Broader Impacts Siva S. Panda 1
Funding Agencies Requirements NSF criteria are Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts NIH core criteria are Significance, Innovation, Approach, Investigator(s) and Environment 2
Prior Accomplishments Results from prior NSF funding Why was the research important (Intellectual Merit)? What were the Broader Impacts? What did you set out to accomplish? What was your role? What did you learn? Provide examples of teamwork and independent work List achievements, valuable contributions, dissemination of results 3
Research Proposal SHORT introduction and background only to show why your proposed work is significant and/or novel Hypothesis Objectives Research Plan/methodology Intellectual Merit Broader Impacts How will your research contribute to the big picture outside of academia 4
Typical Components of an NSF Proposal Cover Sheet Table of Contents Project Summary Project Description References Cited Supporting Documents Biographical Sketches Proposal Budget Budget Justification Current and Pending Support Facilities, Equipment & Other Resources Supplementary Documentation 5
Project Summary Introduction/Overview Intellectual Merit Broader Impact 6
Project Description Results from prior NSF funding Basic findings, training, outcomes, publications Organization Clearly apparent Aims/Goals/Hypotheses Separate sections for both Merit Criteria Integration Intellectual Merit Broader Impacts 7
What are Broader Impacts? Benefit of research. Need to explain how your studies will benefit society in terms of the research knowledge and research education. Identification of a social problem (education) within the US and a description of activities that integrate research training with a solution to that challenge. Long-term benefits of supporting you as they relate to societal challenges. How will your outreach and service activities overcome the challenge that you describe? Potential for leadership and innovation in the future. Applicants are uniformly strong, so why are you likely to be a leader among your peers? past evidence for contributions. 8
Why Broader Impacts? Advance science while promoting teaching, training and learning. Broaden participation of underrepresented groups. Enhance infrastructure for research and education. Provide broad dissemination to enhance scientific and technological understanding. Highlight the benefit to society 9
Why Does NSF Require Broader Impacts? Full participation of women, persons with disabilities, and underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Improved STEM education and educator development at any level. Increased public scientific literacy and public engagement with science and technology. Improved well-being of individuals in society. Increased partnerships between academia, industry, and others. Increased economic competitiveness of the United States. Enhanced infrastructure for research and education. 10
Elements of Broader Impacts A good broader impact plan will have: Explicit objectives Stated relationship to scientific research Understanding of intended audience Specific and feasible implementation plans Connectivity to existing networks Evaluation plan - did you accomplish objectives 11
Broader Impacts Question 1 What is the potential for the proposed activity to benefit society and contribute to achievement of specific desired societal outcomes? 12
Broader Impacts Question 2 To what extent do the proposed activities suggest and explore creative, original, or potentially transformative concepts? 13
Broader Impacts Question 3 Is the plan for carrying out the proposed activities well-reasoned, well organized, and based on a sound rationale? Does the plan incorporate a mechanism to assess success? 14
Broader Impacts Question 4 How well qualified is the individual, team, or institution to conduct the proposed activities? 15
Broader Impacts Question 5 Are there adequate resources available to the PI (either at the home institution or through collaborations) to carry out the proposed activities? Is the budget allocated for Broader Impact activities sufficient to successfully implement them? 16