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NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Education and Human Resources (IUSE: EHR)

PROGRAM SOLICITATION: PD 19-601

Application Deadline: NSF has announced multiple deadlines beginning December 2019 and February 2020. Review the full announcement for details on applicable deadlines.

Summary

NSF has announced a new version of its IUSE: EHR grant. The new announcement features two different grant tracks with three levels of grant competition in each track. The tracks and accompanying levels have different deadlines, with annual deadlines noted after the initial 2019 and 2020 deadlines. NSF expects that all grantees receiving awards under these new tracks and levels will increase the knowledge about effective STEM education. Successful applicants will demonstrate how their projects will have a widespread impact in STEM education in the areas of improved diversity among both students and faculty and professional development that meets the changing needs of students and promotes collaboration in research and development. NSF also states in the grant announcement that it welcomes proposals that also align with efforts of the NSF INCLUDES grant.

Tracks/Levels and Funding Amounts

NSF’s IUSE: EHR grant offers funding under two main categories: the Engaged Student Learning track and the Institutional and Community Transformation track. Three different “levels” are available for applicants in each track.

Under the Engaged Student Learning (ESL) track, NSF will award between $300,000 and $2 million over three to five years, depending on the level. Institutional and Community Transformation (ITC) grants will range from $150,000 for capacity building efforts to $3 million for multi-institutional collaborations, again, depending on the level.

Engaged Student Learning (ESL) Track

NSF offers funding under the ESL track to support projects that promote student engagement and learning, either directly or indirectly, in STEM. NSF will consider proposals that cover a wide range of research and development activities that are both evidence-based and knowledge-generating. Among other activities, NSF lists the following items as potential project concentrations:  

  • Innovative pedagogy and multi- and inter-disciplinary approaches,
  • Assessment efforts that track learning outcomes and the effectiveness of teaching methods,
  • Dissemination of information and resources to aid in STEM teaching and learning,
  • Professional development for faculty, and
  • Restructured learning environments.

The three ESL funding levels should reflect the scale (number of students, faculty, departments, institutions, or other groups involved) and scope (range of project components involved) of proposed projects as well as the organizational capacity to conduct the proposed study.

ESL Level 1 Projects

ESL Level 1 grantees can receive up to $300,000 over a maximum of three years. Level 1 projects should focus on early-stage or exploratory research projects or small-scale projects aimed at adapting teaching methods and incorporating novel environments. Under the Level 1 category, NSF will consider proposals from a single institution and projects may focus on small numbers of faculty members in a single discipline or across multiple disciplines. NSF will also consider small projects at this level that involve partnerships. The initial Level 1 deadlines are February 4, 2020, and August 4, 2020. Annual deadlines will be the first Tuesday in February and August moving forward.

ESL Level 2 Projects

The award range for ESL Level 2 project is slightly higher, at $300,001 to $600,000 over a maximum grant period of three years. NSF expects Level 2 projects to have a larger scale and scope than an ESL Level 1 project. For instance, a Level 2 project would support department-wide changes, interdisciplinary or multi-disciplinary collaborations, or multi-institutional partnerships such as partnerships between institutions of higher education (IHE) or between IHEs and industry or community partners. The initial deadline for ESL Level 2 proposal submission is December 4, 2019. After this initial deadline, applicants may submit ESL Level 2 proposals by the first Tuesday in December each year.

ESL Level 3 Projects

Projects that aim to benefit large numbers of students and have a far-reaching impact on large numbers of faulty and/or a large-scale multi-institutional impact are appropriate at this level of funding. In this category, NSF will award between $600,001 and $2 million for projects with a  maximum duration of five years. Proposals at this level should include detailed research plans and large-scale evaluation plans. NSF will consider proposals from single institutions, but anticipates that the scale and scope will likely result in applications at this level that involve multiple institutions. The initial Level 3 deadline is December 4, 2019, with annual proposals accepted yearly by the first Tuesday in December afterwards.

Institutional and Community Transformation (ITC) Track

NSF wants to fund projects under the ITC track that focus on systemic change that have a measurable impact at departmental, institutional, or multi-institutional levels or across larger communities of STEM educators and/or educational researchers. ITC track proposals should include at least one theory of change that guides the project. NSF lists a range of approaches that ITC track proposals might take, including the following items:

  • Including evidence-based teaching practices in high-enrollment, lower-division courses,
  • Developing teaching evaluation rubrics (disciplinary or interdisciplinary) with a common research-based framework,
  • Re-envisioning the learning environment and support networks that best aid faculty and students, and
  • Identifying common methods of supporting students from underrepresented groups to be successful in STEM studies.

