Slots: 1 total. Eligible IHEs can submit one proposal to IT-Preliminary, Adaptation, OR Catalyst.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, June 9, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: Adaptation and Partnership only: August 7, 2023; First Monday in August, Annually Thereafter

Preliminary Proposal:  IT-Preliminary: April 28, 2023; Fourth Thursday in April, Annually Thereafter. IT-preliminary proposals are accepted before and after the target date.

External Deadline:

Adaptation and Partnership: November 1, 2023; First Wednesday in November, Annually Thereafter

Institutional Transformation: October 5, 2023; First Thursday in October, Annually Thereafter

Catalyst: August 4, 2023; First Friday in August, Annually Thereafter. Catalyst proposals are accepted before and after the target date. Please contact the program office before submitting a proposal to discuss timing for submission.

Award Information

Award Type: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 18 – 36

Anticipated Amount: The total number of awards to be made under this solicitation is estimated to be between 18 and 36 over two fiscal years.

In each year, NSF expects to make approximately:

• six Adaptation awards up to $1,000,000 for three-year long projects
• six Partnership awards up to $1,000,000 for up to five-year long projects
• four Catalyst awards up to $300K for two years
• Additionally, in FY 2021, the program anticipates making up to two Institutional Transformation awards for up to $3,000,000 for five-years.

Who May Serve as PI: No restrictions or limits.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2020/nsf20554/nsf20554.htm

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template

Materials to submit include:

• (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; standard font type, e.g. Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
• (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

The NSF ADVANCE program goal is to broaden the implementation of evidence-based systemic change strategies that promote equity for STEM2 faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. The NSF ADVANCE program provides grants to enhance the systemic factors that support equity and inclusion and to mitigate the systemic factors that create inequities in the academic profession and workplaces. Systemic (or organizational) inequities may exist in areas such as policy and practice as well as in organizational culture and climate. For example, practices in academic departments that result in the inequitable allocation of service or teaching assignments may impede research productivity, delay advancement, and create a culture of differential treatment and rewards. Similarly, policies and procedures that do not mitigate implicit bias in hiring, tenure, and promotion decisions could lead to women and racial and ethnic minorities being evaluated less favorably, perpetuating historical under-participation in STEM academic careers and contributing to an academic climate that is not inclusive.

All NSF ADVANCE proposals are expected to use intersectional approaches in the design of systemic change strategies in recognition that gender, race and ethnicity do not exist in isolation from each other and from other categories of social identity. The solicitation includes four funding tracks: Institutional Transformation (IT), Adaptation, Partnership, and Catalyst, in support of the NSF ADVANCE program goal to broaden the implementation of systemic strategies that promote equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. For more information on each category, see the link above.

The Institutional Transformation (IT) track is designed to support the development, implementation, and evaluation of innovative systemic change strategies that promote gender equity for STEM faculty within an institution of higher education.

The Adaptation track is designed to support the work to adapt, implement, and evaluate evidence-based systemic change strategies that have been shown to promote gender equity for STEM faculty in academic workplaces and the academic profession. Adaptation projects can either: 1) support the adaptation of evidence-based systemic change strategies to promote equity for STEM faculty within an institution of higher education; or 2) facilitate national or regional STEM disciplinary transformation by adapting evidence-based systemic change strategies to non-profit, non-academic organizations.

The Partnership track is designed to support the work to facilitate the broader adaptation of gender equity and systemic change strategies. Partnership projects are expected to result in national or regional transformation in STEM academic workplaces and the academic profession and demonstrate significant reach. Partnership projects can focus on the transformation of institutions and organizations and/or the transformation within one or more STEM disciplines.

The Catalyst track is designed to broaden the types of IHEs that are able to undertake data collection and institutional self-assessment work to identify systemic gender inequities impacting their STEM faculty so that these can be addressed by the institution.

Budgetary Requirements: Inclusion of voluntary committed cost sharing is prohibited.

Slots: An organization may serve as a lead organization on only one proposal per project type, not including conferences. Proposals that exceed the organizational limit will be returned without review. No exceptions will be made.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, June 30, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: October 24, 2023 for Alliances; October 22, 2024 for Network Connectors, Design and Development Launch Pilots, and Colalborative Charge Consortia;

Recurring Deadlines: Fourth Tuesday in October, Every Other Year Thereafter.

