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Title: Dear Colleague Letter: Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) 
       to Study the Impact of Federal Investments in Science and Technology 
       Programs and to Advance the Scientific Understanding of Science Policy
Date: 06/25/09




NSF 09-034

Dear Colleague Letter: Grants for Rapid Response Research (RAPID) to Study
the Impact of Federal Investments in Science and Technology Programs and to
Advance the Scientific Understanding of Science Policy

   Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences

   Dear Colleague:

   Many important questions are being asked about the success and the
   impact of federal investments in science and technology programs.  The
   Science of Science & Innovation Policy (SciSIP) Program, within the
   Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, can be a
   vehicle for mobilizing research capacity to respond to these questions
   and to assess the effects of science investments on both the ecology
   of innovation and on the science and engineering enterprise.

   The SciSIP program will take advantage of NSF's Rapid Response
   Research (RAPID) funding mechanism to accept short (two to five pages)
   RAPID proposals that attempt to answer many of the outcome questions
   surrounding federal investments in science as well as to advance the
   scientific understanding of science policy.

   The SciSIP program will take advantage of NSF's Rapid Response
   Research (RAPID) funding mechanism to accept short (two to five pages)
   RAPID proposals that propose scientific models that may advance the
   scientific understanding of science policy.  These would include, but
   not be limited to, such questions as:
     * What was the contribution of the science investment to the
       creation and retention of jobs?
     * What was the contribution of the science investment to science and
       technology industries?
     * What scientific or technological advances were achieved?
     * What was the impact on the scientific workforce?

   In keeping with the Presidential focus on openness and transparency in
   government, proposals might also examine and evaluate different
   approaches to building appropriate platforms for tracking and
   assessing science investments across the federal government as well as
   ways to visually convey the information to policy makers and the
   American public.

   Proposals must conform to the Grants for Rapid Response Research
   (RAPID) Guidelines specified in the Grant Proposal Guide and may be
   submitted electronically at any time to the Science of Science and
   Innovation Policy announcement (PD 09-7626) via FastLane or
   Grants.gov.  The SciSIP program director, Julia Lane
   (jlane@nsf.gov), should be contacted for assistance and advice
   prior to proposal submission.

   In order to avoid unnecessary duplication of effort, the decision
   process will consider the spectrum of similar efforts both within and
   outside the federal government.

   Sincerely,
   David Lightfoot
   Assistant Director
   Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences