Archive for June, 2018

2019 Nevada NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Program

Nevada System of Higher Education Announcement

Nevada NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 Program

Researchers should start forming preliminary teams now!

 

The Opportunity

Nevada will be eligible to submit a new proposal to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Research Infrastructure Improvement Program Track-1 (RII Track-1) program in 2019. NSF limits EPSCoR-eligible states to a single RII Track-1 proposal submission. Therefore, the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) will conduct a pre-proposal competition to assist NSHE in identifying the pre-proposal most likely to result in an award under NSF’s 2019 competition.

NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 awards

RII Track-1 awards provide up to $4 million per year for up to five years. They are intended to increase the research competitiveness of jurisdictions by improving their academic research infrastructure in areas of science and engineering supported by NSF and critical to the jurisdiction’s science and technology plan. NSF EPSCoR’s website has more details on the Track-1 program, the most recent solicitation, and active awards.

Finalized Theme Requirements

The proposed research theme must be of national importance and have the best potential to improve Nevada’s future research and development competitiveness. As determined by the NSHE Research Affairs Council and the Nevada EPSCoR Advisory Committee, proposed research topics must have these features:

  • alignment with priorities in the 2015 NSHE Science and Technology Plan;
  • alignment with current scientific and engineering grand challenges, either NSF’s Big Research Ideas[1] or NSF-relevant grand challenges put forth by other agencies or entities;
  • topics funded by NSF’s regular programmatic and cross-cutting areas; and
  • leverage the strengths of all NSHE research institutions.

Alignment with NSF’s Big Process Ideas[2] is desirable but not required.

More details on the research theme will be announced in the Request for Pre-Proposals, which will be released in mid-August 2018. Submitted pre-proposals will be peer-reviewed and one pre-proposal will be selected to move forward to full proposal development starting in January 2019. Proposal submission to NSF is expected to be in late July 2019.

What can NSHE researchers do now?

In preparation for submitting a pre-proposal, NSHE researchers should start discussions and form preliminary teams now to develop concepts, research questions, and expected impacts on strategic research topics. Since this is a statewide program, teams should be well represented with researchers from UNLV, UNR, and DRI. Working as an integrated team is essential!

Discussion Forum     Interested in joining or starting a team? Connect with researchers from other institutions through posts on the Discussion Forum.

For more information please contact:  Gayle Dana, Nevada NSF EPSCoR Project Director & State EPSCoR Director; gayle.dana@dri.edu   530-414-3170

Draft Timeline 

Pre-proposal solicitation released mid August 2018
Pre-proposal workshop early September 2018
Letter of Intent due October 1, 2018
Pre-proposals due mid November 2018
External review completed early January 2019
Winning pre-proposal selected early January 2019
Full proposal development begins mid January 2019
Solicitation released by NSF early May 2019*
Proposal due to NSF July 31, 2019*
Notification of Awards Spring 2020
Awards made Summer 2020

 

[1] NSF’s Big Research Ideas: 1) Harnessing the Data Revolution; 2) The Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier; 3) Navigating the New Arctic; 4) Windows on the Universe: The Era of Multi-Messenger Astrophysics; 5) The Quantum Leap: Leading the Next Quantum Revolution; 6) Understanding the Rules of Life: Predicting Phenotype

[2] NSF’s Big Process Ideas: 1) Mid-scale Research Infrastructure; 2) NSF 2026; 3) Growing Convergence Research; 4) NSF INCLUDES

Request for Proposals: Analysis of Nevada’s State and Institutional Research Strengths

Request for Proposals

Analysis of Nevada’s State and Institutional Research Strengths

Introduction

The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) will be submitting a proposal to the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) Track-1 program in summer 2019. To strategically inform the selection of a research theme for the proposal, NSHE is seeking an analysis of its state and institutional research strengths so that the Track-1 proposal builds on the existing strengths and critical mass of expertise.  Submission Deadline:  6/25/18 by 5:00 pm PST.

Request for Proposals (RFP) PDF

Background

Background

EPSCoR was started in 1978 to assist NSF in its statutory function “to strengthen research and education in science and engineering throughout the United States and to avoid undue concentration of such research and education.” EPSCoR goals are to provide strategic programs and opportunities for EPSCoR participants that stimulate sustainable improvements in their R&D capacity and competitiveness, and to advance science and engineering capabilities in EPSCoR jurisdictions for discovery, innovation and overall knowledge-based prosperity. Nevada has been an EPSCoR jurisdiction since 1985.

NSF EPSCoR RII Track-1 awards provide up to $4 million per year for up to five years. They are intended to improve the research competitiveness of jurisdictions by improving their academic research infrastructure in areas of science and engineering supported by the NSF and critical to the particular jurisdiction’s science and technology initiative or plan.

