The National Science Foundation's mandate to ensure the vitality of the nation's scientific and engineering enterprise requires a focus on the quality, distribution, and effectiveness of the human-resource base in science and engineering, including full utilization of all potentially interested and qualified citizens. Because women are underrepresented in the science and engineering workforce, the Foundation supports efforts to facilitate their full participation in the science and engineering mainstream. Of special interest in this program is the prominent representation of women in the research and education community.

The Professional Opportunities for Women in Research and Education (POWRE) program supports activities that promote the development of scholarly and institutional leaders in research and education. POWRE is a Foundation-wide program designed to increase the prominence of women in science and engineering and to enhance their professional advancement by providing them with funding opportunities that are not ordinarily available through regular research and education grant programs. POWRE awards are not intended to substitute for support of regular research and education projects, or for other NSF funding, such as the Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) awards (NSF 99-110 or current issuance).

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the POWRE program is to increase the prominence, visibility, and influence of women in all fields of academic science and engineering supported by NSF, especially in contexts where women are underrepresented. By providing opportunities for career advancement, professional growth, and increased prominence of women in science and engineering, more women will be encouraged to pursue careers and achieve leadership positions in science and engineering, and women scientists and engineers will obtain greater visibility and influence in academic institutions and in industry. The Foundation is particularly interested in increasing the participation of minority women and women with disabilities. Members of these groups are especially encouraged to apply.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The POWRE program allows flexibility in the choice of activities designed to provide academic and professional opportunities in science and engineering. POWRE activities are expected to be substantively different from those that a Principal Investigator would consider developing for a regular proposal submitted to a disciplinary program or to other NSF competitions.

POWRE awards are designed to provide a one-time input of funds at a critical stage in the Principal Investigator’s career, a means by which she can take advantage of an opportunity that will contribute to a significant, identifiable advance in her career path. POWRE awards are not intended to provide funds to establish a laboratory. New investigators in academia are encouraged to consider the CAREER program and the regular research and education disciplinary programs as their primary source of initial funding.

The applicant must provide a "POWRE Relevance Statement" that describes her career goals and plans, and that establishes the relevance of the POWRE award to her career path. This concise statement should explain how the POWRE award will be important for the advancement of her career at this time. The standard NSF programs are expected to remain the primary source of research and education support for women scientists and engineers. Therefore, the statement should also explain why the request is being submitted as a POWRE proposal and not as a regular research or education proposal.

Activities that have been supported through the POWRE program in past competitions have enabled women to take advantage of diverse professional opportunities, including:

• access to and utilization of new or special facilities, skills, or methodologies;
• exploratory work to determine feasibility of a new line of research inquiry or educational activity;

• an international collaboration;
• an innovative idea for integrating research and education; and
• focused support at a critical career stage (e.g., after major administrative demands, after a career interruption to accommodate family responsibilities or relocation requirements).

Consideration will be given to international activities to forge linkages between foreign and U.S. scientists and engineers, to provide access to unique research equipment and facilities, to plan joint seminars and workshops, or to address issues that can benefit from international comparisons. International experiences and collaborations are encouraged where the international experience is well justified and necessary to achieve the aims of the project. POWRE applicants wishing to pursue international activities should discuss their plans with the contact person for International Programs, listed later in this document, and refer to International Opportunities for Scientists and Engineers (NSF 99-146, or current issuance) during proposal preparation.

Potential proposers should consult the NSF Web site (http://www.nsf.gov) under "Crosscutting Programs" to access POWRE information specific to each NSF directorate or office. Specific information may also be found directly through the home page of the appropriate NSF organizational unit. Alternatively, a potential proposer may contact the appropriate member of the POWRE Coordinating Committee listed later in this announcement.

No More POWRE Supplements

In the earliest competitions, a Principal Investigator with an existing NSF grant could request a POWRE supplement to that grant. The POWRE program will no longer consider such supplement requests. Principal Investigators interested in supplemental funding should contact the cognizant program officer for the existing award to determine whether or not program funds might be available in the disciplinary program to support a supplemental funding request. POWRE resources will not be used to fund supplements. However, current NSF Principal Investigators are eligible to submit POWRE proposals.

ELIGIBILITY

The Principal Investigator of a POWRE proposal must be a woman scientist or engineer who is a U.S. citizen, national, or permanent resident at the time the proposal is submitted. Except under very unusual circumstances, it is expected that the Principal Investigator will hold a doctorate-level degree in an appropriate field. The subject of the proposed activity must be in an area of science or engineering research or education that is supported by NSF (see the Guide to Programs, NSF 99-4 or current issuance).

