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Recurring Limited Submissions

NSF-23-538: Partnerships for Innovation (PFI)

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, October 27th, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: Not required.

External Deadline: January 2, 2024

Recurring Deadlines: 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 (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

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.

PAR-23-077: Collaborative Program Grant for Multidisciplinary Teams (RM1 – Clinical Trial Optional)

Slots: 2

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, October 27th, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: 30 days prior.

External Deadline: January 26, 2024

Recurring Deadlines: May 29, 2024; January 28, 2025; May 28, 2025; January 27, 2026

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 4-6

Anticipated Award Amount: While applications may request research program budgets of up to $1.5 million direct costs per year, it is anticipated that most awards will be between $700,000-$900,000 direct costs. Annual inflationary increases are not allowed. The requested budget should be consistent with the number of PDs/PIs and the complexity and needs of the proposed program. An additional $250,000 direct costs per year may be requested for optional developmental funds to support the addition of ESIs to the program in years 2-5.

Who May Serve as PI: 

The application is required to be submitted as a multiple PD/PI application, with three to six PDs/PIs. All PDs/PIs must have an appointment at a domestic institution. Scientists employed solely by foreign institutions may not serve as one of the PDs/PIs of the multiple PD/PI team, although they may be included in the application as collaborators/co-investigators, consultants, or other significant contributors. See the multiple PD/PI Policy and submission details in the Senior/Key Person Profile (Expanded) Component of the SF424 (R&R) Application Guide, and the Grant Policy Statement on Multiple Principal Investigators. Minimum allowed efforts by the PDs/PIs are described in the R&R Budget instructions in Part 2. Section IV.2.

Any eligible scientists with the interest and ability to develop a team science program to address an important research question are welcome to apply.

  • NIGMS encourages the participation of early career investigators as part of the multiple PD/PI team as appropriate.
    • Note that ESIs and new investigators who participate as a PD/PI will lose their ESI or new investigator status for future NIH applications.
    • ESIs supported by developmental funds in future years are not designated as PDs/PIs and will not lose ESI status.
  • PDs/PIs who have an active NIGMS R35 award can participate as a RM1 PD/PI. Their RM1 effort will be part of the 51% research effort on their current R35 award but may not receive additional funds .
  • Applicants with substantial unrestricted research support may receive funding from this award as their one NIGMS grant award, or may participate in an unfunded advisory or consulting role without loss of their ability to receive one funded NIGMS grant, consistent with NIGMS funding policies.

Link to Award: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAR-23-077.html

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-Application-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

Complex and challenging research questions benefit from the integrated efforts of teams/labs employing complementary approaches with multiple areas of expertise. Team-based efforts can converge on high-impact discoveries, such as creating new disciplines, resolving longstanding or intractable problems, or defining new areas that challenge existing paradigms.

This funding opportunity announcement (FOA) encourages Collaborative Program Grant applications from institutions/organizations that propose projects addressing complex and challenging biomedical problems within the mission of NIGMS. Multidisciplinary research teams must have a highly integrated approach for each of their project goals. The Collaborative Program Grant is designed to support research in which funding a team of interdependent investigators to achieve a unified scientific goal offers significant advantages over supporting individual research project grants.

Features of successful applications include:

  • Each PD/PI is committed to team science and willing to devote a major part of their research effort to the team project.
  • Achieving the goal(s) requires a team approach.
  • Each biological question posed requires a cohesive team with an integrated approach.
  • A team management structure is developed for achieving program goals.

