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Developing a Competitive Educational Research Proposal for the US National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Research on Learning Bob Russell

EHR-CORE• AISL • DRK-12 • ITEST • REAL • STEM+C

OFFICE OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION (ODI)

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

703.292.8020

NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD (NSB) OFFICE OF THE GENERAL COUNSEL (OGC)

Established as an independent agency under the Executive Branch (NSF Act of 1950): OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR

703.292.7000

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Deputy Director and Acting Director

NATIONAL SCIENCE BOARD OFFICE

OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL & INTEGRATIVE ACTIVITIES (OIIA)

To promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; to secure the national defense; and for other purposes. 703.292.8000

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OFFICE OF LEGISLATIVE & PUBLIC AFFAIRS (OLPA)

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DIRECTORATE FOR BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES (BIO)

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DIRECTORATE FOR COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCE & ENGINEERING (CISE)

DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION & HUMAN RESOURCES (EHR)

Assistant Director

Assistant Director

Deputy AD

Acting Deputy AD

703.292.8900

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DIVISION OF BIOLOGICAL INFRASTRUCTURE (DBI)

DIVISION OF COMPUTER &

DIVISION OF GRADUATE EDUCATION (DGE)

Division Director 703.292.8470



DIVISION OF ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY (DEB)

DIVISION OF COMPUTING & COMMUNICATION FOUNDATIONS (CCF) , Acting Division Director 703.292.8910

DIVISION OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (HRD)


DIVISION OF INTEGRATIVE ORGANISMAL SYSTEMS (IOS) , Division Director 703.292.8420

DIVISION OF MOLECULAR & CELLULAR BIOSCIENCES (MCB) , Division Director 703.292.8440

OFFICE OF EMERGING FRONTIERS (EF) Acting Division Director 703.292.8508

DIVISION OF ADVANCED CYBERINFRASTRUCTURE (ACI) Acting Division Director 703.292.8970


DIVISION OF RESEARCH ON LEARNING IN FORMAL & INFORMAL SETTINGS (DRL) Division Director 703.292.8620

DIRECTORATE FOR GEOSCIENCES (GEO)

DIRECTORATE FOR ENGINEERING (ENG)

Assistant Director , Deputy AD 703.292.8300

TRANSPORT SYSTEMS (CBET) , Division Director 703.292.8320

MECHANICAL & MANUFACTURING INNOVATION (CMMI) , Division Director 703.292.8360

DIVISION OF UNDERGRADUATE EDUCATION (DUE) Division Director 703.292.8670

Assistant Director

Assistant Director

Deputy AD

Deputy AD

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DIRECTORATE FOR ECONOMIC SCIENCES (SBE)

MANAGEMENT (BFA)

OFFICE OF INFORMATION & RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (OIRM)

Acting Assistant Director Acting Deputy AD 703.292.8700

Joanna E. Rom, 703.292.8200

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DIVISION OF ATMOSPHERIC & GEOSPACE SCIENCES (AGS) M , Division Director 703.292.8520

DIVISION OF ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES (AST) , Division Director 703.292.8820

DIVISION OF BEHAVIORAL & COGNITIVE SCIENCES (BCS)

DIVISION OF EARTH SCIENCES (EAR)

DIVISION OF CHEMISTRY (CHE)

DIVISION OF SOCIAL & ECONOMIC SCIENCES (SES)

DIVISION OF ACQUISITION AND COOPERATIVE SUPPORT (DACS)

DIVISION OF INFORMATION SYSTEMS (DIS)







BUDGET DIVISION (BUD) Division Director 703.292.8260

DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES (DAS) Acting Division Director 703.292.8190

Our Focus: Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings

COMMUNICATIONS & CYBER SYSTEMS (ECCS) Division Director 703.292.8339

DIVISION OF INFORMATION & INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS (IIS) , Division Director 703.292.8930

DIRECTORATE FOR MATHEMATICAL & PHYSICAL SCIENCES (MPS)