A woman is encouraged to apply to the POWRE program if she

• holds a faculty or research-related position at a U.S. degree-granting academic institution and is proposing a POWRE activity to be performed at her home institution and/or at a host institution in the U.S. or abroad (including another college or university, a non-profit institution, an industrial firm, or a scientific or engineering professional organization);
• holds a position at a non-academic U.S. institution (either industrial or non-profit) and is proposing a POWRE activity that will take place at a U.S. academic institution (host institution); or
• does not currently hold an industrial or academic position, and/or has had an interruption in her professional career, and is proposing a POWRE activity that will take place at a U.S. academic institution (host institution).

A POWRE proposal must be submitted by a U.S. academic institution. All POWRE awards will be made to U.S. academic institutions. Only single-investigator proposals are appropriate. POWRE proposals that are submitted with co-investigators will be returned without review.

AWARD INFORMATION

The duration of a POWRE award is expected to be from 12 to 18 months, and the research or education activity should be proposed with clear focus and realistic schedule to permit the activity to be completed within the requested project duration. The starting date can be delayed when necessary, e.g., to coordinate field activities at remote locations. The POWRE program does not support long-term research or education activities.

The total award amount requested in a POWRE proposal, including direct and indirect costs, is expected to be no more than $75,000. Funding in excess of $75,000 may be granted only when the Principal Investigator proposes an activity in residence at a host institution (defined as an institution with which the proposer has no current affiliation). For such a case, a detailed justification should be provided in the proposal to explain the special circumstances that warrant the higher funding request. NSF expects to invest approximately $12 million for POWRE in FY 2000, contingent on availability of funds. Anticipated date of awards is June 2000 or thereafter.

PROPOSAL PREPARATION & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS

You must submit your POWRE proposal electronically using FastLane. To do so, you have to be known to NSF as a principal investigator (PI) and your institution must be registered to use FastLane. If you have never submitted a proposal to NSF as a PI, contact your sponsored research office (SRO) to get a personal identification number (PIN) and so that your SRO can add you to the NSF PI database. This should be done as soon as you decide to submit a proposal and at least one week before the POWRE deadline. Complete instructions for FastLane proposal submission can be found on the FastLane Web page at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov.

A. Proposal Preparation Instructions

Proposals submitted in response to this program announcement should be prepared and submitted in accordance with the general guidelines contained in the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG), NSF 00-2. The complete text of the GPG (including electronic forms) is available electronically on the NSF Web page at: http://www.nsf.gov. Paper copies of the GPG may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone 301-947-2722 or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.

Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement number (NSF 99-164) in the program announcement/solicitation block on the NSF Form 1207, "Cover Sheet for Proposal to the National Science Foundation." Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal-processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

In addition to the GPG, POWRE proposals must be prepared in accordance with the instructions in these guidelines and those found on the FastLane Web page at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. With the exception of the EPSCoR Certification Form, all of the forms referenced in these Guidelines are available electronically within the FastLane proposal preparation application. A working copy of the EPSCoR Certification Form (NSF Form 1404) is available from the EPSCoR Web page at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/EPSCOR/report/cofund.htm. Do not include additional documentation such as a biographical sketch or NSF forms for any collaborator. The proposal format should follow the sequence below (all sections submitted via FastLane except the EPSCoR Certification Form):

1. Information about Principal Investigator (NSF Form 1225).
2. List of suggested reviewers or reviewers not to include(see GPG, Section II.B.2).
3. EPSCoR Certification Form (NSF Form 1404) (if applicable, must be completed and signed by the EPSCoR State Project Director and submitted to the Office of Integrative Activites, Rm. 1270, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, VA 22230). A working copy of this form is on the EPSCoR Program Web page at http://www.ehr.nsf.gov/EHR/EPSCOR/report/cofund.htm. Do not scan this form into your FastLane proposal as only the original should be submitted since this form is not sent to reviewers.
4. Deviation Authorization. &nbps; (Refer to the GPG, Chapter II.A, for instructions on deviations).
5. Cover Sheet (NSF Form 1207).  When selecting organizational unit to consider your proposal, please choose the NSF division and program that, in your opinion, best fits your research activities (see GPG, Appendix A). You may also refer to the NSF Guide to Programs. If you are unsure, you should talk with the program director of the program you think is most closely related to your research/education goals. However, if you indicate an inappropriate program on the Cover Sheet, the POWRE Coordinating Committee will redirect the proposal to the appropriate organizational unit. It is important to identify an NSF division (and if possible a disciplinary program) in this block since this information will be used to expedite the initial distribution of your proposal.