NIGMS recognizes that diverse teams working together and capitalizing on innovative ideas and distinct perspectives outperform homogeneous teams. There are many benefits that flow from a diverse scientific workforce, including fostering scientific innovation, enhancing global competitiveness, contributing to robust learning environments, improving the quality of the research, advancing the likelihood that underserved populations participate in, and benefit from, research and enhancing public trust. To support the best science, NIGMS encourages inclusivity in research. Examples of structures that promote diverse perspectives include but are not limited to:

  • Engagement from different types of institutions and organizations (e.g., research-intensive, undergraduate-focused, minority-serving, community-based).
  • Individual applications and partnerships that enhance geographic and regional engagement.
  • Investigators and teams composed of researchers at different career stages.
  • Participation of individuals from diverse backgrounds, including groups traditionally underrepresented in the biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research workforce (see NOT-OD-20-031), such as underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, those with disabilities, those from disadvantaged backgrounds, and women.
  • Project-based opportunities to benefit early- and mid-career investigators. 

This FOA requires a Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP) as part of the application (see Section IV.2 SF424(R&R) Other Project Information. Other Attachments). For further information on the Plan for Enhancing Diverse Perspectives (PEDP), please see https://braininitiative.nih.gov/about/pedp-key-elements-and-examples.

Applications may address any area of science within the NIGMS mission. NIGMS supports generalizable, foundational basic research that increases understanding of biological processes at a range of levels, from molecules and cells, to tissues, whole organisms, and populations. NIGMS also supports research in a limited number of clinical areas that affect multiple organ systems. Truly new interdisciplinary ideas for approaching significant biological problems are encouraged. Applications that bridge the research interests of more than one area of science supported by NIGMS are also encouraged but must remain within the NIGMS mission.

Research with the overall goal of gaining knowledge about a specific organ or organ system, or the pathophysiology, treatment, or cure of a specific disease or condition will, in most cases, be more appropriate for another Institute or Center. Consultation with NIGMS staff (see below) prior to preparing an application is strongly encouraged.

Projects outside the NIGMS mission will be rejected without review.

Applicants for smaller projects with one or two PD/PIs should consider submitting a multi-PD/PI application to the “NIH Research Project Grant (Parent R01)” FOA (see the Parent Announcement website for the current issuance of that FOA), or if they are current NIGMS R35 MIRA awardees, they could consider collaborating as part of the 51% research effort on their current R35 award (note they will not receive additional funds from the RM1).

Applications that are mainly focused on the creation, expansion, and/or maintenance of community resources, or on infrastructure development, are not appropriate for this FOA. Although Collaborative Program Grants may include some technology development, applications with a central focus on the creation of new technologies would not be considered for funding as a Collaborative Program Grant and are more appropriate for the other NIGMS mechanism for funding technology research and resources.

Applications that employ specific cells or tissues to address a fundamental biomedical question are appropriate. However, applications that focus solely on a specific organ or disease state and that are within the mission areas of other NIH Institutes and Centers would not be appropriate for this FOA.

Research involving human subjects is permitted in the Collaborative Program Grant. Clinical research must be completely within the context of the NIGMS clinical areas (anesthesiology, clinical pharmacology, sepsis, injury, and critical illness). Mechanistic clinical trials are permitted when the mechanistic study is an essential part of the research program. Clinical trials that are designed to test safety and efficacy of interventions (Phase I, Phase II, Phase III) for the purpose of future clinical treatment and/or regulatory approval are not permitted. Potential applicants are encouraged to confer with the NIGMS Scientific/Research staff (in Section VII. Agency Contacts of this FOA) before submitting an application that includes clinical research. NIGMS does not intend to fund applications that contain clinical research within the missions of other Institutes and Centers at NIH or other federal agencies.

Program Organization

Applications submitted to this FOA are expected to propose a single, well-integrated research plan of sufficient scope, complexity, and impact to justify the investment of significant resources. Applicants are expected to describe a cohesive program with a single set of specific aims sufficient to accomplish program objectives that can be achieved within a maximum of ten years (one five-year program with one five-year competitive renewal). Program objectives that are not likely to be achieved within ten years are not appropriate for this FOA.

Applications that propose extrapolations of a single line of research or propose parallel but independent advancement of different areas are not appropriate for this FOA.