Award Information

Award Type: Standard or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 10 – 15

Anticipated Award Amount: 5,500,000 for all project types in each competition year.

Who May Serve as PI: No restrictions or limits.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2022/nsf22622/nsf22622.htm

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Office of Research Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template

Materials to submit include:

• (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (1” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
• (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs and Co-PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

With this solicitation, NSF invites proposals for five types of projects (described below) that connect and contribute to the National Network: (1) Design and Development Launch Pilots, (2) Collaborative Change Consortia, (3) Alliances, (4) Network Connectors, and (5) Conferences. Investigators planning to submit a proposal are strongly encouraged to submit a one-page description of their proposal idea to nsfincludes@nsf.gov at least three months prior to proposal submission. An NSF INCLUDES program director with related expertise will review and provide feedback on the alignment of the idea with the solicitation.

Proposals that address broadening participation challenges not yet represented in the NSF INCLUDES portfolio of projects are encouraged. Proposals that focus on broadening participation in STEM innovation and entrepreneurship are especially encouraged. or more information on funded NSF INCLUDES projects, see: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/simpleSearchResult?queryText=nsf+includes.

1. Design & Development Launch Pilots (DDLPs) explore new strategies and models for collaborative approaches to broadening participation in STEM. Successful proposals will identify a specific broadening participation challenge to address, measurable objectives, and collaborative partners, with explanation of the role of each partnering individual or organization. Successful pilot projects will test and deliver models that enable new collaborative efforts or new approaches to advance equity and broaden participation in STEM.

DDLP activities should engage appropriate communities in testing the feasibility of a process for change, building infrastructure for collaborative change, and identifying potential mechanisms for sustaining the efforts. Teams of organizations might come together locally, regionally, nationally, by disciplinary focus, or by other multi-sector categories. Early in the first year, partners are expected to refine their collective commitment to a common set of objectives and plans to achieve them. No later than the second year, successful teams are expected to carry out and report on results and share findings with the National Network and other stakeholders.

DDLPs should facilitate innovative partnerships, networks, and theories of action for broadening participation in STEM, with the goal of establishing future alliances, centers, or other large-scale networks. DDLPs can explore and build capacity for the development of collaborative infrastructure. Submissions from a broad range of diverse institutional partnerships, principal investigators, and contexts are encouraged.

NSF INCLUDES will not consider “planning grant” proposals in this solicitation, Ideas for projects formerly funded by NSF INCLUDES as planning grants should be submitted as DDLP proposals.

Design and Development Launch Pilot proposals may request up to $300,000 per year for up to two years. Prior NSF INCLUDES support is not required to be eligible for a DDLP award. A DDLP award is not a required prerequisite to a proposal for other NSF INCLUDES project types.

2. Collaborative Change Consortia are networks that implement, study , and scale up systemic strategies that address a critical broadening participation challenge in STEM. Collaborative Change Consortia build the infrastructure necessary to: 1) foster collaboration, 2) broaden participation in STEM at city, state, or regional levels of impact by operationalizing the five design elements of collaborative infrastructure , and 3) contribute rigorous and innovative research to the knowledge base about broadening participation in STEM, These projects should result in research findings and sustainable , replicable models for city, state, and/or regional implementation and impact.

Consortium partners work to achieve common goals through well-defined, common objectives and use lessons learned, promising practices, evidence-based mechanisms, the science of broadening participation, and research and evaluations from past and present efforts to transform systems in order to broaden participation in STEM at scale and provide new research.

Consortium proposals must include:

• a shared vision and strategy for broadening the participation of an identified population(s) in STEM, along with relevant metrics of progress and key milestones/goals to be achieved during the funding period and beyond;
• multi- sector partnerships and plans to build infrastructure to achieve progress on the project’s goals;
• a framework for continuous communication, data management, capacity building, networking, expansion, sustainability, and visibility of the project network;
• a plan for contributing rigorous and innovative research to the knowledge base on broadening participation in STEM;
• a plan for contributing project evaluations, data, new scientific findings/discoveries, and promising practices to the NSF INCLUDES National Network;
• planned connections and contributions to the National Network online community and the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub;
• a logic model or other heuristic that identifies outcomes reflecting the implementation of systemic change at scale and progress toward developing an inclusive STEM enterprise.

Collaborative Change Consortia may, but are not required to, build on the work of current or previously-funded NSF INCLUDES projects. A Consortium award is not a required prerequisite to a proposal for other NSF INCLUDES project types.

