Interdisciplinary
Research
Interdisciplinary Research
(IDR) Proposals
The Directorate for Engineering (ENG) encourages
the submission of transformative, interdisciplinary research proposals
to its programs and will be piloting a new review procedure designed
to ensure that such proposals are properly evaluated.
Definition of Interdisciplinary Research
“Interdisciplinary research (IDR) is a mode
of research by teams or individuals that integrates information,
data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories
from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge
to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose
solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of
research practice.” Reference: Facilitating Interdisciplinary
Research, Committee on Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research,
Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, NATIONAL ACADEMY
OF SCIENCES, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING, AND INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES, THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS WASHINGTON,
DC
Characteristics of IDR Proposals
• To be funded, IDR proposals must ultimately
attract funding from at least two divisions of the NSF. The primary
funding division must be within the Directorate for Engineering.
• While not an absolute requirement, an IDR proposal will
typically be submitted by a small team of 2-4 investigators.
• The typical anticipated award size will be $300-500,000
(for up to three years), although awards up to a total of $1,000,000
will be considered, consistent with the scope of the proposed work.
Submission of IDR Proposals
• IDR proposals must be submitted to an ENG
Program and be clearly designated in the proposal title as IDR proposals
(example title: “IDR – Mechanisms of Cognitive Modeling
in Concrete-Based Catalysts”).
• IDR proposals must be submitted under the unsolicited proposal
submission window for the relevant programs.
• The NSF programs from which co-funding is sought must be
designated as collaborating programs in FastLane.
• IDR proposals must include a clear, concise and separate
paragraph in the Project Summary explaining the interdisciplinary
nature of the proposal with explicit reference to the backgrounds
of the investigators in relation to the scientific thrust of the
proposed work. Proposals not containing such an explanation will
be returned without review.
• IDR proposals must be prepared in a manner such that reviewers
from different fields (which relate to the proposal) can appreciate
the intellectual merit, transformative nature, and broader impact
of the interdisciplinary research proposed.
• IDR proposals must explicitly address both Intellectual
Merit and Broader Impacts and conform with all other requirements
of the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG)
(Document
#NSF 09-1)
• Proposals may be submitted to either of the three following
Divisions within ENG: 1) Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental,
and Transport Systems (CBET), 2) Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing
Innovation (CMMI), and 3) Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems
(ECCS).
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