Where is the ??

1. Where is the ?? Kelvin Droegemeier Associate Vice President for Research Professor of Meteorology

2. Create How to Find Funding for Your Research

3. Overview of the Funding Process • Funding agencies (NSF, NOAA, FAA, DoD, DoE, NASA, EPA) + private industry + foundations • Different procedures, philosophies • Federal FY starts October (FY06 started Oct ‘05); Federal agencies often receive their budgets 6 months into the fiscal year! • Solicitations • Many types (open, targeted, SBIR, STTR) • Electronic announcements (bulletin boards, list serves, subscriptions services)

4. Learning What’s Out There!

7. http://research.ou.edu

10. Research Topics • Widely varying – function of agency • Based upon • National needs and Presidential priorities • Community input (workshops) • Science and engineering opportunities (latest hot topics, e.g., nanotechnology) • Politics or agency head likes and dislikes • “Priority Areas” Today at NSF (5-year programs) • Biocomplexity in the environment • Nanoscale science and engineering • Cyberinfrastructure • Mathematics • Human and Social Dynamics

11. Presidential Priorities • Homeland security R&D • High-End Computing & Networking R&D • National Nanotechnology Initiative • Basic Physics • Understanding Complex Biological Systems • Energy and Environment

12. Priorities in Context • Strong support for science in Congress • And now in the White House… • American Competitiveness Initiative • Doubling basic research funding in science and engineering over 10 years (NSF, NIST, DOE O/S) • Administration emphasis on tangible outcomes

13. Some Concerns • Rise of China as a major energy consumer • Rise of India as a place to outsource work • Weakening of US position for recruiting prospective graduate students • Immigration issues – student visas • Paucity of students entering STEM fields • State support for higher education continues to fall • Industry support of academic R&D has fallen

19. The National Science Foundation

20. Manifesto that Created NSF Bush (1945)

21. The NSF Act of 1950 • So-called “Organic Act” that established the NSF • Signed into law by President Truman on May 10, 1950 • Mission: To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes. • Unlike ALL other agencies that have science components (NASA, NOAA, DOE, DOD, EPA, USGS, etc), the NSF does not reside within a Cabinet Department – it is completely independent • NSF thus is not a “mission agency” though it has a clear mission

22. The NSF Today • Annual budget of $6B • Funds all areas of science and engineering (exclusive of medicine) – unique

23. The NSF Today

27. Steps in Preparing Proposals • Establish the topic -- need solid ideas • Goals and approaches • Unique contributions • Personnel and other resources required including external collaborators • Select the agency • Make contact with program manager • This is very critical, especially for some agencies • Sometimes need inside advocacy (e.g., DoD, FAA, DoE, NASA) • Be sure agencies know your work (have lunch with program directors at national meetings, workshops) • Their job is to HELP YOU!!!

28. Numerous Types of Proposals • Unsolicited • No deadlines for submission • Any topic is possible • Budgets can be large or small • Solicited • Special program announcements/topics • For NSF, these are determined by the community • TONS of these out there (centers, facilities, etc) • Often fierce competition; interdisciplinary • Special • SBIR (Small Business Innovation Research) • STTR (Small Technology Transfer Research) • BAA (Broad Agency Announcements) • EPSCoR (all relevant agencies)

29. Steps in Preparing Proposals • Notify your institution: At OU, it’s Proposal Services • Submit early documentation • Letter of intent (often required by solicitation) • Pre-proposal letter (e.g., NSF) • Usually includes budget and project highlights/methods • Sometimes reviewed by panel in major solicitations to identify which will be encouraged to submit full proposals • Prepare and submit proposal • Follow all guidelines TO THE LETTER! • Deadlines and formats (e.g., page limits) are CRITICAL

30. Project Summary • Must be compelling • Gives the reviewer the first impression • Should simplify the job of the reviewer • Should make the reviewer want to read more • Follow the guidelines (NSF – both criterion explicitly addressed…more later)

31. Project Description • Main body of the proposal • Obey page limits and other rules (font size!) • Lay out the project • Motivations and previous research: set the stage and convince the reviewer that this work is important and relevant • Goals and objectives: be very specific about what you propose to do, eve in the form of hypotheses