ITC Capacity-Building Projects

NSF will consider both individual and collaborative projects under this category. Awards can be up to $150,000 for a single applicant or up to $300,000 for a collaborative effort; projects have a maximum duration of two years. This category provides funding for applicants to review previous institutional efforts and gauge institutional needs, develop buy-in across institutional sectors, build relevant partnerships, determine which theories of change are applicable to future work, and articulate plans to transform the institution and/or STEM community. Ideally, capacity-building projects will lead to a subsequent ITC Level 1 or Level 2 proposal. The initial deadlines for capacity-building proposal submission are February 4, 2020, and August 4, 2020. Applicants may submit proposals on an annual basis afterwards with a deadline of the first Tuesday in February and August.

ICT Level 1 Projects

Proposals at this level should involve early exploration or small- to mid-range projects that build on previous institutional work. Grantees can receive up to $300,000 over a maximum grant period of three years. The initial deadlines for Level 1 submissions are February 4, 2020, and August 4, 2020. Annual deadlines after this time frame will be the first Tuesday in February and August.

ICT Level 2 Projects

At this level, NSF expects grantees to carry out projects that include strong research plans with significant research questions or a large-scale evaluation and assessment of results and impact. NSF will fund between $300,001 and $2 million for projects from a single institution or up to $3 million for collaborative projects that involve two or more institutions or from research centers. Projects under this category have a maximum duration of five years. The initial deadline for Level 2 submissions is December 4, 2019. Annual deadlines afterwards will be the first Tuesday in December.

Application Guidelines

Applicants should refer to NSF-published guidelines for instructions on preparing proposals. Pertinent guidelines for submission of a proposal for IUSE: EHR grant funding are included in the NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide.

NSF Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*)

Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*)

PROGRAM SOLICITATION NSF 19-533

Application Deadline: February 20, 2019

 

Summary

The Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CC*) program supports “coordinated campus-level networking and cyberinfrastructure improvements, innovation, integration, and engineering for science applications and distributed research projects. Learning and workforce development (LWD) in cyberinfrastructure is explicitly addressed in the program.” As with all NSF grants, projects must be focused on science-related improvements and initiatives.

 

The NSF program solicitation outlines a few notable changes to the CC program compared to previous years:

  • NSF has renamed and made some changes to what was previously known as the Network Design and Implementation for Small Institutions program area. The new program name is the Regional Connectivity for Small Institutions of Higher Education program area.
  • NSF has added two new program areas: Campus Computing and the Computing Continuum and Cyber Team-Research and Education CI-based Regional Facilitation.
  • The former Network Performance Engineering and Outreach program area is no longer a funded program area.

 

NSF anticipates awarding between $10 million and $17 million across five program areas:

  1. Data-Driven Networking Infrastructure for the Campus and Researcher awards (5-10 awards anticipated) will be up to $500,000 for a period of up to 2 years;
  2. Regional Connectivity for Small Institutions of Higher Education awards (3-5 awards anticipated) will be up to $800,000 for a period of up to 2 years;
  3. Network Integration and Applied Innovation awards (2-5 awards anticipated) will be up to $1,000,000 for a period of up to 2 years;
  4. Campus Computing and the Computing Continuum awards (5-15 awards anticipated) will be up to $400,000 for a period of up to 2 years, with some exceptions limiting the award total to $100,000; and
  5. Cyber Team–Research and Education CI-based Regional Facilitation awards (3-5 awards anticipated) will be up to $1,400,000 for a period of up to 3 years.

 

 

Program-wide Criteria

All NSF-supported projects are to be science-driven, which includes research and education functions. Successful proposals will demonstrate the project’s science-enabled research and/or educational foundation.

 

NSF views partnerships as a critical component of successful projects. Projects must show collaborative partnerships among campus-level CI experts (including campus Information Technology (IT)/networking/data organization), contributing domain scientists, research groups, and educators. These partnerships will support the ability for stakeholders to engage in and drive new networking capabilities and approaches in support of scientific discovery. NSF will evaluate proposals on the strength of these institutional partnerships since these partnerships are expected to play a central role in developing and implementing the eventual network and data infrastructure upgrades.

 

 

Proposals must include a Campus Cyberinfrastructure (CI) plan that describes the need for CI improvements and proposed design and implementation that fits within a comprehensive campus-wide strategy and approach to CI that involves horizontal integration on campus and vertical integration with regional and national CI investments and best practices. The Campus CI plan is limited to five pages and should address the following topics:

  • Sustainability of proposed work/ongoing operational and engineering costs
  • Campus-wide approach to cybersecurity including data and privacy issues as well as scientific research and educational infrastructure
  • Campus status and plans with respect to federated identity and specifically InCommon, including: if the campus is registered with InCommon as supporting the Research and Scholarship (R&S) Entity Category to streamline integration with research applications; and if the campus meets the InCommon Baseline Expectations for Trust in Federation
  • The plan should also describe campus IPv6 deployment.

 

NSF provides examples of CI plans from funded proposals.

 

Campus Computing and the Computing Continuum

This program area appears to be the most promising one for smaller institutions. In fact, NSF says that it “encourages proposals in this program area from under-resourced institutions and preference will be given to proposals demonstrating a compelling need for access to campus/cloud resources, including institutions lacking necessary computing and storage resources on campus.”

 

Proposals must address campus-wide computing needs, and NSF will not consider any proposal that focuses on a single science domain or project use.

 

All proposals for this program area must address the following items:

  • Scientific and engineering projects and their research computing needs, describing project-specific scenarios for scientific computing tied to the proposed computing resources;
  • Features, capabilities, and software platforms representing the proposed computing resources; and
  • Scientific computing codes expected to run on the resources.

 

Proposals must also include expected outcomes and make a compelling case for proposed computing resources by describing the current state of available computing resources and the expected benefits of the proposed resources to the identified science drivers and applications.

 

NSF will consider proposals that target one of these three options as described in the program solicitation:

 

  1. Campus Cluster Resource (Requests of up to $400,000)

Campus Cluster Resource proposals request funding for the acquisition of a shared, high-performance, network-connected computing resource available to scientific computing users on campus and outside of campus.

 

Project Descriptions for these proposals must include:

  • A summary table of the science drivers and their computing environments—these requirements may be specified in terms of compute job profile parameter ranges, core count ranges per job, times to completion or as part of a composition or scientific workflow profile;
  • The platform architecture specifying cluster components, including compute node type and count, per-node memory, interconnect fabric, storage, and open source software/platform;
  • An open source-based approach to cluster monitoring, measurement, management, and instrumentation;
  • A sustainability plan addressing the institution’s commitment to providing an ongoing level of sustained access to computational resources;
  • A High-Performance Network Connectivity and Specification—(described below); and
  • A description of the cluster as a Shared Resource Intra-campus and Inter-campus—(details below).

 

NSF encourages consideration of open source virtualization technologies for these proposals.

Itemized vendor quotes accompanying the budget are required for all proposals in this program area.

 

High-Performance Network Connectivity and Specification:

Proposals should describe the network connectivity of the proposed computing resource, both intra-campus and inter-campus. Proposals should include plans for the deployment of a PerfSonar-based network performance measurement capability to initially measure achievable end-to-end network performance for scientific data flows between the resource and relevant end points of researchers.

 

The Cluster as a Shared Resource Intra-campus and Inter-campus:

Proposals should describe (1) their approach to sharing the proposed computing resource across the science drivers and researchers at their institution; (2) how the resource will be accessed by external research groups; and (3) how the resource is coordinated with external resources allowing the institution’s researchers to seamlessly access computing resources at other campuses,

regional and national computing resources, and/or production cloud resources, if appropriate.

 

Proposals should commit to a minimum of 20% shared time on the cluster and describe their approach to making the cluster available as a shared resource external to the campus, with access and authorization according to local administrative policy. Conversely, the proposal should describe the approach to providing on-demand access to additional external computing resources to its targeted on-campus users and projects. One possible approach to

implementing such a federated distributed computing solution is joining the Open Science Grid. Whatever opportunistic, federated, scalable, distributed computing platform is chosen, the proposal is expected to justify the choice by including a discussion on the shared platform’s track record in the community, its current scientific computing production capability, and its scaling properties. Applicants are encouraged to include a letter of collaboration from the selected platform.