Collaborative Change Consortium proposals may request up to $1,000,000 per year for up to five years.

3. Alliances are large-scale networks that implement, study, and scale up systemic strategies that address a critical broadening participation challenge in STEM, Like Collaborative Change Consortia, Alliances build the infrastructure necessary to foster collaboration and broaden participation in STEM, but for Alliances, the level of impact should be national and supported by a backbone organization, Alliance s engage partners to operationalize the five design elements of collaborative infrastructure; work to achieve common goals through well-defined, common objectives; contribute rigorous and innovative research to the knowledge base about broadening participation in STEM; leverage NSF’s broadening participation investments; and use lessons learned, promising practices, evidence-based mechanisms, the science of broadening participation, and research and evaluations from past and present efforts to transform systems and broaden participation in STEM at scale. Alliances are required to:

• Develop a shared vision and strategy for broadening the participation of an identified population(s) in STEM, along with relevant metrics of progress and key milestones/goals to be achieved at a national level, during the funding period and beyond;
• Establish multi-sector partnerships and build infrastructure to achieve progress on the project’s goals;
• Contribute rigorous and innovative research to the knowledge base on broadening participation in STEM;
• Establish a “backbone” (i.e., support) organization that provides a framework for continuous communication, data management, capacity building, networking, expansion, sustainability, and visibility of the project network beyond a single city, state, or region;
• Advance a logic model or other heuristic that identifies Alliance outcomes, reflecting the implementation of change at a national scale and progress toward developing an inclusive STEM enterprise;
• Collaborate with the NSF INCLUDES Coordination Hub to share project evaluations, data, new scientific findings/discoveries, and promising practices with the NSF INCLUDES National Network and build critical knowledge that enables measurable progress toward NSF INCLUDES goals;
• Participate in a network of peer alliances and the NSF INCLUDES National Network to achieve NSF INCLUDES goals; and
• Work to build connections to other organizations and broadening participation stakeholders to join in and expand the NSF National Network.

Alliance proposals may request up to $2,000,000 per year for up to five years.

4. Network Connectors initiate or maintain linkages to the NSF INCLUDES National Network for projects or partnerships that are not currently funded by NSF INCLUDES. Network connector proposals may be submitted by existing NSF-funded and non-NSF funded projects seeking funding to provide or participate in:

• new collaborations that expand the impact of active or previously-funded NSF INCLUDES projects;
• new opportunities for collaboration across the NSF INCLUDES National Network;
• novel ideas to bring a community of NSF-funded projects into the NSF INCLUDES National Network;
• efforts to equitably scale up innovative and evidence-based approaches to broadening participation in STEM;
• NSF-funded research activities with the goal of broadening participation in STEM;
• development of shared goals, measures, and mutually reinforcing activities to build collaborative infrastructure for broadening participation in STEM;
• communicating knowledge and results from the NSF broadening participation portfolio of programs and projects, NSF Center-scale activities, or other major Foundation investments ; or
• communicating findings from the science of broadening participation research community to the NSF INCLUDES National Network, especially pertaining to new efforts to translate basic research into practice.

Network Connectors implement connections to NSF-funded or other existing projects and evidence-based approaches. A letter of collaboration from a leader of the existing project is needed. Institutions and organizations that are new to the National Network who are looking to adopt or adapt evidence-based practices that emerged from current or previously-funded NSF INCLUDES projects are encouraged to apply.

Network connector proposals may request up to $250,000 per year for up to two years. Requests that exceed $250,000 may be considered, depending on the description of need in the proposal and the proposed activities.

5. Conferences provide platforms for new collaborations or exchange of ideas that strengthen the NSF INCLUDES National Network. Conference proposals may be submitted by current or former NSF INCLUDES awardees or organizations that are not currently part of the NSF INCLUDES portfolio.

NSF INCLUDES will consider conference proposals on an ongoing basis. Please note that although Conference proposals may be accepted at any time during the year-long submission window, a due date of October 30^th is displayed in Research.gov. You must choose the “October 30, 202x (Window) from the Due Date drop down window to submit a Conference proposal.

