Convergence Accelerator Webinar for

Invited Proposals to NSF 20-565 June 18, 2020

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Webinar Administrative Logistics • Attendees should stay in listen-only mode –

please stay muted • Rename yourself if you wish to be anonymous • Use Zoom Chat to submit questions to

“Everyone” for reply during the webinar

• View real-time captions at:https://www.captionedtext.com/client/event.aspx?EventID=4475737&CustomerID=321

• The presentation slides and webinar recording,will be available at: https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/convergence-accelerator/index.jsp

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Overview of Webinar

• Congratulations on your invitation to Phase I ! • What is expected in your phase 1 full proposal?

• NSF 20-565 elements • Phase I overview and timeline

• How to get feedback from your pre-proposal review • Timeline • Questions

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Convergence Accelerator Team

Doug Lara Chaitan Cody Ibrahim Fen Maughan Campbell Baru Bowles Mohedas Zhao

Linda Michael Talitha Nakhiah Pradeep Molnar Pozmantier Washington Goulbourne Fulay

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Full Proposal Submission & Review Timeline

• Phase I Full Proposals are due Friday, July 10, 2020 (5pm Submitter’s Time)

• Review panels end of July 2020

• Target for awards by end of September 2020 • Awards will be a total of $30M across Tracks C & D combined

• Kick Off (virtual) – between September 15 – October 15, 2020

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Track C: Quantum Technology

• Quantum Sensing • Quantum Simulators • Quantum Interconnects • Quantum Architecture • Quantum Workforce

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Track D: AI-Driven Innovation via Data and Model Sharing • Data Centric and Model Centric • Curation and Sharing of open as

well as sensitive protected data • Dealing with issues related to

sensitive data, privacy and data sanitization

• Address ethics, fairness, and bias issues associated with research data

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Phase 1 Activities • 9 months in duration • Build project teams, develop new partnerships • Engage with potential users / customers ! • Strengthen research and development plans • Refine deliverables, develop milestones • Move towards proof of concept • Cohort activities (training and collaboration) • Pitch competition ~May/June 2021 • Phase II Proposals due May 17, 2021

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What is expected in your Phase I Full Proposal? NSF Merit Review Criteria • Refer to Section VI.A of the solicitation • Intellectual Merit. Explain how your project will advance,

and potentially transform, the frontiers of knowledge • Broader Impacts. Explain how your project efforts will

benefit society. • May be accomplished through the research itself, and/or • Through activities that are directly related to the project, or

are complementary to the project.

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What is expected in your Phase I Full Proposal? NSF 20-565 Merit Review Criteria • Convergence. Explain the intellectually distinct disciplines that are

part of (or will be part of) your team’s convergent research approach. Describe how the disciplines are integrated.

• Partnerships. Describe the different types of organizations that are part of (or will be part of) your team and their roles in developing deliverables and sharing them with users.

• Track Relevance. Explain how your idea benefits the overall goals of the track. Describe the value of your effort to the overall portfolio.

• Deliverables. Discuss the practical applications or useful results that you will develop in Phase II. Explain who will benefit and how.

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Convergence • Include a diverse set of disciplines

(not just different sub-disciplines) • Describe how the methods and

approaches of those disciplines are integrated

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Partnerships

• Include a set of partnerships that facilitate achieving the proposed deliverables

• Ensure adequate resources (across all partners) to carry out the proposed activities

• Describe additional partnerships that you will identify to improve the project

Deliverables • Describe how your project will

create deliverables within two years that will benefit society

• Deliverables must provide perceptible value to a community

• Research papers are not sufficient • Your deliverable does NOT have to

be commercializable, but it must be useful and needed

Track Relevance • Explain how your project

will contribute to the success of the entire track

• The program seeks to deliver a cohort of projects that together satisfy the track goals

• Individually strong projects are not sufficient

What is expected in your Phase I Full Proposal? Addressing Merit Review Criteria

• Describe what you plan to accomplish in Phase I AND Phase II. Efforts in Phase I should clearly lead to outcomes in Phase II

• You don’t have to have solved all issues brought up in the pre-proposal review process, but you do need to have a PLAN to address those concerns

• You do NOT have to have all partnerships/collaborations in place to have a strong Phase I proposal, but you do need to have a strong and believable PLAN to develop those partnerships

• Deliverables do NOT require commercialization, but do require a path to ensure they add value to society

