Title: Unidata Equipment Grants
Date: March 12, 1999
NSF 99-88
FUNDING AVAILABLE FOR UNIDATA EQUIPMENT GRANTS
PROGRAM ANNOUNCEMENT
DIRECTORATE FOR GEOSCIENCES
DIVISION OF ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES
DEADLINE DATE: MAY 24, 1999
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
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The National Science Foundation promotes and advances scientific
progress in the United States by competitively awarding grants
for research and education in the sciences, mathematics and
engineering.
To get the latest information about program deadlines, to
download copies of NSF publications, and to access abstracts of
awards, visit the NSF Web site at:
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Send an e-mail to: pubs@nsf.gov
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To Locate NSF Employees: (703) 306-1234
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SUMMARY OF PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL INFORMATION
Program Name: Unidata Equipment Grants
Short Description/Synopsis of Program:
This initiative is aimed at providing computer
equipment to the university community for upgrading
obsolete equipment, enhancing computer capabilities,
and to draw new institutions into the Unidata
community. The Unidata Program Center (UPC), located
in Boulder, Colorado, offers software and services that
enable universities to acquire and use atmospheric and
related data on their own computers, often in real
time. The UPC's software and services are available to
any US college or univesity at no cost. Member
institutions provide their own computers, network
connections, human resources, and other requirements
for participation, including access fees for certain
data.
Cognizant Program Officer(s): Dr. Clifford A. Jacobs,
Program Officer, Room 775, Division of Atmospheric
Sciences, telephone 703. 306.1521, e-mail:
cjacobs@nsf.gov.
Applicable Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA)
No.: 47.050 - Geosciences
ELIGIBILITY
- Limitation on the categories of organizations that are
eligible to submit proposals:
Proposals may be submitted by universities in support of
individual investigators or small groups.
- PI eligibility limitations: None
- Limitation on the number of proposals that may be submitted
by an organization:
Only one proposal may be submitted by a Principal
Investigator and he/she may only collaborate in one
other proposal as a co-Investigator.
AWARD INFORMATION
- Type of award anticipated: Standard Grant
- Number of awards anticipated in FY 99: 5-10 awards
- Amount of funds available: Approximately $100 Thousands
will be available for this initiative in FY 1999
- Anticipated date of award: August 1999
PROPOSAL PREPARATION & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
- Proposal Preparation Instructions
-- Letter of Intent requirements: None
-- Preproposal requirements: None
-- Proposal preparation instructions: Standard NSF Grant
Proposal Guide instructions
-- Supplemental proposal preparation instructions: None
-- Deviations from standard (GPG) proposal preparation
instructions: None
- Budgetary Information
-- Cost sharing/matching requirements:
Cost sharing is encouraged but not required.
-- Indirect cost (F&A) limitations: None
-- Other budgetary limitations:
Award amounts will range from $2,000 to $25,000
one year for proposals submitted in response to
this announcement
- Fastlane Requirements
-- FastLane proposal preparation requirements: FastLane use
optional
-- FastLane point of contact: Ruth Joel, 703.306.1528, rjoel,
National Science Foundation, Division of Atmospheric Sciences,
Room 775, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230
- Deadline: MAY 24, 1999
-- Full Proposal Deadline 5:00 PM, ET, May 24, 1999 (paper)
5:00 PM local time, May 24, 1999 (FastLane)
PROPOSAL REVIEW INFORMATION
- Merit Review Criteria: Standard National Science Board
approved criteria
AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
- Grant Award Conditions: GC-1 or FDP III
- Special grant conditions anticipated: None anticipated
- Special reporting requirements anticipated: None
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INTRODUCTION
The Division of Atmospheric Sciences (ATM) of the National
Science Foundation (NSF) will accept equipment proposals from
academic institutions engaged in teaching and research in the
atmospheric and related sciences for Unidata-supported systems.
