ASPB - Public Affairs - American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

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Positioning Your Research, Infrastructure, and Education Activities to Take Advantage of the Programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

Please read on for information about

NSF Research Programs
DOE Office of Science Research Programs
DOE Other Research Programs (e.g., ARPA-E)
NIH Research Programs
NSF Instrumentation and Infrastructure Programs
NIH Instrumentation and Infrastructure Programs
Education and Training Programs
Government-wide Processes, Reporting, and Stimulus Websites

RESEARCH

National Science Foundation-Research
Last updated March 23, 2009

The National Science Foundation (NSF) officially confirmed its overall plans for the $3 billion it received in stimulus funding by means of a letter released on March 18 by the NSF Director, Arden Bement. The letter can be viewed online.

The stimulus legislation provides $2 billion for the National Science Foundation research directorates and offices. NSF is directed to use this funding to support all research divisions, although it is not obligated to distribute the funds evenly or proportionally among those divisions. While the funding is available through September 30, 2010, NSF is under Congressional pressure to obligate as much of it as possible to multi-year grants by September 30, 2009.

Mechanisms that NSF has stated could be used to distribute the stimulus funds include:

Increasing Success Rates: This funding will primarily go to increasing success rates in planned fiscal year (FY) 2009 competitions. Many of those competitions are already underway, with due dates past, although some core programs have upcoming due dates. Because NSF is able to forward fund grants (unlike NIH), they can provide funding for an array of grants two, three, four, and five years in duration to spread out the proposal pressure on NSF when the grants conclude. (Whether this approach will be approved by the Office of Management and Budget is not yet clear.)

Focus on the Pipeline: As part of the effort to raise success rates, NSF will be focusing particularly on early career researchers. They are also concerned about support for undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs. This emphasis reflects Congressional concern about the pipeline for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics workforce, as well as jobs in general.

No Supplements with Stimulus Funding: NSF will not be using the stimulus money to make supplemental awards to current grants. This decision reflects the intensive tracking and reporting requirements that agencies and stimulus funding recipients will have to meet (please see end of report: quarterly reports on progress, spend rate, jobs created, etc.). However, the stimulus funding will take some of the pressure off of the FY 2009 funds, and program officers will be able to use those funds for supplements, if they so desire.

Small and Medium Infrastructure Projects: Some of the funding in individual programs and divisions is likely to be used to support already-planned small and medium-sized infrastructure projects (such as research vessel upgrades, supercomputing hardware purchases, seismic network improvements, and upgrades to the Antarctica research stations). Funding may also be directed to ongoing discipline-specific instrumentation programs.

Distribution of Funds among Programs: The distribution of NSF's $2 billion among NSF's research directorates, divisions, and programs is being set internally, with Program Officers hopefully getting information about their allocations this week. The additional funding may be distributed proportionally to the FY 2009 request levels, but that has not been confirmed.

Department of Energy: Office of Science-Research
Last updated March 31, 2009

The stimulus package provides $1.6 billion for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science but it did not provide a specific directive for the expenditure of these funds. On March 23, 2009, however, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced the allocation of $1.2 billion of the $1.6 billion in economic stimulus funding for DOE's Office of Science.

As previously reported, about half of the funding for the Office of Science, $830.2 million, will be directed to DOE national laboratories for construction, infrastructure, equipment acquisition and other research efforts. Within this amount, $330 million will be devoted to operations and equipment at Office of Science major scientific facilities used by over 20,000 researchers each year.

Of particular interest is $90 million that DOE intends to devote to core research, providing support for graduate students, postdocs, and Ph.D. scientists across the nation. This funding meets two criteria by which science funding was evaluated in that it will create jobs in the near term and stimulate the economy, as well as help lay the foundation for long-term economic recovery through scientific advancements. Secretary Chu did not offer details on the programs through which DOE will provide these funds.

