Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR Announces New Project Funding Availability
New Project Funding is designed to support new, recently developed, or significantly modified preexisting science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) outreach, education and research projects that directly benefit Oklahomans. All areas of the STEM pipeline (K-12, post-secondary, higher education faculty/researchers) may be supported. Proposals that address the current OK NSF EPSCoR research theme, “Adapting Socio-Ecological Systems to Increased Climate Variability,” will be given priority. However, projects addressing any STEM field may be submitted for funding consideration, with the exception of medical research.
Approximately $100,000 in New Project Funding is available. The typical range of individual awards will be $10- $15,000; proposals seeking higher funding levels will also be considered. Individual budgets must reflect the scope and impacts of the project.
Proposals should be submitted as a detailed Statement of Work (SOW). The SOW should clearly define the project, including all activities and projected outcomes, estimated participants (number and demographics), timeline/agenda, letters of commitment (institutional and collaborators), and a detailed budget (including F&A). A strategy to promote the event/project to the public must be clearly outlined in the proposal. The proposal must include a data-gathering plan that is designed to track the project’s immediate and longer-term impacts and outcomes.
To qualify for funding, program participants from more than one institution must be involved. Proposals that include participants from a single institution will not be considered.
The SOW must include a plan to obtain detailed participant data (i.e. email addresses and demographic information) and follow-up surveys from all project participants. The proposal should also indicate the project’s prospects for future benefits to the state’s STEM growth, such as producing papers, presentations and new projects, and increasing the retention rates of students in STEM.
In addition to the criteria outlined above, priority will be given to those proposals that address the following OK NSF EPSCoR goals and objectives:
- address environmental science research theme
- possess unique approach/qualities
- increase diversity: reach underrepresented groups, especially women, Native Americans and African Americans
- participation of regional college, HBCU and/or tribal college
- enhance public awareness of research
- increase STEM participation, e.g. skills and knowledge
- enhance research competitiveness
- support cyberinfrastructure
Proposals will be accepted at any time, with initial EPSCoR Leadership review to begin Nov. 1, 2015. Applicants should clearly and succinctly outline the project per the guidelines above.
Submit proposal materials via email to Dr. Ray Huhnke, Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR project director, at raymond.huhnke@okstate.edu.
Questions: Gina Miller, outreach coordinator, at gmiller@okepscor.org or 405.744.9964
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