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How to Get Funded

How to Get Funded. Robert O’Connor Director: Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Program (SBE/SES) roconnor@nsf.gov National Science Foundation 2007. Funding Sources. Mission Agencies (E.g., USDA, USEPA) Specific purpose By solicitation (RFP) Often co-operative agreements

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How to Get Funded

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  1. How to Get Funded Robert O’Connor Director: Decision, Risk and Management Sciences Program (SBE/SES) roconnor@nsf.gov National Science Foundation 2007

  2. Funding Sources • Mission Agencies (E.g., USDA, USEPA) • Specific purpose • By solicitation (RFP) • Often co-operative agreements • National Science Foundation • Basic research • Mostly unsolicited • Usually grants • Eligibility? U.S. Institutions

  3. NSF Funding • Full overhead (no matching) • Grant • Provides • 2 months salary for faculty • Support personnel (e.g., grad students) • Participant costs • Travel • Brief annual report requirement

  4. Decision Making Under Uncertainty for Climate Change Centers • Unusual appropriation • Three Centers • CRED at Columbia • DCDC at Arizona State • Carnegie Mellon • Two Teams • RAND • University of Colorado

  5. Influence of CCSP on NSF • May vary by directorate • Little influence on SBE funding decisions • Accounting exercise

  6. Sources of Information • Web: www.nsf.gov • Grant Proposal Guide http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/nsf04_23/start.htm • Awards (on web) • Program Officer

  7. Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) • Provides guidance for preparation of proposals • Specifies process for deviations, such as individual program announcements • Describes process -- and criteria -- by which proposals will be reviewed • Describes process for withdrawals, returns & declinations • Describes the award process • http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/gpg/nsf04_23/start.htm

  8. Funding Criteria • Intellectual merit (usually the more difficult hurdle) • Broader impacts

  9. Intellectual Merit • NSF funds basic research • NSF funds basic research • Intellectual merit means contributing to advancing theoretical understandings or to improving methods

  10. Broader Impacts • Promote teaching, training and learning • Broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.) • Enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks and partnerships • Disseminate results broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding • Benefit society

  11. What to Look for in a Special Solicitation • Goal of solicitation • Special requirements • Special recommendations

  12. NSF will support research that is: • Scientific • Transparent • Replicable (theoretically) • Systematic • Builds upon previous research • Likely to produce important theoretical knowledge and to have significant broader impacts

  13. NSF will not fund: • Humanistic story-telling • Purely descriptive studies • Good works that relieve suffering….

  14. No deadlines Deadlines Target dates Submission Windows Preliminary proposals Timing of Proposal Submission

  15. Sections of an NSF Proposal • Cover Sheet • Project Summary (one page) • Table of Contents • Project Description (15 pages max)* • References Cited • Biographical Sketch(es)* • Budget • Current & Pending Support • Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources • Special Information & Supplementary Documentation*

  16. Write the Proposal • Identify intellectual merit (theoretical contribution) • Describe in as much detail as possible exactly what you want to do • Make sure your research team has appropriate capabilities • Describe broader impacts • Decide where to submit (co-review?) • E-mail or call appropriate program officer with specific questions

  17. Budgetary Guidelines • Amounts • Reasonable for work - Realistic • Well justified - Needs established • In-line with program guidelines • Eligible costs • Personnel (2 months max) • Equipment • Travel • Participant Support • Other Direct Costs (including subawards, consultant services, computer services, publication costs)

  18. NSF Publications Program Announcements/ Solicitations Grant Proposal Guide Web Pages Funded Project Abstracts Reports, Special Publications Program Officers Incumbent Former “Rotators” Mentors on Campus Previous Panelists Serve As Reviewer Sponsored Research Office Successful Proposals Getting Support in Proposal Writing

  19. NSF Proposal & Award Process & Timeline NSF Announces Opportunity Returned Without Review/Withdrawn GPG Announcement Solicitation Min. 3 Revs. Req. Award Via DGA N S F NSF Program. Office Program Office Analysis & Recomm. Org. submits via FastLane Mail DD Concur Panel Both Organization Research & Education Communities Decline Proposal Receipt at NSF Award DD Concur 90 Days 30 Days Proposal Receipt to Division Director Concurrence of Program Officer Recommendation DGA Review & Processing of Award Proposal Preparation Time

  20. Return Without Review The Proposal: • is inappropriate for funding by the National Science Foundation • is submitted with insufficient lead-time before the activity is scheduled to begin; • is a full proposal that was submitted by a proposer that has received a "not invited" response to the submission of a preliminary proposal; • is a duplicate of, or substantially similar to, a proposal already under consideration by NSF from the same submitter;

  21. What is the intellectual merit? Potential Considerations: • Will the proposed activity advance 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 explore creative and original concepts? • How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? • Is there sufficient access to resources?

  22. Reviewer Selection • Identifying reviewers • PI reviewer suggestions

  23. NSF Sources of Reviewers • Program Officer’s knowledge • References listed in proposal • Google • Community of science and other data bases • Reviewer recommendations • Investigator’s suggestions

  24. Funding Decisions • Program Officer decision • Feedback to PI • Informal and formal notification • Scope of work and budget discussions

  25. Myths about NSF • Only funds scholars at elite graduate institutions • Only funds “famous” academics • Once declined, you are likely always to be declined • Only funds “normal science” • Advisory committees make funding decisions

  26. Reasons for Declinations • “Trust-me” proposal • Not feasible • Expertise gaps • Insufficient funding • Too ambitious • Incremental contribution • Bad luck

  27. NSF v. NIH • NSF tends to be smaller. • NSF is more open to risky, exploratory, paradigm-challenging work • NSF stresses basic research • NSF has no scoring system, percentile system • NSF program officers make funding decisions • NSF uses “revision encouragement” loosely

  28. Advice • Learn to love rejection • Team up • E-mail or call program officer with specific questions • Encourage dissertation improvement grant proposals (check program first)

  29. Useful to submit even if declined • Revise and resubmit • Discover other funding sources • Forces thinking • Build relationships • Receive reviews from experts

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