Mathematical Sciences: Innovations at the Interface with Computer Sciences (MSPA-MCS)
Program Solicitation
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National Science Foundation Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences Directorate
for Computer & Information Science & Engineering |
Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. proposer's local time):
March 12, 2007
In furtherance of the President's Management Agenda, NSF has identified programs that will offer proposers the option to utilize Grants.gov to prepare and submit proposals, or will require that proposers utilize Grants.gov to prepare and submit proposals. Grants.gov provides a single Government-wide portal for finding and applying for Federal grants online.
In response to this program solicitation, proposers may opt to submit proposals via Grants.gov or via the NSF FastLane system. In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:
Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system. Chapter II, Section D.3 of the Grant Proposal Guide provides additional information on collaborative proposals.
This is a revision of document NSF 05-622 which announced competitions of nine activities of the Mathematical Sciences Priority Area (MSPA) in Fiscal 2005-2006. This revision contains the following specific changes from NSF 05-622:
It provides an upcoming proposal deadline for Interactions between Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science (MSPA-MCS).
It provides a revised description of areas of interest for Interactions between Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science (MSPA-MCS).
The information about proposal submission to the MSPA interdisciplinary activities with Astronomy (MSPA-AST), Chemistry (MSPA-CHE), Materials Research (MSPA-MR), and Engineering (MSPA-ENG) is removed.
Program Title:
Mathematical Sciences: Innovations at the Interface with Computer Sciences
Synopsis of Program:
This solicitation describes the opportunities available for support through the Foundation’s Mathematical Sciences Priority Area in the following category:
Interactions between Mathematical Sciences and Computer Sciences (MSPA-MCS)
Investments in the MSPA-MCS program aim to deepen support of collaborative research in fundamental mathematics and statistics, and computer science with a focus primarily on mathematical and statistical challenges posed by large data sets, managing and modeling uncertainty, and modeling complex nonlinear systems.
Cognizant Program Officer(s):
Tie Luo, telephone: (703) 292-8448, email: tluo@nsf.gov
Lawrence Rosenblum, telephone: (703)292-8910, email: lrosenbl@nsf.gov
Sankar Basu, telephone: (703)292-8910, email: sabasu@nsf.gov
Grace Yang, telephone: (703)292-4876, email: gyang@nsf.gov
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number(s):
Anticipated Type of Award: Standard Grant or Continuing Grant
Estimated Number of Awards: 4 to 5
Anticipated Funding Amount: $2,300,000 This figure is the total amount, subject to availability of funds in FY 2007.
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI:
No individual may be a PI, Co-PI, or senior personnel of more than one proposal submitted in response to this solicitation.
A. Proposal Preparation Instructions
Full Proposals:
Full Proposals submitted via FastLane: Grant Proposal Guide (GPG) Guidelines apply. The complete text of the GPG is available electronically on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpg.
Full Proposals submitted via Grants.gov: NSF Grants.gov Application Guide: A Guide for the Preparation and Submission of NSF Applications via Grants.gov Guidelines apply (Note: The NSF Grants.gov Application Guide is available on the Grants.gov website and on the NSF website at: http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/docs/grantsgovguide.pdf/)
B. Budgetary Information
C. Due Dates
March 12, 2007
Merit Review Criteria: National Science Board approved criteria apply.
Award Conditions: Standard NSF award conditions apply
Reporting Requirements: Standard NSF reporting requirements apply
The fundamental mathematical sciences - embracing mathematics and statistics - are essential not only for the progress of research across disciplines, they are also critical to training a mathematically literate workforce for the future. Technology-based industries which help fuel the growth of the U.S. economy and increasing dependence on computer control systems, electronic data management, and business forecasting models, demand a workforce with effective mathematical and statistical skills, well-versed in science and engineering.
It is vital for mathematicians and statisticians to collaborate with engineers and scientists to extend the frontiers of discovery where science and mathematics meet, both in research and in educating a new generation for careers in academia, industry, and government. For the United States to remain competitive among other nations with strong traditions in mathematical sciences education, we must attract more young Americans to careers in the mathematical sciences. These efforts are essential for the continued health of the nation's science and engineering enterprise.
The goal of the Mathematical Sciences Priority Area (MSPA) is to advance frontiers in three interlinked areas: (1) fundamental mathematical and statistical sciences, (2) interdisciplinary research involving the mathematical and statistical sciences with science and engineering, and (3) critical investments in mathematical and statistical sciences that embed training in research activities.
