PROPOSAL CHECKLISTAND SYNOPSIS OF SOLICITATIONREQUIREMENTS
2016NSFFacultyEarly Career DevelopmentProgram (CAREER)
Eligibility
Tobeeligibleto applyforaCAREERaward,investigatorsmust:
•Holdadoctoraldegreein afieldsupportedbytheNationalScienceFoundationbythedeadlinedatefor thecompetitionto whichtheyareapplying;
•Notholdtenureattheiremployinginstitutionasof October1followingthedeadlinedateforwhichthey areapplying;
• NothavereceivedaCAREERawardpreviously;and
•Beemployed,inatenure-trackposition(oritsequivalent)asan assistantprofessor(oranequivalenttitle) atan accreditedinstitutionof highereducationthatawardsdegreesin afieldsupportedbyNSF(oranon- profit,non-degree-grantingorganizationsuchasamuseum,observatory,orresearchlaboratory)by October1followingthedeadlinedateforwhichtheyareapplying.
• Associateprofessors(ortheirequivalents),withorwithouttenure,areNOTeligiblefortheCAREER
program
NSFwillnotgrantexceptionsorexemptionsto anyoftheeligibilityrequirements.
DueDates
• July20(BiologicalSciences,ComputerInformationScienceandEngineering,andEducationand
HumanResourcesdirectorates)
• July21(Directoratefor Engineering)
• July22(Geosciences;Mathematicaland PhysicalSciences;andSocial,Behavioral,and Economic
Sciencesdirectorates)
Budget
TheminimumCAREERawardis $400,000forafive-yearperiod,exceptforproposalsto theDirectoratefor BiologicalSciences,theDirectorateforEngineering,ortheDivisionof PolarPrograms.ForBIO,ENG,andPLR, theminimumawardsizeis$500,000overfiveyears.Note:Whiletheseareminimumawardamounts,in manycasestheyarealsothemaximumawardamounts.OPD recommendsdiscussinganysignificant
deviationsfromtheseamountswiththecognizantprogramofficerinthedirectorate,division,orprogram towhichyouareapplying.
Onlysalaryforthe PImaybeincludedundersupportforseniorpersonnel.Nootherseniorpersonnelmaybe paid from aCAREERaward,eitheraspartof theprimarybudgetorinanysubawards.Nootherbudgetarylimitations
orrequirementsapply.
OtherRestrictions
BecausetheCAREERprogramis intendedtofosterindividualcareerdevelopment,partnersorcollaboratorson theproject,whileallowed,maynotbedesignatedas co-PIsorasseniorpersonnel.Proposalssubmittedwith co-PIswillbereturnedwithoutreview.
NoappendicesarepermittedonCAREERproposals.
Nolettersof supportmaybeincludedwithCAREERproposals.
CAREERproposalsmaynotduplicate(orbesubstantiallysimilarto)proposalsalreadyunderconsiderationby NSFfrom thesameinvestigator.Inotherwords, yourCAREERproposalmustbe substantiallydistinctfromany otherproposalawardedorunderconsiderationbyNSF.
RequiredElements
• Theprojecttitlemustbeginwith“CAREER:”andfollowwithan informativetitle.
•ProjectSummary(nomorethan1pageinlength,nottoexceed4,600characters,writtenin thethird person).Thesummarymustbesuitableforpublication,cannotcontainanyproprietaryorconfidential information,andis not intendedto beanabstractof theproposal.Itshouldsummarizetheproposed research(andmustexplicitlyaddressboththeintellectualmeritof theproposedresearchand itsbroader impacts,inadditionto anoverviewsection)in termsthatan educatedlayreadercouldunderstand.
•ProjectDescription(nomorethan15pagesin length).Thedescriptionmustprovidea clearstatement oftheworktobe undertaken,andmustcontainaseparatesectiononbroaderimpacts.Thissection MUSTbe labeled“BroaderImpactsof theProposedWork”—donotuseanyothertitleforthissection,or NSFmayreturntheproposalwithoutreview.DONOTUSEANYURLsin the ProjectDescription.You mayreferencewebsitesinthereferencescitedsection,butreviewersarenotobligatedtocheckany URLsincluded.Makesureallthe informationreviewersandNSFstaffneedtounderstandyourprojectis includedin theprojectdescription.IfyouhavepreviouslyreceivedNSFfunding(includingpre-orpost- doctoralfellowships),youmustincludea sectionon resultsfrom priorNSFsupport,andprovidespecific informationin thatsection(whichcannotbemorethan5pagesinlength,andwhichcountsagainstthe
15-pagelimitationfortheprojectdescription).IfyouhavereceivedmorethanoneNSFawardbefore applyingforaCAREERaward,choosetheoneprojectthat is mostcloselyrelatedtotheCAREER proposal,orwhichbestdemonstratesyourabilityto completeaprojecton-timeandon-budget.Some CAREER-specificrequirements:
oYourprojectdescriptionshouldcontain“a well-arguedandspecificproposalforactivitiesthatwill, overa5-yearperiod,buildafirmfoundationforalifetimeof contributionstoresearchand education”in thecontextofyourinstitution.
oYourprojectdescriptionmusthaveanintegratedplanof researchandeducationactivities.This planshouldreflectyourowndisciplinaryandeducationalinterestsandgoals,aswellas the needsandcontextofyourinstitution.
oIfapplicable,theproposalshouldclearlystatehowtheresearchandeducationactivitieswillbe enhancedbyinternationalengagements,andshoulddescribethebenefitstoparticipantsinthe UnitedStatesandabroad.
oYoumustdescribethegoalsandobjectivesof theproposededucationactivities,howthesewillbeintegratedwiththeresearchcomponent,andthecriteriaforassessinghowthesegoals willbe met. NSFstronglyencouragesincludingadiscussionofhowtheimpactof theeducationactivities willbeassessedorevaluated.
oEducationactivitiescanbe inabroadrangeof areasandmaybe directedto anylevel(e.g.,K-12 students,undergraduates,graduatestudents,and/orthegeneralpublic),butshouldberelatedto theproposedresearch.