Conference proposals may request up to $100,000 for one year. Please refer to the instructions in Section V.A. and in PAPPG Chapter II.E.9 for additional guidance on preparing conference proposals.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

Slots:There is no limit on the number of PFI-TT proposals an organization may submit to the deadlines of this solicitation. However, an organization may not submit more than one (1) new or resubmitted PFI-RP proposal to a deadline of this solicitation. This eligibility constraint will be strictly enforced. If an organization exceeds this limit, the first PFI-RP proposal received will be accepted, and the remainder will be returned without review. An organization may not receive more than two (2) awards from a submission deadline of this solicitation.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, June 23rd, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: Not required.

External Deadline: September 5, 2023

Recurring Deadlines: January 2, 2024;

First Tuesday in May, Annually Thereafter; First Tuesday in September, Annually Thereafter; First Tuesday in January, Annually Thereafter

Award Information

Award Type: Standard or Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 25 to 55

Anticipated Award Amount: $30,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: The PI must have the technical skills required to lead and execute the proposed research project.

In addition to the PI, PFI-TT proposals must include a Senior Personnel or co-PI who brings technology commercialization experience in the targeted fields of application or industry sector. The technology commercialization expert must have an active role in the project.

PFI-RP proposals must include, without exception, a co-PI who is a member or employee of the required Industrial Partner organization. PFI-RP proposals without an Industrial Partner co-PI may be returned without review.

The technology commercialization expert cannot use NSF-funded time and effort to perform any “Objectives Not Responsive to this Solicitation” listed in Section II.E of this solicitation. However, the expert may participate in any mandatory I-Corps training that will be provided during the term of the PFI award. Additional collaborators or organizations that bring needed multidisciplinary expertise or commercialization experience may be involved as co-PI, Senior Personnel, Other Professional, subawardee, consultant, etc.

NSF Lineage Requirement: All proposals submitted to the PFI program must meet a lineage requirement by having NSF-supported research results. Please refer to “Additional Eligibility Information” under Section IV of the link below for details.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23538/nsf23538.htm

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template

Materials to submit include:

• (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 1-page limit will be excluded from review.
• (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs and Co-PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

PFI has five broad goals, as set forth by the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2017 (“the Act”, S.3084 — 114th Congress; Sec. 602. Translational Research Grants): (1) identifying and supporting NSF-sponsored research and technologies that have the potential for accelerated commercialization; (2) supporting prior or current NSF-sponsored investigators, institutions of higher education, and non-profit organizations that partner with an institution of higher education in undertaking proof-of-concept work, including the development of technology prototypes that are derived from NSF-sponsored research and have potential market value; (3) promoting sustainable partnerships between NSF-funded institutions, industry, and other organizations within academia and the private sector with the purpose of accelerating the transfer of technology; (4) developing multi-disciplinary innovation ecosystems which involve and are responsive to the specific needs of academia and industry; (5) providing professional development, mentoring, and advice in entrepreneurship, project management, and technology and business development to innovators.

In addition, PFI responds to the mandate set by Congress in Section 601(c)(3) of the Act (Follow-on Grants), to support prototype or proof-of-concept development work by participants with innovations that because of the early stage of development are not eligible to participate in a Small Business Innovation Research Program or a Small Business Technology Transfer Program.

Finally, PFI seeks to implement the mandate set by Congress in Section 102(c)(a) of the Act (Broader Impacts Review Criterion Update) by enhancing partnerships between academia and industry in the United States, and expanding the participation of women and individuals from underrepresented groups in innovation, technology translation, and entrepreneurship. 

SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR PFI-RP PROPOSALS

PFI-RP proposals consist of use-inspired research and commercialization projects that specifically depend on highly collaborative partnerships between academic researchers and industrial partners. The proposed project should further scientific and engineering foundational outcomes to enable breakthrough technologies with the potential to address critical industrial and societal needs. Industry involvement assures that the technology development endeavor is industry-relevant. With input from their Industrial Partner(s), Principal Investigators are expected to design their applied research objectives to respond to the unmet market/societal needs. Interdisciplinary projects that enable researchers from different academic and non-academic organizations to interact with one or more industrial partners in industry-university groups or networks are encouraged. Proposals may include the participation of a non-profit organization that has research and technology translation experience. NSF funding can be used for university research/education activities and may support activities of faculty and their students and research associates in the industrial setting.

