Winning Large NSF Proposals D. Keith Roper Engineering Research Centers Program Leader Network for Computational Nanotechnology Program Leader Engineering Education and Centers Division, Engineering Directorate National Science Foundation ASEE Engineering Research Council Annual Conference Bethesda, MD Mon Mar 7 - Wed Mar 9, 2016 Disclaimer: The comments in this presentation are of the author, and do not necessary reflect those of the National Science Foundation (NSF) Thanks to: D. Brzakovic, R. Gupta, C. Hemingway, P. Kharghonekar, S. Lim M. Molnar, R. Montelli, G. Muller-Parker, and K. Whang for contributions to the presentation 1
Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21 st Century Transportation Communication Improve Urban Infrastructure Sequester CO 2 Energy Secure Cyberspace Enhance virtual reality Manage N 2 cycle Prevent Nuclear Terror Economic Solar Energy Energy from fusion Reverse engineer the brain Access to clean H 2 O Engineer Better Medicines Advance Health Informatics Advance Personalized Learning Health Engineer tools of scientific discovery Cognition 2016 D.K. Roper Materials National Academy of Engineering 2
Societal Concerns Urbanization: infrastructure Mobility Global flows of people, things, knowledge, skills Economy Employment, wages Scarcity: food, water, disease Environment: climate change, sustainability Inequality: income, education Humanity Population growth, aging Accelerating pace of technology Information 2016 D.K. Roper Resources 3
Funding Landscape State appropriations as % of public research universities total operation revenue National R&D Intensity Gross R&D investment as a percent of GDP Federal support for R&D leveling State support declining U.S. lags globally in R&D NSF: 24% of federal support for basic research in U.S. universities 4.5 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 South Korea Finland Japan Taiwan Germany U.S. France EU-28 China UK Source: OECD, Main Science and Technology Indicators, Feb 2015. 2015 AAAS 4 NCSES
Center-scale funded R&D Internationally Center Country Annual Duration Number Launched ($ million) (years) Center of Innovation (COI) Program Japan 1-10 9 18 2013 Research Centres Program Ireland to 8 6 12 2012 Inst. Basic Science Research Centers S. Korea 8.5 10 50 2012 Research Centres of Excellence Singapore? 3+ 5 2007 Mega Projects of Science Research China to 40 5 12 2006 DFG Research Centers Germany to 14 12 4 2001 Nat l Research Programmes Switzerland to 3.3 6-7 14 1976 5 NCSES
My Experience: Large NSF Proposals (as Program Director since 2012) Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program Program Leader (2014- current) Program Director (2012-2014) 19 ERC s, annually $71M, ~210 proposals 3 ERC s, annually: $10M, ~ 20 proposals Network for Computational Nanotechnology (NCN) Program Program Leader (2014- current) Program Director (2012-2014) 3 Centers, annually: $6M, ~3 proposals 1 node, annually: $1.2M Nanoscale Science and Engineering Centers (NSEC) Program Program Director (2012-2015) 2 NSECS, annually: $8M NSF Research Traineeship (NRT) Program Program Director (2012-current) 3 NRTs, annually: $6M, ~30 proposals Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Program Program Director (2013-2014) 9 EFRIs, annually: $18M, ~250 proposals BRAIN: Accelerating Integrative Research Neural and Cognitive Systems Program Director (2013-current) 16 awards, annually: $13M ~180 proposals Scaleable NanoManufacturing (SNM) Program Program Director (2015-current) 6 7 awards, annually: $5M ~80 proposals
My Experience: Large NSF Proposals (as Researcher prior to 2012) NSF Engineering Research Centers (ERC) Program ($70MM) Biotechnology Process ERC (1985-94) Biotechnology Process ERC (1995-2004) New Pneumovax Vaccine 2 million lives/year NSF STEM Talent Enrollment Expansion (STEP) Award ($2MM) Co-Principal Investigator Engineering enrollment up 59% Piloted EPA P3 Award Female eng. enrollment up 121% NSF EPS ASSET II Award ($20MM) Senior Investigator 375 publications, 150 proceedings NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Site ($289K) Senior Investigator 29 REU students; 38% to graduate school NSF Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) Program ($200K) Co-Principal Investigator Nanotechnology Minor; New Lab courses Acknowledgments to: L. Preston, S. Rastegar, E. Misawa, R. Tankersley, K. Whang, K. Cooper, D. 7 Wang, L. Griffith, C. Furse, D. Rhoads, M. Zou and participants on these programs and award.
