ADVANCE IT and IT Catalyst Proposal Preparation
September, 2011
Thank you for joining the ADVANCE IT/IT Catalyst WebinarPlease, call the Webinar Conference Line:
Phone Number: 1-866-560-7460Passcode: 8536064
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ADVANCE Program DescriptionProgram Goal: Increase the participation and advancement of women
in academic science and engineering careers Projects to realize this goal should involve, and are sought from,
both men and women Proposals addressing the participation and advancement of
women from underrepresented minority groups, women with disabilities and women from predominantly undergraduate institutions are strongly encouraged
Eligible Science and Engineering fields: All fields funded by NSF are eligible, which includes the social
and behavioral sciences The clinical sciences (medical, dental, veterinarian) are not
eligible
ADVANCE Program Funding Opportunities1. Institutional Transformation (IT)
2. IT-Catalyst
3. Partnerships for Adaptation, Implementation, and Dissemination (PAID)
NOTE: ADVANCE focuses on women in academic science and engineering. It is not aimed at students. Other programs at NSF focus on earlier points in the pathway to STEM careers.
Institutional Transformation
Institutional Transformation (IT) Characteristics
5-year projects ~ $2 M to $4 M total (depends on scope) Comprehensive, institution-wide, projects to transform the university or
college. All non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible.
Letters of Intent due: October 3, 2011 Proposals due: November 7, 2011
To review abstracts of ADVANCE awards: Copy and paste this link into web browser search field: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/tab.do?dispatch=2 For IT project: Enter “1738” into the “Element Code” box Hit the search button
Examples of IT Activities Reviewing and revising policies such as recruitment, retention, career
flexibility, promotion and tenure
Developing work/life programs such as dual career hiring programs
Establishing, revising, formalizing mentoring programs for faculty at all career stages
Providing professional development opportunities for faculty
Training for departmental leaders and members of P&T and search committees
Conducting climate surveys and other data collection and analysis
Conducting related social science research
IT Review Criteria How significant will the contribution of the study of the proposed
innovative components and other IT activities be to the institutional transformation knowledge base?
How strong are the indicators of institutional readiness for institutional transformation and commitment to the project activities and goals?
How well are the proposed activities linked to the institutional context and data?
How well is the relevant social science literature incorporated into the design of the proposed innovative components and other IT activities?
Institutional Transformation Catalyst
IT-Catalyst (ITC) Characteristics
2-year projects Up to $200K total costs Planning, assessment activities to prepare for transformation Intended to initiate institutional change efforts with or without
further funding All non-profit institutions of higher education are eligible.
Letters of Intent due: October 3, 2011 Proposals due: November 7, 2011
To review abstracts of ADVANCE awards: Copy and paste this link into web browser search field: http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/tab.do?dispatch=2 For ITC awards: Enter “7690” into the “element code” box Hit the search button
Examples of IT Catalyst project activities:
Collection and analysis of baseline data
Climate surveys
Planning meetings with stakeholders
Training and development of proposal team
Reviewing social science literature and current IT site strategies
Site visits to exemplar institutions
Consulting experts on gender equity and organizational change
ITC Additional Review Criteria How significant will the contribution of the study of the proposed
innovative components and other IT activities be to the institutional transformation knowledge base?
How strong are the indicators of institutional readiness for institutional transformation and commitment to the project activities and goals?
How well are the proposed activities linked to the institutional context and data?
How well is the relevant social science literature incorporated into the design of the proposed innovative components and other IT activities?
IT/ITC Proposal Preparation
Letter of Intent (LOI) Required – in order to submit an IT/ITC proposal, a letter of intent is
required
Due Date: October 3, 2011
Must include:1. Project Title
Self Explanatory2. Synopsis
Description of proposed project (2,500 characters maximum)3. Other Comments
List of senior project personnel and proposed roles for each List of partner institutions and organizations and description of
involvement4. Contact Information for:
Point of Contact (and an alternate) for NSF inquiries PI for the project
Letter Of Intent Submission Guide1. Log in to Fastlane
2. Go to Proposal Functions
3. Go to Letters of Intent
4. If ADVANCE solicitation not visible at bottom of screen, enter search information below, then click
Search:
• Solicitation ID: NSF 10-593
• Solicitation Title: ADVANCE…
• NSF Organization: Division of Human Resource Development
5. When ADVANCE solicitation appears on the screen, click on Create (under LOI Action)
6. Enter your project title
7. Enter Synopsis (2,500 characters max)
8. Enter Other Comments (2,500 characters max)
9. Enter contact information for: Point(s) of Contact and PI
10. Click on Forward to SPO
• NOTE: Sponsored Projects Office submission not required; clicking this button will submit your
letter of intent to NSF
Key Components of Successful ProposalsUnderstanding of the
ProblemLeadership
CommitmentFamiliarity w/Prior ADVANCE awards
Leadership Expertise
IT x x x x
ITC x x x x
• Description of the institutional context
• Basic faculty data• Issues for faculty to be
addressed• Potential goals for
future IT project (ITC only)
Activities consistent with• Institutional context• Project goals• Conceptual framework• Leadership team
capabilities
• Demonstrated commitment from leadership (president, provost) to ADVANCE project and personnel to be involved.