PFI-RP proposals should include one or more of the following partners:

Industrial Partner:

PFI-RP proposals require a minimum of one (1) Industrial Partner. This partner (i.e., either a for-profit or not- for-profit entity that fulfills the minimum requirement) must be U.S.-based and have an established record of commercial revenues that include sales, services, or licensing. Organizations that meet the definitions of Foreign Public Entity in 2 CFR § 200.46 or Foreign Organization in 2 CFR § 200.47 may not serve as an Industrial Partner. Grants and government contracts may contribute to its revenues but may not constitute the entirety of its revenues. It is essential that the minimally qualifying industrial partner has experience in bringing a product, process, or service to the marketplace in the industry sector of the proposed technology application to ensure that the proposal team incorporates a meaningful commercial and industrial perspective. Non-profit organizations involved in technology transfer may serve as primary industrial partners if they meet the commercial revenues requirement above. A PFI project may propose more than one Industrial Partner.

Note: With regard to industrial partners, subawards can only be allocated to businesses that meet the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program eligibility requirements: (https://www.sbir.gov/faqs/eligibility-requirements) and in which the submitting organization or the participants in the proposed project hold no financial, ownership or controlling interest. Subawards are not intended to complement, circumvent or replace awards to small businesses under the SBIR/STTR program. An ideal Industrial Partner demonstrates a strategic commercial interest in the PFI-funded technology, is not expected to serve as a service provider in the project or, in the case of SBIR/STTR businesses, to receive a substantial subaward.  PFI-RP proposals without an Industry Partner may be returned without review.

Research Partner:

Once a PFI-RP proposal meets the requirement of a minimum of one (1) Industrial Partner, other partners such as academic institutions, non-profit organizations including foundations, public sector organizations may be included as research partners. Research partners should be carefully chosen to expand the technical expertise of the lead academic team. The purpose of the research partner is to add a complementary skill set to the proposing organization so that technologies (which neither party could independently develop as well or as rapidly) are accelerated towards commercialization by the Industrial Partner. The proposal must clearly describe the role of the research partner(s), the skill set they add to the proposing organization and how this will help accelerate technology development and scale-up. A research partner may receive a subaward from the lead organization. Technology Transfer Organizations (as defined in the Eligibility section) are strongly encouraged to partner with an academic research partner.

Partners in a PFI-RP proposal must agree to the management of any intellectual property (IP) rights underlying or generated by the proposed work. An executed cooperative research agreement (CRA) between the submitting organization and each collaborating partner (or among all partners) must be provided to NSF before the proposal is awarded. An example of a potential CRA is available. The letters of collaboration should state that the CRA will be provided prior to award.

Guidance for NSF-funded centers: PFI proposers are strongly encouraged to leverage the research and education capabilities of NSF-funded centers or large, multi-year, multi-faculty alliances. However, the PFI is not intended to extend work that is currently funded, for instance, by NSF or Industry-University Collaborative Research Centers. Instead, centers and alliances can avoid any overlap or duplication of effort by using PFI to generate early proof-of-concept that will attract future corporate sponsorship, to spin-off technologies graduated from NSF centers, or to enable postdoctoral researchers, and students to conduct research and gain experience in an industrial setting.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

Slots: The NSF MRI program is an institutionally limited funding opportunity. Eligible institutions may submit up to 4 proposals total (no more than two in Track 1, no more than one in Track 2, and no more than one in Track 3).

• Track 1: Proposals that request total funds from NSF between $100,000 and $1,000,000.
• Track 2: Proposals that request total funds from NSF between $1,000,000 and $4,000,000.
• Track 3: MRI proposals are those that request funds from NSF greater than or equal to $100,000¹ and less than or equal to $4,000,000 that include the purchase, installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment and instrumentation to conserve or reduce the consumption of helium. Institutions may submit no more than one Track 3 proposal. Submission of a Track 3 proposal does not impact limits that apply for Track 1 and Track 2 proposals.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Tuesday, September 5th, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: Submission Window is October 16 through November 15, 2023

Recurring Deadlines: November 15, 2024; November 14, 2025; November 16, 2026.

Award Information

Award Type: Standard Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 150

Anticipated Award Amount: $75,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: Applicants to the NSF MRI program must be full-time faculty at USC; visiting and adjunct faculty are not eligible. The program especially seeks broad representation of PIs, including women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities. Since demographic diversity may be greater among early career researchers, the program also encourages proposals by early career PIs and those that benefit early career researchers.