The White House has approved $277 million in stimulus funding to support the new Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) that will be awarded in the next few weeks (thus, no new competition). An additional $100 million in funding for the EFRCs will be provided from the FY 2009 omnibus appropriations bill, bringing the total to $377 million for the first round of EFRC awards. The DOE received 260 applications (approximately 71 percent of which were submitted by universities), requesting a total of $4.9 billion over 5 years. The pending EFRC awards are expected to be $2 to $5 million per year over a five-year period.

Secretary Chu also announced that DOE will provide $69 million in stimulus funding to create a national scale, prototype 100-gigabit per second data network linking research centers across the nation. DOE expects the effort to enhance the Office of Science's networking capabilities and to benefit the commercial telecommunications sector.

Administration officials currently are working on approval of the allocation of the remaining $371 million in stimulus funding provided to the Office of Science.

The complete details of Secretary Chu's announcement are available here.

Department of Energy: Other Programs-Research
Last updated May 5, 2009

The stimulus package includes a significant investment to develop new, clean, renewable energy sources to reduce the nation's dependence on foreign oil. The final bill includes approximately $30 billion for investments in applied research, loan guarantees and grants to develop new technologies in partnership with industry, and energy efficiency and conservation activities.

Universities will be interested in the applied research and development funding in the bill, including potential partnerships with industry to develop the next generation of renewable energy technologies. Specific areas of potential relevance include renewable energy technologies, carbon capture and sequestration, and the "smart" electric power grid.

Many of the programs funded in the stimulus package were previously authorized by Congress but never funded. In a number of cases, the budgets of the organizations managing the programs will have grown dramatically overnight. Therefore, DOE, while it has some Congressional direction on the programs' shape, will still need some time to develop new solicitations.

DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Research and Development: The final bill includes $2.5 billion for applied research, development, demonstration and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Within this amount, $800 million is for biomass projects and $400 million is for geothermal activities and projects. Also within the available funds is an allocation of $50 million for research to increase the efficiency of information and communications technology and to improve standards. With the remaining $1.25 billion, support could also be made available by DOE for wind, solar, water power, hydrogen, and vehicles, industrial and buildings technologies activities.

DOE Fossil Energy Research and Development: The final bill includes $1 billion for existing fossil energy research and development programs. An additional $1.52 billion is directed to a competitive solicitation for a range of industrial carbon capture and energy efficiency improvement projects, including a small amount for innovative concepts for beneficial CO2 reuse. To further the development of carbon capture and storage technologies, DOE will also receive $50 million for a competitive solicitation for site characterization activities in geologic formations; and $20 million for geologic sequestration training and research grants.

ARPA-E: The first solicitation for ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy) was announced by President Obama during his April 27 speech to the National Academy of Sciences outlining his administration's goals for federal investments and initiatives in research and development; ARPA-E concept papers will be accepted between May 12 and June 2, 2009.

ARPA-E was established in the America COMPETES Act and received its first funding of $415 million last February, largely through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the economic stimulus bill). ARPA-E is designed to support transformational research and development projects to significantly advance the creation and commercialization of advanced energy technologies and reduce American dependence on foreign oil and fossil fuels. DOE defines "transformational" technologies as those that "disrupt the status quo" and are "significantly better" than current technologies.

The Department of Energy has issued the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) for an initial program through ARPA-E. The FOA:

Seeks concept papers for high-risk, high-payoff transformational energy-related R&D that can change the energy landscape. Concept papers may be submitted between May 12 and 8 p.m. EDT on June 2, 2009.
Concepts for ARPA-E funding should enhance the economic and energy security of the U.S. through the development of energy technologies that reduce imports of energy from foreign sources; reduce energy-related emissions, including greenhouse gases; improve energy efficiency in all economic sectors; and ensure that the U.S. maintains a technological edge in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies.
ARPA-E seeks to fund energy technology projects that translate scientific discoveries and cutting-edge inventions into technological innovations; and accelerate transformational technological advances in areas that industry is not likely to undertake due to high technical or financial risk.
Applicants must designate their proposals as early stage or late stage R&D projects. Projects are sought between Technology Readiness Levels 2 and 7 as defined in the FOA.
If a concept paper is accepted, ARPA-E will invite submission of a full proposal within 31 days following notification; ARPA-E expects to respond to proponents of concept papers no later than July 13
ARPA-E anticipates that most awards will be for total project costs of between $2- and $5-million. Some awards may be as low as $500,000 or as high as $10 million. ARPA-E may fund exceptional proposals for up to $20 million.
ARPA-E anticipates awarding up to $150 million under this FOA if proposals warrant.
Project awards are limited to no more than 36 months; however, ARPA-E has a "strong preference" for a period of performance of no more than 24 months.
Cost sharing of at least 20 percent is required for applied R&D projects and of at least 50 percent under a project funded through a Technology Investment Agreement (TIA); however, ARPA-E indicates it will be somewhat flexible on cost sharing.
Eligible applicants include academic institutions, for-profit entities, research foundations, not-for-profit entities, and collaborations and consortia. The lead organization must be a U.S. entity. Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDCs), federal agencies and laboratories, and foreign entities can only participate as part of a collaboration and may not lead a team.
Because funding is provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, ARPA-E indicates it will give "special consideration" to projects that promote the objectives of the Act, especially in job creation, preservation, and economic recovery in an expeditious manner. There will also be reporting requirements for projects funded under the Recovery Act.

A link to the full FOA for proposals to ARPA-E can be found here.

National Institutes of Health-Research
Last updated May 14, 2009

The stimulus legislation provides a total of $10.4 billion to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) of which $8.2 billion is available for research projects. Of that amount, the Office of the Director will retain $800 million, within which Congress directs priority to be placed on short-term grants that focus on specific scientific challenges, new research that expands the scope of ongoing projects, and research on public and international health priorities. The remaining $7.4 billion will be distributed among the Institutes and Centers of NIH and the Common Fund (NIH Roadmap and other trans-NIH activities) in proportion to the usual appropriation allocations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009. The funding is available through September 30, 2010.

Mechanisms that NIH has stated will be used to distribute the stimulus funds include:

Research and Research Infrastructure "Grand Opportunities" (RC2): On March 20, 2009, the NIH posted a Research and Research Infrastructure "Grand Opportunities" (RC2) RFA.

The purpose of this "GO" grants program is to support high impact ideas that lend themselves to short-term funding, and may lay the foundation for new fields of investigation. Large-scale research projects that accelerate critical breakthroughs, early and applied research on cutting-edge technologies, and new approaches to improve the synergy and interactions among multi and interdisciplinary research teams are sought. Applicants may propose to address either a specific research question or propose the creation of a unique infrastructure/resource designed to accelerate scientific progress in the future. 18 of NIH's institutes plus the Office of the Director's Common Fund are participating in this particular solicitation, which will expend at least $200 million.

Each institute will post specific areas of interest.
Due date of May 27, 2009.
Letters of intent due April 27, 2009.
Application submission through grants.gov as detailed in the notice.
The RFA's specific requirements must be addressed in the application.
Applications will be peer reviewed.
Annual budgets must be greater than $500,000 total costs for each of two years.
No limit on number of applications per institution or per investigator.

Further details are provided in the funding solicitation for this new, one-time grant program (RFA-OD-09-004)

"Challenge Grants" -On March 4, 2009, the National Institutes of Health released a Request for Applications (RFA) for its new Challenge Grants program. Challenge Grants would support investigators working on new ways to attack seemingly intractable problems and/or jump-start a particular area of research. NIH is allocating at least $200 million for these Challenge Grants, and the RFA provides details on submission and evaluation processes and topics of interest for the program.

Logistics: Please note the following information on these one-time grants:

Each project award will be $1 million in total costs over two years.
There are no limits on the number of applications per individual investigator or per institution.
Grant applications are due April 27, 2009. Applicants will have 12 pages to describe their research proposal.
New review and scoring criteria will be used in this competition.