As per the NSF EPSCoR Track-1 FY18 solicitation, submitting states must describe the status of their academic R&D enterprise, including the strengths, barriers, and opportunities for development of the academic institutions in support of overall R&D objectives. The state must provide a convincing rationale for the project’s scientific vision and indicate how the overall strategy, proposed implementation mechanisms, and infrastructure support will mitigate the identified barriers and improve academic research competitiveness. The state must also explicitly describe the alignment of the proposed research with the STEM research priorities of the jurisdiction S&T Plan.

NSHE includes three research institutions which participate in the Track-1 program. The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is an urban research institution with 30,000 students and $66M in research expenditures in FY17. The University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) is a land-grant institution with 20,000 students and $106M in research expenditures in FY17. The Desert Research Institute (DRI) is a soft-money research institution with $36M in research expenditures in FY17.

Proposal

Proposal

NSHE is seeking an analysis to identify in what areas and along what dimensions the state and its institutions have research strengths so that the Track-1 proposal builds on the existing strengths and critical mass of expertise at the three institutions. We are ultimately seeking to select one or more research themes that meets the following criteria:

And ideally,

To inform the selection of the best research area for the Track-1 proposal, the following analyses are requested.

  1. Mapping of DRI, UNLV, and UNR common research strengths.
  2. Mapping of the above common research strengths against NSHE’s 2015 S&T Plan research priorities, NSF’s fundable areas, and NSF’s 10 Big Ideas.
  3. For each overlapping area of strength and the priorities noted in #2, please provide the performance indicators and top research faculty at each institution (DRI, UNLV, and UNR).

Deliverables

Deliverables include the following:

  • A report that summarizes the analysis methods used and the key results in graphic and tabular format with a narrative describing the key points.
  • A meeting, via Webex online, with NSHE’s Vice Chancellor for Academic and Student Affairs, Vice Chancellor for Government and Community Affairs, Vice Presidents for Research, EPSCoR Office Director, and the NSF EPSCoR Project Director to explain the results of the analysis.

Proposal Format

The proposal should not exceed 10 pages.  Please include the following items in the proposal:

  • Name and contact information for lead on this proposal.
  • A brief description of organizational background in this area.
  • Identify personnel who will produce this report and their expertise or experience in generating reports of this nature.
  • The methodology and data sets used to create the report.
  • The total cost of creating the report and meeting with the Nevada team, not to exceed $25,000.
  • Examples of previously created similar reports may be included as attachments along with references or client lists.

Timeline

Deadline for submitting proposal to NSHE June 25, 2018
Contract in place July 3, 2018
Report due to NSHE July 31, 2018
Online meeting to discuss results Week of August 6, 2018

Submission

Proposals must be submitted to Marcie Jackson at mjackson@nshe.nevada.edu by 5:00 p.m. PST on June 25, 2018.

Contacts

For questions on content of the report:
Gayle Dana
NSF EPSCoR Project Director
gayle.dana@dri.edu
530-414-3170 cell (best)
775-674-7538 work

For questions on submission requirements of the proposal:
Marcie Jackson
Director, System Sponsored Programs & EPSCoR
mjackson@nshe.nevada.edu
702-522-7079

Marcie Jackson selected as Director of System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR

We are happy to announce that Marcie Jackson has been selected as the Director of System Sponsored Programs and EPSCoR.  Ms. Jackson has been with SSPO/EPSCoR for over 7 years in the role of NSF EPSCoR Project Administrator.

Marcie Jackson joined the Nevada System of Higher Education System Sponsored Programs Office & EPSCoR in December 2011.  As Director, she provides leadership for the pre-award and post-award administration of all grants and contracts, represents Nevada and NSHE to all EPSCoR program agencies and sponsors, and provides information and support systems to facilitate the acquisition of extramural funding for collaborative programs within the System.

She previously worked as NSF EPSCoR Project Administrator where she was responsible for the budget, finance, and cradle-to-grave grants management of Nevada’s two Research Infrastructure Improvement (RII) awards, which totaled more than $22 million in federal dollars and more than $4 million in state dollars.

Ms. Jackson has more than 17 years of grant proposal development and grant administration experience and has a varied background in higher education, business, civil service, and non-profit management. She holds a Master of Public Administration degree from UNLV, and she is a member of the National Council of University Research Administrators and the Society of Research Administrators International.  She served on the System Administration Faculty Senate from 2012-2018 and acted as Chair 2017-2018.  She was a member-at-large on the NSF EPSCoR Project Administrator’s Council for 2014-2017.