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What is expected in your Phase I Full Proposal? Supplementary Documents • Project Personnel Table. List all PIs, Co-PIs and Senior Personnel and their

affiliations. Ideally would also list each person’s role in the project. • Letters of Collaboration. May follow the PAPPG format or may succinctly

say more, “state the intent to collaborate and describe the nature of collaboration, which ideally will include listing the tasks the collaborator will undertake”

• Letters of Collaboration are not required • No Letters of Support! – Just say what the collaborator will DO

• Postdoctoral Researcher Mentoring Plan. Required if postdoctoralpersonnel are included in your phase I project personnel

• Data Management Plan. Essential for proposals that include significant data products/efforts (not actually a supplementary doc)

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What is expected in your Phase I Full Proposal? Budget

• Up to $1M for effort from Sept. 2020 – ~May 2021 • Request what you realistically NEED, not automatically the max

• PIs, co-PIs, Senior Personnel may have more than 2 months of salary. • Significant effort is required in Phase I !! Many pilot PIs needed more than 2 mo. • Per PAPPG 20-1 Section II.C.2.g.i.a, put it in the budget and explain why you need it.

• Budget for three in-person trainings, assume $2,000 per person per training-THREE key personnel will be required to attend

• Trainings very likely will not be in person; re-budgeting will be allowed • 3 days each, plus travel days

• Participant support costs are allowed – those do not bear overhead costs • Your spending timeline should consider

• Significant user-engagement, identification of user needs • Pitch competition ~May 2021 • Phase II Awards ~August 2021

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Additional Information • You may change PI or lead institution

• If you run into problems with Fastlane or Research.Gov let us know

• “Collaborative” proposals are prohibited • Collaborative = Simultaneous submission of the same proposal from

different organizations, with each organization requesting a separate award

• Collaborators and Other Affiliations – must be provided for all PIs/Co-PIs and for all Senior Personnel

• Awards or sub-awards to for-profit entities may not include profit/fee.

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How do I see my pre-proposal reviews? • NSF internal processes underway now – should be completed by

Monday 6/22 • You MUST have all outstanding reports submitted and approved

for “DD Concur” to take place • We won’t know which proposals have outstanding reports until we

attempt to “invite” • Includes overdue reports for co-investigators

• Look for: • 3 Reviews • Panel Summary • Look at Program Officer Comments also! (“PO Comments”)

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How can I learn more about what a successful project might look like? • Attend the Pilot Cohort EXPO! • You must register to attend at

https://nsf.streamoligy.com/

July 1st 2020 July 2nd 2020 Track A Teams Track B Teams 10am - 1:30pm EDT

Track B Teams 2:30pm - 6:00pm

10am - 1:30pm EDT

Track A Teams 2:30pm - 6:00pm

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How to Submit Via FASTLANE • Input information for the lead (grantee) organization

• If the lead organization has NEVER received NSF funding, you need a DUNS code and SAM registration RIGHT AWAY. Click HERE for more info

On the COVER SHEET • Solicitation is 20-565 • NSF Unit Consideration

• Division: Select Office of Integrative Activities (OIA) • Convergence Accelerator Research

• Click the “back” button at the bottom on the screen and select “go” button for Remainder of the Cover Sheet

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Overall Timeline – 2019 - 2022 Pitch

Competition Projects Start!

Phase 1 Proposals

Innovation Curriculum

Accelerator DCL 19-050

RCOs

Phase 2: Creating Deliverables Phase 1: Team Formation, R&D Plan Development

Deliverables ProjectsStart

Year 2 Decision

2020 Topic Workshops

DCL 19-065 RFI: 75 responsesreceived

Pitch Comp

ProjectsStart

Phase 1 Proposals

C-Accel Curriculum

NSF 20-565 Solicitation

ProjectsStart

Year 2 Decision

Pilot 2019 Cohort

2021 Cohort

2020 Cohort

2021 Topic

Workshops

RFI DCL 20-061

Pitch Comp

ProjectsStart

Phase 1 Proposals

Innovation Curriculum

2021 Solicitation

PPs Projects

Start

NSF 20-555

Ideas for future topics (~2pp SurveyMonkey)

Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun Sep Dec Mar Jun 2019 2020 2021 2022 2022 22

Convergence Accelerator Phase I Curriculum

Communication

Coaches

Innovation Curriculum (User Discovery)

Team Science

Specific Domain Topics

Thank you! • Attendees should stay in listen-only mode – please stay muted

• Use Zoom Chat to submit questions to “Everyone” for reply during the webinar

• The presentation slides and webinar recording, will be available at:https://www.nsf.gov/od/oia/convergence-accelerator/index.jsp.

• Email contact address: C-Accel@nsf.gov

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