NSF 04-599: Materials World Network: Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad
Program Solicitation
Materials World Network: Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (MWN)
Program Solicitation
NSF 04-599
Replaces Document NSF 02-135, NSF 02-141,
NSF 03-565
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Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):
October 14, 2004
Summary Of Program Requirements
General Information
Program Title:
Materials World Network: Cooperative Activity in Materials Research between US Investigators and their Counterparts Abroad (MWN)
Synopsis of Program:
Continued progress in materials research is increasingly dependent upon collaborative efforts among several different disciplines, as well as closer coordination among funding agencies and effective partnerships involving universities, industry, and national laboratories. In addition, because of the growing interdependence of the world's economies, partnerships are important not only at the national level but from an international point of view as well.
The National Science Foundation is working together with counterpart national and multinational funding organizations worldwide to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities in materials research between US investigators and their colleagues abroad. This solicitation describes an activity to foster opportunities for collaboration in materials research between investigators in the US and their counterparts abroad. It includes joint activities between NSF and funding organizations in (a) the Americas, through the Inter-American Materials Collaboration (CIAM); (b) Europe, including national European funding organizations, the European Science Foundation, and the European Commission; and (c) other countries or regions.
Proposals submitted to NSF in response to this solicitation must have clear relevance to fundamental materials phenomena, synthesis, characterization, properties and/or processing. NSF will accept proposals from eligible US institutions addressing collaborations between researchers from the US and participating countries/regions. Concurrently, investigators at institutions abroad should submit to the counterpart funding organization in their country/region a request for support of their side of the collaboration. NSF will consider support for the US side of such collaborations, with the expectation that funding or research organizations from the appropriate countries/regions will consider supporting the costs of the non-US participants. Projects proposed to NSF are expected to offer students and junior researchers the opportunity to participate in an international research and education experience and, more generally, for integrating research and training in an international environment, and to clearly demonstrate the value added by the international collaboration.
Cognizant Program Officer(s):
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Carmen I. Huber, Program Director, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Materials Research, 1065 N, telephone: (703) 292-4939, email: chuber@nsf.gov
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
- 47.049 --- Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Eligibility Information
- Organization Limit:
Proposals may be submitted by US universities and colleges.
- PI Eligibility Limit: None Specified.
- Limit on Number of Proposals: None Specified.
Award Information
- Anticipated Type of Award: Standard or Continuing Grant
- Estimated Number of Awards: 30 to 40 - depending on quality of proposals and availability of funds
- Anticipated Funding Amount: $5,000,000 total in FY 2005, depending on availability of funds
Proposal Preparation and Submission Instructions
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
- Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: This solicitation contains information that supplements the standard Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) proposal preparation guidelines. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.
B. Budgetary Information
- Cost Sharing Requirements: Cost Sharing is not required.
- Indirect Cost (F&A) Limitations: Not Applicable.
- Other Budgetary Limitations: Not Applicable.
C. Due Dates
- Full Proposal Deadline Date(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local
time):
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October 14, 2004
Proposal Review Information
- Merit Review Criteria: National Science Board approved criteria. Additional merit review considerations apply. Please see the full text of this solicitation for further information.
Award Administration Information
- Award Conditions: Standard NSF award conditions apply.
- Reporting Requirements: Standard NSF reporting requirements apply.
I. Introduction
The basic properties of materials frequently define the capabilities, potential, reliability and limitations of technology. Improved materials and processes will play an increasing role in efforts to increase energy efficiency, promote environmental protection, develop information and communications systems, and provide modern and reliable transportation and civil infrastructure. Advances in materials research enable progress to be made across a broad range of scientific and engineering disciplines and technological areas with dramatic impacts on society.
Continued progress in materials research is increasingly dependent upon collaborative efforts among several different disciplines, as well as closer coordination among funding agencies and effective partnerships involving universities, industry, and national laboratories. In addition, because of the growing interdependence of the world's economies, partnerships are important not only at the national level but from an international point of view as well.
The National Science Foundation has co-sponsored a series of international workshops designed to help stimulate enhanced collaboration among materials researchers and create networks linking individuals and centers in participating regions. The first workshop, held in Saltillo, Mexico, in May 1995, involved scientists and engineers from the US, Canada, and Mexico. Similar workshops followed to identify opportunities for collaboration among researchers from the US and the European Union (Belgium, 1996), the Americas (Brazil, 1998), the Asia-Pacific region (Hawaii, 1998), and Africa (South Africa, 2000). These workshops have identified possible areas for mutually beneficial collaborations, and recommended that extensive use be made of electronic communication, information exchanges, and databases to promote and facilitate research collaborations and education activities at the international level. Reports of the workshops can be found on the web page of the International Union of Materials Research Societies at http://www.iumrs.org.