Applicant teams should be nimble to incorporate new knowledge and techniques to achieve program objectives and tackle unanticipated challenges. The application may include early-stage investigtor (ESI)-led development projects in future years to investigate new, but related, lines of research.

Team Management and Optional Activities

An RM1 must be a multiple PI application. Therefore, applicants must include a MPI leadership plan as required by the NIH. In addition, applications are expected to develop a comprehensive team management plan that addresses the following:

  • Appropriate organizational structure and team composition
  • Shared leadership, contributions, and distributed responsibility for decision making
  • Resource allocation
  • Plans for professional development
  • Conflict resolution

Applicants may wish to address how they will develop trust and a shared vision, as well as how shared responsibilities, interpersonal interactions, and professional credit will be managed. Additionally, applicants may consider a scientific project manager or program coordinator as part of the management plan.

Collaborative Program Grant applications may propose the use of optional future year developmental funds to support ESIs at domestic institutions whose availability was unknown and/or who can bring new ideas and expertise to the program that was not initially conceived to be relevant at the time of application. Developmental funds are in addition to the base grant budget and will be made available after the first year of the award, subject to NIGMS staff approval and availability of funds. See Section VI. Award Administration Information. Prior Approval for Use of Developmental Funds.

The proposed new work that ESIs will pursue must be well aligned with the aims of the original grant.

If the application requests developmental funds for studies directed by ESIs, plans must be included for selecting the ESIs and for leveraging existing resources for appropriate mentoring, including the effective conduct of multidisciplinary team science, as described in Part 2. Section IV.2 of this FOA.

ESIs supported by developmental funds will be able to seek and receive independent funding. A review criterion and funding consideration for any subsequent Renewal application will be evaluation of the outcomes of the ESI mentoring and support, including whether ESIs successfully obtained independent funding. Note that a plan for the use of developmental funds to support ESIs is an optional activity.

Prior Consultation with IC staff

NIGMS intends to fund a limited number of applications. Therefore, consultation with relevant staff at least 10 weeks prior to the application due date is strongly encouraged. Once applicants have identified overall program objectives and PD/PI participants, NIGMS staff may be able to advise applicants whether the proposed research strategy meets the goals and mission of the Institute, whether it addresses one or more high priority research areas, and whether it is appropriate for a Collaborative team program. A collaborative program that is closely related to the goal of a PD/PI’s existing NIGMS-funded research might require that funding be relinquished to avoid scientific overlap. Institute staff will not evaluate the technical and scientific merit of the proposed program in advance; technical and scientific merit will be determined during peer review using the review criteria indicated in this FOA. During the consultation phase, if the proposed research strategy does not meet NIGMS’ programmatic needs, is not appropriate as a Collaborative Program Grant, or is outside the NIGMS mission, applicants will be encouraged to consider other funding opportunities. 

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

VentureWell Course & Program Grant Guidelines

Slots: 2 maximum.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Monday, October 2nd, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: November 8, 2023

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Who May Serve as PI: Organizations must be US-based and VentureWell members.

Link to Award: https://venturewell.org/course-program-grants/

PDF of Guidelines: https://venturewell.org/wp-content/uploads/VentureWell-Course-Program-Grants-2023-Guidelines.pdf

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

VentureWell Course & Program (C&P) Grants of up to $30,000 are awarded to U.S. higher education institutions to expand and strengthen STEM innovation and entrepreneurship (I&E) ecosystems, with the end goal of accelerating sustainable and inclusive innovation. Ideally, C&P Grant funding should act as a catalyst for increased entrepreneurial activity and help faculty and universities leverage other opportunities to launch and/or grow their I&E ecosystems.

C&P Grants may be used to strengthen existing curricular programs or to build new, pedagogically inclusive courses and programs that engage students in collaboratively developing and pursuing scalable solutions to real-world needs through STEM I&E.