(System definition assistance is available by contacting the
Unidata Program Center [UPC] at support@unidata.ucar.edu.) Small
schools and schools that have not previously submitted proposals
are encouraged to apply. It is NSF's intent to assist those
institutions that presently do not have interactive
meteorological computer capability to participate in the Unidata
Program. In addition, NSF will accept proposals for purchasing
hardware and software to assist institutions whose Unidata
related computing equipment is becoming obsolete--especially
institutions who are converting their computers from the OS/2
operating system to UNIX. NSF will also accept proposals for
purchasing hardware and software that will augument an
institution's participation in the Internet Data Delivery (IDD)
system as a source site or data-archiving site.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
Unidata is national program to help universities access, analyze,
and display a wide range of atmospheric data on their own
computers, often in real time. The program is managed by the
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), and is
supported by NSF's Division of Atmospheric Sciences. Unidata
serves a broad community, including teaching and research
professionals in weather forecasting, climate studies,
atmospheric analysis and modeling, and related disciplines. NSF
provides equipment grants to support Unidata activities at
universities.
ELIGIBILITY
Proposals may be submitted by universities in support of
individual investigators or small groups. Only one proposal may
be submitted by a Principal Investigator and he/she may
collaborate in one other proposal as a co-Investigator. Group and
collaborative proposals involving more than one institution must
be submitted as a single administrative package from one of the
institutions involved. Due to the limited availability of funds,
prospective applicants are strongly urged to contact [one of] the
program officer[s] listed at the end of this document for
guidance (see contacts for additional information).
AWARD INFORMATION
Under this announcement, proposals may be submitted for any
funding amount up to $25,000 for one year. Awards will be made at
levels ranging between $2,000 -$25,000 dependent upon the
availability of funds. NSF expects to fund approximately 5 to 10
standard one year research awards depending on the quality of
submissions and the availability of funds. Approximately $100
thousand will be available for these proposals in FY 1999.
Anticipated date of awards: August 1999.
PROPOSAL PREPARATION & SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
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 99-2.
The complete text of the GPG (including electronic forms) is
available electronically on the NSF Web site at:
. 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 99-88) 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.
B. Budgetary Information
Unidata equipment awards will provide funds for hardware and the
requisite software only. NSF encourages, but does not require,
organizations responding to this announcement to contribute to
the costs of the project supported by NSF.
While cost sharing will not be considered in evaluating
proposals, cost sharing specified in the proposal will be
referenced and included as a condition of any award resulting
from this announcement.
C. Proposal Due Dates.
For paper submission of proposals, the paper copies of the
proposal MUST be received by 5:00 PM, ET, May 24, 1999. Copies
of the proposal must be made and submitted to NSF according to
the normal procedures for paper proposals identified in the GPG.
For electronic submission of proposals, the proposal MUST be
submitted by 5:00 PM, local time, May 24, 1999. Copies of the
signed proposal cover sheet must be submitted in accordance with
the instructions identified below.
Submission of Signed Cover Sheets. For proposals submitted
electronically via FastLane, the signed proposal Cover Sheet (NSF
Form 1207) should be forwarded to the following address and
received by NSF by May 24, 1999:
National Science Foundation
DIS-FastLane Cover Sheet
4201 Wilson Blvd.
Arlington, VA 22230
A proposal may not be processed until the complete proposal
(including signed Cover Sheet) has been received by NSF.
D. FastLane Requirements.
The NSF FastLane system is available for electronic preparation
and submission of a proposal through the Web at the FastLane Web
site at . 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 that 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
- Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater
- PDF Reader (needed to view/print forms)
- Adobe Reader 3.0 or greater
- PDF Generator (needed to create project description)
- Adobe Acrobat 3.01 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.
For paper submission of proposals, the delivery address must
clearly identify the NSF announcement or solicitation number
under which the proposal is being submitted.
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?
What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?
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?
Integration of Research and Education
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. PIs should address this issue
in their proposal to provide reviewers with the information
necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit review criteria.
NSF staff will give it careful consideration in making funding
decisions.