The National Science Foundation is working together with counterpart national and multinational funding organizations worldwide to enhance opportunities for collaborative activities in materials research between US investigators and their colleagues abroad. In recent years, NSF issued calls for proposals from US investigators for collaborative research with their counterparts in Europe and the Americas. A list of awards resulting from these competitions can be found at https://www.nsf.gov/mps/dmr/awards/awards.jsp.
II. Program Description
This solicitation describes an activity to foster opportunities for collaboration in materials research between investigators in the US and their counterparts abroad. It includes joint activities between NSF and funding organizations in (a) the Americas, through the Inter-American Materials Collaboration (CIAM); (b) Europe, including European national funding organizations, the European Science Foundation and the European Commission (EC); and (c) other countries or regions.
Proposals submitted to NSF in response to this solicitation must have clear relevance to fundamental materials phenomena, synthesis, characterization, properties and/or processing. Projects not having this focus will not be considered for funding. For areas supported by the NSF Division of Materials Research see https://www.nsf.gov/div/index.jsp?org=DMR. It is strongly recommended that you contact NSF program staff listed below to ascertain that the scientific or technical focus of the proposed research is appropriate for this solicitation.
NSF will accept proposals from eligible US institutions addressing collaborations between researchers from the US and participating countries/regions. Concurrently, investigators at institutions abroad should submit to the counterpart funding organization in their country/region a request for support of their side of the collaboration. NSF will consider support for the US side of such collaborations, with the expectation that funding or research organizations from the appropriate countries/regions will consider supporting the costs of the non-US participants. NSF will not accept proposals from investigators at non-US institutions. Contact information for the NSF and funding organizations abroad is listed below.
Projects proposed to NSF are expected to offer students and junior researchers the opportunity to participate in an international research and education experience and, more generally, for integrating research and training in an international environment. The exchange of students and post-doctoral research associates between the US and abroad is strongly encouraged.
Specific program characteristics are as follows:
- Joint activities between NSF and funding organizations in the Americas, Europe (excluding the EC), and other countries/regions
Proposals addressing materials research areas as described above are covered in these activities. Proposals to NSF from individual investigators, groups, centers or user facilities (in accordance with NSF guidelines) are welcome. Proposals should be balanced in terms of intellectual effort and participation in the US and abroad. In addition to research proposals, proposals in support of networking activities between US investigators and their counterparts abroad will also be considered.
- Joint activity between NSF and the European Commission
Within the materials area, the joint activity between NSF and the European Commission (EC) focuses on collaborative projects on computational materials sciences. Such opportunities were explored in a joint NSF-EC workshop held in San Francisco in April 2004 (http://www.itamit.dtc.umn.edu/workshop.html), where new computational methods for understanding and predicting materials properties and phenomena were examined. Efforts not addressing computational materials research problems will not be considered under this joint NSF-EC activity.
Of particular interest to NSF under this solicitation is the development and application of computational tools with predictive capabilities to the study of properties and phenomena that span multiple time and length scales and require multiscale modeling to compute the essential science. The research proposed may include related model verification activities. Representative areas of computational materials science covered in this solicitation include, but are not limited to, crystal growth, surface adsorption, structural defects such as lattice mismatch and grain boundaries, microstructural evolution, crack formation and propagation, melting and diffusion, spintronics, molecular and nano-electronics, quantum dots, soft materials and biomaterials.
NSF will only accept proposals from small-to-medium groups (typically 3-4 senior investigators) as part of this NSF-EC activity. Multi-institutional proposals are especially encouraged. Proposals should be balanced in terms of intellectual effort and participation in the US and the European Union.
III. Eligibility Information
Proposals may be submitted by US universities and colleges.
IV. Award Information
The estimated number of awards is 30 to 40, depending on quality of proposals and availability of funds. The total anticipated funding amount is $5,000,000 in FY 2005. Estimated total funding, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
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/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.
Requests for additional funding (supplement) by a US Principal Investigator to an existing NSF award may not be submitted to this competition; such requests should be made directly through the program where the existing award is administered.
Proposals from foreign investigators should be submitted to the appropriate counterpart funding organization in accordance with the guidelines of that organization. Because application guidelines differ among the participating organizations, it is not necessary to submit identical proposals to NSF and the counterpart(s) organizations.