High Priority Challenge Topics: A detailed description of 15 specific high priority challenge topics and program officer contacts is posted. Of particular reference to ASPB members might be the following areas:

Bioethics:
02-OD(OSP)-101* Unique Ethical Issues Posed by Emerging Technologies

Enabling Technologies:
06-GM-101* Structural analysis of macromolecular complexes
06-GM-102* Chemist/biologist collaborations facilitating tool development
06-GM-103* Development of predictive methods for molecular structure, recognition, and ligand interaction
06-HG-101* New computational and statistical methods for the analysis of large data sets from next-generation sequencing technologies
06-HG-103* Methods to sequence highly variable, repeat-rich regions of complex genomes
08-HG-101* Technology and resources for high-throughput functional analysis of functional elements in genomic sequences

Full Solicitation and Additional Topics: The funding solicitation (RFA-0D-09-003) is posted. The full omnibus packet, which includes additional challenge areas of interest to the specific institutes and centers of NIH (a total of 175 pages of topics).

Review and Scoring: The new review and scoring criteria to be deployed for this solicitation.

R01s and Related Research Mechanisms to Support Scientifically Meritorious Projects: There are currently 14,000 R01 proposals that have been approved through the peer review process, but have never been funded. In general, the Institutes and Centers will be looking to fund the proposals that lend themselves well to two year goals, are in line with the Institutes and Centers' priorities (as laid out in their strategic plans), and have been deemed scientifically meritorious by the peer review process. They may also look for some geographic distribution of the awards. As peer review is a lengthy process, the focus will be on previously reviewed proposals; grant renewals may also be eligible for stimulus funding. However, NIH has not ruled out the possibility of accepting some new grant proposals with 2-year goals. Projects that cannot be completed in two years will not be considered.

Supplemental Funding to Existing Grants: The agency announced on March 18 that it is allocating at least $1 billion for administrative and competitive revision applications to supplement already funded NIH grants. Three notices providing details for submission of requests were issued and are outlined below. Note that turnaround times will be very short and that details from the individual institutes and centers are still emerging.

Applications will be due in late April and May 2009.
No limit on the number of requests per investigator or institution.
Flexible applicability for no-cost extensions.
A wide variety of funding mechanisms are eligible.
Specific guidance by each NIH institute or center should be heeded.
Applicants are encouraged to contact their program administrators and/or grants specialists prior to submission.

Competitive Revision Applications to Active NIH Grants

This particular funding opportunity is designed for applications that would support new research objectives and aims outside the scope of the approved parent grant.

Each institute has own specific areas of emphasis.
Due date of April 21, 2009.
Application submission is through grants.gov, as detailed in the notice.
Applications will be peer reviewed.
No maximum amount on budget request.
Awards will be issued by September 30, 2009.

The parent grant must be active at the time the revision application is submitted. The request should address how the revision will accelerate the pace of scientific research and/or allow for job creation and retention. Requests to restore previously applied budget adjustments will not be considered. Details are provided in the funding solicitation for these competitive revision grants (NOT-OD-09-060)

Administrative Supplements to Active NIH Grants

Supplements proposed under this funding opportunity must be within the general scope of the peer-reviewed activities and aims approved within the parent grant.

Each institute has specific guidance for its grantees.
Receipt dates vary, but most are in late April and early/mid May 2009.
Requests must be submitted directly to the funding institute, preferably via email.
The format of requests is specified in the parent announcement.
Up to 50 percent of the parent grant amount may be requested.

Principal investigators should contact their funding institute per guidance in the announcement via links to institute-specific pages. The funding solicitation for these administrative supplements (NOT-OD-09-056) is posted.

Administrative Supplements Providing Summer Research Experiences for Students and Science Educators

Supplements are intended to support the creation of research jobs performed by high school and undergraduate students, science educators from the elementary through high school continuum, and community college faculty, as well as faculty from non-research intensive institutions. These individuals are expected to work on activities within the existing peer reviewed and approved scope of the funded project.

Each institute has specific guidance for its grantees.
Receipt dates vary, but most will be in mid/late April.
Requests must be submitted directly to the funding iInstitute, preferably via email.
The format of requests is detailed in the notice.
Summer salary support and an additional $1,000 per person may be requested.

