2003 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS (PAESMEM)
Presidential Awards for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring

Program Solicitation
NSF 03-503
Replaces Document NSF 02-063

		National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources       Division of Human Resource Development

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

February 28, 2003

Summary Of Program Requirements

General Information

Program Title:

Synopsis of Program:

Cognizant Program Officer(s):

• Marilyn J. Suiter, Program Director, Directorate for Education & Human Resources, Division of Human Resource Development, 815 N, telephone: (703) 292-5121, fax: (703) 292-9018, email: msuiter@nsf.gov

Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):

• 47.076 --- Education and Human Resources

Eligibility Information

• Organization Limit: Organization must be eligible to be an NSF grantee. Must have demonstrated outstanding and sustained mentoring and effective guidance to a significant number of underrepresented students at the K-12, undergraduate, or graduate education levels for at least five years.
• PI Eligibility Limit:

  Proposed recipient must be a U.S. Citizen. Must have affiliation with an organization eligible to be an NSF grantee. Must not be a federal government employee. Must have demonstrated outstanding and sustained mentoring and effective guidance to a significant number of underrepresented students at the K-12, undergraduate, or graduate education levels for at least five years. 

• Limit on Number of Proposals: 1. Only one nomination per institution. The single nomination may be for an Individual Award or for an Institutional Award, but not for both.

Award Information

• Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant
• Estimated Number of Awards: 20 - Approximately 10 Individual and 10 Institutional awards
• Anticipated Funding Amount: $200,000 for the FY 2003 awards pending the availability of funds

Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

• Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: The program announcement/solicitation contains supplements to the standard Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) proposal preparation guidelines. Please see the full program announcement/solicitation for further information.

B. Budgetary Information

• Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required.
• Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:

  No indirect costs are allowed.

• Other Budgetary Limitations: Not Applicable.

C. Due Dates

• Full Proposal Deadline Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

  February 28, 2003

Proposal Review Information

• Merit Review Criteria: National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full funding opportunity document for further information.

Award Administration Information

• Award Conditions: Additional award conditions apply. Please see the full funding opportunity document for further information.
• Reporting Requirements: Standard NSF reporting requirements apply.

I. Introduction

II. Program Description

III. Eligibility Information

IV. Award Information

V. Proposal Preparation And Submission Instructions

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

Full Proposal Instructions:

Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement/solicitation should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the NSF Grant Proposal Guide (GPG). The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF Website at: https://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (301) 947-2722 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

FastLane, NSF's System for conducting business over the Internet, must be used to prepare and submit nominations. Nominators who have not used FastLane before are asked to make sure that their institution is a registered FastLane institution and to contact the institution's Sponsored Research Office (which might also be known as the Office of Grants Administration, Office of Sponsored Research, Office of Research, etc.) to be registered as a FastLane user. (All Co-PIs listed in the proposal must also be FastLane registered users.) New FastLane users should acquaint themselves with the system as early as possible--well before the proposal deadline.

Please note that the nomination must be submitted by the nominee's organization. 

Cover Sheet: The cover sheet should be completed with the submitter as principal investigator, and the nominee as the co-principal investigator. The nominator should enter the proposal into FastLane and add the nominee to the proposal as a Co-PI in the Co-PI section of the cover sheet. 

If the nominator is not at the same institution as the nominee, the nominator should select the nominee's organization as the awardee organization on the cover sheet and the nominee's organization should submit the proposal to NSF via FastLane. It is the responsibility of the nominator to communicate with the Sponsored Research Office (or equivalent) officials at the nominee's organization. (The nominator can find those listed as the Sponsored Research Office (or equivalent) officials for the nominee's organization at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/n1/N1AddInst.html). 

Should the nomination be successful, the nominee will be identified as the principal investigator for the grant award, and the submitter will be removed from the nomination. 

When filling out the cover sheet in FastLane, it is important to indicate the program announcement number. If necessary, you may also choose "HRD: Division of Human Resources Development" from the list of divisions, and " PRES AWDS FOR EXCELL IN SCI" from the list of programs in the "NSF Unit Consideration" section. 

Project Summary: Summary of the work describing the activity cited in support of the nomination, and to be supported by the grant award, if funded (~250 words). 

Project Description: A clear statement of the work cited in support of the nomination, including the objectives of the mentoring program and its long-term significance; the specific mentoring methods and procedures (the actions performed); documentation (quantitative and qualitative); and the plan to sustain the mentoring activity into the future. (15 pages) 

References Cited: Reference information is required for citations identified in the nomination. Refer to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 03-2, for guidelines. 

Biographical Sketches: A curriculum vita of the individual nominee (not submitter) or a brief institutional or organizational description of the institutional nominee (not submitter) should be provided. 

