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Innovation Through Institutional Integration
FAQ's
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Innovation through Institutional Integration (I3) challenges institutions to think strategically about the creative integration of NSF-funded awards, with particular emphasis on awards managed by programs in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources (EHR). For Fiscal Year 2008, I3 appears in the EHR solicitations for six programs:
Centers of Research Excellence in Science and Technology (CREST)
Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST)
Math and Science Partnership (MSP)
Research in Disabilities Education (RDE)
Robert Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program (Noyce)
Tribal Colleges and Universities Program (TCUP)
Awards will be made to institutions of higher education, including two- and four-year colleges. Given the focus on institutional integration, an institution may submit only one proposal to the I3 competition.
The following questions and answers are intended to address some of the specifics that may arise in planning and preparing proposals to I3.
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I3 appears in the EHR solicitations for CREST, ITEST, MSP, Noyce, RDE, and TCUP. Can we submit a proposal if we don’t have an existing CREST, ITEST, MSP, Noyce, RDE, or TCUP award on our campus?
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Does it matter to which solicitation we submit our proposal?
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I3 clearly intends to bring together projects funded on a university campus(es) by the NSF Directorate for EHR. Can we include in our proposal other NSF-funded projects? Can we include projects funded by other governmental agencies? Private organizations and foundations?
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Are proposals expected to address all five I3 goals?
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My institution would like to bring related NSF projects together on two integrative themes, broadening participation and critical educational junctures. Can I submit one proposal with a primary theme of broadening participation to CREST and a second proposal with a primary theme of critical educational junctures to RDE?
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Can we submit a proposal if we don’t have any EHR-funded awards on our campus, but we have several other NSF-funded awards and we want to collaborate and integrate our educational efforts for those awards?
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Are proposals that focus on one institution preferred over those that emphasize awards at multiple institutions in a region?
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Are proposals that focus on several integrative themes preferred over those that address a single theme?
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If we submit a proposal to I3, does this affect the number of proposals we can submit to any of the six programs participating in I3?
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Can we combine in a single proposal (a) research on, for example, broadening participation in the context of institutional integration, with (b) an implementation project that integrates the work of several awards on our campus around the same theme?
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We plan to bring together five or more projects in our institutional submission. FastLane currently provides for one Principal Investigator and up to four co-Principal Investigators. It would help to solidify our campus partnership if a co-Principal Investigator could be listed from each of the participating projects. Is it possible to list more than four co-Principal Investigators?
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We have an interest in getting some information about the I3 awards made from the first competition in Fiscal Year 2008. How can we find out more?
- If we have other specific questions, are there program directors in EHR who we can contact?
- I3 appears in the EHR solicitations for CREST, ITEST, MSP, Noyce, RDE, and TCUP. Can we submit a proposal if we don’t have an existing CREST, ITEST, MSP, Noyce, RDE, or TCUP award on our campus?
Answer: Yes, you may submit a proposal. You don’t need to have an existing CREST, ITEST, MSP, Noyce, RDE, or TCUP award on your campus in order to submit a proposal, although it is expected that your campus(es) will have one or more EHR awards and that these awards will collaborate around one or more of the I3 integrative themes, unless the proposal is exclusively for research. For proposals exclusively for research, your campus does not necessarily need to have existing awards from EHR.
- Does it matter to which solicitation we submit our proposal?
Answer: No, it does not matter to which solicitation you submit your proposal. The description of I3 and the review criteria for I3 proposals are the same in all six solicitations. All proposals submitted to I3 through these programs have a common due date of April 10, 2008, and will be reviewed in competition with one another.
- I3 clearly intends to bring together projects funded on a university campus(es) by the NSF Directorate for EHR. Can we include in our proposal other NSF-funded projects? Can we include projects funded by other governmental agencies? Private organizations and foundations?
Answer: In addition to awards funded by EHR on a university campus(es), you may also include in your proposed project other awards/projects with a STEM educational focus, including other NSF-funded awards, as well as STEM educational projects funded by other governmental agencies, private organizations, and foundations. A proposed I3 project with a focus on critical educational junctures might, for example, bring together on a campus a GK-12 award, an NSF-funded MSP, an ED–funded MSP, and other projects with a common STEM educational purpose.
- Are proposals expected to address all five I3 goals?
Answer: Proposals for STEM educational- or related-research only are expected to address one or more of the I3 integrative themes of broadening participation, critical educational junctures, globally engaged workforce, or the integration of research and education and to do so in the context of institutional integration. All other proposals are expected to focus their work on one or more of the integrative themes of the solicitation (broadening participation, critical educational junctures, globally engaged workforce, or the integration of research and education) and, additionally, to articulate a vision and plan of work, along with an evaluation plan, to
- My institution would like to bring related NSF projects together on two integrative themes, broadening participation and critical educational junctures. Can I submit one proposal with a primary theme of broadening participation to CREST and a second proposal with a primary theme of critical educational junctures to RDE?
