NSF Science, Engineering and Education for Sustainability Fellows    

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PROGRAM GUIDELINES

Solicitation  12-601

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

Full Proposal Deadline Date:  November 21, 2013

Third Thursday in November, Annually Thereafter

SYNOPSIS

Through the SEES Fellows Program, NSF seeks to advance science, engineering, and education to inform the societal actions needed for environmental and economic sustainability and human well-being while creating the necessary workforce to address these challenges.  The Program's emphasis is to facilitate investigations that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries and address issues of sustainability through a systems approach, building bridges between academic inquiry, economic growth, and societal needs.  The Fellow's proposed investigation must be interdisciplinary and allow him/her to obtain research experiences beyond his/her current core disciplinary expertise.  Fellows are required to develop a research partnership(s) that will advance and broaden the impact/scope of the proposed research, and present a plan for their own professional development in the area of sustainability science and engineering.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Eligibility

To be eligible to submit a proposal to the NSF SEES Fellows program, an individual must, as of the proposal deadline date, meet all of the following criteria:

• Be a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident;
• Have earned the doctoral degree, or expect to have earned the doctoral degree, by the start date of the award;
• Not have worked for more than 36 full-time equivalent months in one or more positions that require the doctoral degree. If more than 36 months have elapsed between conferral of the doctoral degree and the
• SEES Fellows proposal deadline date, PIs must include specific language in their Biographical Sketch affirming that they meet this eligibility requirement.
• Not be employed in a tenure-track (or tenure-track-equivalent) position at an academic institution or at a non-profit, non-degree-granting organization such as a museum, observatory, or research lab.

Proposal Review Criteria

In addition to the two National Science Board (NSB)-approved merit review criteria: intellectual merit and the broader impacts of the proposed effort, SEES Fellows proposals will also be evaluated according to the following additional review criteria:

Additional Solicitation Specific Review Criteria

SEES

• Will the proposed activities advance the foundations of sustainability science and engineering by including a strong conceptual framework?
• Will the proposed activities integrate across NSF-supported disciplines and will the applicant expand beyond his or her current core disciplinary expertise?

Hosts and Partnerships:

• Are the proposed host mentor and partner mentor effective and committed to enable the Fellow to be successful? Do the host and partner's organizations have the infrastructure to enable the Fellow to be successful?
• Will the proposed partnerships advance and broaden the impact/scope of the proposed research activities?
• Are the partnerships based on mutual benefits and will they leverage the expertise, specialized skills, facilities, and/or resources of all partners?

Professional Development:

Will the proposed professional development activities enhance the Fellow's career growth while complementing the proposed interdisciplinary research and partnerships?

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

This program provides educational opportunities for  Postdoctoral Fellows . This program provides indirect funding for students at this level or focuses on educational developments for this group such as curricula development, training or retention. To inquire about possible funding opportunities not directly from NSF, please look at the active awards for this program.

RELATED URLS

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What Has Been Funded (Recent Awards Made Through This Program, with Abstracts)

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