Budget and Budget Justification: This program provides a grant award of $10,000 to successful nominees. Submitters should indicate the nominee as senior personnel in Line item A, and the requested grant amount in Line item G, Other Direct Costs. In addition to the required budget, a budget description of up to three pages may be used to provide the necessary detail and justification about budget line items. Refer to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 03-2, for guidelines. 

Current and Pending Support: This section calls for required information on all current and pending support for the nominee for ongoing projects and proposals, including subsequent funding in the case of continuing grants. Refer to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 03-2, for guidelines. 

Special Information and Supplementary Documentation: Letters supporting the nomination (a maximum of 5) should be placed in proposal section J. Except as specified, programmatic documentation must be included as part of the project description, if it is relevant to determining the quality of the proposed nomination. Refer to the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 03-2, for guidelines. 

PAESMEM Information Form 

The Nominee must submit a signed copy of the NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION (NSF) PRESIDENTIAL AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS AND ENGINEERING MENTORING (PAESMEM) PROGRAM INFORMATION FORM (NSF FORM 1376 (4/96)) for White House Clearance. This form and specific instructions for submission can be found on http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/HRD/PAESMEMFORM.html. The review and administration of this form and information will be handled confidentially by the cognizant PAESMEM Program Director. These forms (originals only) must be received at NSF by March 3, 2003, COB. Send to: 

Presidential Awards for Mentoring

Proposal # 03-XXXXX (provide your proposal number)

National Science Foundation
Human Resource Development
4201 Wilson Boulevard (Room 815)
Arlington, VA 22230.

Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement/solicitation number ((03-503)) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the proposal Cover Sheet. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

B. Budgetary Information

Cost Sharing:

Cost sharing is not required in proposals submitted under this Program Solicitation.

Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations:

Budget Preparation Instructions:

C. Due Dates

Proposals must be submitted by the following date(s):

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):

February 28, 2003

D. FastLane Requirements

Proposers are required to prepare and submit all proposals for this announcement/solicitation through the FastLane system. Detailed instructions for proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm. For FastLane user support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail fastlane@nsf.gov. The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions related to this program announcement/solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this announcement/solicitation.

Submission of Electronically Signed Cover Sheets. The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must electronically sign the proposal Cover Sheet to submit the required proposal certifications (see Chapter II, Section C of the Grant Proposal Guide for a listing of the certifications). The AOR must provide the required electronic certifications within five working days following the electronic submission of the proposal. Proposers are no longer required to provide a paper copy of the signed Proposal Cover Sheet to NSF. Further instructions regarding this process are available on the FastLane Website at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov

VI. Proposal Review Information

A. NSF Proposal Review Process

Reviews of proposals submitted to NSF are solicited from peers with expertise in the substantive area of the proposed research or education project. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the oversight of the review process. NSF invites the proposer to suggest, at the time of submission, the names of appropriate or inappropriate reviewers. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts with the proposer. Special efforts are made to recruit reviewers from non-academic institutions, minority-serving institutions, or adjacent disciplines to that principally addressed in the proposal.

The National Science Board approved revised criteria for evaluating proposals at its meeting on March 28, 1997 (NSB 97-72). All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two merit review criteria. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.

On July 8, 2002, the NSF Director issued Important Notice 127, Implementation of new Grant Proposal Guide Requirements Related to the Broader Impacts Criterion. This Important Notice reinforces the importance of addressing both criteria in the preparation and review of all proposals submitted to NSF. NSF continues to strengthen its internal processes to ensure that both of the merit review criteria are addressed when making funding decisions.

In an effort to increase compliance with these requirements, the January 2002 issuance of the GPG incorporated revised proposal preparation guidelines relating to the development of the Project Summary and Project Description. Chapter II of the GPG specifies that Principal Investigators (PIs) must address both merit review criteria in separate statements within the one-page Project Summary. This chapter also reiterates that broader impacts resulting from the proposed project must be addressed in the Project Description and described as an integral part of the narrative.

Effective October 1, 2002, NSF will return without review proposals that do not separately address both merit review criteria within the Project Summary. It is believed that these changes to NSF proposal preparation and processing guidelines will more clearly articulate the importance of broader impacts to NSF-funded projects.

The two National Science Board approved merit review criteria are listed below (see the Grant Proposal Guide Chapter III.A for further information). The criteria include considerations that help define them. These considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. While proposers must address both merit review criteria, reviewers will be asked to address only those considerations that are relevant to the proposal being considered and for which he/she is qualified to make judgements.

What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?
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 the 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?

What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
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?

NSF staff will give careful consideration to the following in making funding decisions:

Integration of Research and Education
One of the principal strategies in support of NSF's goals is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators, and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learning perspectives.

Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities
Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.

