Federal Funding for Social Science Research: Trends and Opportunities Robert E' OConnor, Director Pr

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Federal Funding for Social Science
ResearchTrends and Opportunities Robert E.
OConnor, DirectorProgram in Decision, Risk and
Management Sciences Division of Social and
Economic SciencesDirectorate for Social,
Behavioral, and Economic SciencesPennsylvania
State University, September 2008
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Outline

• Federal funding for social scientists
• NSF
• Current realities
• Trends and opportunities
• How to get your dreams fulfilled

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Gross Figures FY07 (in thousands)

• 1,911,694 psychology
• 1,215,330 other social science
• 55,089,189 all research obligations
• 27,810,551 life sciences
• 9,487,433 engineering
• 5,647,627 physical sciences

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Who is funding the psychologists? (in thousands)

• 1,755,446 NIH
• 61,205 DOD
• 44,904 Veterans Affairs
• 17,747 Federal Aviation Administration

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Who is funding other social scientists? (in
thousands)

• 335,634 DHS (NIH, ACF, AHRQ)
• 212,661 Education
• 183,286 NSF
• 152,132 USDA
• 54,154 AID

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Why go to NSF?

• NSF provide grants (not cooperative agreements or
  contracts)
• NSF pays full overhead
• NSF supports curiosity-driven research

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NSF in a Nutshell

• Discipline-based structure
• Cross-disciplinary mechanisms
• Use of Rotators/IPAs
• National Science Board

• Independent Agency
• Supports basic research education
• Uses grant mechanism
• Low overhead highly automated

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NSFs future?

• Long-term broad support (doubling authorization
  passed)
• FY09 budget awaits next administration
• October 1 government shutdown unlikely
• Continuing resolution impedes new programs

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National Science Foundation
Director Deputy Director
National Science Board
Inspector General
Staff Offices
Computer Information Science Engineering
Mathematics Physical Sciences
Biological Sciences
Engineering
Geosciences
Social, Behavioral Economic Sciences
Budget, Finance Award Management
Information Resource Management
Education Human Resources
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Key Documents

• FY 2009 NSF Budget Request
• http//www.nsf.gov/about/budget/fy2009/index.jsp
• Grant Proposal Guide (January 2008)
• http//www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_k
  eygpg
• Science and Engineering Indicators (2006)
• http//www.nsf.gov/statistics/seind06/
• When in doubt
• http//www.nsf.gov/

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Sources of Information

• Web www.nsf.gov
• National Science Foundation Update (formerly
  MyNSF)
• Grant Proposal Guide http//www.nsf.gov/publicatio
  ns/pub_summ.jsp?ods_keygpgAwards (on web)
• Program Officer(s)
• Colleagues

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NSF-Wide Investments in FY2009

• NSFs FY2009 budget request to Congress
  identified several areas for NSF-wide
  investments. Strengthening capabilities in each
  of these areas will enhance the productivity and
  efficiency of the science and engineering
  enterprise while producing concrete economic and
  social benefits for the nation.
• Examples
• Adaptive Systems Technology
• Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation
• Cyberinfrastructure
• Networking and Information Technology RD
• Science and Engineering Beyond Moores Law

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Trends

• Increasing inter-directorate cooperation
• Increasing support for interdisciplinary projects
• Support for complexity science
• Support for environmental research

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Opportunities

• Dynamics of Coupled Human and Natural Systems
• Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation
• Social and Behavioral Dimensions of National
  Security, Conflict, and Cooperation
• Possible initiative in Energy, Environment, and
  Human Dynamics
• Possible initiative in complexity

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Dynamics of Coupled Human and Natural Systems

• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id13
  681orgBCS
• First permanent multi-directorate program
• GEO has joined BIO and SBE
• 2,000,000 awards

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Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation

• November 8 December 8 window for preliminary
  proposals
• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id5
  03163orgSBEfromhome
• Computational thinking

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Social and Behavioral Dimensions of National
Security, Conflict, and Cooperation

• http//www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id50
  3294orgSBEfromhome
• Letter of intent deadline September 30
• NSF grants with DOD money
• NSF review process

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Possible EEHF and Complexity Initiatives

• Energy, Environment, and Human Factors may
  involve BIO, GEO, and SBE
• National Science Board emphasis
• Complexity less far along

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Two Criteria for Funding

• Intellectual merit
• Broader impacts

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Intellectual Merit?

