Crosscutting
International Polar Year, 2007
 
CONTACTS
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Solicitation
07-536
As announced on May 21st, proposers must prepare and submit proposals to the National
Science Foundation (NSF) using the NSF FastLane system at
http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/.
This approach is being taken to support efficient Grants.gov operations during this busy
workload period and in response to OMB direction guidance issued March 9, 2009. NSF will
continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND and
will continue to collaborate with institutions who have invested in system-to-system
submission functionality as their preferred proposal submission method. NSF remains
committed to the long-standing goal of streamlined grants processing and plans to
provide a web services interface for those institutions that want to use their
existing grants management systems to directly submit proposals to NSF.
Please be advised that the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) includes
revised guidelines to implement the mentoring provisions of the America COMPETES Act (ACA)
(Pub. L. No. 110-69, Aug. 9, 2007.) As specified in the ACA, each proposal that requests
funding to support postdoctoral researchers must include a description of the mentoring
activities that will be provided for such individuals. Proposals that do not comply
with this requirement will be returned without review (see the PAPP Guide Part I:
Grant Proposal Guide Chapter II for further information about the implementation of
this new requirement).
SYNOPSIS
The "International Polar Year 2007-2008" (IPY) will extend from March 2007 through March 2009. IPY is envisioned as an intense scientific campaign to explore new frontiers in polar science, improve our understanding of the critical role of the polar regions in global processes, and educate the public about the polar regions. Projects are expected to be interdisciplinary in scope; involve a pulse of activity during the IPY period; leave a legacy of infrastructure and data; expand international cooperation; engage the public in polar discovery; and help attract the next generation of scientists and engineers. To accomplish these goals, this special solicitation for IPY proposals will support specific research and education activities within the following emphasis areas:
Understanding Environmental Change in Polar Regions:
This area will support research that advances the understanding of the physical, geological, chemical, human, and biological drivers of environmental change at the poles, their relationship to the climate system, their impact on ecosystems, and their linkages to global processes.
Human and Biotic Systems in Polar Regions:
This area will provide opportunities for scientists to address fundamental questions about social, behavioral, and/or natural systems that will increase our understanding of how humans and other organisms function in the extreme environments of the polar regions.
Education and Outreach:
This area will support standalone education proposals that specifically invigorate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the context of the IPY, including: formal science education projects at the K-12, undergraduate, or graduate level; informal science education projects for the broader public; and coordination and communication for IPY education projects.
Proposed research activities must be integrally related to one or more of these emphasis areas and adhere to the guidance of the National Research Council's report “A Vision for the International Polar Year 2007-2008” (2005), including where appropriate, specific significant linkages to international activities. These emphasis areas are intended to advance the frontiers of knowledge and build on the momentum achieved by NSF IPY investments and activities that are currently underway in response to an NSF IPY solicitation published in early 2006.
As was required for the 2006 IPY Solicitation, all proposals must address the project’s relevance to the IPY in a separate statement in the Project Summary, and as an integral part of the Project Description. Proposals that fail to address IPY relevance in both sections of the proposal will be returned without review. See Section VI. “Proposal Review Information: Additional Review Criteria” for guidance.
Proposals for IPY projects that are not related to the topics described in this solicitation should be submitted to other announcements of opportunity at NSF. (See Section IX, "Other Programs of Interest."). These other announcements are also listed on an IPY web page maintained by NSF's Office of Polar Programs (http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/ipy/ipyinfo.jsp). These IPY proposals should meet the goals and priorities of the relevant program.
RELATED PROGRAMS
Antarctic Artists and Writers Program
Antarctic Research
Arctic Research Opportunities
Developing Global Scientists and Engineers (International Research Experiences for Students (IRES) and Doctoral Dissertation Enhancement Projects (DDEP))
Documenting Endangered Languages:
East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes for U.S. Graduate Students
Human and Social Dynamics
International Planning Visits and Workshops
RELATED URLS
NSF 07-027: Frequently Asked Questions —Submitting proposals to International Polar Year (IPY), 2007 solicitation (NSF 07-536)
NSF International Polar Year program information for the research and education communities
U.S Interagency International Polar Year web site
U.S. Committee to the International Polar Year, 2007-2008
International Scientific Council (ICSU) International Polar Year Planning Committee
Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
News
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