   Proposers are reminded to identify the program announcement number (NSF 99-164) in the program announcement/solicitation block. Compliance with this requirement is critical to determining the relevant proposal-processing guidelines. Failure to submit this information may delay processing.

   In the field "Closing Date," enter "12/09/99." The title should be descriptive of the planned activities and should begin with "POWRE: [Title]." No co-investigator can be listed.

   Once the cover sheet is completed, you should print the certification page (page two), obtain the necessary signatures, and scan it into the Supplementary Documents section of your FastLane proposal for electronic submission as part of your proposal.

6. Project Summary (see GPG, Section II.D.2), not more than one page in length. Include a summary of the proposed activity’s appropriateness for POWRE.
7. Table of Contents (NSF Form 1359) (see GPG, Section II.D.3). (Completed for you in FastLane as the proposal is being prepared.)
8. Project Description and Results from Prior NSF Support (see GPG, Section II.D.4): This section consists of (1) the POWRE Relevance Statement, (2) a description of the planned POWRE activities, (3) a description of the reasons for selecting the host institution (if applicable), and (4) a description of results from prior NSF support, if applicable. Parts (1), (2), (3) and (4) must not exceed a total of 15 pages, including any graphical or tabular materials.

   The POWRE Relevance Statement is an integral part of the proposal, and must begin on the first page of the project description. This statement should describe the applicant's career goals and plans, establish the relevance of the POWRE award to her career path, and concisely explain those circumstances that justify why the POWRE award will be important for the advancement of her career at this time. Since the standard programs are NSF's primary source of research and education support for women investigators, the Relevance Statement should also explain why the request is being submitted as a POWRE proposal and not as a regular research or education proposal.

   The statement about the selection of the host institution (if applicable) is limited to one page. In it the applicant should describe her reasons for selecting the institution, including the availability of professional colleagues, facilities and/or equipment.

9. References Cited (see GPG, Section II.D.5).
10. Biographical Sketch (see GPG, Section II.D.6).
11. Budget (NSF Form 1030) (cumulative and annual budgets, including subaward budgets, if any, and up to three pages of budget justification) (see GPG, Section II.D.7). Funds may be requested to defray salary (in most cases based on home-institution salary); travel; relocation costs, if applicable (normally not to exceed $3,000); and research support. Funds may be requested for salaries and wages for the Principal Investigator, visiting colleagues, postdoctoral associates, research assistants or support personnel, but not for faculty collaborators from the home or host institution. Institutionally negotiated indirect-cost rates as normally calculated apply to POWRE awards; the $75,000 maximum includes both direct and indirect costs.
12. Current and Pending Support (NSF Form 1239).
13. Facilities, Equipment, and Other Resources (NSF Form 1363).
14. Special Information and Supplementary Documentation (see GPG, Section II.D.10): Letters documenting collaborations, arrangements, and commitments may be included if appropriate. Applicants proposing an activity away from the home institution are required to submit a letter of support from the host organization describing the research and/or educational environment and facilities that will be made available. Only letters that describe the planned collaboration, arrangements, and commitments will be accepted. Letters of reference or recommendation should not be included in the proposal, and such documents will not be sent to reviewers. To ensure that letters from your collaborators are reviewed with your proposal, you should scan them into your FastLane proposal under the Supplementary Documents Section as a PDF file.

    No other attachments or appendix material will be permitted. Proposals that include appendices or other material, except material permitted in the Special Information and Supplementary Documentation section, will be returned without review.

B. Budgetary Information

Cost-Sharing Requirements:

None.

C. Proposal Due Dates

The full proposal MUST be submitted electronically via FastLane by 5:00 p.m., submitter’s local time, December 9, 1999. (Note: The signed certification page (page 2 of the cover sheet) must be scanned into the Supplementary Documents section of your FastLane proposal and submitted as part of the proposal. Hard copies should not be sent to NSF.)

D. FastLane Requirements

The NSF FastLane system is required for electronic preparation and submission of a proposal through the Web at the FastLane Web site at http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov. The Sponsored Research Office (SRO or equivalent) must provide a FastLane Personal Identification Number (PIN) to each Principal Investigator (PI) to gain access to the FastLane "Proposal Preparation" application. PIs who have not submitted a proposal to NSF in the past must contact their SRO to be added to the NSF PI database. This should be done as soon as the decision to prepare a proposal is made.

