Category: Find Funding

In 2017, NSF issued a Request for Information to gauge the existing and future needs for Mid-scale research infrastructure programs and received responses whose execution would require $8 billion to $10 billion in funding for projects in the $20 million to $100 million range.

In response, The National Science Foundation intends to announce two new Mid-scale Research Infrastructure opportunities in fall 2018: one to support projects with an approximate cost between $6 million and $20 million and the other to support projects with an approximate cost between $20 million and $70 million.

These forthcoming funding opportunities are intended to encompass research infrastructure broadly defined, from the creation of mid-scale disciplinary instrumentation to the implementation (including acquisition and construction) of mid-scale facilities, cyberinfrastructure and other infrastructure that are demonstrated to be necessary to support specific science, engineering or education research objectives associated with current or future NSF-supported research activities.  This portfolio may also include mid-scale upgrades to existing research infrastructure.

Contacts: For questions directly related to this program, please contact MSRI@nsf.gov. More information will be available once the solicitations for these programs are released.

An REU activity may be funded as a standard or continuing grant (for REU Sites), as a supplement to an existing award, or as a component of a new or renewal grant or cooperative agreement. REU Sites and Supplements are funded by various disciplinary and education research programs throughout NSF, and the number of awards made varies across the Foundation from year to year, as does the amount of funds invested. In FY2013, NSF anticipates investing approximately $68.4 million (pending availability of funds) in approximately 180 new Site awards and 1,600 new Supplement awards.

Three years is the typical duration for REU Site awards in most NSF directorates; however, a duration of up to five years may be allowed in some cases. The typical REU Site hosts 8-10 students per year. The typical funding amount is $70,000-$120,000 per year, although NSF does not dictate a firm upper (or lower) limit for the amount, which depends on the number of students hosted and the number of weeks.

The stipend that is paid to REU student participants is not a salary or wage for work performed. It is a traineeship, a form of student aid (like a scholarship or fellowship) provided to support a student’s education/training in a STEM field. In this case, the student’s training consists of closely mentored independent research. For administrative convenience, organizations may choose to issue payments to REU students using their normal payroll system. The funds received by students may be taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and may also be subject to state or local taxes. 

Deadline: May 24, 2019

More information

Many programs within the NSF BIO Directorate have moved to “no-deadline” submissions with limits on the number of proposals that you may submit each year.  The Core Programs of the BIO Directorate will accept proposals any time, but limit investigators to one submission as PI or Co-PI per fiscal year (Oct. 1- Sept. 30). Investigators who submit a proposal before Oct. 1 this year will be eligible to submit or re-submit another proposal to the same NSF BIO division (i.e., IOS, MCB, DBI, or DEB) before Oct. 1, 2019. Investigators who submit a proposal after October 1 may only be eligible to submit another proposal to the same division after Oct. 1, 2019. Oct. 1 falls on a Sunday, so proposals would have to be submitted by SPA by Friday, September 28 to retain eligibility to submit another proposal in the coming year. For more information, including programs that count and do not count toward the one-submission limit, and the submission limits for other NSF programs, check the Eligibility Information of the relevant NSF Program Solicitation.

UGA has completed negotiations of a new facilities and administrative cost rate agreement with the federal government. The new rates should be used for all proposals submitted after July 1, 2018, and are available on the Sponsored Project Administration website.