TDD (Telephonic Device for the Deaf)
capability, which enables individuals with hearing impairment 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.
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 a
mended. 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 application review
process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data
regarding the application review process, award decisions, or the
administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers
and researchers 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: Gail A. McHenry, Reports Clearance Officer;
Information Dissemination Branch, DAS; National Science Foundation;
Arlington, VA 22230.
Programs described in this publication are in Category 47.070 (Computer
and Information Science and Engineering) in the Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance.
OMB# 3145-0058
P.T. 18, 36
K.W. 1004000, 1004001, 0901011, 1014001
NSF 98- 102 (Replaces NSF 96-64) ELECTRONIC DISSEMINATION ONLY