 

The proposal is expected to document campus IT and research leadership commitment to operations and maintenance (O&M) given that the proposal budget is expected to be dominated by equipment, with some travel and project coordination staff time. Costs associated with software license fees are not allowed.

 

  1. Cloud Computing Resources (Requests of up to $100,000 in the NSF budget and up to $100,000 in cloud credits/resources in the supplementary document)

Cloud Computing Resource proposals include a technical justification for use of cloud resources coupled with the cost computation used to arrive at the requested amount of credits/resources as well as the detailed annual plan for usage of these credits/resources over the duration of the project. Amazon Web Service and Google Cloud Platform are participating in the CC* program to provide cloud credits/resources to campuses whose scientific research requires additional and external computational and storage resources. These providers are also expected to provide support and training to those campuses. If additional cloud providers join the program, resources/credits from those providers will be available under the same terms and conditions as described in this solicitation, and will be added to the NSF CC* program webpage.

 

While the technical description and justification for use of cloud resources are expected to be part of the Project Description, details of the cloud resource costing and annual cloud resource usage should be included in the Supplementary Documents section of the proposal. Note that cloud providers participating in this program have explicitly waived ingress data charges and most educational and non-profit institutions are eligible for waiver of egress data charges.

 

Applicants must include a plan addressing the institution’s commitment to providing an ongoing level of sustained access to computational resources.

 

  1. Hybrid (Requests of up to $400,000 in the NSF budget and up to $100,000 in the supplementary document)

Hybrid proposals describe an approach that uses both Campus Cluster Resource and Cloud Computing Resources. For proposals using a hybrid approach, follow the guidance included in the Campus Cluster Resource category for the justification and specification of a shared

local compute cluster.

 

The Project Description must include the following items:

  • A summary table of the science drivers and their computing environments – these requirements may be specified in terms of compute job profile parameter ranges, core count ranges per job, times to completion or as part of a composition or scientific workflow profiles;
  • The platform architecture specifying cluster components, including compute node type and count, per-node memory, interconnect fabric, storage, and open source software/platform;
  • An open source-based approach to cluster monitoring, measurement, management, and instrumentation;
  • A sustainability plan addressing the institution’s commitment to providing an ongoing level of sustained access to computational resources;
  • A High-Performance Network Connectivity and Specification (details below) and;
  • A description of the cluster as a Shared Resource Intra-campus and Inter-campus (details below).

 

NSF encourages proponents to consider open source virtualization technologies.

Proposals must include itemized vendor quotes.

 

High-Performance Network Connectivity and Specification:

Proposals should describe the network connectivity of the proposed computing resource, both intra-campus [for example, the campus network path(s) connecting the resource with the

researchers and driving science applications on campus], and inter-campus (for example, showing the network path connecting with the regional exchange point or Internet2). Proposals should include in their plans the deployment of a PerfSonar-based network performance measurement capability to initially measure achievable end-to-end network performance for scientific data flows between the resource and relevant end points of researchers.

 

The Cluster as a Shared Resource Intra-campus and Inter-campus:

Proposals should describe (1) their approach to sharing the proposed computing resource across the science drivers and researchers at their institution; (2) how the resource will be accessed by external research groups; and (3) how the resource is coordinated with external resources allowing the institution’s researchers to seamlessly access computing resources at other campuses, regional and national computing resources, and/or production cloud resources, if appropriate.

 

Proposals should commit to a minimum of 20% shared time on the cluster and describe their approach to making the cluster available as a shared resource external to the campus, with access and authorization according to local administrative policy. Conversely, the proposal should describe the approach to providing on-demand access to additional external computing resources to its targeted on-campus users and projects. One possible approach to implementing such a federated distributed computing solution is joining the Open Science Grid. Whatever opportunistic, federated, scalable, distributed computing platform is chosen, the proposal is expected to justify the choice by including a discussion on the shared platform’s track record in the community, its current scientific computing production capability, and its scaling properties. Proponents are encouraged to include a letter of collaboration from the selected platform.

 

The proposal is expected to document campus IT and research leadership commitment to O&M given that the proposal budget is expected to be dominated by equipment, with some travel and project coordination staff time. Costs associated with software license fees are not allowed.