DIVISION OF ENGINEERING EDUCATION & CENTERS (EEC) Division Director 703.292.8380

DIVISION OF HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT (HRM)


703.292.8280


DIVISION OF POLAR PROGRAMS (PLR) , Division Director 703.292.8030

DIVISION OF MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES (DMS)

DIVISION OF GRANTS & AGREEMENTS (DGA)

Acting Division Director 703.292.8870


DIVISION OF PHYSICS (PHY)

DIVISION OF INSTITUTION & AWARD SUPPORT (DIAS)

DIVISION OF INDUSTRIAL INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS (IIP)

OFFICE OF EMERGING FRONTIERS IN RESEARCH & INNOVATION (EFRI)

DIVISION OF FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT (DFM)

DIVISION OF MATERIALS RESEARCH (DMR) , Division Director 703.292.8810



NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS (NCSES)

DIVISION OF OCEAN SCIENCES (OCE) , Division Director 703.292.8580

OFFICE OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES (OMA) 703.292.8800


LARGE FACILITIES OFFICE Acting Deputy Director 703.292.4416

Senior Advisor 703.292.8301

December 2013

Selected Funding Programs & Priori4es

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Choosing the Appropriate Program •  Where is the “intellectual center of gravity” of your project? –  –  –  –  – 

Founda;onal learning research (ECR) Resources, Models, & Tools (DRK-‐12) Informal STEM learning (AISL) Workforce development in STEM for youth & teachers (ITEST) Partnerships with schools and others (STEM+C)

•  Examine the websites of the relevant programs –  Prepare a 1-‐2 -‐page summary of your project –  Address the merit review criteria –  Contact one of the listed Program Directors with ques;ons about relevance of your project

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Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) •  Advances new approaches to and understanding of the design and development of STEM learning in informal environments for public and professional audiences. •  Investments should be of interest and u;lity to public audiences, informal STEM prac;;oners, and decision-‐makers. •  Priori;es are: knowledge-‐building, innova;on, strategic impact, and collabora;on. •  Supports a range of project types (n=7) to serve different func;ons and varied strategies. •  Deadline date: Nov. 8, 2016

Discovery Research PK-‐12 •  DRK-‐12 supports integrated Research and Development of Resources, Models , and Tools in the service of STEM learning and learning environments. •  Goals are: enhanced student achievement in STEM, prepara;on for the scien;fic workforce, and improved science literacy. •  Focus is on the learning that takes place during the 12-‐14 years students are enrolled in the formal classroom learning environment. •  Deadline date: Dec. 5, 2016 DIRECTORATE FOR EDUCATION AND Human resources, Division of Research on Learning

ITEST: Innova-ve Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

Funded through H1-‐B Work Visa Revenue Began in 2003 Broadening Par;cipa;on Emphasis Program STEM Workforce Advancement Broadening Par;cipa;on Diverse Learning Environments Deadline date: August 6, 2016

STEM + Compu4ng (STEM+C) •  EHR-‐CISE partnership for compu;ng educa;on + CSforAll.org. •  Broaden par;cipa;on in compu;ng. •  Advance the evidence-‐based founda;on to support the educa;on and professional development of K12 teachers in compu;ng. •  Advance applied research in teaching and learning for the integra;on of computa;onal thinking in the STEM disciplines for real-‐world applica;on of compu;ng with those disciplines. •  Deadline date: March 14, 2017

EHR Core Research (ECR) Introduced in 2013 to support fundamental research to generate founda5onal knowledge in and across the following focal areas: •  STEM learning and STEM learning environments •  STEM professional workforce development •  Broadening par;cipa;on in STEM ECR projects are: Theory driven, theory genera;ng, theory tes;ng and predic;ve. Funding and management is shared across all 4 divisions in EHR. Awards funded by ECR program: Use NSF Advanced Award Search: hgp://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/advancedSearch.jsp In the Element Code field, enter: 7980 Deadline date: September 8, 2016

Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)

hgps://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503214

Cyberlearning and Future Learning Technologies (Cyberlearning)

hgps://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504984

Where to find out about funding? •  Full list of NSF educa;on funding programs: hgp://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_list.jsp?org=EHR •  Search of abstracts: nsf.gov (then select Awards) •  Search for publica;ons: nsf.gov (then select Documents) •  Dear Colleague legers: use search window at nsf.gov

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Resource Centers NSF funds resource centers linked to some programs. The resource websites have project abstracts, research and evalua4on reports, and a variety of other useful info for project planning and proposal development. •  Advancing Informal STEM Learning: informalscience.org •  Discovery Research PK-‐12: cadrek12.org •  Innova;ve Technology Experiences for Students & Teachers: stelar.edc.org •  Cyberlearning: circlcenter.org

Proposal Review Process and Timeline Organiza4on submits via FastLane

DGA

Ad hoc

NSF Program

Advise

Program Division Officers Recommend Director Concur

Award

Panel Decline

Proposal Receipt at NSF

DD Concur 6 Months

Organiza4on

DGA Award

30 Days

Help the Reviewers •  Wri;ng to reviewers and program officers •  Make what they are looking for easy to find, using the language of the review criteria and headings to highlight the elements of the project descrip;on. •  Don’t assume that all reviewers will know the jargon of your discourse community or commonly used acronyms as reviewers may not be in your subspecialty. •  Make sure the most important things receive the most space

NSF Review Criteria All proposals are reviewed under two criteria: Intellectual Merit and Broader Impact

1. What is the poten;al for the proposed ac;vity to: a. advance knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields (Intellectual Merit); and b. benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)? 2. To what extent do the proposed ac;vi;es suggest and explore crea;ve, original, or poten;ally transforma;ve concepts? 3. Is the plan for carrying out the proposed ac;vi;es well-‐reasoned, well-‐ organized, and based on a sound ra;onale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success? 4. How well qualified is the individual, team, or ins;tu;on to conduct the proposed ac;vi;es? 5. Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home ins;tu;on or through collabora;ons) to carry out the proposed ac;vi;es?

Before You Begin Wri4ng •  Do your homework –  Familiarize yourself with the NSF website –  Print and read the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) –  Read the solicita;on carefully mul;ple ;mes –  Check the NSF Awards Search Page –  Visit the Website of the resource center or network for the relevant program. –  Read sample proposals; ask funded PIs politely

•  Talk to NSF Program Officers about your ideas –  POs may ask you to send a 1-‐2 page summary in advance.

Project planning •  Many proposals excel at describing need and a good idea but are weak at details about the ac;vi;es (and research plan) •  Before you write lay out everything that will happen

–  Who are the par;cipants? Where are you going to recruit them? Will that organiza;on allow you? What are the popula;on demographics? Etc. –  How long will the ac;vity take? Who is going to support it? Do you need help? What kind? Do you need permission? From whom? What will happen? When and how? What prepara;ons are needed? –  How will data be collected? Will data collec;on be intrusive? (What are the research ques;ons?) Who is going to do it? What prepara;ons are needed? –  When you’re done, list EVERY task, no;ng what will cost money.

Project Summary Sugges4ons •  One page maximum •  First Sentence •  Type of Proposal (Most programs have “strands”)

•  Second Sentence •  STEM or STEM Cognate areas of emphasis •  Grade or Age level (s) addressed

•  A general descrip4on of the project to be designed, implemented, and evaluated. •  Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts •  Must include separate statements on each of these two NSB criteria

Project Descrip4on Should Include… •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  •  • 

15 page maximum Project overview Project goals and objec;ves Summary of effec;veness and impact of prior support Explana;on of principles that guided the project design, informed by the literature Detailed work plan with a ;meline Qualifica;ons of key personnel who will be coordina;ng the project An;cipated results Research plan (if appropriate) External review or evalua;on process Dissemina;on plan 20

What Makes This Project Important? •  How is it innova;ve or poten;ally transforma;ve? •  How will it advance knowledge and move the field forward? •  What are the an;cipated outcomes or products of this project? •  Who will be interested in these outcomes, and how will you target dissemina;on of findings to them? •  How might these products or findings be useful on a broader scale?