Investments in the Mathematical Sciences Priority Area aim to deepen support for fundamental research in mathematics and statistics and the integration of mathematical and statistical research across the full range of science and engineering disciplines. Investments in interdisciplinary research will focus primarily on three scientific themes:
These themes provide the basis for most of the interdisciplinary competitions that are part of the MSPA. Innovative educational activities that foster closer connections between research and education in the mathematical sciences will also be supported.
Existing competitions other than MSPA-MCS as part of the MSPA include the following:
These existing competitions are listed here for information only and will not be described hereafter.
This solicitation provides descriptions of the following category of activities supported through the MSPA:
Interactions between Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science (MSPA-MCS)
Investigators wishing to submit proposals to this activity are encouraged to read the full text of this solicitation for program description, proposal due date, eligibility and award information. Proposers are also encouraged to contact one of the cognizant program officers listed in the full text of this solicitation.
This solicitation describes funding opportunities in the following category of activities:
Interactions between the Mathematical Sciences and Computer Science (MSPA-MCS)
MSPA-MCS Description:
In FY 2007, the Division of Mathematical Sciences (DMS) of the Directorate for Mathematical and Physical Sciences and the Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF) of the Directorate for Computer and Information Science plan to support projects of mutual interest in specific areas. More precisely, we plan to support research and development teams focusing on mathematical and computational innovations relevant to the following areas of specific interest:
As this joint funding will focus on areas of mutual interest, proposals must originate from teams involving collaborators of mathematical scientists and computer scientists. We seek proposals that offer new approaches and promise significant breakthroughs in these areas that aim to develop rigorous mathematical/statistical and computational foundations to advance our understanding in both the mathematical sciences and computer science. Thus, proposals for incremental improvements of ongoing efforts are not eligible for this competition. Furthermore, proposals that appear to be requests to augment existing resources for current projects are not eligible for this competition.
Estimated number of awards: 4 to 5 Team Grants
Anticipated funding amount: $2.3 million, subject to availability of funds. Award sizes for each team project are expected to range from $150,000 - $200,000 per year for up to three years duration.
Estimated program budget, number of awards and average award size/duration are subject to the availability of funds.
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per Organization:
None Specified
Limit on Number of Proposals per PI:
No individual may be a PI, Co-PI, or senior personnel of more than one proposal submitted in response to this solicitation.
Full Proposal Preparation Instructions: Proposers may opt to submit proposals in response to this Program Solicitation via Grants.gov or via the NSF FastLane system.
In determining which method to utilize in the electronic preparation and submission of the proposal, please note the following:
Collaborative Proposals. All collaborative proposals submitted as separate submissions from multiple organizations must be submitted via the NSF FastLane system. Chapter II, Section D.3 of the Grant Proposal Guide provides additional information on collaborative proposals.
Proposals submitted via FastLane should identify the program solicitation number on the cover of this document in the program announcement/solicitation block on the proposal cover sheet. If submitting via Grants.gov, the program solicitation number will be prepopulated by Grants.gov on the NSF Grant Application Cover Page. The NSF organizational unit to which proposals should be directed is DMS - Mathematical Sciences Priority Area. The proposal title should begin with the phrase MSPA-MCS: followed by a project title.
Cost Sharing: Cost sharing is not required by NSF in proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation.
March 12, 2007
For Proposals Submitted Via FastLane:
Detailed technical instructions regarding the technical aspects of preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/a1/newstan.htm. For FastLane user support, call the FastLane Help Desk at 1-800-673-6188 or e-mail fastlane@nsf.gov. The FastLane Help Desk answers general technical questions related to the use of the FastLane system. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this funding opportunity.
Submission of Electronically Signed Cover Sheets. The Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must electronically sign the proposal Cover Sheet to submit the required proposal certifications (see Chapter II, Section C of the Grant Proposal Guide for a listing of the certifications). The AOR must provide the required electronic certifications within five working days following the electronic submission of the proposal. Further instructions regarding this process are available on the FastLane Website at: https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/fastlane.jsp.