Activities supported by C&P Grants should lead to effective courses and programs that are sustained by the institution, enhancing collaboration between students and the larger community by leveraging experiential learning practices, and expand opportunities for learning across STEM I&E.

C&P Grant proposals may include plans to create or improve an individual course, course sequence, minor, major, certificate program, or other co- or extracurricular program that is directly tied to and supports I&E-focused curricula. Programs are defined as a set of organized, planned activities or structures that occur on an ongoing basis and are intended to work in collaboration with departments and degree pathways (e.g., engaging with a tech transfer office, office of sustainability, office of entrepreneurship, certificate program, community-based learning program, etc.).

Proposals are required to address the following core components:

  • Inclusive innovation
  • Sustainability
  • I&E ecosystem building
  • Stakeholder collaboration
  • Project team & resources
  • Long-term financial plan & deliverables

Proposals may also include the following:

  • General invention-oriented (science- and technology-based) entrepreneurship
  • Emergent industries in your region that solve social and environmental problems (i.e., biomedical and healthcare innovation, clean energies, agriculture, educational technologies, etc.)
  • Interdisciplinary innovation & entrepreneurship with a STEM component

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

NSF-23-521: Strengthening the Cyberinfrastructure Professionals Ecosystem (SCIPE)

Slots: 1

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, October 20th, 2023, 5pm PT

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: January 18, 2024;

Recurring Deadlines: Third Thursday in January, Annually Thereafter

Award Information

Award Type: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant or Cooperative Agreement

Estimated Number of Awards: 4

Anticipated Award Amount: $15,000,000

Who May Serve as PI: To ensure relevance to community needs and to facilitate adoption, those proposals of interest to one or more domain divisions must include at least one PI/co-PI with expertise relevant to the targeted research discipline. All proposals shall include at least one PI/co-PI with expertise relevant to OAC.

Link to Award: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2023/nsf23521/nsf23521.htm

Process for Limited Submissions

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 overarching goal of this solicitation is to democratize access to NSF’s advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) ecosystem and ensure fair and equitable access to resources, services, and expertise by strengthening how Cyberinfrastructure Professionals (CIP) function in this ecosystem. It aims to achieve this by (1) deepening the integration of CIPs into the research enterprise, and (2) fostering innovative and scalable education, training, and development of instructional materials, to address emerging needs and unresolved bottlenecks in CIP workforce development. Specifically, this solicitation seeks to nurture, grow and recognize the national CIP [1] workforce that is essential for creating, utilizing and supporting advanced CI to enable and potentially transform fundamental science and engineering (S&E) research and education and contribute to the Nation’s overall economic competitiveness and security. Together, the principal investigators (PIs), technology platforms, tools, and expert CIP workforce supported by this solicitation operate as an interdependent ecosystem wherein S&E research and education thrive. This solicitation will support NSF’s advanced CI ecosystem with a scalable, agile, diverse, and sustainable network of CIPs that can ensure broad adoption of advanced CI resources and expert services including platforms, tools, methods, software, data, and networks for research communities, to catalyze major research advances, and to enhance researchers’ abilities to lead the development of new CI.

The SCIPE program is led by the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure (OAC) in the Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) and has participation from other NSF directorates/divisions, as described in Section II. Program Description, Programmatic Areas of Interest. Not all directorates/divisions are participating at the same level, and some have specific research and education priorities. The appropriate contact for the SCIPE program in any directorate/division is the Cognizant Program Officer (PO) for the respective directorate/division/office/program listed below.