• Familiarity with strategies of earlier ADVANCE awardees and relevant literature
• Team with appropriate mix of expertise
• Junior and senior faculty involvement
• Involvement of key administrative decision makers
• Social science expertise involved in design and implementation
Key Components of Successful ProposalsRealistic
PlansEvaluation
PlanData
IT x x x
ITC x x x
• Realistic timeline, management plan, budget
• Plan for formative and summative evaluations (at minimum)
• Most IT projects include internal and external evaluation components
• See Online Evaluation Resource Library
• See ADVANCE Evaluation Toolkit
Baseline data critical for IT• # of faculty at professorial
rank, academic department• Search/hiring data• Start-up package data• Promotion/tenure data
• Understanding of types of data to be collected
• Relevant data on special populations, if proposed
• See ADVANCE Indicators Toolkit
Innovation Need for Support
IT x
ITC x
Convince reviewers and NSF that project is innovative and important• Develop/study new transformational
strategy• Provide unique contribution to
understanding transformation, i.e.,• Different institution type• Different populations
• Contribute to knowledge base on women in S&E careers
• Strong social science research component (5 page supplement)
• Convincing argument of historical lack of resources
Key Components of Successful Proposals
Common Problems in ProposalsDescription IT ITC
Inadequate description of the roles and responsibilities of various members of the leadership team and other personnel.
x x
A plan to develop materials and activities without using relevant existing resources. x x
Leadership team that is not sufficiently broad for the kinds of activities and goals proposed.
x x
Underestimation of the time and human resources to set up and maintain an ADVANCE project.
x x
No, or inappropriate, data provided in the proposal x x
Not using/exceeding fifteen page limitation x x
Lack of cohesiveness between social science research and ADVANCE activities x
Lack of an innovative dimension with a strong proposal to study the innovation. x
Additional Proposal Documents Budget
Cost sharing is not required Must include a three page budget description Total requested must be justified by the project’s scope
Supplementary Documents Letters of Commitment (IT Only): 5-page description of social science research including, but
not limited to: the disciplinary and conceptual framework for the study; a discussion of the theory and hypotheses grounding the research; the proposed methods to test the hypotheses; the expected findings; and to what extent the results and data will be disaggregated for
multiple characteristics such as race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability, foreign-born or foreign-trained, in addition to gender.
Additional Proposal Documents, cont’d Data Management Plan
Effective January 2011 All proposals submitted to NSF must include a Data Management
Plan (DMP) as a Supplementary Document of no more than two pages
DMP needs to address two topics: the data to be generated by the research, and the plan for managing the data
For FAQS, see http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmpfaqs.jsp
ADVANCE Information and Resources
Grant Proposal Guide Changes Mentoring for Postdoctoral Researchers
Proposals with funding for postdoctoral researchers must include a description of mentoring activities for postdocs
Mentoring activities may include: Career counseling Training in preparation of grant proposals Guidance on how to effectively collaborate with researchers
from diverse backgrounds and disciplinary areas Training in responsible professional practices
Proposed mentoring activities will be evaluated as part of the merit review process
Proposals that do not include a separate section on mentoring activities within the Project Description will be returned without review
Human Subjects Research Projects involving research with human subjects must ensure that
subjects are protected from research risks in conformance with the relevant federal policy known as the Common Rule (Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects, 45 CFR 690)
All projects involving human subjects must either (1) have approval from the organization's Institutional Review Board (IRB) before issuance of an NSF award or, (2) must affirm that the IRB has declared the research exempt from IRB review, in accordance with the applicable subsection, as established in section 101(b) of the Common Rule."
Grant Proposal Guide Changes, cont’d
Grant Proposal Guide Changes, cont’d Data Management Plan
Effective January 2011 All proposals submitted to NSF must include a Data Management
Plan (DMP) as a Supplementary Document of no more than two pages
DMP needs to address two topics: the data to be generated by the research, and the plan for managing the data
For FAQS, see http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmpfaqs.jsp For EHR guidance on Data Management Plans, see
http://www.nsf.gov/bfa/dias/policy/dmpdocs/ehr.pdf
Information on ADVANCE ProjectsMaterials from past and current ADVANCE IT projects are available:
Individual IT project websites (link at bottom of page): www.nsf.gov/advance
ADVANCE web portal: www.portal.advance.vt.edu
Contact a specific grantee
Program Directors: Kelly Mack - [email protected] Amy Rogers - [email protected]
Integrative Activities Specialist: Pat Simms - [email protected]
Program Website http://www.nsf.gov/advance
ADVANCE Program Contact Information
Evaluation Tools General information about project evaluation available at
the Online Evaluation Resource Library: http://ctl.sri.com/projects/displayProject.jsp?Nick=oerl
Review the ADVANCE Evaluation Toolkit: http://www.advance.vt.edu/ (link at bottom of page) “Using Program Evaluation to Ensure the Success of
your ADVANCE Program” developed by NMSU