Because the requests are for summer employment, submission dates and institute action will of necessity be accelerated. The notice for these supplements is posted online.

Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA)

On April 20, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a solicitation to support up to 50 small research projects conducted by faculty and students at institutions that have not been major recipients of NIH research grant funds. The Academic Research Enhancement Awards (AREA) program has long sought to strengthen the research environment at such institutions by supporting the meritorious research of investigators who will then be able to involve students in the research process. Please note the following information that pertains to these AREA grants:

Grant applications due September 24, 2009.
Applicants may request a maximum of $300,000 total direct costs, plus applicable Facilities and Administrative (F&A)/Indirect costs for the entire project period of up to three years.
More than one application may be submitted, provided each application is scientifically distinct.
Applicants may not be the Project Director (PD)/Principal Investigator (PI) on any active NIH research grant, including another AREA grant, at the time of award of an AREA grant.
Up to 50 Awards will be made in FY 2010.
The AREA program has specific criteria for institutional eligibility, which are noted in the solicitation.

Further details are provided in the funding solicitation for this program (RFA-0D-09-007).

INFRASTRUCTURE AND INSTRUMENTATION

National Science Foundation-Infrastructure and Instrumentation
Last updated May 14, 2009

Although institutions will be limited in the number of proposals (sometimes to just one) they can submit to NSF for the awards described below, ASPB encourages plant biologists to work with their institution leadership to assemble and submit proposals that include plant biology foci.

Academic Research Infrastructure Program: Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-RM²)
The purpose of the Academic Research Infrastructure Program: Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-R²) program is to enhance the Nation's existing research facilities so that they provide next-generation research infrastructure and facilitate the integration of researchers with shared resources such as remote instruments and research platforms, data repositories, and national computing facilities. (The NSF defines "research facilities" as places in which sponsored and/or unsponsored research activities and research training take place to enable next-generation research infrastructure that integrates shared resources across user communities.)

The ARI-R² program encompasses improvement(s) of research facilities, i.e., repair or renovation or, in exceptional cases, replacement of shared scientific and engineering research and research training space, and its underlying infrastructure. Underlying infrastructure may include:

Routine sustaining infrastructure (e.g., laboratory electrical and plumbing systems, etc.);
Supporting equipment, i.e., basic durable components of a research facility that are integral to its operation (e.g., clean rooms, retractable roofs, etc.); and
Network connectivity among research facilities, including circuit access or fiber deployment and the associated hardware and software.

What ARI-R² Will Fund: Consistent with NSF's mission to strengthen the U.S. science and engineering enterprise, the ARI-R² program will:

Update existing research facilities at institutions of higher education (including graduate and undergraduate institutions, among which are included community colleges) and other non-profit research organizations (e.g., independent research museums, independent research laboratories, and research consortia) in order to support research that can address the challenges of the 21st century.
Enable academic departments, disciplinary and cross-disciplinary units, or multi-organization consortia to renovate research facilities through the addition or augmentation of cyberinfrastructure, other than general-purpose computing systems or data storage systems, to create environments that enhance research and integrate research with education.
Improve access to and increase use of next-generation research facilities for researchers, educators and students.
Assist research organizations, including those that have historically received limited Federal research and development funds, to improve their science and engineering research environments.

What ARI-R² Will Not Fund: Funding will be limited to facilities where research and research training activities focus on NSF-supported fields of science and engineering. ARI-R² provides support for improvement of physical space, the mechanical systems of buildings and fixed equipment that is built into and generic to the research facility, not free-standing equipment. It is not the intent of the ARI-R² program to fund: 1) new construction; 2) faculty or student offices, classrooms, seminar or conference rooms or other space facilities not devoted to scientific, engineering or educational research; or 3) basic building requirements such as elevators, loading/delivery areas or restrooms. In addition, the program will not support acquisition/development/installation of specific research instrumentation for, or the operation and maintenance of, the research facilities.