 

This area supports the campus integration of commercial cloud computing and storage resources while challenging institutions to define a multi-layer resource strategy in meeting the needs of their scientific communities. Proposals are expected to address their approach to using cloud resources in combination with campus resources as well as the national shared distributed computing fabric chosen. Amazon Web Service and Google Cloud Platform are participating in the program to provide cloud credits/resources, as well as support and training, to campuses whose scientific research requires additional and external computational and storage resources, for example, to provide on-demand bursting capability during peak aggregate demand times. If additional cloud providers join the program, resources/credits from those providers will be available under the same terms and conditions as described in this solicitation, and will be added to the CC* Program Page.

 

While the technical description and justification for use of cloud resources are expected to be part of the Project Description, details of the cloud resource costing and annual cloud resource usage should be included in the Supplementary Documents section of the proposal. Note that cloud providers participating in this program have explicitly waived egress data charges. The request for cloud credits/resources must adhere to a maximum of $100,000 and cannot exceed 50% of the overall proposed budget. The proposal is expected to document campus IT and research leadership commitment to O&M given that the proposal budget is expected to be dominated by equipment, with some travel and project coordination staff time.

NSF Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI)

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions  (HSI Program)

Program Solicitation: NSF 19-540

Application Deadlines: March 6, 2019 and September 18, 2019

Annually in September (third Wednesday) moving forward

 

Eligible Applicants:

Accredited higher education institutions that offer undergraduate educational programs in STEM and that meet the definition of an HSI as specified in section 502 of the Higher Education Act of 1965.

 

Webinar Dates:

Monday, December 17, 2018

3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET

Click for registration information.

 

Thursday, January 10, 2019

3:00 – 4:00 pm ET

Click for registration information.

 

Summary

NSF’s Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) has a goal of increasing retention and graduation rates for undergraduate students at HSIs who are working toward degrees in STEM studies. Notably, NSF desires to partner with HSIs that may not typically receive NSF grant funding in order to build undergraduate STEM educational capacity at these institutions.

 

The HSI grant program has two tracks: building capacity and HSIs new to NSF.

 

  1. The Building Capacity track is open to all eligible HSIs and focuses on three areas: Critical Transitions, Innovative Cross-Sector Partnerships, and Teaching and Learning in STEM. NSF will award up to $2.5 million over 5 years under this track.
  2. The HSIs New to NSF track has limited eligibility. Only HSIs that have never received NSF funding or have not received funding in the five years prior to the grant deadline (based on award end date) are eligible to apply under this track. NSF will award up to $300,000 over 3 years. Institutions eligible for this track may submit only under this category, may elect to submit a proposal for building capacity funds, or may submit under both tracks.

 

Application Guidelines

Applicants should refer to NSF-published guidelines for proposal preparations. Pertinent guidelines for submission of a proposal for this grant are included in Chapter II of the NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide.

NSF Community College Cyber Pilot Program (C3P)

National Science Foundation (NSF)

Community College Cyber Pilot Program (C3P)

PROGRAM SOLICITATION: PD 18-1668

Application Deadline: Rolling Basis

 

Summary

NSF has established this pilot program to support cybersecurity education initiatives in order to build a stronger cybersecurity workforce and a cybersecurity-literate citizenry. The grant targets community colleges that offer degrees and industry-recognized credentials that prepare students to fill high-demand cybersecurity jobs.

 

In particular, this grant seeks innovative cybersecurity educational programs serving military veterans and/or individuals who have already attained a bachelor’s degree. The pilot program also follows criteria and requirements established under CyberCorps® SFS: graduates must work in a cybersecurity-related position for federal, state, local, or tribal government organizations for a time frame equal to the length of any scholarship.

 

Projects should produce information that bolsters effective cybersecurity education and should focus on the following issues:

  • reskilling workers who can meet the nation’s cybersecurity needs;
  • helping nontraditional students enter or re-enter the educational system;
  • increasing diversity among the cybersecurity workforce;
  • using applied research to build real-world skills and competencies; and
  • collaborating with other stakeholders, including IHEs, businesses, industry, and government.

Projects that address these issues and offer innovative educational programming for targeted students may have a broader impact.

 

Application Guidelines

Applicants should refer to NSF-published guidelines for proposal preparations. Pertinent guidelines for submission of a proposal for this pilot project are included in Chapter II of the NSF’s Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide.