University Letter

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NSF issues program announcement on limited submissions

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued the following program announcement, which allows UND to submit only a limited number of submissions. Thus, if you are interested in submitting a proposal to NSF for any of the programs, please let us know as soon as possible (barrymilavetz@mail.und.edu or juliesolheim@mail.und.edu) or phone 777-4278.

NSF graduate stem fellows in K-12 education (GK-12)
Program Solicitation #09-549: www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503369&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39

This program provides funding for graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to bring their leading research practice and findings into K-12 learning settings. Through collaborations with other graduate fellows and faculty from STEM disciplines, teachers and students in K-12 environments, and community partners, graduate students can gain a deeper understanding of their own research and place it within a societal and global context. The GK-12 program provides an opportunity for graduate students to acquire value-added skills, such as communicating STEM subjects to technical and non-technical audiences, leadership, team building, and teaching while enriching STEM learning and instruction in K-12 settings. This unique experience will add value to the training of U.S. graduate students and will energize and prepare the students for a broad range of STEM careers in a competitive globalized marketplace. Furthermore, the GK-12 program provides institutions of higher education with an opportunity to transform the conventional graduate education by infusing and sustaining GK-12 like activities in their graduate programs.

Document Number: nsf09549
As a result of the limited number of proposals that can be submitted, UND will conduct an internal review of preproposals. Preproposals should consist of the following sections:
– Cover page listing the project name, collaborators, contact person, total budget amount
– Instrument(s) to be purchased or developed and its (their) function(s)
– Impact on the research program of the collaborators, department(s), and college(s)
– Impact on the university’s mission as a whole
– Detailed budget.

Preproposals should be no more than 5 pages in length using a reasonable format (1 inch margins, font size 11, single-spaced). Preproposals are due in Research Development and Compliance (RD&C) by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, 2010. Criteria used for reviewing preproposals will include appropriateness to the goal of the program; probability for funding by NSF; reasonableness of budgetary requests; and impact of the request on the university and the academic units involved. Investigators will be notified of the review results as soon as possible in order to provide as much time as possible to prepare a final proposal for submission.

Climate Change Education (CCE): Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) Program, Phase I (CCEP-I), Program Solicitation #10-542: www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503465&WT.mc_id=USNSF_39

The Climate Change Education Partnership (CCEP) program seeks to establish a coordinated national network of regionally- or thematically-based partnerships devoted to increasing the adoption of effective, high quality educational programs and resources related to the science of climate change and its impacts. Each CCEP is required to be of a large enough scale that they will have catalytic or transformative impact that cannot be achieved through other core NSF program awards. The CCEP program is one facet of a larger NSF collection of awards related to Climate Change Education (CCE) that has two goals:

1) Preparing a new generation of climate scientists, engineers, and technicians equipped to provide innovative and creative approaches to understanding global climate change and to mitigate its impact
2) preparing today’s U.S. citizens to understand global climate change and its implications in ways that can lead to informed, evidence-based responses and solutions. Each CCEP must include representation from at least each of the following communities: climate scientists, experts in the learning sciences, and practitioners from within formal or informal education venues. This combined expertise will insure that educational programs and resources developed through the activities of each CCEP reflects current understanding about climate science, the best theoretical approaches for teaching such a complex topic, and the practical means necessary to reach the intended learner audience(s). Each CCEP should be organized around either geographic regions that share similar climate change impacts, or major climate impact themes (e.g., sea-level rise).

The CCEP program is a two-phase program. This solicitation seeks proposals for development of Phase I Partnerships (CCEP-I). CCEP-I grantees will receive up to 2 years of funding to support synthesis, network-building, and strategic planning activities leading toward potential Phase II Partnerships (CCEP-II). Each CCEP-I awardee is expected to:
1) conduct an inventory of existing climate change education resources and identify educational needs and opportunities relevant to their particular region or theme
2) identify key players from relevant stakeholder communities and initiate network development
3) convene community workshops and other community-building activities that lead toward development of a comprehensive climate change education strategic plan for that Partnership
4) begin to serve as a test-bed for development, customization and scaling up of standards-based instructional materials, professional development and training models, and other appropriate activities tailored to the Partnership’s goals. External evaluation activities (formative and summative) are required during Phase I efforts (and will be required during Phase II). In FY 2011, CCEP-I awardees will be able to request supplemental funding in order to support: (1) early implementation of meritorious programs or activities identified during the planning effort; and/or (2) expansion of the initial Partnership through addition of other investigators seeking to collaborate with a specific CCEP-I awardee. A future program solicitation will invite proposals for Phase II Partnerships, which are expected to receive 5 years of support for full-scale implementation of mature strategic plans serving the goals of the CCE program. Eligible institutions for the CCEP-II competition will include the CCEP-I awardees and equivalent partnerships established through other funding mechanisms that have met the CCEP-I strategic planning criteria and objectives described in this solicitation. Phase II of the CCEP program is expected to begin in FY 2012, depending on the availability of funding.

Document Number: nsf10542
As a result of the limited number of proposals that can be submitted, UND will conduct an internal review of preproposals. Preproposals should consist of the following sections:
– Cover page listing the project name, collaborators, contact person, total budget amount
– Instrument(s) to be purchased or developed and its (their) function(s)
– Impact on the research program of the collaborators, department(s), and college(s)
– Impact on the university’s mission as a whole
– Detailed budget

Preproposals should be no more than five pages in length, using a reasonable format (one inch margins, font size 11, single-spaced). Preproposals are due in Research Development and Compliance (RD&C) by 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 21. Criteria used for reviewing preproposals will include appropriateness to the goal of the program; probability for funding by NSF; reasonableness of budgetary requests; and impact of the request on the university and the academic units involved. Investigators will be notified of the review results as soon as possible in order to provide as much time as possible to prepare a final proposal for submission.