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What Have You And Others Done? •  Describe the theore;cal and research basis on which the proposal is based. •  How has the prior research influenced this project? •  Discuss how the proposal is innova;ve and different from similar projects. •  If you have previously been funded by NSF for similar work, provide evidence about the effec4veness and impact of that work.

Who Will Do the Work? •  Briefly describe the exper;se of the persons included on the proposal and why they are needed: –  Educa;on researchers and evaluators –  Teachers and/or prac;oners –  Community and/or industry –  STEM-‐related content experts •  Upload two page bios for all senior personnel •  Don’t forget the mentoring plan if Post-‐Docs are involved.

Exper4se •  Successful projects generally involve interdisciplinary teams. In all cases, proposals must describe the exper;se needed for the work, how this exper;se is incorporated in the project, and who is responsible for each component. •  Projects typically include STEM educa;on researchers, development experts, experienced teachers, STEM researchers, sta;s;cians, psychometricians, informal learning experts, and policy researchers, as appropriate.

External Review & Evalua;on •  The Merit Review Elements require you to have

–  A mechanism for itera;ve improvement: Advisory board, external evaluators, –  A mechanism to assess success: External evaluators, advisory board

•  Itera;ve improvement HELPS your project become beger

–  Should focus on how the project is working, why the projects is working that way, and iden;fy places to make it beger –  Should also be responsive to the project’s needs

•  Assess success

–  Addresses accountability to taxpayer investment

What Evalua4on Is All About The objec;ves of the evalua;on include: •  assessing whether the project is making sa;sfactory progress toward its goals. •  recommending reasonable, evidenced-‐based adjustments to project plans. •  determining the effec;veness and impact of the products or processes. •  ages;ng to the integrity of outcomes reported by the project.

Budget •  •  •  • 

How much will this cost? Contact your Sponsored Research Office early and osen Remember Federally Nego;ated Indirect Costs Budget and project descrip;on should match –  PI and senior personnel ;me should reflect the effort on the project •  Limited to 2 months across ALL NSF awards •  Jus;fica;on required for more than 2 months –  Graduate students and undergraduate students –  Post docs require a Post-‐doc mentoring plan –  Remember to budget for fringe benefits –  New rules on direct costs for clerical support

Budget con;nued •  Non-‐personnel Budget costs –  Equipment is only for equipment that costs more than $5000 –  Travel must be itemized per trip, can include local costs –  Par;cipant support – “s;pends or subsistence allowances, travel allowances, and registra;on fees paid to or on behalf of par;cipants or trainees (but not employees) in connec;on with NSF-‐sponsored conferences or training projects.” •  The number of par;cipants to be supported must be entered in the parentheses on the proposal budget. •  Indirect costs (F&A) are not allowed on par;cipant support costs.

–  Other direct costs •  •  •  • 

Materials and Supplies Publica;on Costs Consultant Services Subawards

Proposal Submission •  All proposals are ul;mately submiged by your SRO •  If at all possible, use FastLane system ( hgp://www.fastlane.nsf.gov) •  DO NOT wait un;l the last minute (see two bullets above) •  All no;fica;ons will be available to you via FastLane

Where to Submit Proposals •  NSF’s FastLane: hgps://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/index.jsp •  Grants.gov: hgp://www.grants.gov Note: •  Collabora;ve proposals must be submiged through FastLane. •  Fastlane will check for required sec;ons of proposals. 30

Ques4ons?

NSF Needs You!

Contact Informa4on

Bob Russell

[email protected]

Check the NSF program pages for more email addresses.

Thanks for Par4cipa4ng! We look forward to receiving your proposals.

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