Proposal Assessment Criteria: The full proposal will be evaluated on three factors: the project management and sustainability plans, the need for the renovation, and the impact of the renovated facility. Specifically, the impact should be on transforming science and engineering at the institution, improving the institution's infrastructure and broadening participation, and improving the quality, effectiveness, distribution or capacity of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. The research and research training to be conducted in the facility will also be evaluated on the standard NSF criteria of intellectual merit and broader impact.

Funding, Award Size, and Number of Awards: A total of $200 million is available for this program. Approximately 3-5 awards will be in the $5 million to $10 million range, approximately 6-10 awards will be in the $2 million to $5 million range, and approximately 100 awards will be in the $250 thousand to $2 million range. All numbers are the total award size; the award must be spent within three years if it is less than $2 million and within four years if it is greater.

Cost-Sharing: Cost Sharing is not required for this program. However, institutions must provide a letter of commitment to operate the renovated facility for at least three years after project completion and a letter confirming that any funds necessary for the project from sources other than NSF are available and will be provided for the project should the proposal be funded.

Proposal Limits: Organizations may submit one proposal, either as lead, or as a sub-awardee on a collaborative proposal, but not both.

Eligibility: In addition to institutions of higher education, other eligible entities for this program include independent non-profit research museums, independent non-profit research institutions and laboratories, and non-profit research consortia located in the United States, its territories and possessions. These organizations must have an independent administrative and financial structure. Non-profit research consortia must also have 501(c)(3) tax status.

Due Dates: A letter of intent is required and is due July 1, 2009. Each institution may only submit one letter of intent, which is to provide an overview of the need for the proposed renovation, responsible personnel, and accurate estimated costs. Full proposals will be due August 24, 2009.

Special Reporting Requirements: Because this program is funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, special terms and conditions for reporting on project progress, spend rate, and jobs created and retained will be required. In addition, federal regulations under the Davis-Bacon Act on prevailing wages for laborers and mechanics will also be applied (see solicitation for more details).

Major Research Instrumentation - Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R²)
The MRI-R² program assists in the acquisition or development of major research instrumentation that is, in general, too costly or not appropriate for support through other NSF programs. Proposals to the MRI-R² program should conform to one or more of its goals:

Supporting the acquisition of major state-of-the-art instrumentation, thereby improving access to, and increased use of, modern research and research training instrumentation by scientists, engineers, and graduate and undergraduate students;
Fostering the development of the next generation of instrumentation, resulting in new instruments that are more widely used, and/or open up new areas of research and research training;
Enabling academic departments, disciplinary and cross-disciplinary units, and multi-organization collaborations to create well-equipped research environments that integrate research with education;
Supporting the acquisition and development of instrumentation that contributes to advancements in supercomputing technology, and/or takes advantage of existing investments in cyberinfrastructure while avoiding duplication of services already provisioned by NSF investments. The NSF document, Cyberinfrastructure Vision for the 21st Century provides an evolving vision that will help guide the Foundation's future investments in cyberinfrastructure;
Promoting substantive and meaningful partnerships for instrument development between the academic and private sectors (i.e., small businesses). Such partnerships have the potential to build capacity for instrument development in academic settings and to create new products with wide scientific and commercial impact. Partnerships with applicability to the Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers (I/UCRCs) program are encouraged.

Proposals for instrumentation will be considered for all NSF-supported fields of science, mathematics, and engineering. Researchers using this instrumentation need not be supported by NSF or the Federal government.

What MRI Will Not Support: The MRI-R² program will not support proposal requests for: general purpose equipment (including general purpose computers or assorted instruments that do not share a common or specific research or research training focus); instrumentation used primarily for science and engineering education courses; or renovation or modernization of research facilities, supporting equipment, and general purpose platforms. Furthermore, the program will not provide support for instrumentation to be used in medical education (such as medical school courses), and instrumentation intended for research with disease-related goals and related research on animal models and drug testing and development is not eligible for support. However, instrumentation for bioengineering research with diagnosis- or treatment-related goals that applies engineering principles to problems in biology and medicine, while also advancing engineering knowledge, is eligible for support. Instrumentation for bioinformatics and bioengineering research to aid persons with disabilities also is eligible.