Additional Review Criteria Nominees will also be evaluated by the following:

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR INDIVIDUALS

The number and diversity of students mentored to high school graduation, the baccalaureate, master's, or doctoral degree levels; 

The success of students mentored in pursuit of degree objectives and attendant quality of academic performance; 

Demonstrated achievement in assisting students to understand how the educational system works and promoting their advancement in the educational continuum in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics; 

Affording students effective academic/research experience, sustained academic support systems, and strategies leading to successful matriculation and degree completion in science, mathematics and engineering fields; 

Substantive achievements in changing the educational system to enable improved performance and advancement for underrepresented groups; and 

Demonstrated innovation that is replicable. 

ADDITIONAL CRITERIA FOR INSTITUTIONS 

Demonstrated institutional sustainability in structural changes or special programs that have increased student retention and/or graduation rates; 

Demonstrated quality of institutional life that fosters the establishment of viable networks that facilitate learning, contacts, and career development; 

Demonstrated institutional or organizational distinctiveness in the advancement or promotion of the educational and career development of students in science, technology, engineering, or mathematics fields; and 

Demonstrated distinctiveness in carrying out the institution's social responsibility to create a more positive learning environment by helping to provide an atmosphere that reflects valuing diversity among students, faculty, and administrators.

B. Review Protocol and Associated Customer Service Standard

All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the proposal. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement/solicitation will be reviewed by Ad Hoc and/or panel review.

Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation.

A summary rating and accompanying narrative will be completed and submitted by each reviewer. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the Program Director. In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of the decision to award or decline funding.

NSF is striving to be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time interval begins on the date of receipt. The interval ends when the Division Director accepts the Program Officer's recommendation.

In all cases, after programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review of business, financial, and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their own risk.

VII. Award Administration Information

A. Notification of the Award

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program Division administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See section VI.A. for additional information on the review process.)

B. Award Conditions

An NSF award consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award letter; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (NSF-GC-1); * or Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) Terms and Conditions * and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Cooperative agreement awards also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions (CA-1). Electronic mail notification is the preferred way to transmit NSF awards to organizations that have electronic mail capabilities and have requested such notification from the Division of Grants and Agreements.

*These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at https://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_gac.htm. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (301) 947-2722 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) Chapter II, available electronically on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpm. The GPM is also for sale through the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office (GPO), Washington, DC 20402. The telephone number at GPO for subscription information is (202) 512-1800. The GPM may be ordered through the GPO Website at http://www.gpo.gov.

Special Award Conditions:

C. Reporting Requirements

For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the PI must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period.

Within 90 days after the expiration of an award, the PI also is required to submit a final project report. Failure to provide final technical reports delays NSF review and processing of pending proposals for that PI. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.

PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project reporting system, available through FastLane, for preparation and submission of annual and final project reports. This system permits electronic submission and updating of project reports, including information on project participants (individual and organizational), activities and findings, publications, and other specific products and contributions. PIs will not be required to re-enter information previously provided, either with a proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system.

VIII. Contacts For Additional Information

General inquiries regarding this program should be made to:

• Marilyn J. Suiter, Program Director, Directorate for Education & Human Resources, Division of Human Resource Development, 815 N, telephone: (703) 292-5121, fax: (703) 292-9018, email: msuiter@nsf.gov

For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact:

• telephone: 703-292-8040, email: fastlane@nsf.gov

• Victoria A. Smoot, Financial Operations Specialist, Directorate for Education & Human Resources, Division of Human Resource Development, 815 N, telephone: (703) 292-8640, fax: (703) 292-9019, email: vsmoot@nsf.gov

IX. Other Programs Of Interest

The NSF Guide to Programs is a compilation of funding for research and education in science, mathematics, and engineering. The NSF Guide to Programs is available electronically at https://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gp. General descriptions of NSF programs, research areas, and eligibility information for proposal submission are provided in each chapter.

Many NSF programs offer announcements or solicitations concerning specific proposal requirements. To obtain additional information about these requirements, contact the appropriate NSF program offices. Any changes in NSF's fiscal year programs occurring after press time for the Guide to Programs will be announced in the NSF E-Bulletin, which is updated daily on the NSF Website at https://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin, and in individual program announcements/solicitations. Subscribers can also sign up for NSF's Custom News Service (https://www.nsf.gov/home/cns/start.htm) to be notified of new funding opportunities that become available.

About The National Science Foundation

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Awardees are wholly responsible for conducting their project activities and preparing the results for publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation.

NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and educators. The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with Federal statutes, regulations and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF, although some programs may have special requirements that limit eligibility.

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the GPG Chapter 11, Section D.2 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals.

Privacy Act And Public Burden Statements

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies needing information as part of the review process or in order to coordinate programs; and to another Federal agency, court or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Suzanne Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer, Division of Administrative Services, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230.

OMB control number: 3145-0058.