All projects are expected to clearly articulate how they address essential community needs, will provide resources that will be widely available to and usable by the research community, and will broaden participation from underrepresented groups. Prospective PIs are strongly encouraged to contact the Cognizant Program Officers in CISE/OAC and in the participating directorate/division relevant to the proposal to ascertain whether the focus and budget of their proposed activities are appropriate for this solicitation. Such consultations should be completed at least one month before the submission deadline. PIs should include the names of the Cognizant Program Officers consulted in a Single Copy Document as described in Section V.A. Proposal Preparation Instructions. The intent of the SCIPE program is to encourage collaboration between CI and S&E domain disciplines. (For this purpose, units of CISE other than OAC are considered domain disciplines.) To ensure relevance to community needs and to facilitate adoption, those proposals of interest to one or more domain divisions must include at least one PI/co-PI with expertise relevant to the targeted research discipline. All proposals shall include at least one PI/co-PI with expertise pertinent to OAC.

Prospective PIs contemplating submissions that primarily target communities relevant to directorates/divisions that are not participating in this solicitation are directed to explore instead the education and workforce development programs of the respective directorates/divisions.

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

2024 Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

Slots: Three total. One each for Chemical Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Life Sciences.

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, October 13, 2023, 5pm PT

Nomination Deadline: November 29, 2023

Letter of Support Deadline: December 13, 2023

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Amount: $250,000 in unrestricted funding

Who May Serve As PI: The nominee must:

  • Have been born in or after 1982.
  • Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.).
  • Currently hold a tenured or tenure-track academic faculty position (or equivalent) at an invited institution in the United States.
  • Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in one of the disciplinary categories in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, or Chemistry.

Nomination of underrepresented populations in STEM
In spite of tremendous advancements in scientific research, information, and education, opportunities are still not equally available to all. Women, persons with disabilities, and individuals identifying as Black, American Indian, or Hispanic/Latinx continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields1,2. The Blavatnik Awards strongly encourages all those submitting nominations to the Awards—including institutional nominators, Scientific Advisory Council members, and past Blavatnik Awards Laureates—to diversify the population of candidates nominated for this Award.

Age Limit Exceptions
Age limit exceptions will be considered by the Blavatnik Family Foundation in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution received by the New York Academy of Sciences by Wednesday, November 8, 2023. For more information, please contact us at blavatnikawards@nyas.org. We strongly encourage institutions considering nominating candidates born prior to 1982 to contact us as early as possible during the nomination period.

Dual or Joint Appointments
For nominees holding a dual or joint appointment at more than one institution, the nominee must be employed by the nominating institution at least 50% full-time effort.

Returning Nominees
Non-winning nominees from prior Blavatnik Awards nomination cycles are eligible to be re-nominated by their institutions as one of their three nominees, provided they still meet all eligibility requirements.

Re-Nomination of Past Finalists
Nominees previously recognized as Finalists of the Blavatnik National Awards are eligible for re-nomination by their institution for the 2024 Blavatnik National Awards, provided they meet the following requirements:

  • Returning Finalists must still meet the eligibility requirements for the 2024 Blavatnik National Awards. For Returning Finalists born prior to 1982, age limit exception requests must be submitted and approved by the Blavatnik Family Foundation, as described above.
  • Nomination of Returning Finalists must be pre-approved by the New York Academy of Sciences. A letter outlining the nominee’s significant new achievements since their last recognition by the Blavatnik National Awards must be submitted, along with an updated CV as described on the Nomination Materials & Instructions page.

Returning Finalists will count towards an institution’s limit of three nominees.

All relevant materials listed above must be submitted to blavatnikawards@nyas.org  by the institution’s official nominator by Wednesday, November 8, 2023, and must be approved by the New York Academy of Sciences before submission of nomination materials.

We strongly encourage institutions considering nominating a Returning Finalist to contact us as early as possible during the nomination period.

Link to Award: http://blavatnikawards.org/awards/national-awards/

Nomination Submission Link: https://blavatniknational.smapply.io/

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 Blavatnik National Awards honor America’s most innovative young faculty-rank scientists and engineers.

These awards celebrate the past accomplishments and future potential of young faculty members working in the three disciplinary categories of Life Sciences, Physical Sciences & Engineering, and Chemistry.