32. Goals and Objectives • Goal: A statement describing the broad outcome desired. • Objective(s): Statement(s) derived from the goal that define the circumstances under which it will be known if the desired change has occurred

33. Goals Long-range benefits Broadly defined Ultimate outcome Objectives S pecific I mmediate M easurable P ractical L ogical E valuable Goals and Objectives

34. NSF Project Description • Research methodologies and tools/techniques: experiment design, analysis methods, validation of results, comparison with objectives and special data to be used or collected • Is your approach unique? • Have you expressed the cost/benefit ratio? • Are risks associated with your approach? • Why is success probable? • Are facilities adequate? • What are the investigator’s qualifications? • Broad impacts of results on science and education • Impacts on other fields, i.e. computing, networks, etc.

35. NSF Project Description • Describe partnerships or collaborations, if applicable • Describe how results will be shared/disseminated

36. Common Mistakes/Weaknesses • Goals and objectives not clear or too broad and unachievable • Work is controversial or highly competitive • Obvious concerns not addressed • Work not placed in context: significance and impact not obvious • Too much work proposed for the level of funding requested/represented

37. Timelines • Provides a quick chronological overview • Indicates organization and forethought • Lists activities and phases and estimates time to completion

38. Budget • Very critical part - OU Proposal Services provides a lot of help (e.g., current salaries, verification) • Very specific content • Salaries and wages (senior investigators, post-docs, students, technical support staff) • Number of months (tied to level of effort) • Faculty can have academic release • Faculty can cost-share part of their 9-month State salary • Fringe benefits • Health and retirement for professionals, students

39. Budget • Equipment • Must be specific about model and purpose • Indirect cost • Travel • Must be specific about location, duration, purpose • OU has standard rates for hotel, meals • Other costs • Materials and supplies (paper, pens, software, disks) • Publication (page charges; usually $120/page) • Computer services • Other: local and long-distance telephone, tuition • Cost sharing

40. Budget • Indirect costs (IDC) • A portion of the total grant costs go to the institution for lights, heating & A/C, office space, etc. • It is a real cost the University must meet in order to support the research • Current OU cost is 48.0% (i.e., 0.480 x rest of budget) • Our rates are competitive - some places (MIT) are > 100%. Some private companies (DC area) are 200+% • Sponsored research incentive (SRI) • A portion of the IDC is returned to the unit that generated it to seed new research activities • Unit receives 18% of the 48% of the IDC actually generated

41. Peer Review • Ask colleagues to review your proposal before submission • Include someone who is not familiar with your project • Actual peer review is mostly panels and anonymous mail reviews • Rebuttals increasingly allowed • Peer and especially panel review is very conservative, especially in tight budget times • NSF looking at ways to fund Potentially Transformative Research

42. NSF Review Criteria • Criterion #1 – Intellectual Merit 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?

43. NSF Review Criteria • Criterion #2 – Broader Impacts 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?

44. Peer Review • Reviewers can be brutal! • Often you can tell agency who you want to NOT review your proposal • Bad reviews are a good learning experience for improving a proposal for resubmission • Success rates vary greatly – at NSF are on average 22%

45. Awards • Meeting reporting requirements are critical • NSF will not release funds if reporting is delinquent • Acknowledge sponsor in publications

46. Typical Success Rates • Depends upon the agency, program within • NSF-wide average is about 21% • Major programs (centers, large dollar solicitations) usually below 10% -- a real turn off! • NSF trying to extend grant duration (currently 3 years) and increase size • Can resubmit – often with good outcomes if you follow reviewer advice • Some programs limit number of proposals per institution, or require approval of a pre-proposal prior to full submission

47. NSF Websites for Proposal Preparation • NSF FastLane • https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp • PI Tips Sheet for Proposal Preparation • https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a0/about/pitips.htm • Grant Proposal Guide • http://www.nsf.gov/pubsys/ods/getpub.cfm?gpg • Instructions for Preparing and Submitting a Standard NSF Proposal • https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm • FAQs: NSF FastLane Proposal Preparation • https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a0/about/a1faq.htm