The following guidelines, in addition to those in the NSF GPG, should be followed in preparing the proposal to NSF:
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The title of the proposal to NSF should reflect the region involved in the collaboration and should begin as either:
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“Inter-American Materials Collaboration (CIAM): ....“
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“NSF-Europe Materials Collaboration: ....”
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“NSF-EC Cooperative Activity in Computational Materials Research: ..... “
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"NSF-(country/region) Materials Collaboration: ....."
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The Project Summary must address in separate statements (1) the intellectual merit and (2) the broader impacts of the proposed activity and, within the context of these two statements, the value added by the proposed international collaboration.
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The duration of the project proposed to NSF should match the duration of the counterpart project proposed to the other funding organization(s).
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The proposal to NSF must be accompanied by two additional items entered into the "Supplementary Docs" FastLane form. Proposals that do not include these two items or do not observe the indicated page limitations will be returned without review.
- Information clearly identifying the nature and scope of the corresponding counterpart proposal must be provided. For each counterpart proposal include:
Summary Information: name of the counterpart agency or agencies, names and affiliations of principal participants, the counterpart project title and identification code (if any), and date of proposal submission. Also state the requested funds, requested start and termination dates, and provide a technical abstract. (Limit: 2 pages).
Project Description of the counterpart proposal including, for example, state of knowledge of the field, results from previous work, objectives, plan of work, expected outcomes and their significance. (Limit: 15 pages).
- Biographical sketches or curriculum vitae of the senior project personnel, including significant publications related to the proposed project. (Limit: 2 pages per individual).
- A specific summary of the proposed interaction, including visits between the U.S. and their partners abroad, stating the anticipated scientific benefits of the interaction, must be provided. (Limit: 2 pages).
- No additional letters of support or recommendation may be included.
Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement/solicitation number (04-599) 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.
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):
October 14, 2004
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: https://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 judgments.
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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?
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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:
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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.
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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.
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Additional Review Criteria:
Reviewers will also take into consideration the value added by the proposed international collaboration in materials research, and the extent to which the collaboration integrates research and education and promotes diversity. Preference will be given to proposals where the efforts on the US and abroad are balanced and where students and junior researchers participate in the international collaboration.
Representatives from NSF's Division of Materials Research will manage the review of proposals on the US side. NSF anticipates that after a corresponding evaluation of the counterpart proposal(s) by the appropriate counterpart organization(s), coordinated support will be arranged for successful proposals by the participating organizations. Information about counterpart proposals will be shared between the participating organizations as appropriate. While each side reserves the option to fund proposals independently, strong preference will be given to proposals with support from both NSF and the counterpart organization. After consideration with the appropriate organization(s) of the proposals, NSF will, whenever possible, tell applicants at US institutions whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months of the submission date.
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 proposers whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time interval begins on the closing date of an announcement/solicitation, or the date of proposal receipt, whichever is later. 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/awards/managing/. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 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/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=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.
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 the PI and all Co-PIs. 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:
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Carmen I. Huber, Program Director, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Materials Research, 1065 N, telephone: (703) 292-4939, email: chuber@nsf.gov
If an organization/country/region is not listed in this solicitation, US investigators should contact appropriate NSF staff in the Office of International Science and Engineering for further guidance:
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Dr. Elizabeth E. Lyons, Regional Coordinator (Acting) Africa, Near East and South Asia Program; Tel. 703-292-8707; Fax 703-292-9067; elyons@nsf.gov
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Dr. Harold J. Stolberg, Regional Coordinator Americas Program; Tel. 703-292-8706; Fax 703-292-9067; hstolber@nsf.gov
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Ms. Alexandra Stepanian, Regional Coordinator Central and Eastern Europe Program; Tel. 703-292-8703; Fax 703-292-9067; astepani@nsf.gov
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Mr. Alexander DeAngelis, Regional Coordinator East Asia and Pacific Program; Tel. 703-292-8704; Fax 703-292-9067; adeangel@nsf.gov
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Ms. Jeanne E. Hudson, Regional Coordinator Western Europe Program; Tel. 703-292-8702; Fax 703-292-9067; jhudson@nsf.gov
Contacts at other organizations:
Contact information in other countries/regions is provided for the convenience of researchers in those countries/regions at https://www.nsf.gov/mps/dmr/contacts.jsp. Questions from US investigators should be directed to NSF.
For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact:
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Maxine E. Jefferson-Brown, Computer Specialist, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Materials Research, 1065 N, telephone: (703) 292-4918, fax: (703) 292-9035, email: mjeffers@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 MyNSF News Service (https://www.nsf.gov/mynsf/) 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 II, Section D.2 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals.
аPrivacy 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.