Winning Large NSF Proposals: A Recipe :) Ingredients Essentials: ½ cup vegetable oil ⅓ cup flour 1 small onion, chopped (1 cup) 1 small green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup) 3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup) 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes 2 cups fresh or frozen green beans 3 carrots, sliced (2 cups) 1 parsnip, diced (1 cup) 1 Tbs. ground cumin 1 Tbs. paprika 1 Tbs. dried oregano ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper Optional: 1 cup fresh or frozen sliced okra, optional 2 tablespoons almond butter (randomly delicious) salt to taste Directions: 1. Stir together oil and flour in Dutch oven or heavybottomed pot until smooth. Cook over high heat 10 minutes, or until roux turns a dark caramel color, stirring constantly. www.mccormick.com 2. Add onion, bell pepper, and celery, and cook 5 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Stir in all remaining ingredients and 4 cups water. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook 40 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Serve over rice. Vegetarian times
Large NSF Proposals: A Recipe :) 1. Choose the Dinner Party - Guests & Timing 2. Plan the Event 3. Balance the Menu 4. Prepare the Proposal www.mccormick.com
NSF Program Science and Technology Center (STC) OIA: D. Brzakovic, dbrzakov@nsf.gov Engineering Research Center (ERC) ENG/EEC: K. Roper, kroper@nsf.gov NSF Research Traineeships (NRT) EHR/DGE: R. Tankersley, rtankers@nsf.gov 1. Dinner Party: Guests & Timing Match your Proposal to a Program Emerging Frontiers in Research & Eng. (EFRI) ENG/EFRI: S. Rastegar, srastega@nsf.gov Science of Learning Collaborative Network (SLC) SBE/BCS: S. Lim, slim@nsf.gov Neural & Cognitive Systems (NCS) CISE/IIS: K. Whang, kwhang@nsf.gov Network for Computational Nanotechnol. (NCN) ENG/EEC: K. Roper, kroper@nsf.gov Industry/Univ. Cooperative Research Ctr (I/UCRC) ENG/IIP: R. Montelli, rmontell@nsf.gov parners per site per site ~ Awards/ Proposals 4/259 4/170 8/na 9/na 13/na 16/na 3/10 3/4/5 Ann. Budget ($ millions) 5 4.25 0.6 0.5 0.25 0.27 0.7 0.15/0.1/0.05 Duration (years) 5+5 5+5 5 3 3 3 5 5/5/5 Cycle (years) 2-3 2 1 1 1 1 5 1
1. Dinner Party: Guests & Timing Example: STC Characteristics Center Mode whole > sum of parts Value Added : Portfolio of integrated projects Exploit opportunities requiring scope, scale, flexibility, duration, equipment and facilities of a Center Bold yet achievable Frontier investigations across and/or within disciplines ( Transformative, Grand Challenges ) Legacy Promote organizational linkages capitalizing on cyberinfrastructure Partnerships Integrative learning and discovery for (U.S.) students Broad set of career paths Engage and develop nation s talent, including groups underrepresented in STEM research and education Diverse STEM workforce Foster science/engineering in service to society Knowledge Transfer, new research areas, instrumentation, technologies
Example: I/UCRC Pre- competitive Research Portfolio: cooperatively defined & funded on shared value Ideas, people Industry Industry Advisory Board (IAB) Contract Research Master Agreements Operating costs Shared Project Portfolio Cooperatively defined, selected Governed by NSF I/UCRC Agreement* * Royalty free nonexclusive access to IP by members Pooled Member $ s Research Projects Investment of Indirects Addresses precompetitive needs shared by IAB Leverages & builds university strengths Value derived from portfolio NSF, Agencies, Foundations Funded Center Sites Universities Ideas, people Requires trust be built in the model, and between all partners in the center.
Match your Proposal to a Program www.nsf.gov/funding Keyword search Special Programs Program Areas
Match your Proposal to a Program Use the Program Description to find: Cognizant NSF Program Director contact information Proposal due dates Scope and emphasis areas Current awards made through program
2. Plan the Event Heed Timelines: Proposal & Award Process
2. Plan the Event Timelines: Center Proposals
3. Balance the Menu Attend to Proposal Review Criteria Intellectual Merit (~12-13 pages) Advancement and contribution of knowledge in its own field or across different disciplines? Creative and original concepts? Well-conceived and organized proposal? Qualifications of the PI? Broader Impacts (~2-3 pages) Advancement of discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, & learning? Broad dissemination to enhance scientific and technological understanding, e.g., outreach? Participation of underrepresented groups? Educational Impact, including undergraduate & K-12?
