NSF Support of Socio-Technical Research University of Maryland - College Park, December 3, 2013 Heng Xu Program Director Division of Social and Economic Sciences Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences
Feb 26, 2016
NSF Support of Socio-Technical Research
University of Maryland - College Park, December 3, 2013
Heng XuProgram Director
Division of Social and Economic SciencesDirectorate for Social, Behavioral and
Economic Sciences
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Information & Resource
Management
Social, Behavioral, & Economic
Sciences
Office of Inspector General
National Science Board
Offices• International &
Integrative Activities• Legislative & Public
Affairs• General Counsel• Diversity & Inclusion
Computer & Info. Science
& Engineering Engineering Geosciences
Mathematical & Physical Sciences
Education & Human
Resources
Budget,Finance &
Award Management
Biological Sciences
Office of the Director
SBE BUDGET TRENDS
• FY SBE 2014 request is $272.35 Million
• Increase of 10.9% over FY 2013 Enacted
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Enacted
2014 Request
254247255 243 272
AARA85
241
Approximately 5,000 proposals and 1,000 awards in a typical year
NSF SBE OVERVIEW
Division of Social and Economic Sciences
(SES)
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
(BCS)
National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics
Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences
Dr. Joanne Tornow, Acting Assistant Director Dr. Fae Korsmo, Acting Deputy Assistant Director
SBE Office of Multidisciplinary
Activities (Virtual)
• Archaeology and Archaeometry
• Cognitive Neuroscience • Cultural Anthropology• Developmental and
Learning Sciences• Documenting
Endangered Languages
• Geography and Spatial Sciences
• Linguistics• Perception, Action,
and Cognition• Biological
Anthropology • Social Psychology
BCS STANDING PROGRAMS
SES STANDING PROGRAMS
• Decision, Risk and Management Sciences
• Economics• Ethics Education in
Science and Engineering• Science of Organizations • Law and Social Sciences
• Methodology, Measurement and Statistics
• Political Science • Science, Technology
and Society• Sociology
NATIONAL CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING STATISTICS (NCSES)
• Nation’s primary source of data and analysis on the science and engineering enterprise
• Designs, supports and directs about 11 periodic surveys, other data collections and research projects
• 30 publications yearly
• Congressionally-mandated publications:– Science and Engineering Indicators– Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities in
Science and Engineering
NSF SBE OVERVIEW
Division of Social and Economic Sciences
(SES)
Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences
(BCS)
National Center for Science and
Engineering Statistics
Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences
Dr. Joanne Tornow, Acting Assistant Director Dr. Fae Korsmo, Acting Deputy Assistant Director
SBE Office of Multidisciplinary
Activities (Virtual)
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT
• Standing Program Proposals• Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER)
Proposals• Student Support (DDRIGs, REU Supplements
and Sites)• Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research
(EAGER)• Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID)
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT:CAREER• Available in all NSF programs• Untenured faculty (or comparable)• Single scholar award• $400,000, 5-years minimum award• Three proposals lifetime limit• Mid to late July deadline • High Prestige/High Expectations
– the most prestigious award in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and research
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT:STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES• Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement
Grants (DDRIG)– Available in some SBE programs– Small grant to support (and extend) dissertation
researchBCS• Archaeology• Cultural Anthropology• Geography & Spatial
Sciences• Linguistics• Physical Anthropology
SES• Decision, Risk, & Management
Science• Economics• Law and Social Sciences• Political Science • Science, Technology & Society• Sociology
SMA• Science of Science &
Innovation Policy
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT:STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES• Research Experiences for Undergraduates
(REU)– Available in all programs
– Two types of awards- REU Supplements: Awards added onto existing
awards to sponsor undergraduate student research
- REU Sites: training programs, often in the summer months, for teaching research methods to undergrads
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT:EAGER (Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research)
• Exploratory work on untested, potentially transformative ideas
• High-risk, high-potential payoff• $300,000 maximum; 2 years• Eight page description• Internal review required; external optional• Contact Program Director first
– EAGERs are exceptions, not the rule!
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT:RAPID (Grants for Rapid Response Research)
• Research when data are ephemeral • $200,000 maximum; 1 year• 5 page project description• Internal review required; external optional• Available in all programs• Contact Program Director first
– For proposals having a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events
PATHS TO SBE SUPPORT (Summary)
• Standing Program Proposals• Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER)
Proposals• Student Support (DDRIGs, REU Supplements
and Sites)• Early-Concept Grants for Exploratory Research
(EAGER)• Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID)
FY 2014 SBE 2020 INVESTMENTS
• SBE Postdoctoral Research Fellowships
• Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research
• Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11086/nsf11086.pdf
Interdisciplinary Behavioral and Social Science Research (IBSS)• Full proposal submission deadline:
– December 03, 2013 – December 02, 2014
• Two types of projects:– Large Interdisciplinary Research Projects (with
maximum award sizes of $1,000,000)– Interdisciplinary Team Exploratory Projects (with
maximum award sizes of $250,000)• Awarded projects last year:
– http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/advancedSearchResult?ProgEleCode=8213&BooleanElement=ANY&BooleanRef=ANY&ActiveAwards=true&#results
SBE Support of Socio-Technical
Research and EducationExample Programs: 1. Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) 2. Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation
Capacity (PFI: BIC) 3. Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive
Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR)
Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC)
• Three Perspectives along with a Transition to Practice (TTP) supplemental option:– Trustworthy Computing (TWC)– Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE)– Cybersecurity Education
• Types of Projects:– Small (1/14/2013): up to $500,000 in total budget, with durations
of up to three years – Medium (11/12/2013): $500,001 to $1,200,000 in total budget, up
to four years – Frontier (11/19/2013): $1,200,001 to $10,000,000 in total budget,
up to five years
• Awarded projects:– http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/advancedSearchResult?ProgEleCode=8060&
BooleanElement=ANY&BooleanRef=ANY&ActiveAwards=true&#results
SaTC EAGERs Enabling New Collaborations Between Computer and Social Scientists
• New Collaboration:– Proposals should clarify how the proposed
collaboration will take place– Budget: around $200,000
• Two rounds of submissions:– Two-page summary: March 1 & May 1, 2014– Invited proposal: May 1 & July 1, 2014
• Awarded projects:– 1343141, 1343528, 1343430, 1343433, 1343453,
1343766, 1347075, 1347113, 1347151, 1347186– http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch
SaTC Research Coordination Network Addressing Experimental and Evaluation Methods & Techniques
• SaTC Research Coordination Network (RCN):– RCN supports the means by which investigators can share
information, develop community standards, and advance science and education through communication and sharing of ideas
– Up to $500,000 for up to three years– Deadline: December 15, 2013
• Types of Projects:– Methodologies and analysis techniques from the CISE / SBE
sciences that can be applied toward cybersecurity but are not currently widely used by SBE / CISE researchers
– Limitations and hidden assumptions in analysis techniques– Methodologies and techniques that are best suited for particular
classes of cybersecurity problems– Threats to internal and external validity of research studies
caused by technological and social changes
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2013/nsf13131/nsf13131.jsp
Partnerships for Innovation: Building Innovation Capacity (PFI: BIC)
• "Smart" Service Systems– Seeking proposals with a focus on platform technologies to
enable "smart" service systems– A minimum of one (1) industry partner of any size is required– Demonstrate understanding of potential commercial
applications and markets– Awards may be up to $800,000 with a duration of three years
• Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization: 2• Due Dates:
– Letter of Intent (required): November 18, 2013– Full Proposal Deadline: January 27, 2014
• Awarded projects:– http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/advancedSearchResult?ProgEle
Code=1662&BooleanElement=ANY&BooleanRef=ANY&ActiveAwards=true&#results
Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences and in Education and Human Resources (BCC-SBE/EHR)
• Enable communities to develop visions for data-intensive SBE and EHR areas of research:– Infrastructure such as tools and communities to utilize the
large scale databases – Design of large scale databases and/or associated analytic
tools– Support wide scale deployment and use
• Types of Awards:– Awards are expected to be one, two or three years in
duration. – Range from $100,000 to $500,000 in size.
• Awarded projects:– https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=504747
PROPOSAL PROCESS & TIMELINE
Research & Education
Communities
NSF Proposal
GeneratingDocument
Program OfficerAnalysis &
Recommendation
DivisionDirectorConcur
Organization submits
viaFastLane
Minimum of three reviews
required
Ad hoc
Panel
BothProposal
ProcessingUnit
NSF Program Officer Returned as
Inappropriate/ Withdrawn Organization
Award via DGA
Decline
Div. Dir. Concur Award
DGA Review & Processing of Award
6 months 30 days
Proposal Preparation Time
Proposal received by NSF
Review of Proposal PO Recommend
WHERE TO START WITH WRITING A PROPOSAL?• A basic science idea
– Research questions/ hypotheses
• Check awards by program, keyword, etc. (www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/)
• Read solicitation carefully!• Ensure alignment of the project’s content, scale and
budget to the targeted NSF program• Become familiar with the NSF Grant Proposal Guide
(GPG) http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg
PROPOSAL TIPS
• Make project titles short and simple (declarative statement; avoid cute)
• Consider theoretical foundations and prospective theoretical contributions
• Learn how proposals will be evaluated; think like those who will review and make decisions
• Volunteer to review proposals• Provide suggested reviewers (‘single copy
documents’)
MERIT REVIEW ELEMENTS1. Potential for the proposed activity to:
a. Advance knowledge and understanding (Intellectual Merit); b. Benefit society or advance desired societal outcomes (Broader Impacts)
2. Creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts
3. Well-reasoned, well-organized plan; mechanism to assess success
4. Qualifications of the individual, team, or organization
5. Adequate resources available
BE SURE TO BE PAY ATTENTION TO…• Data Management Plan
– All proposals must describe plans for data management and sharing– Plan is reviewed as part of the intellectual merit or broader impacts
• Postdoctoral Mentoring Plan– If requesting money for a postdoc, must have plan as supplementary
document
• IRB (human subjects) or IACUC (vertebrate animals) Clearance– No award involving human subjects can be made without IRB
approval or exemption; studies involving vertebrate animals require IACUC approval prior to award
– This approval is not needed at the time of proposal submission; may be “pending”
ADVICE• Sign up for “NSF Updates by Email” on NSF
homepage • Email Program Director with specific questions,
one-page prospectus• What to Say—and Not Say—to Program
Officers: http://chronicle.com/article/What-to-Say-and-Not-Say-to/131282/
CONTACTING PROGRAM DIRECTORS
• Communicate with appropriate Program Director about your ideas
• How Program Directors can help:– We can identify potential fit– We can offer advice on proposal preparation
QUESTIONS?
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (703) 292-8643
Room: 995.21
Division of Social and Economic Sciences