ARRA Funds Available For NSF Research Infrastructure and Instrumentation Programs
The National Science Foundation will use American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds for two special opportunities: the Academic Research Infrastructure-Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-R²) and the Major Research Instrumentation-Recovery and Reinvestment (MRI-R²) programs. The Recovery Act, signed into law by President Obama in February, designated $200 million for competitive grants as part of its Academic Research Infrastructure program and $300 million for the Major Research Instrumentation program. The $100 million of the MRI funding will be applied to NSF's annual MRI competition for FY 2009, and $200 million will be used for the special competition. The goal of ARI-R² is to ensure that existing research facilities are state-of-the-art, provide next-generation scientific infrastructure, and better integrate researchers with shared resources, such as remote instruments, remote research platforms, data repositories, and national computing facilities. NSF will consider proposals for projects up to $10 million each for the repair or renovation of existing academic research facilities. ARI-R² letters of intent must be submitted by July 1, 2009. Full proposals are due to NSF by August 24, 2009. The solicitation (NSF 09-562) is available on the NSF web site: Academic Research Infrastructure Program: Recovery and Reinvestment (ARI-R²) Solicitation The MRI-R² program enhances the nation's research infrastructure by providing researchers and students access to state-of-the-art scientific and engineering equipment and instrumentation in environments that integrate research with education. It encourages proposals for a broad range of projects, including developing and acquiring next-generation, shared instrumentation; using research instrumentation to promote the development of a diverse workforce; and leveraging the resources of private sector partners to build the research capacity at academic institutions. For the MRI-R² competition only, proposals will be accepted for instrument development or for acquisition of a single instrument or a system of related instruments that share a common or specific research focus in the range $100,000-$6 million from Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education and non-degree-granting organizations; up to $6 million (there is no minimum request) from non-Ph.D.-granting institutions of higher education or the disciplines of mathematical sciences or social, behavioral, and economic sciences at any eligible organization. MRI-R² full proposals must be submitted to NSF by August 10, 2009. The solicitation (NSF 09-561) is available on the NSF web site: Major Research Instrumentation Program (MRI-R²) Solicitation ContactsResearchers with questions about funding opportunities and programs in the Division of Antarctic Sciences, Office of Polar Programs, should contact their disciplinary program director listed on NSF web site on the Staff Directory If you have questions specifically related to the ARI-R² and MRI-R² funding opportunities, please use the following contact information:
Additional InformationTo learn more about NSF’s Recovery and Reinvestment Act activities, visit the NSF Information Related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 |
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