In order to use NSF FastLane to prepare and submit a proposal, the following are required:

Browser (must support multiple buttons and file upload)

• Netscape 3.0 or greater
• Micorsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or greater

PDF Reader (needed to view/print forms)

• Adobe Reader 3.0 or greater

PDF Generator (needed to create project description and other sections)

• Adobe Acrobat 3.X or greater
• Aladdin Ghostscript 5.10 or greater

A list of registered institutions and the FastLane registration form are located on the FastLane Web page.

PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION

A.  Merit Review Criteria

Reviews of proposals submitted to NSF are solicited from peers with expertise in the substantive area of the proposed research or education project. These reviewers are selected by Program officers charged with the oversight of the review process. NSF invites the proposer to suggest, at the time of submission, the names of appropriate or inappropriate reviewers. Care is taken to ensure that reviewers have no conflicts with the proposer. Special efforts are made to recruit reviewers from non-academic institutions, minority-serving institutions, adjacent disciplines to that principally addressed in the proposal, etc.

Proposals will be reviewed against the following general merit review criteria established by the National Science Board. Following each criterion are potential considerations that the reviewer may employ in the evaluation. These are suggestions and not all will apply to any given proposal. Each reviewer will be asked to address only those that are relevant to the proposal and for which he/she is qualified to make judgments.

What is the intellectual merit of the proposed activity?

How important is the proposed activity to advancing knowledge and understanding within its own field or across different fields? How well qualified is the proposer (individual or team) to conduct the project? (If appropriate, the reviewer will comment on the quality of prior work.) To what extent does the proposed activity suggest and explore creative and original concepts? How well conceived and organized is the proposed activity? Is there sufficient access to resources?

How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training, and learning? How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of underrepresented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)? To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks, and partnerships? Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding? What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?

Principal Investigators should address the following elements in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria. NSF staff will give these factors careful consideration in making funding decisions.

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 learner perspectives.

Broadening opportunities and enabling the participation of all citizens -- women and men, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities -- are 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.

In addition to the above review criteria, the following POWRE-specific review criteria will be used to evaluate POWRE proposals:

• Applicant’s career objectives and relevance of the proposed activities to these objectives (the POWRE Relevance Statement).
• Impact of a POWRE award on the applicant’s academic advancement or leadership roles.
• The match between the proposed activity and the research or educational environment and facilities at the institutional site for the POWRE activity.

Final funding decisions will be made by the National Science Foundation.

All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field represented by the proposal. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement will be carried out in the research directorates and divisions through mail review, panel review, or a combination of the two.

Reviewers will be asked to formulate a recommendation to either support or decline each proposal. A program officer assigned to manage the proposal’s review will consider the advice of reviewers and will formulate a recommendation. In most cases, proposers will be contacted by the program officer if his or her award is recommended for approval. This informal notification is not a guarantee of an eventual award. NSF will be able to tell applicants whether their proposals have been declined or recommended for funding within six months for 95 percent of proposals in this category. The time interval begins on the proposal deadline or target date or from the date of receipt, if deadlines or target dates are not used by the program. The interval ends when the division director accepts the program officer’s recommendation.

Since POWRE proposals are reviewed by different panels and/or mail reviews held at different times across NSF, award and declination letters will be issued at different times. You can check the status of your POWRE proposal by accessing FastLane. If you have not received notification of a decision on your POWRE proposal by the middle of June, and your proposal status is shown as "pending" in FastLane, you can contact the program or division to which your proposal was assigned to inquire about the status. Your proposal’s NSF program assignment can be found through FastLane.

In all cases, after final programmatic approval has been obtained, award recommendations are then forwarded to the Division of Grants and Agreements for review of business, financial and policy implications and the processing and issuance of a grant or other agreement. Proposers are cautioned that only a Grants Officer may make commitments, obligations or awards on behalf of NSF or authorize the expenditure of funds. No commitment on the part of NSF should be inferred from technical or budgetary discussions with an NSF program officer. A Principal Investigator or organization that makes financial or personnel commitments in the absence of a grant or cooperative agreement signed by the NSF Grants Officer does so at its own risk.

A.  Notification of the Award

Notification of the award is made to the submitting organization by a Grants Officer in the Division of Grants and Agreements (DGA). Organizations whose proposals are declined will be advised as promptly as possible by the cognizant NSF Program Division administering the program. Verbatim copies of reviews, not including the identity of the reviewer, will be provided automatically to the Principal Investigator.

B. Grant Award Conditions

An NSF grant consists of: (1) the award letter, which includes any special provisions applicable to the grant and any numbered amendments thereto; (2) the budget, which indicates the amounts, by categories of expense, on which NSF has based its support (or otherwise communicates any specific approvals or disapprovals of proposed expenditures); (3) the proposal referenced in the award letter; (4) the applicable grant conditions, such as Grant General Conditions (NSF GC-1)* or Federal Demonstration Partnership Phase III (FDP) Terms and Conditions* and (5) any NSF brochure, program guide, announcement or other NSF issuance that may be incorporated by reference in the award letter. Electronic mail notification is the preferred way to transmit NSF grants to organizations that have electronic mail capabilities and have requested such notification from the Division of Grants and Agreements.

* These documents may be accessed electronically on NSF’s Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov. Paper copies may be obtained from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone 301-947-2722 or by e-mail from http://www.pubs@nsf.gov.

More comprehensive information on NSF Award Conditions is contained in the NSF Grant Policy Manual (GPM) Chapter II (NSF 95-26), available electronically on the NSF Web site. The GPM also is available in paper copy by subscription from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402. The GPM may be ordered through the GPO Web site at: http://www.gpo.gov.

C. Reporting Requirements

For all multi-year grants (including both standard and continuing grants), the PI must submit an annual project report to the cognizant Program Officer at least 90 days before the end of the current budget period.

Within 90 days after expiration of a grant, the PI also is required to submit a final project report. Approximately 30 days before expiration, NSF will send a notice to remind the PI of the requirement to file the final project report. Failure to provide final technical reports delays NSF review and processing of pending proposals for that PI. PIs should examine the formats of the required reports in advance to assure availability of required data.

NSF has implemented a new electronic project reporting system, available through FastLane, which permits electronic submission and updating of project reports, including information on: project participants (individual and organizational); activities and findings; publications; and, other specific products and contributions. Reports will continue to be required annually and after the expiration of the grant, but PIs will not need to re-enter information previously provided, either with the proposal or in earlier updates using the electronic system.

Principal Investigators are required to submit all annual and final project reports electronically via FastLane.

D. New Awardee Information

If the submitting organization has never received an NSF award, it is recommended that the organization’s appropriate administrative officials become familiar with the policies and procedures in the NSF Grant Policy Manual which are applicable to most NSF awards. The "Prospective New Awardee Guide" (NSF 99-78) includes information on: Administration and Management Information; Accounting System Requirements and Auditing Information; and Payments to Organizations with Awards. This information will assist an organization in preparing documents that NSF requires to conduct administrative and financial reviews of an organization. The guide also serves as a means of highlighting the accountability requirements associated with Federal awards. This document is available electronically on NSF’s Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?nsf9978.

Information on past and current POWRE competitions can be found on the POWRE home page, located on the NSF Web site (http://www.nsf.gov) under the title "Crosscutting Programs." General questions about the POWRE program may be addressed to the POWRE Coordinating Committee Chair, Bonney Sheahan (703-306-1733, bsheahan@nsf.gov ) or to the members of the NSF POWRE Coordinating Committee, listed below with their directorate affiliations:

Eve Barak, 703-306-1442, ebarak@nsf.gov

Fred Stollnitz, 703-306-1413, fstollni@nsf.gov

Dragana Brzakovic, 703-306-1980, dbrzakov@nsf.gov

Margrete Klein, 703-306-1649, mklein@nsf.gov

Theresa Maldonado, 703-306-1384, tmaldona@nsf.gov

Lisa Rom, 703-306-1584, erom@nsf.gov

Natasha Gray, 703-306-1587, ngray@nsf.gov

Denise Caldwell, 703-306-1807, dcaldwel@nsf.gov

SBE Research: Bonney Sheahan, 703-306-1733, bsheahan@nsf.gov

International Programs: Jeanne Hudson, 703-306-1702, jhudson@nsf.gov

Specific questions may be directed to the NSF program officer who works in the appropriate discipline. A directory of Foundation programs providing support for scientific and engineering research and education may be found in GPG Appendix A, and program descriptions in the NSF Guide to Programs (NSF 99-4 or current issuance).

After you receive an acknowledgment of receipt of your proposal, if you wish to discuss the program assignment, please contact the assigned disciplinary program director indicated on the acknowledgment. Once your proposal is assigned to an NSF program, all communications about your proposal should be directed to the assigned disciplinary program director, with reference to the proposal number.

For questions related to use of FastLane: 703-306-1142; fastlane@nsf.gov.

OTHER PROGRAMS OF INTEREST

The NSF Guide to Programs is a compilation of funding opportunities for research and education in science, mathematics, and engineering. General descriptions of NSF programs, research areas, and eligibility information for proposal submission are provided in each chapter. Beginning in fiscal year 1999, the NSF Guide to Programs will be available only electronically, at http://www.nsf.gov/cgi-bin/getpub?gp. Many NSF programs offer announcements concerning specific proposal requirements. To obtain additional information about these requirements, contact the appropriate NSF program offices listed in Appendix A of the GPG.

Any changes in NSF's programs occurring after press time for the Guide to Programs will be announced in the NSF E-Bulletin, available electronically on the NSF Web site at: http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin. The direct URL for recent issues of the Bulletin is http://www.nsf.gov/home/ebulletin/past.htm. Subscribers can also sign up for NSF's Custom News Service to find out what funding opportunities are available.

ABOUT THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

The National Science Foundation (NSF) funds research and education in most fields of science and engineering. Grantees are wholly responsible for conducting their project activities and preparing the results for publication. Thus, the Foundation does not assume responsibility for such findings or their interpretation.

NSF welcomes proposals from all qualified scientists, engineers and educators. The Foundation strongly encourages women, minorities, and persons with disabilities to compete fully in its programs. In accordance with federal statutes, regulations, and NSF policies, no person on grounds of race, color, age, sex, national origin, or disability shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving financial assistance from NSF (unless otherwise specified in the eligibility requirements for a particular program).

Facilitation Awards for Scientists and Engineers with Disabilities (FASED) provide funding for special assistance or equipment to enable persons with disabilities (investigators and other staff, including student research assistants) to work on NSF-supported projects. See the program announcement or contact the program coordinator at (703) 306-1636.

The National Science Foundation has Telephonic Device for the Deaf (TDD) and Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) capabilities that enable individuals with hearing impairments to communicate with the Foundation regarding NSF programs, employment, or general information. To access NSF TDD, dial (703) 306-0090 or for FIRS, 1-800-877-8339.

We want all of our communications to be clear and understandable. If you have suggestions on how we can improve this document or other NSF publications, please e-mail us at http://www.plainlanguage@nsf.gov.

PRIVACY ACT AND PUBLIC BURDEN STATEMENTS

The information requested on proposal forms and project reports is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950, as amended. The information on proposal forms will be used in connection with the selection of qualified proposals; project reports submitted by awardees will be used for program evaluation and reporting within the Executive Branch and to Congress. The information requested may be disclosed to qualified reviewers and staff assistants as part of the review process; to applicant institutions/grantees to provide or obtain data regarding the proposal review process, award decisions, or the administration of awards; to government contractors, experts, volunteers and researchers and educators as necessary to complete assigned work; to other government agencies needing information as part of the review process or in order to coordinate programs; and to another Federal agency, court or party in a court or Federal administrative proceeding if the government is a party. Information about Principal Investigators may be added to the Reviewer file and used to select potential candidates to serve as peer reviewers or advisory committee members. See Systems of Records, NSF-50, "Principal Investigator/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 267 (January 5, 1998), and NSF-51, "Reviewer/Proposal File and Associated Records," 63 Federal Register 268 (January 5, 1998). Submission of the information is voluntary. Failure to provide full and complete information, however, may reduce the possibility of receiving an award.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 120 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions. Send comments regarding this burden estimate and any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Reports Clearance Officer; Information Dissemination Branch, DAS; National Science Foundation; Arlington, VA 22230.

In accordance with Important Notice No. 120 dated June 27, 1997, Subject: Year 2000 Computer Problem, NSF awardees are reminded of their responsibility to take appropriate actions to ensure that the NSF activity being supported is not adversely affected by the Year 2000 problem. Potentially affected items include: computer systems, databases, and equipment. The National Science Foundation should be notified if an awardee concludes that the Year 2000 will have a significant impact on its ability to carry out an NSF funded activity. Information concerning Year 2000 activities can be found on the NSF web site at http://www.nsf.gov/oirm/y2k/start.htm.

Activities described in this publication are in the Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 47.041, Engineering; 47.049, Mathematical and Physical Sciences; 47.050, Geosciences; 47.070, Computer and Information Science and Engineering; 47.074, Biological Sciences; 47.075, Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences; 47.076, Education and Human Resources; 47.078, Polar Programs.

OMB No.:  3145-0058 PT KW

NSF 99-164 (Replaces NSF 98-160) Electronic Dissemination Only