Before using Grants.gov for the first time, each organization must register to create an institutional profile. Once registered, the applicant's organization can then apply for any federal grant on the Grants.gov website. The Grants.gov's Grant Community User Guide is a comprehensive reference document that provides technical information about Grants.gov. Proposers can download the User Guide as a Microsoft Word document or as a PDF document. The Grants.gov User Guide is available at: http://www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport. In addition, the NSF Grants.gov Application Guide provides additional technical guidance regarding preparation of proposals via Grants.gov. For Grants.gov user support, contact the Grants.gov Contact Center at 1-800-518-4726 or by email: support@grants.gov. The Grants.gov Contact Center answers general technical questions related to the use of Grants.gov. Specific questions related to this program solicitation should be referred to the NSF program staff contact(s) listed in Section VIII of this solicitation.
Submitting the Proposal: Once all documents have been completed, the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) must submit the application to Grants.gov and verify the desired funding opportunity and agency to which the application is submitted. The AOR must then sign and submit the application to Grants.gov. The completed application will be transferred to the NSF FastLane system for further processing.
Proposals received by NSF are assigned to the appropriate NSF program and, if they meet NSF proposal preparation requirements, for review. All proposals are carefully reviewed by a scientist, engineer, or educator serving as an NSF Program Officer, and usually by three to ten other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular fields represented by the proposal. These reviewers are selected by Program Officers charged with the oversight of the review process. Proposers are invited to suggest names of persons they believe are especially well qualified to review the proposal and/or persons they would prefer not review the proposal. These suggestions may serve as one source in the reviewer selection process at the Program Officer's discretion. Submission of such names, however, is optional. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts with the proposer.
All NSF proposals are evaluated through use of the two National Science Board (NSB)-approved merit review criteria: intellectual merit and the broader impacts of the proposed effort. In some instances, however, NSF will employ additional criteria as required to highlight the specific objectives of certain programs and activities.
The two NSB-approved merit review criteria are listed below. The criteria include considerations that help define them. These considerations are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. While proposers must address both merit review criteria, reviewers will be asked to address only those considerations that are relevant to the proposal being considered and for which the reviewer is qualified to make judgements.
What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?
How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of the prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources?What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?
NSF staff will give careful consideration to the following in making funding decisions:
Integration of Research and Education
One of the principal strategies in support of NSF's goals is to foster integration of research and education through the programs, projects, and activities it supports at academic and research institutions. These institutions provide abundant opportunities where individuals may concurrently assume responsibilities as researchers, educators, and students and where all can engage in joint efforts that infuse education with the excitement of discovery and enrich research through the diversity of learning perspectives.Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities
Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- is essential to the health and vitality of science and engineering. NSF is committed to this principle of diversity and deems it central to the programs, projects, and activities it considers and supports.
Proposals submitted in response to this program solicitation will be reviewed by Adhoc Review or Panel Review.
Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. The Program Officer assigned to manage the proposal's review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation.
After scientific, technical and programmatic review and consideration of appropriate factors, the NSF Program Officer recommends to the cognizant Division Director whether the proposal should be declined or recommended for award. NSF is striving to be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months. The time interval begins on the date of receipt. The interval ends when the Division Director accepts the Program Officer's recommendation.
A summary rating and accompanying narrative will be completed and submitted by each reviewer. In all cases, reviews are treated as confidential documents. Verbatim copies of reviews, excluding the names of the reviewers, are sent to the Principal Investigator/Project Director by the Program Officer. In addition, the proposer will receive an explanation of the decision to award or decline funding.
In all cases, after programmatic approval has been obtained, the proposals recommended for funding will be forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review of business, financial, and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants and Agreements Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with a NSF Program Officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer does so at their own risk.
Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements. Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator. (See Section VI.B. for additional information on the review process.)
An NSF award consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the award and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award letter; (4) the applicable award conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (GC-1); * or Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) Terms and Conditions * and (5) any announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Cooperative agreements also are administered in accordance with NSF Cooperative Agreement Financial and Administrative Terms and Conditions (CA-FATC) and the applicable Programmatic Terms and Conditions. NSF awards are electronically signed by an NSF Grants and Agreements Officer and transmitted electronically to the organization via e-mail.
*These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF's Website at http://www.nsf.gov/awards/managing/general_conditions.jsp?org=NSF. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone (703) 292-7827 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.
More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions and other important information on the administration of NSF awards is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) Chapter II, available electronically on the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=gpm.