Answer: An institution may submit only one proposal to I3 for this competition. You may bring together the two themes of broadening participation and critical educational junctures in a single proposal, but you may not submit one proposal to CREST and a second proposal to RDE.
- Can we submit a proposal if we don’t have any EHR-funded awards on our campus, but we have several other NSF-funded awards and we want to collaborate and integrate our educational efforts for those awards?
Answer: I3 calls for (a) proposals for research on institutional integration, commensurate with the I3 goals stated in the solicitation, and (b) proposals that bring together projects on a campus(es) around a common integrative theme(s) commensurate with the I3 goals stated in the solicitation. Proposals exclusively for research may be submitted by a university with no EHR-funded awards. Other proposals must bring together some EHR-funded awards, with or without other NSF-awards, around one or more common integrative themes.
- Are proposals that focus on one institution preferred over those that emphasize awards at multiple institutions in a region?
Answer: No. Neither inter- or intra-institutional integration is preferred over the other. There is interest in proposals from all types of institutions and from institutional partnerships that incorporate a depth and quality of creative, coherent, and strategic actions that extend beyond commonplace approaches to normal institutional operations.
- Are proposals that focus on several integrative themes preferred over those that address a single theme?
Answer: No. Proposals may focus on a single integrative theme or on more than one. There is interest in proposals from all types of institutions and from institutional partnerships that incorporate a depth of quality of creative, coherent, and strategic actions that extend beyond commonplace approaches to normal institutional operations.
- If we submit a proposal to I3, does this affect the number of proposals we can submit to any of the six programs participating in I3?
Answer: No. Independent of I3, some of the programs participating in I3 have a limit on the number of non-I3 proposals that can be submitted (CREST, MSP, Noyce) and some do not (ITEST, RDE, TCUP). Those limitations apply. In addition to those limitations, however, an institution may submit a single proposal to the I3 competition. As an example, ITEST and RDE have no limitations on the number of non-I3 proposals that an institution may submit. So, an institution might submit four proposals to ITEST and two to RDE. In addition, an institution may submit one proposal to I3 through any participating I3 program, for a total of seven submissions.
- Can we combine in a single proposal (a) research on, for example, broadening participation in the context of institutional integration, with (b) an implementation project that integrates the work of several awards on our campus around the same theme?
Answer: Yes, you can. The proposal must represent a single submission from your institution, with a request for funding that does not exceed $ 200,000 per year, for a total not to exceed $ 1 million over five years. Since your project is not for research only, the university provost (or equivalent) must be the Principal Investigator.
- We plan to bring together five or more projects in our institutional submission. FastLane currently provides for one Principal Investigator and up to four co-Principal Investigators. It would help to solidify our campus partnership if a co-Principal Investigator could be listed from each of the participating projects. Is it possible to list more than four co-Principal Investigators?
Answer: Your interest in listing more than four co-Principal Investigators is understandable, and we have looked into that possibility. There is a rationale, however, for not expanding the number of co-Principal Investigators for the FastLane submission. Co-Principal Investigators are considered to have the same responsibilities as the Principal Investigator. An overdue NSF Final Project Report will delay any new, pending award to any of the project’s Principal or co-Principal Investigators. NSF has attempted to balance the formal recognition factor for large numbers of co-Principal Investigators against the burden that it may create. NSF does not at this time plan a change in the number of co-Principal Investigators that can be submitted in FastLane.
- We have an interest in getting some information about the I3 awards made from the first competition in Fiscal Year 2008. How can we find out more?
Answer: Awards from the first competition in Fiscal Year 2008 were made to six institutions of higher education:
0833338 University of Washington
0833364 University of Colorado at Boulder
0833434 Georgia Institute of Technology
0833439 University of Florida
0833461 Louisiana State University
0833482 University of Hawaii: Kapiolani Community College
Information on each project, including project abstract, is available at the NSF homepage http://www.nsf.gov, under “Awards.”
- If we have other specific questions, are there program directors in EHR who we can contact?
Answer: Yes. Any of the five program directors below may be contacted:
Dr. Jody Chase, lchase@nsf.gov, 703-292-8682
Dr. Jim Hamos, jhamos@nsf.gov, 703-292-4687
Dr. Sylvia James, sjames@nsf.gov, 703-292-5333
Dr. Mark Leddy, mleddy@nsf.gov, 703-292-4655
Dr. Patrick Mensah, pmensah@nsf.gov, 703-292-4988
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