Workforce Program in the Mathematical Sciences
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CONTACTS
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PROGRAM GUIDELINES
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Apply to PD 08-7335 in FastLane.
(standard Grant Proposal Guidelines) apply.)
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).
DUE DATES
Full Proposal Window: May 15, 2010
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June 15, 2010
May 15 - June 15, Annually Thereafter
SYNOPSIS
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The long-range goal of the DMS Workforce Program is to increase the number of well-prepared U.S. citizens, nationals, and permanent residents who successfully pursue careers in the mathematical sciences and in other NSF-supported disciplines.
Among intermediate goals to this end are improvements in recruitment, retention, education, and placement of trainees in the mathematical sciences.
The program's primary interest is in activities centered on education through research involvement for trainees at the undergraduate through postdoctoral educational levels. Activities that broaden participation in the mathematical sciences are of significant interest to the Division of Mathematical Sciences.
The program is particularly interested in activities that improve:
- recruitment and retention: increasing the number and diversity of U.S. students who successfully pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in mathematics and statistics;
- educational breadth: broadening graduate education and undergraduate education content in the mathematical sciences to prepare students for a wider range of career opportunities; and
- professional development: enhancing the professional skills of mathematical sciences postdoctoral associates, graduate students, and undergraduate students to better prepare them for both academic and nonacademic employment.
The program welcomes unsolicited proposals for activities that address the program goals in innovative and creative ways. Proposals must clearly identify:
- the goals to be achieved;
- the specific new activities to be conducted, the way in which these address the goals, and the way in which the activities significantly differ from or enhance common practice;
- measurable proposed outcomes for the project;
- specific methods for evaluation of the success of the activity and for assessment of progress toward the goals to be achieved, and
- a budget commensurate with the proposed activity.
The program particularly seeks unsolicited proposals for activities that are:
- novel and potentially transformative, in that they promise extraordinary outcomes;
- portable, in the sense that they potentially can be duplicated at other institutions;
- sustainable, meaning that the activity can be continued in the absence of external funding;
- likely to have large impact in terms of the numbers of trainees affected; and
- exemplary, in that they can serve as national models for education through research involvement.
Proposers are advised to contact one of the cognizant program directors prior to submitting a proposal. The program has an annual submission window for unsolicited proposals of May 15 through June 15. (Unsolicited proposals received at other times will be returned without review.)
The Workforce Program also administers several more structured training activities, proposals for which are submitted in response to specific solicitations:
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Enhancing the Mathematical Sciences Workforce in the 21st Century (EMSW21), which comprises
- Vertical Integration of Research and Education (VIGRE)
- Research Training Groups (RTG)
- Mentoring through Critical Transition Points (MCTP)
- Mathematical Sciences Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (MSPRF)
- Research Experiences for Undergraduates Sites (REU)
- Interdisciplinary Training for Undergraduates in Biological and Mathematical Sciences (UBM)
- Computational Science Training for Undergraduates in the Mathematical Sciences (CSUMS)
Please note that the deadline dates for submission of proposals in response to these specific solicitations differ from the submission-window dates for unsolicited proposals.
In addition to the Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts merit review criteria, 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.
RELATED PROGRAMS
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Graduate Research Fellowship Program
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Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship Program
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University-Industry Cooperative Research Programs in the Mathematical Sciences
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Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program
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Interdisciplinary Grants in the Mathematical Sciences
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THIS PROGRAM IS PART OF
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Training
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Abstracts of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
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