For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the Principal Investigator must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period. (Some programs or awards require more frequent project reports). Within 90 days after expiration of a grant, the PI also is required to submit a final project report.
Failure to provide the required annual or final project reports will delay NSF review and processing of any future funding increments as well as any pending proposals for that PI. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.
PIs are required to use NSF's electronic project-reporting system, available through FastLane, for preparation and submission of annual and final project reports. Such reports provide information on activities and findings, project participants (individual and organizational) publications; and, other specific products and contributions. PIs will not be required to re-enter information previously provided, either with a proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system. Submission of the report via FastLane constitutes certification by the PI that the contents of the report are accurate and complete.
General inquiries regarding this program should be made to:
Tie Luo, telephone: (703) 292-8448, email: tluo@nsf.gov
Lawrence Rosenblum, telephone: (703)292-8910, email: lrosenbl@nsf.gov
Sankar Basu, telephone: (703)292-8910, email: sabasu@nsf.gov
Grace Yang, telephone: (703)292-4876, email: gyang@nsf.gov
For questions related to the use of FastLane, contact:
Florence Rabanal, Electronic Business Coordinator, 1005 N, telephone: (703) 292-8808, fax: (703) 292-9151, email: frabanal@nsf.gov
For questions relating to Grants.gov contact:
Grants.gov Contact Center: If the Authorized Organizational Representatives (AOR) has not received a confirmation message from Grants.gov within 48 hours of submission of application, please contact via telephone: 1-800-518-4726; e-mail: support@grants.gov.
This solicitation covers three categories of activities. Please see Section II of this solicitation for contact information on each of the three categories .
The NSF Website provides the most comprehensive source of information on NSF Directorates (including contact information), programs and funding opportunities. Use of this Website by potential proposers is strongly encouraged. In addition, MyNSF (formerly the Custom News Service)is an information-delivery system designed to keep potential proposers and other interested parties apprised of new NSF funding opportunities and publications, important changes in proposal and award policies and procedures, and upcoming NSF Regional Grants Conferences. Subscribers are informed through e-mail or the user's Web browser each time new publications are issued that match their identified interests. MyNSF also is available on NSF's Website at http://www.nsf.gov/mynsf/.
Grants.gov provides an additional electronic capability to search for Federal government-wide grant opportunities. NSF funding opportunities may be accessed via this new mechanism. Further information on Grants.gov may be obtained at http://www.grants.gov.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent Federal agency created by the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended (42 USC 1861-75). The Act states the purpose of the NSF is "to promote the progress of science; [and] to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare by supporting research and education in all fields of science and engineering."
NSF funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. It does this through grants and cooperative agreements to more than 2,000 colleges, universities, K-12 school systems, businesses, informal science organizations and other research organizations throughout the US. The Foundation accounts for about one-fourth of Federal support to academic institutions for basic research.
NSF receives approximately 40,000 proposals each year for research, education and training projects, of which approximately 11,000 are funded. In addition, the Foundation receives several thousand applications for graduate and postdoctoral fellowships. The agency operates no laboratories itself but does support National Research Centers, user facilities, certain oceanographic vessels and Antarctic research stations. The Foundation also supports cooperative research between universities and industry, US participation in international scientific and engineering efforts, and educational activities at every academic level.
Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities to work on NSF-supported projects. See Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II, Section D.2 for instructions regarding preparation of these types of proposals.
The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation about NSF programs, employment or general information. TDD may be accessed at (703) 292-5090 and (800) 281-8749, FIRS at (800) 877-8339.
The National Science Foundation Information Center may be reached at (703) 292-5111.
The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants and cooperative agreements for research and education in the sciences, mathematics, and engineering. To get the latest information about program deadlines, to download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of awards, visit the NSF Website at http://www.nsf.gov
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The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; and project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the proposal review process; to proposer institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies or other entities needing information regarding applicants or nominees as part of a joint application review process, or in order to coordinate programs or policy; and to another Federal agency, court, or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 69 Federal Register 26410 (May 12, 2004), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records, " 69 Federal Register 26410 (May 12, 2004). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number. The OMB control number for this collection is 3145-0058. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding the burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to:
Suzanne H. Plimpton
Reports Clearance Officer
Division of Administrative
Services
National Science Foundation
Arlington, VA 22230
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