Chemical Education Today
Report
Proposal Preparation Components at NSF Web Sites by Donald J. Wink
Several important NSF education programs have deadlines in the coming weeks. This column provides updates on these and proposal preparation components at the NSF Web site. Some of the information is given in more detail in earlier columns. Education Program Information and Deadlines The Division of Undergraduate Education has compiled all of its deadlines and issued new guidelines for their programs. The deadlines for all DUE programs are in one file at http:// www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/programs.htm. There is a deadline of May 1 for preliminary proposals to the Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation program (see the page at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/cetp/cetp.htm for more information). Both Track 1 (Institutional Focus) and Track 2 (System-Wide Focus) proposals will be handled in this round. The Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement program of DUE has a single information site at http:// www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/ccli/ccli.htm. Note that this program is only slated to have a June deadline each year. The DUE, as I mentioned last month, has updated guidelines for these and other programs at http://www.nsf.gov/ cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9953. This includes the unique DUE Form 1295 that must be part of all DUE proposals. NSF has a system-wide Digital Library Initiative—Phase 2 that is an important opportunity for educators. Its addendum, with a deadline of May 17, includes a special emphasis in Planning Testbeds and Applications for Undergraduate Education. To find information on this, start at the special page at http://www.dli2.nsf.gov/addendum.html. There you will also find examples of previous awards. Outside of higher education, the Division of Elementary, Secondary, and Informal Education has some preliminary deadlines this spring and summer. Such preliminary pro-
posals are required in this division. The deadline for these three programs—Instructional Materials Development, Implementation and Dissemination, and Assessment—is May 1, while Informal Science Education requires preliminary proposals by August 1. They are all covered in the ESIE guidelines at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf984/. ESIE also has a Parent Involvement in Science, Mathematics, and Technology Education Initiative with a July 15 preliminary proposal deadline. It is not obvious from the guidelines’ table of contents, but information can be found at the anchored link: http:// www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf984/program.htm#10. Proposal Preparation The preparation of a proposal requires the use of NSF forms and, sometimes, the NSF FastLane submission process. Both of these, especially FastLane, can require some significant time investment in planning. NSF proposal guidelines are available in a couple of formats through http:// www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg and standard forms are at http:// www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_forms.htm. FastLane is administered through a secure server at https://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/. In preparing a proposal, it is a good idea to survey listings of previous grant recipients. This is done through a search facility at http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_awards.htm. Suggestions for using this are available in the June 1998 column. A new Budget Internet Information System makes it easy to survey all NSF programs for summary data. This is now a rich resource at http://Ntalpha.bfa.nsf.gov/. Finally, the DUE proposal writing guide at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9891 is very helpful for preparing any kind of application. Donald J. Wink teaches in the Department of Chemistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 W. Taylor Street, Chicago, IL 60607;
[email protected].
Table 1. Informational Sites Web Page Title
URL
Deadlines for Proposals in DUE Programs
http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/programs.htm
NSF Collaboratives for Excellence in Teacher Preparation (CETP)
http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/cetp/cetp.htm
Course, Curriculum, and Laborator y Improvement (CCLI)
http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/DUE/programs/ccli/ccli.htm
Undergraduate Education Program Announcement and Guidelines
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9953
Addendum to the Digital Libraries Initiative – Phase 2 Proposal
http://www.dli2.nsf.gov/addendum.html
Elementar y, Secondar y, and Informal Education (ESIE)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf984/
Informal Science Education Program
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/1998/nsf984/program.htm#10
Grant Proposal Guide – NSF 99-2
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gpg
NSF Grants and Awards – Forms for Preparing Proposals
http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_forms.htm
NSF Fastlane
http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/
NSF Grants and Awards – Award Data for Projects Funded since 1989 http://www.nsf.gov/home/grants/grants_awards.htm NSF Budget Internet Information System
http://Ntalpha.bfa.nsf.gov/
A Guide for Proposal Writing
http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9891
JChemEd.chem.wisc.edu • Vol. 76 No. 5 May 1999 • Journal of Chemical Education
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