Nominees and their work as independent investigators will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

  • Quality: The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.
  • Impact: The extent to which the work addresses an important problem, advances scientific progress, and is influential in the nominee’s field, related fields, or beyond, and/or has the potential to benefit society.
  • Novelty: The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, establishes a new field or considerably expands on an existing field, employs original methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
  • Promise: The nominee has potential for further significant contributions to science, and the research program will generate further impactful and novel discoveries.

Nominating institutions are encouraged to consider candidates across the institution, focusing on the scope of the candidate’s work and its relevance within a given scientific category.  For example, an institution can nominate a Chemistry nominee who is not based in the Chemistry Department, but is leading a research program in one of the disciplinary categories covered by the Chemistry section of the Blavatnik Awards. Nominating institutions seeking more guidance may contact the Academy at blavatnikawards@nyas.org.

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

(CLOSED) 2024 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program

Slots: University presidents may nominate one junior and one senior scholar. Regardless of title, a junior scholar is defined as someone who received a PhD within the last 10 years (2013–2023, for the 2024 fellowship program). 

Deadlines

Internal Deadline: Friday, September 22, 2023 Nominees chosen.

LOI: N/A

External Deadline: November 15, 2023

Award Information

Award Type: Grant

Estimated Number of Awards: 24-28

Anticipated Award Amount: $200,000

Who May Serve as PI: The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is open only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States whose names have been forwarded by a nominator designated by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Candidates must have a Ph.D., hold a terminal degree, or be a high-level professional working outside of academia. Nominators include heads of independent research institutes and societies, university presidents, leaders of some of the nation’s preeminent think tanks, and directors of major university presses, as well as editors of leading newspapers and magazines. Individuals may not apply for the fellows program via self-nomination.

The Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program prohibits a fellowship winner from accepting a fellowship of equal caliber or at a comparable level of funding as the Carnegie fellowship, especially awards that have specific time requirements. However, smaller grants and project support are acceptable on a case-by-case basis. 

Link to Award: https://www.carnegie.org/awards/award/andrew-carnegie-fellows/

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

In June 2023, Carnegie Corporation of New York announced a second phase of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program and a new focus on political polarization in the United States. For at least the next three years, the program will ask scholars to help Americans understand how and why our society has become so polarized and what we can do to strengthen the forces of cohesion in American society. The next class of fellows will be announced in spring 2024. 

The fellows program was established in 2015 to provide philanthropic support to extraordinary scholars and writers for high-caliber research in the humanities and social sciences. During its first eight years, nearly 250 scholars received fellowships of $200,000 to explore a range of important and enduring issues.

After a one-year pause in 2022, the program has resumed with the focus on political polarization. The issue is characterized by threats to free speech, the decline of civil discourse, disagreement over basic facts, and a lack of mutual understanding and collaboration. In combination, these factors fracture our society, cause Americans to abandon the middle ground, and ultimately undermine our democracy.  

Fellowships of $200,000 are awarded annually to 30 exceptional scholars, authors, journalists, and public intellectuals. The criteria prioritize the originality and promise of the research, its potential impact on the field, and the scholar’s plans for communicating the findings to a broad audience. The funding is for a period of one or two years with the anticipated result of a book or major study. The fellows are selected by a distinguished panel of jurors, chaired by John J. DeGioia, president of Georgetown University, and comprised of academic and intellectual leaders from some of the nation’s most prominent educational institutions, foundations, and scholarly societies.  

The fellows program is a continuation of the mission of Carnegie Corporation of New York, as founded by Andrew Carnegie in 1911, to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. Through the study of political polarization in the United States, the Corporation seeks to raise awareness in the philanthropic sector, guide public policy, and help inform the foundation’s grantmaking in democracy, education, and international peace and security. 

Nominations are evaluated by the jury based on the following criteria: 
• Originality and promise of the idea 
• Quality of the proposal 
• Potential impact on the field 
• Record of the nominee 
• Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience

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

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