Funding, Award Size, and Number of Awards: A total of approximately $200 million is available for this program. Of this funding, $40 million will go to awards over $2 million. For this competition only, the maximum award size has been raised to $6 million (from $4 million in the regular MRI competition). The vast majority of awards will be under $2 million, with a total of 400 awards expected from this competition. Awards may be from 3 to 5 years in duration.

Cost-Sharing Waiver: For this competition only, cost-sharing may be waived for institutions not on the list of the top 100 institutions receiving Federal research and development funding. If an institution is eligible for and seeks a waiver, it must include a certification from its President or Provost stating that the project will 1) make a substantial improvement in the institution's capabilities to conduct leading-edge research; 2) provide research experiences for undergraduate students using leading-edge facilities; and 3) broaden the participation in science and engineering research by women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities. For institutions on the list of top 100 federal funding recipients, cost-sharing of 30 percent is required.

Proposal Limits: An organization may submit at most three proposals (two for instrument acquisition and one for instrument development). An unfunded collaboration does not count against the submission limit, nor does a proposal in which an organization is a funded subawardee at less than 20 percent of the proposal's budget.

Resubmission Not Allowed: Proposals that wholly or substantially duplicate those currently being reviewed under the previous MRI competition (to which proposals were due in January 2009) may not be submitted to this competition.

Eligibility: In addition to institutions of higher education, independent not-for-profit organizations located in the U.S., its territories and possessions may submit proposals to this competition. (Such organizations must have an independent administrative structure, e.g., an office of sponsored research, and have 501(c)(3) tax status.)

Due Dates: Full proposals will be due August 10, 2009.

National Institutes of Health-Infrastructure and Instrumentation
Last updated March 30, 2009

Supporting New Faculty Recruitment to Enhance Research Resources through Biomedical Research Core Centers (P30): This new request for applications is specifically targeted for support of the hiring of newly recruited faculty. NIH notes that these institutional awards will provide funding to hire, provide appropriate start-up packages, and develop pilot research projects for newly independent investigators. Of particular interest is enhancement of an institution's community of multidisciplinary researchers. Fourteen of NIH's institutes are participating in this $100 million solicitation, which will provide support for up to two years. Newly recruited research faculty who receive support under the award should be new to the faculty and should be appointed to an independent tenure-track (ore equivalent) research position at the assistant professor level.

Each Institute's interests are cross referenced in the solicitation.
Due date of May 29, 2009.
Letters of intent due April 29, 2009.
Budget requirements and guidance will vary by NIH institute.
Individual institutes will specify number of applications permitted per institution.

The funding solicitation for this RFA is RFA-OD-09-005.

On March 5, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released several Requests for Applications (RFAs) for infrastructure and instrumentation grants that would be funded by the stimulus package. NIH is allocating $1 billion for facilities improvement programs and $300 million for instrumentation. The programs are listed below in order of their proposal due dates.

Shared Instrument Grant Program (S10 mechanism)

For shared instruments in the range of $100,000 to $500,000, eligible organizations should apply under this ongoing competition.
This solicitation was posted in November; applications are due on March 23, 2009.
Program announcement web site

High-end Instrumentation Grant Program (S10 mechanism)

Support for groups of NIH-supported investigators to purchase a single major item of equipment for use in biomedical research with a direct cost between $600,000 and $8 million per application.
Examples of equipment that could be supported include: structural and functional imaging systems, macromolecular NMR spectrometers, high-resolution mass spectrometers, cryoelectron microscopes, and supercomputers.
No cost sharing requirement, and no limit on number of applications per institution.
Letters of intent are due April 6, 2009, and applications are due May 6, 2009.
Program announcement web site

Extramural Research Facilities Improvement Program (C06 mechanism)