3. Balance the Menu Example: NCS specific review criteria Integrative Added Value and Transformative Potential cross temporal/spatial scales, levels of abstraction, levels of analysis, and/or disciplinary and methodological approaches? deep, complementary, synergistic expertise? research theme(s) addressed and advanced in significant way? bold, potentially risky, well beyond typical disciplinary approach? compelling integrative vision, build on the state of the art, sound plans for interdisciplinary collaboration, integrative research? general advances in theory or methods, or significant technological innovations? broadly accessible, high-quality resources that will be useful to the research community at large? unique collaborative research experiences for students and early-career researchers? interdisciplinary workforce for cognitive science, neuroscience, and/or neuroengineering? Applicability and relative weighting of these considerations will vary depending on the nature of the activities being proposed and the proposal class
3. Balance the Menu Example: ERC Specific Review Criteria Three Fundamental Questions What is the compelling new idea and how does it relate to national needs? Why is a center necessary to tackle the idea? How will the ERC's infrastructure integrate and implement research, workforce development, and innovation ecosystem development efforts to achieve its vision? Specific Review Criteria Integrated Strategic Plans for Research, Workforce Development, Innovation Leadership: expertise in research, workforce development, and innovation Diversity Director: experienced in activities proven to create culture of inclusion Research: impact, benchmarking, partnerships, system-at-scale Workforce Development: literature-based, inclusive, assessment Innovation: scale-able, sustainable, community Infrastructure: plan for community of inclusion
3. Balance the Menu Example: NRT Specific Review Criteria Develop innovative approaches to graduate education for MS and/or PhD students Expand/enhance professional development Encourage strategic collaborations with stakeholders (e.g., university-industry partnerships) Rely on existing evidence of effective practices in STEM education (evidence-based approaches) Generate new knowledge that promotes transformative improvements in graduate education
Innovative Concept Well-Conceived Research Plan 4. Prepare the Proposal Competitive Proposal Ingredients Unique, potentially transformative Interdisciplinary, hypothesis driven Significant impact to a real problem Bold advance of discovery, understanding Synergistic: whole > sum of parts Demonstrate knowledge of field (> 50 refs) Demonstrate competence (prior work) Preliminary data (to overcome skepticism) Balanced detail in proposed work plan Critical approach with contingency plans Reasonable scope & budget Compelling Broader Impacts Activities: aligned with research area SMART, leverage institutional resources Assessment: summative, formative, external Engage under-represented groups scalably Include K-12 & undergraduate education & outreach, public outreach, letters of collabor. Get all of this done in the last two pages
4. Prepare the Proposal Example: Goal for T-shaped graduates The T-shaped Professional Ready for life-long learning teamwork innovation entrepreneurship building a smarter planet Jim Spohrer, IBM labs
Innovation 4. Prepare the Proposal Example: Workforce Development Plan Workforce Development Activity REU Internship Modules Team Project Translational Skills Entrepreneurship Systems analysis Analytical Communication Teamwork Ethics Leadership Professional Skills 2016 D.K. Roper Transdisciplinary Thinking Global Awareness 23
How do we address complex problems? 24
Ingredients Essentials: ½ cup transformative vision ⅓ cup interdisciplinary expertise 1 small core facility 1 small website (1 cup) 3 stalks foundational knowledge, chopped (1 cup) 1 28-oz. can diced innovation 2 cups fresh collaborators 1 inclusive culture (2 cups) 1 database server, diced (1 cup) 1 Tbs. ground intuition 1 Tbs. visual resources 1 Tbs. engagement ¼ tsp. legal infrastructure Bon Appétit! kroper@nsf.gov Optional: 1 cup fresh or frozen sliced humor 2 tablespoons enthusiasm (randomly delicious) salt to taste Directions: 1. Stir together vision and expertise in Dutch oven or heavybottomed pot until smooth. Cook over high heat several weeks to months, or until collaboration turns a vigorous color, stirring constantly. www.mccormick.com 2. Add core facility, website, and knowledge and cook 5 weeks, or until disciplinary perspectives are softened. Stir in all remaining ingredients and 4 cups communication. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook several weeks, or until team is aligned.