Integrated NSF Support Promoting Interdisciplinary Research and Education
(INSPIRE)
 
CONTACTS
Name |
Dir/Div |
Name |
Dir/Div |
Randy
L.
Phelps
|
OD/OIA |
Richard
A.
Behnke
|
GEO/AGS |
Thomas
F.
Russell
|
MPS/OAD |
| |
Contacts at the NSF directorate and office level: The interdisciplinary research Points of Contact may be helpful, as elaborated in the next note. Note to all prospective INSPIRE principal investigators about contacts at NSF: As explained in greater detail in the solicitation, before writing or submitting an INSPIRE proposal, PIs must make a formal inquiry by submitting a FastLane Letter of Intent (LOI), and must obtain a full-proposal invitation authorized by the INSPIRE Management Team on the basis of evaluation of the LOI by NSF staff. All invitations will reflect interest in considering a full proposal by at least two NSF program directors (PDs) from intellectually distinct NSF divisions or programs. The LOI must list at least two or three PDs, depending on the PI's choice of funding opportunity. It is in the PI's interest to list the most appropriate possible PDs. The PDs should not be senior managers (director, deputy director, office head, office director, assistant director, deputy assistant director, division director, deputy division director, section head). PIs are encouraged to study program web pages to identify appropriate PDs. Some keyword searching of the NSF web site may be helpful in finding appropriate NSF divisions and programs, for example by using the "Search Funding Opportunities" box in the left-hand column of the home page http://www.nsf.gov/, or the "Search Award For" box in the Award Search database http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/. The interdisciplinary research Points of Contact http://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/additional_resources/interdisciplinary_research/poc.jsp may also be helpful at the directorate and office level. WEBCAST _________________________________________________________________________ An informational INSPIRE webcast was held on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. During the webcast the INSPIRE funding mechanism, the current INSPIRE solicitation (NSF 13-518), and the FY2013 INSPIRE competition were discussed. INSPIRE Program Officers addressed frequently asked questions (FAQs) and answered questions submitted by the online audience. The webcast has been archived and is available through the TV Worldwide webpage. Registration is required to view the archived webcast. |
PROGRAM GUIDELINES
Solicitation
13-518
Important Notice to Proposers
A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG), NSF 13-1, was issued on October 4, 2012 and is effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 14, 2013. Please be advised that, depending on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 13-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this funding opportunity.
Please be aware that significant changes have been made to the PAPPG to implement revised merit review criteria based on the National Science Board (NSB) report, National Science Foundation's Merit Review Criteria: Review and Revisions. While the two merit review criteria remain unchanged (Intellectual Merit and Broader Impacts), guidance has been provided to clarify and improve the function of the criteria. Changes will affect the project summary and project description sections of proposals. Annual and final reports also will be affected.
A by-chapter summary of this and other significant changes is provided at the beginning of both the Grant Proposal Guide and the Award & Administration Guide.
DUE DATES
Letter of Intent Window: December 10, 2012
-
March 29, 2013
INSPIRE Track 1 Inquiries
Full Proposal Deadline Date: May 13, 2013
INSPIRE Track 2 Full Proposals
Full Proposal Deadline Date: May 29, 2013
INSPIRE Track 1 Full Proposals
Full Proposal Deadline Date: May 29, 2013
Director's INSPIRE Awards Full Proposals
Full proposal submission is by invitation only, based on evaluation by NSF staff of the required Letter of Intent.
SYNOPSIS
The INSPIRE awards program was established to address some of the most complicated and pressing scientific problems that lie at the intersection of traditional disciplines. It is intended to encourage investigators to submit bold, exceptional proposals that some may consider to be at a disadvantage in a standard NSF review process; it is not intended for proposals that are more appropriate for existing award mechanisms. INSPIRE is open to interdisciplinary proposals on any NSF-supported topic, submitted by invitation only after a preliminary inquiry process initiated by submission of a required Letter of Intent. In fiscal year 2013, INSPIRE provides support through the following three pilot grant mechanisms: - INSPIRE Track 1. This is essentially a continuation of the pilot CREATIV mechanism from FY 2012, which was detailed for 2012 in Dear Colleague Letter NSF 12-011.
- INSPIRE Track 2. These are "mid-scale" research awards at a larger scale than Track 1, allowing for requests of up to $3,000,000 over a duration of up to five years. Expectations for cross-cutting advances and for broader impacts are greater than in Track 1, and the review process includes external review.
- Director's INSPIRE Awards. These are prestigious individual awards to single-investigator proposals that present ideas for interdisciplinary advances with unusually strong, exciting transformative potential.
All NSF directorates and programmatic offices participated in INSPIRE in FY 2012 and are continuing their participation in FY 2013.
Display additional information
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Frequently Asked Questions for NSF 13-518, INSPIRE (NSF 13-040)
Dear Colleague Letter - CREATIV: Creative Research Awards for Transformative Interdisciplinary Ventures (nsf 12-011)
FAQs for CREATIV: Creative Research Awards for Transformative
Interdisciplinary Ventures (nsf 12-012)
RELATED URLS
CREATIV
FY 2012 INSPIRE Links
What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)
Map of Recent Awards Made Through This Program
|