Support for alterations, renovations, or additions to existing facilities, completion of uninhabitable shell space in existing facilities, or construction of new facilities. Applications may be for direct costs between $2 million and $15 million.
Use of "green"/sustainable technologies and design approaches is expected.
No cost sharing or cost matching requirement. Each institution is expected to submit no more than three applications under this solicitation.
Application due dates are divided by project cost: May 6, 2009 (for projects between $2 -5 million); June 17, 2009 (for projects between $10-15 million); and July 17, 2009 (for projects between $5-10 million).
Program announcement web site

Core Facility Renovation, Repair, and Improvement (G20 mechanism)

Support to alter and renovate the core facility and to improve general equipment in the core facility or to purchase general equipment for specialized groups of researchers. Applications may be for direct costs between $1 million and $10 million.
Use of "green" technologies and design approaches is expected.
No cost sharing or cost matching requirement. Each institution is expected to submit no more than two applications under this solicitation.
Applications are due September 17, 2009.
Program announcement web site

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

National Science Foundation-Education
Last updated March 23, 2009

The final bill provides $100 million for three education programs at NSF. There are funds for two existing programs: the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program ($60 million) and the Math and Science Partnerships program ($25 million). For these programs, the funding is likely to go to increase the success rate in the FY 2009 competitions and to supplements for existing awards.

Additional information on the Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship program is available on line.

Additional information on the Math and Science Partnerships program is available on line.

The bill also provides $15 million for a new Professional Science Master's program. NSF will have to develop and issue a solicitation before the proposals can be submitted. This program was authorized in the America COMPETES Act and would:

"Establish a clearinghouse to share program elements used in successful professional science master's degree programs and other advanced degree programs related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics; and
Award grants to 4 -year institutions of higher education to facilitate the institutions' creation or improvement of professional science master's degree programs that may include linkages between institutions of higher education and industries that employ science-trained personnel, with an emphasis on practical training and preparation for the workforce in high-need fields."

More information about the Professional Science Master's Program can be found in Section 7034 of Public Law 110-69 (the America COMPETES Act)..

GOVERNMENT-WIDE PROCESSES AND REPORTING

Additional Reporting Requirements
Last updated March 6, 2009

The stimulus bill has general reporting provisions to ensure transparency and accountability in how the funds are spent and that projects are consistent with the legislation's goals, including job creation and preservation. Therefore, funds received from the programs described above will have reporting requirements above and beyond the reports usually provided to these agencies and the awards will have rigorous tracking requirements. (Funding added to existing grants and projects will have to be tracked and reported on separately from the base grant).

Quarterly reports will be required from the recipients of the funds to the granting agency. These reports will require a variety of information, including data on the amount of recovery funds expended or obligated, a description and an evaluation of the completion status of all projects supported, information on any subcontracts or subgrants, and an estimate of the number of jobs created and the number of jobs retained. Additional reporting for infrastructure investments made by State and local governments is also required.

It is likely that most information provided by awardees to funding agencies will be made publicly available in some form; materials should be prepared with this in mind.

Information about the implementation of the stimulus bill will be posted online.

Government-Wide Timeline
Last updated March 6, 2009

All agencies are under significant pressure to begin distributing the funding in the stimulus bill to States, organizations, and individuals as quickly as possible. The overall timeline announced by the Administration for the next few months is:

February 19, 2009: Federal agencies to begin reporting their formula block grant awards.
March 3, 2009: Federal agencies to begin reporting uses of funds.
May 3, 2009: Federal agencies to make performance plans publically available; to begin reporting on their allocations for entitlement programs.
May 15, 2009: Detailed agency financial reports to become available.
May 20, 2009: Federal agencies to begin reporting their competitive grants and contracts.
July 15, 2009: Recipients of Federal funding to begin reporting on their use of funds.

In addition, the Office of Management and Budget has set targets for implementation of programs by the agencies. Individual agencies have additional deadlines; for example, NSF, NIST, and NASA have been directed to deliver a spending plan to Congress by April 18, 2009.

Government Websites Regarding the Stimulus

Government-wide Grant Postings (search for keyword "recovery")

OMB