As this is a limited submission competition, all proposals must be submitted for review by Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) for selection of final candidates.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23519/nsf23519.htm

Cost Sharing: Cost sharing requirements for new awards in the MRI Program are waived for a period of 5 years beginning with the FY 2023 MRI competition. Institutional submission limits for Track 1, Track 2 and Track 3 proposals remain.

Purpose

The goal of the NSF Major Research Instrumentation (MRI) program is to increase access to shared-use/multi-user instrumentation for scientific and engineering research and training. NSF MRI awards are intended to be a capacity-building program and to enhance research training of students who will become the next generation of instrument users, designers, and builders.  The program supports three different types of proposals, as described here: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23519/nsf23519.htm.

Internal Proposal Review Process: The internal NSF MRI proposals will be reviewed by faculty and relevant Research and Innovation staff, who will provide reviews to the proposers and a prioritized list of recommendations to the Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation.

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application through the “NSF MRI” link listed under “Institutionally Limited External Competitions” through https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Regarding the Proposal template, please use the template provided here.

PROPOSAL COMPONENTS

Cover page information (to be filled out on-line)

1. Principal Investigator contact information and 10-digit USC ID number;
2. Proposal title and type;
3. Brief description (not to exceed 60 words): A succinct description of the proposed work.
4. Instrument/dataset/repository name and manufacturer/provider;
5. Link to instrument website and cost of instrument;
6. Link to external sponsor Request for Proposals (as applicable);
7. Core information name, URL, Core Director, and Core Manager contact information and 10-digit USC ID number (as applicable);
8. Co-PI information and 10-digit USC ID number (as applicable).

Sections to be uploaded: It is requested that applicants follow instructions carefully and do not submit additional materials not requested by this RFP. Information that is uploaded beyond what is requested will not be included in the proposal package provided to reviewers. Please upload each of the sections below as PDF documents.

• Abstract: (not to exceed 20 lines of text) A stand-alone succinct description of the proposed work.
• Proposal Narrative: (not to exceed 2 pages) (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Please use the template provided here.

• Manufacturer Quote

• List of Core Users: provide the name and email address of at least 5 expected users of the proposed equipment/dataset/repository.

• References: (not to exceed one page)
• Letter(s) of Support: Provide a letter of support from the unit(s) that has(have) committed to ongoing maintenance and operation of the requested equipment.

• Curriculum Vitae: (not to exceed 5 pages): Provide a brief CV or biosketch of the PI (and Co-PI, as applicable).

Note: The portal requires information about the PI in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

For questions about the application submission process, please contact Mike Yarsky at rii@usc.edu.

Good luck on your proposal application!

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.

Slots:

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, June 16th, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: Not required.

External Deadline: September 18, 2023

Recurring Deadlines: March 3, 2025; March 1, Every Other Year Thereafter

Award Information

Award Type: Continuing Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 2 to 4

Anticipated Award Amount: $6,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: Principal Investigators should be someone at the IHE with the authority to implement the proposed FDSS program and select and hire the new faculty member. These may be, but are not limited to, a dean, provost, director of a university associated research institute, department chairperson, or a senior tenured faculty member.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23577/nsf23577.htm

Process for Limited Submissions

PIs must submit their application as a Limited Submission through the Research Initiatives and Infrastructure (RII) Application Portal: https://rii.usc.edu/oor-portal/. Use the template provided here: RII Limited Submission Applicant Template

Materials to submit include:

• (1) Two-Page Proposal Summary (0.5” margins; single-spaced; font type: Arial, Helvetica, or Georgia typeface; font size: 11 pt). Page limit includes references and illustrations. Pages that exceed the 2-page limit will be excluded from review. You must use the template linked above.
• (2) CV – (5 pages maximum)

Note: The portal requires information about the PIs in addition to department and contact information, including the 10-digit USC ID#, Gender, and Ethnicity. Please have this material prepared before beginning this application.

Purpose

Proposals submitted in response to this solicitation will have as their principal objective the creation and support of one tenure-track faculty position bearing research, teaching, service, and educational outreach responsibilities in geospace science at the submitting IHE. The FDSS faculty position may reside within one department or be shared among several departments at the IHE.