•Bibliography/ReferencesCited.Provideabibliographyof allworkscitedin theprojectdescription.You mayuseanystyleof references,as longas itis consistent.Completebibliographicinformationforall workscitedmustbeincluded,includingthenamesofallauthors(in thesameorderin whichtheyappear ontheoriginalpublication),thetitleof thearticle,book,bookchapter,orpresentationbeingcited,and, whereappropriate,bothstartingandendingpagenumbers.Donotuse“etal.”in anauthorlist,evenifit is calledforinthebibliographicstyle youareusing.Failureto providecompletecitationsin the bibliographyis groundsforNSFtoreturnproposalswithoutreview.Thereis no pagelimitforthissection.
•BiographicalSketch.Biosketchesnormallymaynotbelongerthantwopages,andmustfollowthe formatprescribedbyNSFexactly.Donot includeanypersonalinformationinthebiosketch(e.g.,home addressandtelephonenumber,citizenshipormaritalstatus,dateof birth,hobbies,etc.).NSFalsodoes notpermitlistingof awardsandhonorsorgranthistoryinthebiographicalsketch.Inclusionof anyof that information,orfailureto followtheprescribedformat,is groundsforNSFtoreturntheproposalwithout review.
•BudgetJustification.OPDwillhelp youprepareabudgetjustification,whichexplainstheitemsincluded onthebudgetandprovidesinformationabouthowtheamountswerecalculated.Thisdocumentislimited tono morethan3pagesfortheprimaryaward,andup to3additionalpagesforeachsubcontract(if any).
•Facilities,Equipment,andOtherResources.Provideinformationaboutotherresourcesthatare availabletosupportorperformtheproposedresearch(e.g.,laboratoryspace,analyticalequipment, computerresources,and personnel).Listonlythoseresourcesthatarerelevanttotheproposedwork.No quantifiablefinancialinformationshouldbe includedin theFacilities,Equipment,andOtherResources document.Thedocumentshouldbeinnarrativeform,andshouldavoidusingwordssuchas“contribute” or“share”(exceptwhendiscussingsharingof physicalspaceorresourcesbetweenoneormoreunitsor institutions).Describeallresourcesas iftheywerealreadyavailable,anddonotindicatewhethertheyare extantorplannedforfutureacquisition.
•Currentand PendingSupport.Provideinformationonallcurrentandpendingsupportyouhavefor ongoingprojectsandproposals,includingtheCAREERproposal,whetherornot youarereceivingsalary supportfrom theproject.Thisincludesanyinstitutionalgrantsorawards(butnotstart-upfunds).
•SupplementaryDocumentation.Allof thefollowingdocuments,if required,shouldbesubmittedas SupplementaryDocumentation(donotsubmitanyof thesedocumentsassingle-copydocuments,or NSFwillreturntheproposalwithoutreview).
oDataManagementPlan.Provideaplan,no morethantwopagesin length,describinghowthe proposedprojectwillcomplywithNSFandfederalgovernmentpoliciesonthedisseminationand sharingof researchresultsandprojectdata.Failuretoincludeadatamanagementplanwill precludesubmissionof theproposal.
oPostdoctoralMentoringPlan.Ifyouplantorequestfundingforapostdoctoralresearcheraspart oftheCAREERproposal,youmustincludeaone-pagementoringplanforthat individual.Failure toincludeamentoringplan,if required,willprecludesubmissionof theproposal.
oDepartmentalLetter.A letter,nomorethan2pagesin length,from yourdepartmentchair.Ifyou haveajointappointment,thelettershouldcomefromthedepartmentin whichyouexpectto receivetenure.Failuretoincludethedepartmentalletteris groundsforNSFtoreturntheproposal withoutreview.The lettermustincludeallof thefollowingelements:
Thenameandtitleof thedepartmentchair(belowthesignature);
An indicationthattheresearchandeducationactivitiesproposedintheCAREERproject aresupportedbyandintegratedintothedepartment’sandtheuniversity’seducational
andresearchgoals,andthatthedepartmentis committedtothesupportandprofessional developmentof the PI;
Adescriptionof therelationshipbetweentheCAREERproject,the PI’scareergoalsand jobresponsibilities,andthegoalsof thedepartment/organization;
Adescriptionof thewaysin whichthedepartmentchair(orequivalent)willensure appropriatementoringforthePI,inthecontextof the PI’scareerdevelopmentand his/hereffortstointegrateresearchandeducationthroughouttheawardperiodand beyond;and
Astatementthatthe PIiseligiblefortheCAREERprogram
oLettersof Collaboration(if any).Iftheprojectincludescollaborationbyotherresearchers(atFSU
oratanotherinstitution),aone-sentenceletterfrom eachcollaboratormaybe included.Theletter
mustbestrictlylimitedto theintenttocollaborateandmaynotcontainendorsementsor evaluationsof theproposedproject.Theprescribedlanguagetobefollowedis “If theproposal submittedbyDr.[insertnameof thePI] entitled[insertproposaltitle}is selectedforfundingbythe NSF,it is myintenttocollaborateand/orcommitresourcesasdetailedintheProjectDescription.” Nootherlanguagemaybe included.
oProposalClassificationForm.AllproposalssubmittedtotheDirectorateforBiologicalSciences mustincludeBIO’sproposalclassificationform.Failuretocompletethisform willpreclude submissionof theproposal.