• NSF funds basic research
• NSF funds basic research
• Intellectual merit means increasing knowledge
  through developing and examining basic theories
  or methods

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Broader Impacts

• Promote teaching, training and learning
• Broaden the participation of underrepresented
  groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability,
  geographic, etc.)
• Enhance the infrastructure for research and
  education, such as facilities, instrumentation,
  networks and partnerships
• Disseminate results broadly to enhance scientific
  and technological understanding
• Benefit society

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Start with http//www.nsf.gov

• Check previous program awards
• Award Search http//www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/
• Read RFA carefully (if not standard competition)
• Download Grant Proposal Guide

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Timing of Proposal Submission

• No deadlines
• Deadlines
• Target dates

• Submission windows
• Preliminary proposals

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Sections of an NSF Proposal

• Cover Sheet
• Project Summary (one page)
• Table of Contents
• Project Description (15 pages max)
• References Cited
• Biographical Sketch(es)
• Budget
• Current Pending Support
• Facilities, Equipment Other Resources
• Special Information Supplementary
  Documentation

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Put Together the Proposal

• Identify intellectual merit (theoretical
  contribution)
• Describe in as much detail as possible exactly
  what you want to do
• Make sure your research team has appropriate
  capabilities
• Describe broader impacts
• Decide where to submit (co-review?)
• E-mail or call appropriate program officer with
  specific questions

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Budgetary Guidelines

• Amounts
• Reasonable for work - Realistic
• Well justified - Needs are established
• In-line with program guidelines
• Eligible costs
• Personnel (2 months max)
• Equipment
• Travel
• Participant Support
• Other Direct Costs (including subawards,
  consultant services, computer services,
  publication costs)

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Getting Support in Proposal Writing

• Program Officers
• Incumbent
• Former Rotators
• Mentors on Campus
• Previous Panelists
• Serve As Reviewer
• Sponsored Research Office
• Examples of Successful Proposals

• NSF Publications
• Program Announcements/
• Solicitations
• Grant Proposal Guide
• Web Pages
• Funded Project Abstracts
• Reports, Special Publications

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Faculty Early Career Development Program--CAREER

• Highly competitive (walk on water)
• Not the bar exam model
• Serious education component
• Not team project
• 5-year, 400K
• RFA under review

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Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER)

• 200,000 maximum, 1-year awards
• Must be either
• Urgent as data are ephemeral, or
• Highly exploratory (high risk, high payoff)
• Quick turnaround review
• Contact Program Officer before submitting

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Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Awards

• Archaeology
• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Cultural Anthropology
• Decision, Risk Management Science
• Geography Regional Science
• Law and Social Science
• Linguistics
• Physical Anthropology
• Political Science

• Science and Technology Studies
• Societal Dimensions of Engineering, Science, and
  Technology
• Sociology
• Economics
• Human Cognition and Perception
• Methodology, Measurement, Statistics

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NSF Sources of Reviewers

• Program Officers knowledge
• References listed in the proposal
• Google
• Community of Science and other databases
• Reviewers recommendations
• Investigators suggestions

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Funding Decisions

• Program Officer decision
• Feedback to PI
• Informal and formal notification
• Scope of work and budget discussions

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Myths about NSF

• Only funds scholars at elite graduate
  institutions
• Only funds famous academics
• Once declined, you are likely always to be
  declined
• Only funds normal science
• Advisory committees make funding decisions

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Reasons for Declinations

• Trust-me proposal
• Not feasible
• Expertise gaps
• Insufficient funding
• Too ambitious
• Incremental contribution
• Bad luck

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NSF vs. NIH

• NSF tends to be smaller
• NSF is more open to risky, exploratory,
  paradigm-challenging work
• NSF stresses basic research
• NSF has no scoring system, percentile system
• NSF program officers make funding decisions
• NSF uses revision encouragement loosely

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Advice

• Learn to love rejection
• Team up
• E-mail or call Program Officer with specific
  questions
• Encourage dissertation improvement grant
  proposals (check program first)

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Useful to submit even if declined

• Revise and resubmit
• Discover other funding sources
• Forces thinking
• Build relationships
• Receive reviews from experts

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QUESTIONS??

• Contact Bob OConnor
• [phone]
• roconnor_at_nsf.gov