The proposal must clearly identify which NSF AGS Geospace program(s) the hire is relevant to and what research priorities of the program(s) will be addressed. NSF AGS Geospace programs/priorities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Aeronomy: research on the mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere of the Earth, and the phenomena of ionization, recombination, chemical reaction, photo emission, and the transport of energy and momentum within and between these regions;
• Geospace Facilities: research areas that rely upon existing facilities or develop new instrumentation for geospace observations;
• Magnetospheric Physics: research on the magnetosphere, coupling of the magnetosphere with the solar wind, ionosphere, and atmosphere; development of ground-based observations and lab-based plasma physics;
• Solar-Terrestrial: development of U.S. ground-based solar observation, lab-based solar plasma physics, and instrumentation capabilities, including polarimetry techniques, and new modeling and theoretical research that connects to current or future NSF solar observatories;
• Space Weather Research: system-of-systems research on the physical processes in the integrated Sun-Earth system that underlie space weather and space climate, and characterizing space weather impacts on critical infrastructure and technological systems.

The proposal must not designate any candidate for the new FDSS faculty position, but should include a description of the desired skills, background, and training of the desired candidate. Candidates already in tenured or tenure track positions or those whose research interests are not or only marginally related to geospace science are not eligible for FDSS support.

The proposal must contain details of how an open and inclusive job search would be carried out. Consonant with the stated policies of the National Science Foundation, members of underrepresented and under-served communities should be strongly encouraged to apply.

The proposal must state how topics in geospace science will be integrated into the undergraduate and/or graduate courses offered by the department(s) supporting the FDSS hire.

The proposal must clearly state how the position will be integrated into the institution’s overall strategic plan and the measures taken to ensure the successful integration of the faculty position into the institution.

It must include specific objectives and milestones for the hiring, and for the research, curriculum development, and educational outreach activities. It must also include specific evaluation plans to gauge the overall efficacy of the hiring process and the development of geospace science at the institution.

Important aspects to emphasize in the project description are the following:

• Clear articulation of how the FDSS faculty position will be integrated into the IHE’s program of education, research, service, and outreach;
• Relevant NSF Geospace program research area(s) that will be addressed by the new faculty member;
• Plan for geospace science curriculum development;
• Potential for the faculty position to attract diverse students and train future scientists in geospace science;
• Plan for developing partnerships both within the university and with the broader geospace science community;
• Plan to support the success of the FDSS hire (including but not limited to reasonable teaching and service expectations, professional development in pedagogy, mentoring, assistance with proposal preparation, etc.);
• Metrics to ascertain the success of the FDSS hiring and related activities of the hire;
• Activities to foster participation by underrepresented and under-served groups in FDSS projects.

Principal Investigators should be someone at the IHE with the authority to implement the proposed FDSS program and select and hire the new faculty member. These may be, but are not limited to, a dean, provost, director of a university associated research institute, department chairperson, or a senior tenured faculty member.

NSF funding will support the academic year (9-month) salary, benefits, and training of the newly recruited tenure-track faculty for the duration of the award. For Track 2 (MSIs and ERIs), the FDSS grant may also support up to 2 months of summer salary for the first three years after hire.

To allow sufficient time for the FDSS hire to stand for tenure review or at least complete a pre-tenure review at or before the end of the award period, it is expected that the award duration will be 5 years. The maximum total award size will be $1,500,000 over this duration.

Collaborative proposals or subawards are not allowed.

Continuation of the FDSS award beyond the first year is contingent on the successful hiring of a new tenure-track faculty member who meets the intent of this solicitation. As soon as a specific candidate accepts the FDSS tenure-track offer from the IHE, NSF must be notified, including the qualifications of the candidate and their proposed research and teaching plans that address the stated objectives of this solicitation. The cognizant NSF Program Officer may request information about the candidate to confirm that the intent of this solicitation is being met. Such information may include but is not limited to:

1. A description of the search including details of efforts undertaken to broaden participation;
2. A curriculum vitae, including a publication list, for the FDSS hire;
3. A statement of research interests and proposed educational outreach and teaching plans of the successful FDSS candidate.

When the FDSS hire formally joins the IHE, the institution must submit a formal request for the hire to be added to the grant award as a Co-Principal Investigator. It is expected that the majority of the first year’s budget costs, e.g., faculty salary and benefits, lab equipment (if needed), etc., will be associated with the new hire and will not be spent until that individual is in place. The FDSS award must be acknowledged by the FDSS hire in all their publications and presentations. See the special award conditions for more information.

Visit our Institutionally Limited Submission webpage for more updates and other announcements.