Integrating Diversity into NSF Programs, Projects, and Activities
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. PIs should
address this issue in their proposal to provide reviewers with
the information necessary to respond fully to both NSF merit
review criteria. NSF staff will give it careful consideration in
making funding decisions.
Also, the following criteria will be used to evaluate the
proposals:
- Contribution to Research. Potential that the proposed
equipment will enhance and contribute to local research programs
in progress or being developed; potential for the equipment to
support innovative and significant research.
- Contribution to Education. Potential that the proposed
equipment will enhance and local education efforts in the
atmospheric and related sciences by providing new approaches to
classroom and individual instruction.
- System Management Competence. Technical soundness of the
proposal with respect to equipment selection and integration with
existing local systems; capability of faculty and staff involved
to manage and utilize the proposed equipment; adequacy of the
institutional commitment to assist in obtaining, managing, and
maintaining the proposed equipment.
- Contribution to Unidata Community Capability. Potential for
the equipment and associated developments in concepts and
software to contribute to the enhancement of the community
capability for interactive analysis and computation through
Unidata. Commitment to participate in Unidata's community-based
support efforts, including but not limited to enhancing or
augmenting the IDD system. This includes sites already acting as
relay nodes that may need equipment upgrades as well as sites
that are well-positioned on the network and have the willingness,
expertise, and staff to act as relays but lack adequate
equipment. This is especially true for departments on campuses
that are being connected to the vBNS (very high speed Backbone
Network Service). It also includes sites where the new equipment
will facilitate the site acting as a data source or data recovery
node for the community.
In addition, proposals should describe:
1. the relationship of the proposed system to the existing
computing facilities, both departmental and institutional;
2. the percentage of the departmental computing resources that
the proposed system comprises; and
3. the relationship of the proposed equipment to the
departmental five-year strategic plan for computing capabilities.
B. Merit Review Process.
Most of the proposals submitted to NSF are reviewed by mail
review, panel review, or some combination of mail and panel
review. Proposals submitted in response to this announcement
will be reviewed by panel review only.
All proposals are carefully reviewed by at least three other
persons outside NSF who are experts in the particular field
represented by the proposal. 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 after his or her recommendation to award or
decline funding has been approved by his or her supervisor, the
division director. 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. In those cases where a proposal is being considered
for joint funding by separate divisions, directorates, or
agencies, NSF will be able to inform applicants within nine
months in 95 percent of proposals. 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.
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.
AWARD ADMINISTRATION INFORMATION
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: . Paper copies may be obtained
from the NSF Publications Clearinghouse, telephone 301.947.2722
or by e-mail from pubs@nsf.gov.
[Note: If Cooperative Agreements apply, include: Cooperative
agreement awards also are administered in accordance with NSF
Cooperative Agreement Terms and Conditions (CA-1).]
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: .
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.
Effective October 1, 1998, PIs are required to use the new
reporting format for annual and final project reports. PIs are
strongly encouraged to submit reports electronically via
FastLane. For those PIs who cannot access FastLane, paper copies
of the new report formats may be obtained from the NSF
Clearinghouse as specified above. NSF expects to require
electronic submission of all annual and final project reports via
FastLane beginning in October, 1999.
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 97-
100) 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: .
CONTACTS FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
General inquiries should be made to the NSF Unidata Program,
Bernard M. Grant, Financial Operations Specialist, or Clifford A.
Jacobs, Program Director, Room 775, Division of Atmospheric
Sciences, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA 22230,
telephone 703. 306.1521, e-mail: bgrant@nsf.gov. or
cjacobs@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 only will be available electronically, at
. 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 fiscal year 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:
. The direct URL for recent
issues of the Bulletin is 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. TDD may be accessed at (703)
306-0090 or through FIRS on 1-800-877-8339.
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.
YEAR 2000 REMINDER
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.
Catalogue of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) No.: 47.050 -
Geosciences
OMB No.: 3145-0058
NSF 99-88
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