NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

AUTHORIZATION:

National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, Public Law 103-327, 42 U.S.C 1861 et seq.

OBJECTIVES:

To provide leadership and ensure the vitality of the nation's science, mathematics, engineering and technology education enterprise from K-16, and through graduate levels. Long-term goals include: supporting infrastructure that will provide a high-quality educational experience for all children and learners; ensuring that our educational pipelines yield adequately educated individuals for the highly technical workplace as well as a body of well-educated scientists and engineers that respond to the nation's needs; and encouraging the development of a cadre of professionally educated and trained teachers. EHR supports activities in K-12 systemic education reform; as well as projects to improve the delivery of elementary, secondary, informal, undergraduate, and graduate, education. Human resource development, education research, and evaluation of programs are also supported, as well as activities under the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

TYPES OF ASSISTANCE:

Project Grants.

USES AND USE RESTRICTIONS:

Grant funds may be used for costs necessary to conduct research, educational activities or studies, including salaries and expenses, permanent equipment, expendable equipment and supplies, travel, publication costs, and other direct and indirect costs. Primary responsibility for general supervision of all grant activities rests with the grantee institution. Funds may not be used for purposes other than those specified in the award. Graduate fellowships provide for stipends and allowances to be paid to the awardee through his/her institution; a fixed cost-of-education allowance is paid directly to the institution. H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner scholarships for tuition, displacement of loans and college/university-provided grants, and miscellaneous academic expenses will be paid to the awardee through his/her institution. Scholarships are restricted to fields of computer science, engineering, mathematics, and engineering and computer technology at associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctoral levels, pursuant to Title IV of the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-277). NSF does not provide funds directly to individuals for the payment of private or public tuition expenses.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:   Public and private colleges (2-year and 4- year) and universities, State and local educational agencies, nonprofit and private organizations, professional societies, science academies and centers, science museums and zoological parks, research laboratories, and other institutions with an educational mission may apply.

Beneficiary Eligibility:   Elementary, secondary and undergraduate science, mathematics, engineering, and technology teachers and faculty; preK-12, undergraduate and graduate students; public and private colleges (2-year and 4-year) and universities; State and local educational agencies; nonprofit and private organizations; professional societies; science academies and centers; science museums and zoological parks; research laboratories; and other institutions with an educational mission.

Credentials/Documentation:   Proposals must be signed by the Principal Investigator(s) and by an official authorized to commit the institution in business and financial affairs. Costs will be determined in accordance with OMB Circular No. A-21 for colleges and universities, No. A-87 for State and local governments, and No. A-122 for nonprofit organizations. Applicants for fellowship support must show evidence of ability such as academic records, letters of recommendation, graduate record examination scores, and grade point average. Applications for H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner scholarships require documentation of financial need, evidence of inclination to pursue study in targeted disciplines, and evidence of academic ability.

APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:   In selected areas, discussion with NSF program staff is strongly recommended and/or submission of a preliminary proposal is required before submitting formal proposals. Other areas are eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process that the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Application Procedure:   By electronic submission via FastLane of a formal proposal, and, in some programs, a preliminary proposal, describing the planned project and the proposed amount of the grant. For guidelines, see specific program announcements and "Grant Proposal Guide," NSF 01-2.

Award Procedure:   NSF staff members review and evaluate all proposals based on a set of criteria established by the National Science Board. In most cases reviews are undertaken with the advice of scientists, engineers, educators and other appropriate persons who are specialists in the fields covered by the proposals. External reviewers, who are conversant with the fields covered by the applications, review and evaluate all graduate fellowship applications. Awards are made by NSF on a competitive basis.

Deadlines:   Deadlines and target dates are published in the NSF bulletin and program announcements.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:   For ninety-five percent of proposals, NSF will be able to advise applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time interval begins on the proposal deadline/target date (or from the date of actual receipt if the program does not use deadline or target dates). The time interval ends when the cognizant NSF Division Director accepts the Program Officer's recommendation.

Appeals:   The principal investigator may request, in writing within 90 days of a declination or return, that the Foundation reconsider its action in declining or returning any proposal or application.

Renewals:   Contact NSF program staff for specific renewal policies and procedures.

ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:   Programs have no statutory formula. Projects vary with regard to the required level of institutional contribution or cost-sharing; requirements are provided in program announcements. Under the "Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement" and "Advanced Technological Education" programs, funds requested for equipment and other technology must be matched by a nonfederal contribution equal to or greater than the NSF contribution. Adaptation and Implementation projects under the Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement program require matching of the entire NSF budget request. Minority serving institutions that are covered by Executive Order (i.e., Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, and Tribal Colleges) and that do not offer SMET degrees beyond the baccalaureate level are exempted from this requirement. The Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)(Chapter II) and the Grant Policy Manual (Sec. 330) provide additional information as to these requirements.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:   Up to 5 years. Assistance is disbursed by letter of credit or as required. For fellowships, typically 9 to 12 months; up to 3 years of support. Assistance is disbursed to the institution for monthly stipend allotment to the fellow. Annual H-1B scholarships are awarded through institutions; reapplication is required.

POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:   A substantive technical report is required upon completion of the project. Frequency and complexity of interim reports varies among programs depending on size, scope and program objective. Quarterly Federal Cash Transactions Reports (SF 272) are required. For fellowships, brief annual activities reports are required.

Audits:   In accordance with the provisions of OMB Circular No. A- 133 (Revised, June 24, 1997), "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations," nonfederal entities that receive financial assistance of $300,000 or more in Federal awards will have a single or a program-specific audit conducted for that year. Nonfederal entities that expend less than $300,000 a year in Federal awards are exempt from Federal audit requirements for that year, except as noted in Circular No. A-133.

Records:   Grantees are expected to maintain separate records for each grant to ensure that funds are used for the general purpose for which the grant was made. Records are subject to inspection during the life of the grant and for three years thereafter. Special record keeping requirements apply to fellowships.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION:

Account Identification:   49-0106-0-1-251.

Obligations:   (Grants) FY 99 $663,000,000; FY 00 est $724,000,000; and FY 01 est $760,000,000. (Includes H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner Fees).

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:   From $2,500 to $4,000,000; $117,600.

PROGAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

In fiscal year 1999, approximately 2,460 awards were made and 13,720 proposals were received. In fiscal year 2000, approximately 2,550 awards will be made and 14,150 proposals are expected to be received; in fiscal year 2001, approximately 2,550 awards will be made and 14,180 proposals are expected to be received. H-1B Nonimmigrant Petitioner scholarship activity is estimated to result in over 100 awards to institutions in fiscal year 2001 resulting in over 8,000 scholarship opportunities.

REGULATIONS, GUIDELINES, AND LITERATURE:

45 CFR Chapter VI; 48 CFR Chapter 25; "NSF Guide to Programs, FY 2001," NSF 01-3 (http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf013); "Grant Proposal Guide," NSF 01-2 (http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf012).

INFORMATION CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:   Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:   Assistant Director, Education and Human Resources, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Room 805, Arlington, VA 22230. Telephone: (703) 292-8600. NSF World Wide Web site URL: http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/.

Web Site Address:   http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/.

EXAMPLES OF FUNDED PROJECTS:

(1) The "Educational Software Components of Tomorrow (ESCOT)" project (a collaboration among nine universities, business, industry, and private foundations) seeks to develop and link software components for the K-12 classroom and understand how to stimulate teachers to customize software for specific lessons. (2) The "Misconceptions About Complex Causality" project (Harvard University is the lead institution) explores how students bring to their learning certain assumptions about the nature of causal patterns that persist and surface in later, even adult, scientific reasoning. The project will develop interventions that lead to increased sophistication of students' causal modeling. (3) The "QuarkNet" project (based at the FERMI National Accelerator Laboratory) provides five years of intensive summer research experiences in physics for secondary teachers, including development of a web-based mechanism for transferring research results to their respective classrooms, along with access to real-time data. (4) The "Promoting Excellence in Teaching and Research in the Neurosciences" project is part of NSF's outreach to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU). The project will develop research and educational opportunities in the neurosciences to enrich academic preparation of students at Morehouse College, an HBCU. (5) A "Virtual Laboratory for Training Machine-tool Building and Maintenance Technicians" (Northern Illinois University) is part of NSF's Advanced Technological Education program. This project will develop and test curricula in a virtual lab via the Internet to enhance comprehension of the interdisciplinary nature of machine tool building and maintenance technology.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING PROPOSALS: